Terrorism of the Heart

You know even before the Epidemic began in New Zealand Aotearoa. Back in February 2020. I had a bad feeling about the way things were heading. We had John Key stand down in December 2016 for no apparent reason but that began a time of uncertainty for me because I knew National would struggle to win the next election.

When the election came it seemed certain the Mr Little would lose but months before I knew that Jacinda Ardern was the golden ticket. I thought she would eventually pair up with Grant Robson but it was of little consequence because when Mr Little stepped aside Ms Ardern swept to power. I know, Winston Peters played his part but once she was in the race it was a sure thing that she would be the next Prime Minister.

Then it seemed like we had a crises every six months. There was the furore over KiwiBuild, one of the Labour Party ministers was sacked for indiscretions, The Mosque Attacks, The Measles epidemic and the associated Vax and Antivax debate on Social Media. Then came the inevitable. Finally the hurdle that we were not going to be able to just walk around. The Covid Epidemic.

You know right from the time Key resigned I had an uneasy feeling that things were going to break loose and the Western World was never going to be the same again. I guess the West hasn’t been the same since 2001 and the Twin Towers Attack in New York. The thing is NZ managed to stay out of it until 2016 and John Key stepped aside. Since then it has seemed like it was only a matter of time until we entered a new era.

So here we are with a globally contrived epidemic that feels as fake and strange as all of the events that preceded it since the Ardern Government came to power. Don’t get me wrong Ms Ardern seems like a nice person but, she is educated in line of thought. She is a globalist, a socialist and is a darling of the global elite who see the way forward being borderless countries and globalism. What is happening now seems to be creating the path to global World Government.

And so here we are today standing on the slippery slope of exchanging personal freedom for perceived safety. The bible makes an interesting statement about this in Luke chapter seventeen verse thirty three “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” So what does that mean how does it apply to the current uncertainties. Well it seems like a logical thing to wear masks, get vaccinated and gather less frequently in lower numbers to avoid getting the virus.

However, we are making certain assumptions. For one thing that that the government is being truthful with us and isn’t unfolding some Orwellian nightmare into our society. Lets face it, we are hoping to save our lives by listening to the authorities and doing the right thing. However, scientists theorise that a drastic reduction in population is necessary to allow the Earth to recover from pollution and to reverse Climate Change. May be giving up our freedoms to save our lives short term will result in us losing them later on. I hate to ask this but “Can we trust our leaders?”

What am I on about I hear you say. That doesn’t make a lot of sense. Well I guess what I’m trying to say is that Christ Jesus said “Whoever seeks to save their life will lose it and whoever seeks to lose their life will save it.” In the case of the pandemic it is counter intuitive to go against the advice of the government. It seems like the best idea is to listen to them and to obey their instructions.

So, instead of obeying the government the very idea of reading your bible and seeking the Lord in prayer to protect you from the virus would seem to most people a foolish idea . To Christians this is simple faith and by seeking Christ Jesus and listening to still small voice of the Holy Spirit the believer is unworried about losing their life and actually are in the process of saving it. Whereas, if you try to save your life by obeying the government and ignore God you may very well lose it. Again, it seems counter intuitive but what can I say? Trust man and you lose your life. Trust God and you save your life.

It has been two years now since the Covid Virus made it’s entrance into New Zealand Aotearoa and the World. Two years since the World as we knew it changed forever. Social Media has whipped the facts into a frenzy. The virus is harmless. The virus is deadly. The vaccine is a poison. The vaccine is our salvation. In the end it is terrorism of the heart. Who knows what to believe for certain. Many Christian leaders can only say the whatever you decide about getting the vaccine is a matter of personal conscience. Everyone is confused and fearful.

You know I have wondered why the powers that be would release a virus that is not particularly deadly. If you wanted to drastically reduce the worlds population wouldn’t you release Ebola or something really deadly. Why Covid? This would tend to give credibility to the idea that the virus is simply a natural occurrence. Unless there is another agenda in play.

What if the agenda is to get the people used to being controlled and micro managed by the State? What if this is literally “Terrorism of the Heart.” A program designed to gradually acclimate citizens to an environment of control. In this scenario the government would focus on fear of pain and death from the virus and use the vaccine as a carrot and a punishment at the same time. Social Media would be essential to pouring out information and misinformation at the same time. The aim would be to make people so fearful that they would willingly throw their freedom away.

What if Social Media is integral to the program. To lead a panicking society to take up a series of vaccine related personal identification methods. Lets say certificate, then passport, then micro-chip. I’m going to make a final suggestion here. What if we are looking at a method of getting people used to using these identification methods so that when the time comes they will accept a mark on the back of their hand and forehead to enable them to be able to buy and sell in the coming global World Government. A personal identification system that the bible calls “The Mark of the Beast.”

Sailing A Ship Through Troubled Waters... Kiwi Church Edition

As I watch the New Zealand Christian Church reacting to current events and the new Traffic Light System for managing the Covid Epidemic. It has been a real insight into the role of the Leader of a Church being like the Captain of a Tall Ship. And whatever your opinion of the virus, the vaccine or the governments role in managing the situation. My question is who would want to be the pastor of a Church in these conditions.

It seems to me that a Church is in many ways similar to a tall ship of the era of sail. A square rigged vessel could only sail at approximately sixty degrees into the wind and the sailors had to tack constantly in a shallow zig zag motion to move forward. So a heavy head wind could be a major problem. A lack of wind or being becalmed could be a danger as well as you might be swept by currents onto a reef or simply stopped unable to make progress on your journey.

The Captain, First Mate and their men really needed to know their craft or they paid the toll. An example I can think of was a tall ship call the Fifeshire. She was the first of the New Zealand Company ships to reach New Zealand landing at Nelson on the 1st of February 1842. The ship was cleared to go on to China and set sail on the 27th February under the pilot Captain F G Moore. Winds were light and died completely as the ship had almost crossed the bar. This resulted in her being swept onto Arrow Rock where the back of the ship was broken some days later on the 10th of May 1842. No loss of life but the ship was a complete loss.

So it is with the Church that occasionally situations that require faith, knowledge, experience, leadership and, in general, good Captaincy arise in the life of a congregation of Christians. And in its way the consequence of making an ill informed decision can be a disaster of equal import to a Church as to a tall ship. Leading a Church and navigating the trials and challenges of the era you face has proven to be no small feat for clergymen over the last two millennia.

And so it is for the Christian Church of New Zealand in the Post Modern World of 2021. Here we are faced with the prospect of traffic light systems and the requirement for Churches to implement vaccine certificates. The mandatory vaccination for staff in government organisations and the compulsion on Churches to deny entry to the unvaccinated.

All of this amidst a storm of Social Media controversy featuring conspiracy theories about the nature of the virus and the vaccine. Both sides being feed a steady stream of information and misinformation which is very hard to confirm and is usually accepted on the basis that it fits the narrative that a person subscribes too. This having resulted in widespread paranoia about the whole issue.

Being cynical and noting the rise of global socialism but again wanting to avoid conspiracy theory. It is hard to ignore the use of Social Media as a divisive tool to literally promote division among different sects within society. In this case driving a wedge between progressive and conservative factions in the Christian community. As well as, between Christians and those sectors of society seen as the darlings of the Left. To spell that out the LGBTQ, Islam and CRT fraternity. The folk who love to hate Christians.

Bringing this back to the topic of Church Leadership. How the Christian Church responds to trials is very dependant on the culture of the country concerned. In New Zealand Aotearoa the mainline Christian community has been in steep decline for over thirty years. Christians in these churches have been ageing steadily and new attendees have be rare. So congregations have reduced to the stage at which many churches have closed their doors.

We have seen during this era the introduction of the mega-church which is based around a seeker gospel concept. The church becomes a one stop shop for your spiritual and entertainment solutions. The gospel is preached but the pulpit is used more often to provide a counselling message and to produce a supportive environment. In a way this is a half way house on the journey from a grace gospel to a works based gospel or between the message of the protestant reformers back on the road toward Catholicism. Largely Christians in these Churches are not well grounded in the Bible. So not really savy on what the Churches position should be about affairs of Church and State like the Covid traffic light system.

Now the Reformed Church in New Zealand is gaining traction at the moment. This largely because the emphasis of preaching lays in Calvinism, predestination and the bible seen as the infallible word of God. These reformed Christians are seen as being conservative and knowledgeable and have a theology which essentially states believers are chosen of God and mankind because of our fallen state cannot achieve any form of righteousness for we are totally depraved. So the work of the Holy Spirit is to justify and sanctify believers in the image of Jesus Christ. This blend of theology and practical Christianity is attractive to many conservative believers and as a result this Church would seem to be on the ascent in New Zealand Aotearoa at the present time.

As I mentioned before culture has a huge impact on the Church and it’s leadership. In a country where Christianity is not the major religion, believers often find themselves facing persecution. If you are persecuted the commission of the Christian becomes very clear. Take the gospel to the nation, baptising the people in the name of Jesus Christ.

In a Muslim country to preach the gospel is against Sharia law and can result in persecution and even death in some countries. It is important to realise that these Christians often have no rights in the political system of the country and neither do they seek any rights. They are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and He in the person of the Holy Spirit ordains and empowers them to achieve His will and purposes in the situation they find themselves. Thus Christians preach the gospel to the lost regardless of the consequences.

China is a good example of a Communist nation. Christians in China have always had a difficult and at times tenuous relationship with the State. It is amazing that missionaries are still able to enter the country at times. Since the start of the epidemic many have left China and returned to their home countries. However, Chinese Christians often face censure by the State and are frequently arrested, tortured and imprisoned. Christians are portrayed as being bad citizens. To be a Christian in China often carries a high cost to the individual.

In Egypt there is an example of Christians accepting that it is necessary to be pragmatic and innovative to survive in an unsympathetic Muslim country. The Zabaleen are a Coptic Christian Church in a place called Garbage City located in Cairo. They are involved in recycling the greater cities rubbish waste. Each day hundreds of trucks deliver rubbish to this Church group who make a living from disposal and recycling of it. They also have the most beautiful Coptic Church in the midst of their rubbish city environment. One assumes this is a way to survive and make a living but a hazardous one given the poisons and diseases that they must face each day.

Why would a group of Christians make this their lifestyle. One obvious reason is that it is a way to make themselves indispensable in a largely hostile Muslim country. A country where in recent years terror atrocities against Christians have become quite common. Would Kiwi Christians be prepared to do the same thing for their Lord and Saviour if they found themselves in a hostile antichristian environment? Based on the current outcry against the State over perceived infringements of their rights in a veritable land of milk and honey. I seriously doubt that the Church in New Zealand Aotearoa is made of stern enough stuff to survive in an environment involving daily persecution. As I write this I know that Jesus Christ will prove me wrong and there are those who will overcome will make a stand for the gospel and their Lord. There will be remnant.

Now, back to sailing a ship, or a Church, through troubled waters. Making the right series of tacks into the wind to get us moving forward and arriving where we need to be? What should our leaders be doing now in the face of the Covid Pandemic. There is no doubt that law changes have been enacted by the State in supposed response to the pandemic threat with the, (unintended?), consequence of making it difficult for Churches to function under the proposed traffic light system.

During the pandemic Churches have often been portrayed as not part of the team of five million. You see, Christians are backward, incompetent and sometimes stubborn and uncooperative people who can’t be trusted with the freedom to run their own Churches safely in a pandemic situation. Therefore the state has put greater restraints on the Church than other parts of society with the possible exception of business. 

The state seems determined to kill off as many small businesses as possible. So they have made trading impossible in the current situation under the auspices of pandemic perceived threats and paranoia. This has deleted many small businesses.

The sad thing in my opinion is that Christians can sometimes be backward, incompetent, stubborn and uncooperative people? As a result they have been listening to often unverified Social Media sources to inform themselves. Social Media sources which use algorithms to decide what the viewers want to see and hear. If you believe conspiracy then Social Media will inundate you with conspiracy. This can be used as a weapon by unscrupulous people to polarise and divide society.

Christians need to stop listening to Social Media and start Living in the Word. They need to make Jesus Christ their individual Way, Truth and Life. With Christ at their side our leaders and our brothers and sisters can make wise and informed, insightful decisions that will place the Kiwi Church in a transcendent position.

In Christ the Kiwi Church can overcome but if we continue to cry about violations of rights accorded in some humanist manifesto that the State and concocted back in the nineties. They will continue toward marginalisation and persecution. Not the worst outcome because Christians who are persecuted become wise and aware of their real commission. Just a little disappointing that we have to place ourselves in that situation to learn what we could learn right now by Living in the Word and making Jesus Christ our individual Way, Truth and Life.

10 Reasons for End Times Apocalypse NOW!

1. Bible Prophecy. The events involved in the Last Days period are found in Matthew chapter Twenty Four. These events are described by Jesus in the book of Matthew and the events outlined there are certainly similar to those of today. Wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in a time of apocalypse of which it says if the if that time were not shortened no flesh would survive.

2. The Restoration of Israel. Many are quite unmoved by the fact that for nearly two thousand years the nation of Israel no longer existed. But a number of bible prophecies say that Israel would be dispersed (Ezekiel 36:19), and in the last days regathered from the nations of the Earth (Deuteronomy 30: 1-20, Jeremiah 31:8). Israel’s restoration is a watershed moment for the fulfillment
of prophecy and the miracle that after 19 centuries Israel is still a people that could be regathered from the nations. Just Amazing.

3. The Population of the Earth has never be so numerous. At eight billion souls the Earth is bursting at the seams. Not because there isn’t enough land to hold this population but because of the damage this population is doing to the environment in the process of living and the drain on resources.

4. Climate Change. The deforestation of the planet. The waste pouring into the oceans from a population of eight billion. All of the damage being done with out consideration of the consequences and a refusal in many cases to acknowledge that there is a problem. This bringing into being a situation where climate change is becoming a crucial problem in this time.

5. Food and Resources are becoming a limiting factor to the survival of mankind in this time period. Again population related. There is already famine and disease in the developing world. The reality is that we have already passed the milestone beyond which the Earth can sustain this population with the methods currently employed to grow food and to provide necessities for everyone.

6. Fresh Water. Around the world sources of fresh water are being acquired by the global elite in the sure knowledge that fresh, pure water is going to be a scarce resource in the near future. People cannot survive without water.

7. Digital Technology has changed the face of communication and even the face of social interaction for the world. The production of this technology is resource heavy and the disposal of it is a crisis in itself because of the toxicity of elements in the component parts. The impacts of it on communication, research and the ability to wage war are substantial and potentially lethal to the future of both the planet and the human race.

8. Quantum computing will have a vast impact on the speed and ability to research and develop technologies in the near future. If digital technology has seen a revolution in research and development then moving to quantum computers will result in a literal quantum leap in that area.

We are starting to see this already in the areas of artificial intelligence, industrial design and weapon design particularly in China. Also in the most recent surge in genetic engineering, drone and vehicle technology. The impact of these advances on the design and power of new weaponry may equate to warfare that is so potent that mankind can’t survive it.

9. World War Three. WWIII will be the next iteration of the World War cycle. It is now seventy five years since WWII. Atomic weapons have been available since then and so we have had world ending capability since then. We now have beam weapon technology able to rival nuclear weapons and developments in the technology of war have generated numerous more efficient methods of destroying ourselves.

The next World War will probably be the first human war to kill billions of people. With the advent of numerous new technologies it is hard to see a scenario where mankind could survive the carnage of another world war.

10. Rejection of God. The world is as it was in the days of Noah. A large global population which is steadily turning away from Christianity. This is certainly the case in the developed world. This situation combined with record population, and the consequences of poor stewardship of the Earth by mankind is highly destructive. We have ‘Sown the Wind,’ and are likely going to ‘Reap the Whirlwind.’ As God’s judgement comes upon mankind.

Even without the possibility of the World entering the Judgements of the Last Days. It really seems unlikely that mankind could last another fifty years without encountering an extinction level event. Just the fact that the population is large and will continue to grow means its impacts will continue to be destructive to the well-being of the Earth and it’s ability to sustain mankind. So whether you believe bible prophecy or not. The next generations will almost certainly know a time of Apocalypse.

John 3: 16 – 17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 10 verse 29

 

Is Climate Change a Thing?

So is Man Driven Climate Change a thing? From a Christian Perspective I think we are suffering from a hangover of the End Times centric Christian discourse of the Seventies and Eighties in the Twentieth century. The result is that we are overtly sceptical of anything that comes from global government sources.

As a result it would seem that the majority of evangelical Christianity does not accept that there is Climate Change. This is understandable but I wonder if they really think that there is no Climate Change or if they are really just rejecting the current globalist agenda?

The globalist agenda seems to be largely set on achieving the reduction of the Worlds population and ushering in a global socialist state. So it’s no wonder Christians feel sceptical of its motives and are vocal in their opposition. It is unlikely that any of this will be good news to Christianity given the secular focus on atheism and it’s generally Antichristian aims.

However, the Earth would seem to be generally suffering under the weight of humanity. If we look at the way that God set the Earth up when He created it everything was in balance. That balance resulted in a flourishing biodiversity. Even after the fall things were in a state of perpetual balance and rebirth. Humanity has violated the Earth with impunity for millennia. We have cleared away forests to farm. We have built cities to match our own desires and needs. We have preyed on species to meet our requirements to the detriment of the planet and the extinction of so very many species.

Today the planet isn’t even a shadow of its former self when God created it. The reality is we have decimated the land and polluted the oceans. We have destroyed our planets ecosystems. Trees and the oceans produce oxygen which we need to breathe to survive. They take carbon dioxide in and put oxygen out. If there is insufficient forest and the oceans are too heavily polluted this cycle is put in danger.

Another thing that man has done is to use the surface of the Earth however he chooses without consideration for the consequences. I’m talking about farming, mining and the wholesale devastation of the surface with no plan for the future. I know this is just restating what I said earlier in the piece but I’m coming from the point that when Yahweh Elohim finished creation and commissioned Man to oversee it all. He gave him responsibility to care for all of nature and to be shepherds of all creation to the glory of God.

Sin had perverted Man and Nature but humanity is still to be held to account for the lack of care we have taken of the planet that God has given into our charge. Part of this is that humans have not made God their Lord and King. We have followed the ways f the devil and rebelled against Yahweh.

We have not repented in the name of Jesus Christ. So much of humanity appears to have rejected him. In a time when the consequences of our rebellion and our lack of concern for the impacts of our foolish ways on the planet are about to come home to roost. Never has there been a more important time for humanity to turn back to the Creator, Yahweh Elohim.

Instead we are now heading into a time of judgement and a great part of that judgement is going to come as a result of the actions of our own hands. At the same time as the planet reels from the destruction of systems that could have brought healing to the natural world and helped to restore it to what it was when Yahweh made it. In the words of the prophet “Sow the wind. Reap the whirlwind,” (Hosea 8:7).

So is Climate Change real? I’m not totally convinced of the globalist narrative of carbon dioxide driving a heating of the atmosphere. But the the biosphere is decimated and over the coming centuries unless it is restored it is going to die at the hands of mankind. Unless genuine action is taken to change humanities ways. 

Sow to righteousness and bring the glory to God and you will see the Earth restored. God has a plan to bring about his Kingdom and to dwell among His people. The foolishness that man has endured will be done away with and a new time of peace and righteousness will come about. The Earth will be restored and the creation will no longer labour under sin and unrighteousness.

Matthew 19:28 Jesus said to them,“I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. NIV

Revelation 21:5,6 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new.” Then He said, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” NIV

The Seventh Bowl Judgement. The final judgement and the beginning of the restoration of the Earth through a an earthquake stronger than any ever known. Greater than the 9.5 Richter Scale quake off Chile in 1960 and the 9.3 Richter Scale earthquake in Alaska USA in 1964. Hard to imagine the severity of this earthquake which will be felt around the World.

Revelation 16:17-21 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible. NIV

The restored Earth of the Millennial Kingdom

Isaiah 41:18-20 I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. NIV