Global Colonisation: Don’t Let Them Do It To Us Again...

I don’t know if you’ve been watching the media over the past couple of years but if you have you will have noticed the rhetoric around colonisation and may even have heard mention made of Critical Race Theory or CRT.

Particularly in relation to the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States but also seeping into race relations in New Zealand Aotearoa. As a pakeha New Zealander I find the CRT dialogue quite unhelpful and at times downright threatening. What really bothers me about it is that it is part of a revolutionary socialist agenda.

What CRT says is that a white person is born a racist. It is inherently in a white person and is woven into the society that white people have created for the white skinned man to be in control and the brown skinned man to be oppressed. Therefore we must overthrow the culture and society of the white man and replace it with a socialist / communist culture which enforces equality for all of the groups in society.

This agenda is ingenuous on so many levels. For a start the apostle Paul spoke of an organisation called the Mystery of Iniquity which has been in existence for millennia. II Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. KJV

He indicated that there is a hidden conspiracy operating on the periphery of human culture and society with and agenda to bring humanity together under a single Luciferian government. The first instance of this was known in scripture as the The Tower of Babel was the first attempt to achieve a single world government. However, God thwarted it by confusing the language and creating nationalities among humanity.

The last millennium saw great advances in the Conspiracies efforts at control of individual nations and over regions like Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. This was largely coordinated from the Roman Catholic Church but also from more secretive organisations like the Illuminati.

Now when we speak of colonisation we need to understand that although it may appear that one group has come to a newly discovered land with superior technology and simply over powered and overrun that new land. This is only partly true. Those in control of the colonisation and the governments that are colonising are the one’s in control of the agenda.

An example would be the activities of corporate instruments like the New Zealand Company which bought favours from the Colonial Government in NZ and bribed officers of the government and the army to achieve entry into the economy of NZ and to remove Maori ownership of the land as an obstacle to the objectives of the Conspiracy. Which were to bring the country under global control from which it could never escape once in the fold and to benefit monetarily from the acquisition of NZ as a chattel.

The motives of white New Zealanders may have been in no way pure as they benefited from the removal of Maori as the rightful owners of the land. However, they were no more in control of the agenda than Maori were and those in control considered them to be just as much slaves and chattels as they considered Maori to be.

In fact these families in the Mystery of Iniquity have been colonising and dispossessing nations and races for millennia. In fact, some claim descent from Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon. Not only that but we are witness to the last act of this jaundiced organisations bid to bring about World Government. While continuing to colonise the nations they are now colonising the entire globe with the intention of enslaving mankind in a secular humanist / socialist / communist World State.

There will no longer be any personal freedoms. The will be a caste of rulers and everyone else will effectively be enslaved. Told what to do at the most intimate levels of their life. A literal Orwellian nightmare. Big Brother is watching you and the state will be in your home, your control of your mind and body.

So forget about CRT and white men being born racists. The conspirators of the Mystery of Iniquity have been playing that game for thousands of years. They set up one racial group as the bosses and use them as pawns to rule a nation and then after a century or two use them as the scape goats for all of the atrocities inflicted on the poor and downcast minorities by the conspiracy themselves. Meanwhile they slip back into the shadows and manage the next group of would be rulers from behind the scenes again.

It’s not about racial prejudice or intolerance in general. It’s about creating the dominant discourse in society and controlling who can participate in that discussion. If the white man has been the main contributor to the dominant discourse and the dominant group for the last several centuries. This is has been in no small way because of the dominance of Christianity in the West since the Reformation.

It is however a situation undergoing a rapid reversal as Christianity goes into decline in the current secular environment. Evolutionary Science and Humanism along with the Liberal Progressive Movement have laid waste to the hearts and minds of the vast majority of the younger generations, X,Y and Z.. As a consequence the Conspiracy is once again in control of the dominant discourse and is flipping societies values.

Bible believing Christians have not tolerated evolutionary science, homo-sexuality, spiritism, paganism. At the same time there has been racism and it has been wrongly tolerated by the Church. As a result the conspiracy is riding a wave of public indignation at what is portrayed as religious bigotry, by Christians, in the Media and on Social Media. The intention is to make the white man and the white man’s religion the scape goat for all of the pent up frustration that the wicked have experienced while the Christianity has been in the ascendancy.

The reality though is that we are moving from a world which founded it’s values in the bible and God’s righteousness to a world which has it’s values founded in wickedness. A place where evil is said to be good and good is said to be evil. The bible warns sternly the generation that adopts that perspective. Judgment is coming.

Many people wonder what the World is coming too. They find it unreasonable. They can’t fathom why poverty and homelessness are on the increase. The politicians seem unable to rectify the housing shortage citing a lack of funds and materials. In reality they have another agenda and a lack of appetite to correct the inequities of our society. Many Christian’s find it incredible that lawlessness and wickedness seems to be an accepted norm. They try to oppose this rising tide of evil and unrighteousness and are stumped that the World rejects what would seem to be sane and right demanding what is insane and wrong instead. A world increasingly subject to colonisation by the New World Order.

So what it comes back to God versus the Satan. Good versus evil and righteousness versus unrighteousness. This current Global Colonisation is intended to convert the masses into Godless, scientific secularists. At least in the first instance. It’s like painting a canvas white. Blank out the original painting and you can paint a new scene over the old one. Ultimately, blank out Godliness and you can replace that with AntiChrist.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The Situation

I tend to get fixated on some of the issues that we face as Christians today. I sometimes think I make more of them than they are. I mean, surely, its not as bad as all that. In countries like New Zealand we’ve had it good for so long that we’re just getting soft. When I talk about the time of judgement coming I’m really just exaggerating as living standards in the developed world begin to equalise with those the developing world have faced for centuries.

Which is interesting in one way. If we define the developing world and the developed world what are the major differences that result in the people living in poverty. I think that in the developing world it is the fact that the rulers are exceedingly wealthy to the exclusion of their people who are exceedingly poor. Whereas in the developed world there has been a middle class of the people who have held a larger proportion of the nations wealth and the poor were not allowed to sink into destitution.

I’m going to go out on a limb here. I believe that this has been because the gospel has been shared with the people and we have had a large evangelical component in the societies of the developed nations. Where Protestant Christianity has thrived in the last five hundred years equality has flourished as well.

The Westminster style of government placed real power in the hands of the people. The safeguards in documents like the Manga Carta have protected the people. With the people being mainly Christian. God has blessed the those living in the developed world with peace and freedom.

This of course is the case for all nations that accept the gospel and we are seeing it today in nations like the Philippines and parts of Africa. As the gospel spreads and the Holy Spirit works. God brings about changes for the good. Don’t get me wrong, becoming more Christian doesn’t bring instantaneous wealth to a nation. It takes time and as with the Reformation it has happened over the past five hundred years. In fact we could say that the God’s work amongst the developing nations today is evidence of Luther’s Reformation still happening today.

It’s true that the countries where the Reformation started are becoming the mission fields of today as the gospel of Jesus Christ moves in the countries that were the mission fields of yesterday. Now those countries are taking the gospel back to the countries that were the strongholds of Christ and which are now becoming dark, and cold. A change which has occurred as the Satan’s forces consolidate power, having deceived the people with evolutionary science and secularism, to draw the people away from the truth of God’s word and the blessing of the gospel.

So do we need another reformation as the New World Order is unfurled by the servants of Mystery of Iniquity. We need a reformation at anytime and if God raised men of the caliber Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and Knox today to lead the charge for Christ Jesus. Well wouldn’t that be wonderful. I dear say He has those men and they will roll onto the world stage in due course.

Will it be under the auspices of the Tribulation? Will they come after the Rapture. Are we in the last days? Will life carry on as God tarries to see more people enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I don’t know. But one thing is sure we certainly need to see the reversal of humanism and the new paganism that is drawing many into darkness as I speak.

You may have heard the term Counter Reformation. Since the very beginning of the Reformation Rome has been busy countering the challenge to it’s authority over Christianity. The Society of Jesus for instance. Initially it was founded by Ignatius of Loyola. Members are called Jesuits and it’s remit under Rome would cause most people to blanch. To destroy without mercy those who oppose the Catholic Church basically covers it.

The agenda of Rome in our time goes beyond merely reversing the impact of Luther and the Reformers. It goes beyond Constantine’s amalgamation of paganism and Christianity. In fact it intends the destruction of Christianity and Christians reverting the world spiritually to the time before Christ. You might say taking the world back to Babylon.

What can we do as new Reformers? Christians today need to pray singularly and together for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a time of repentance within the Church such as has never been seen. We need to take up the armour of God and take the gospel to the world with such passion and commitment as has never been seen before in the Church Age. A call to arms brothers and sisters. There is evil afoot and souls that need saving. Ephesians 6:10-17; Matthew 28: 19-20

 

The Four Amigos of the Reformation – Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and Knox

A Little About the Reformation

 The Reformation formally began with Martin Luther’s nailing his 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church in the town of Wittenburg, Germany in the year 1517. Luther was an Augustinian monk and had become angered about the Pope’s selling of indulgences to raise funds for the Church.

An indulgence involved a parishioner giving the Church a large sum of money and the Church getting one’s family members out of purgatory and moved onto heaven. The center of Luther’s angst was one Johann Tetzel, a clergyman who was dispensing God’s forgiveness for pledged indulgences.

Luther was also concerned that bibles were chained to the walls of Churches and written in Latin rather than the languages of the congregants. He taught that the bible is the authoritative Word of God and that Faith Alone in Jesus Christ leads to Salvation.

Luther had hoped to force the Catholic Church to make reforms under wide spread public pressure but it became apparent when he was called to defend his teaching at the Diet of Augsburg in 1518 that the Catholic Church felt no urgency to reform. Three years later Pope Leo X issued a papal bull giving Luther 120 days to recant after which he was summarily excommunicated.

Although Luther had no great desire to leave the Catholic Church he had to concede that having been excommunicated, in 1521, he had no real choice. Thus began the Protestant Church under the guidance Martin Luther and his contemporaries Calvin, Zwingli and Knox. All of whom strongly opposed the the Pope and the Catholic Church on the basis that the Roman Catholic Church had moved away from the tenants of Christianity and that there was a need to reform the Church and to move back toward the centrality of the gospel as it is outlined in the Holy Bible. The Reformation had begun.

Martin Luther

Born in November 1483. Martin was the son of middle class peasant laborers, Hans and Margarethe Luther, who lived in the town of Eisleben near Berlin. His father was a miner and worked hard to provide an education for his son. By the age of 21 the younger Luther had obtained a Master of Arts degree from the University of Erfurt following his father’s wish that he become a lawyer.

However, nearly struck by lightening in a rainstorm Martin had an epiphany and promised God that if he spared his life he would become a monk. Holding true to his word he joined the monastic community at Erfurt and became an Augustinian monk in 1505.

Luther was troubled by insecurities relating to his salvation and he was also disillusioned at the moral depravity amongst the Roman Catholic Priesthood that he had witnessed first hand on a trip to Rome. Even ordination in 1507 didn’t seem to help him and in order to deal with his fears he moved to Wittenburg, in 1511, to earn his Doctorate of Theology. Luther began to deeply study the bible, in particular the epistles of Paul. He came to understand that he was ‘saved by grace through faith alone.’ He changed the focus of his preaching and began to preach Christ Jesus as our only mediator and that men are saved by grace and not the works that they perform.

Luther became a priest at the Castle Church in Wittenburg and congregants gathered in numbers to hear the gospel preached honestly and with the authority of God’s word. Luther came to hear of the Pope selling indulgences to cover the building of St Peters Basilica and was incensed that the corruption of the Church was such that it would mislead the people that their loved ones could be passed through purgatory and into heaven immediately the indulgence was issued. He felt this practice was a clear abuse of the Churches power.

This led Martin Luther to post his Ninety Five Theses on the Castle Church’s door. So began the Reformation and the fulfillment of John Huss’s prophecy that God would raise a man that the Roman Catholic Church would not be able to stop. He was excommunicated and his writings banned at the Diet of Worms but this did not slow him at all.

Luther continued to preach at Wittenburg. He managed to stay out of Catholic clutches and even arranged Christian school’s, and wrote the larger and smaller catechisms, and published a book of hymns. He also found time for marriage to Katherine von Borra an ex-nun and the two raised six children in the abandoned Augustinian Monastery.

He suffered from arthritis and a heart condition as he aged. He assisted in writing the Augsburg Confession in 1530 which became the Lutheran Churches main confession. He was on a mission to settle a matter of inheritance for the Princes of Mansfield at Eisleben when he died in February 1546. Two of his sons were with him and his body was returned to Wittenburg for the funeral. He was buried in front of the pulpit in Castle Church and can be visited to this day.

John Calvin

Considered to be the successor to Martin Luther and the most influential Protestant theologian in the development of the Reformation. He was born in France in 1509 in Noydon, Picady and as a youth became a student of Theology in Paris. His father felt he would do better at law and he spent the 1520’s studying a subject that he did not like at the University of Orleans. During this time he studied the classics in particular Plato, and Aristotle, and learned Greek.

At about this time the teachings of Luther reached France and Calvin was much affected by the Godliness of Luther’s teaching. Despite being much hardened by what he termed as papal superstition and his flirtation with renaissance humanism God reached his heart and drew him close to the Savior.

Calvin joined the Reformation when he converted to the evangelical faith and was marked out as a Lutheran and a wanted man. He fled France to travel to Free Strasborg in 1536. This was shortly after having penned the work ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion’ in an attempt to frame the main precepts of Protestantism. He was a great scholar and prolific writer

Calvin, his sister and two friends put up for the night at an inn in the city of Geneva. William Farrel, the minister of the local Protestant Church, heard the Calvin was in town and hurried to visit him. He accosted Calvin trying to encourage him to preach in his church. Calvin told him that he was a scholar not a preacher to which Farrel replied with a curse on Calvin before God should he not stay in Geneva. John Calvin felt the hand of God’s calling and could not bring himself to continue his travels.

He was briefly forced to move away from Geneva when anti-Protestant factions moved to clamp down on the Reformers. He fled with Farrel and headed once more to Strasburg where he was a pastor for three years and married and Anabaptist widow. Idellete de Bure, who came with two children. He returned in 1641 and became a political leader as well a preeminent theologian for the Protestant movement in Geneva.

He believed that the Church should mirror the principles laid out in the Holy Scripture and drove himself mercilessly preaching twice on Sundays and every day of alternate weeks. As he aged he became steadily more authoritarian and worked so hard that his body began to fail. He passed away in 1564.

He is of course the father of Calvinism. A very great legacy along with his being credited with the establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland, the Puritan Movement in England and the Reformed Church in the Netherlands.

Ulrich Zwingli

Zwingli was a Swiss contemporary of Germany’s Martin Luther. Born, in Wildhaus Switzerland, to farming parents in 1484. He attended university at Universities of Vienna, Berne, and Basel. He achieved a B.A. in 1504 and an M.A. in 1506. He was ordained a priest in 1506 and became a follower of Erasmus of Rotterdam. He obtained a copy of Erasmus’ translation of the New Testament in Latin and was soon preaching on it.

He married widow Anna Reinhard in 1524. There was controversy that he had secretly married her in 1522. It was rumored that he had been living with her out of wedlock. In any case, Anna had three children and the couple soon added a fourth.

Zwingli is, surprisingly, the lesser known reformer given that he opposed the Catholic Churches selling of indulgences, in Switzerland, before Luther and also opposed clerical celibacy and fasting during Lent. His followers famously eating sausages in public to break their fast. Zwingli was City Chaplain of Zurich at the time (1523), and he presided over the removal of statutes and paintings of Mary, Jesus and the Saints from churches.

Philip of Hess attempted to unify Germany and Switzerland under one religious system. Unfortunately Luther and Zwingli disagreed about the communion sacrament with Luther believing that the wine and bread were the literal blood and flesh of the Savior and Zwingli believing that the wine and bread were symbolic of blood and flesh of the Savior.

Zwingli believed that the Catholic Church was guilty of much abuse and corruption and that there was a need of reform. He believed that the bible should form the center of Church theology and doctrine. His reforms were well received at the time when several countries were moving to extricate themselves from Papal oppression.

Sadly, this lead to conflict within Switzerland and Zurich was attacked (1531). Zwingli enjoined the fray as chaplain of the forces defending the city. The city fell to the Roman Catholic forces and Zwingli’s body was found burned and quartered and, desecrated after the battle. One of many who died for the Christian freedoms that we have enjoyed up until the current era.

John Knox

John Knox was born in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland between November 1513 and November 1514. He was a preeminent theologian scholar and religious leader and a leader of the Scottish reformation in the sixteenth century. He was a contemporary of John Calvin.

Knox was born to a middle class farming family and received his education at University of Glasgow and the University of St Andrews studying theology under John Major, a leading Scottish scholar, who was a proponent of conciliar church government as opposed to the abuses common to the Roman Catholic Church at the time.

He started his working life as a body guard to George Wishart in the 1540’s. Reformation propaganda continued to arrive in Scotland from Europe. Wishart was a leading Reformer at the time and Knox formed an attachment to his preaching. Wishart was arrested and burned the stake as a heretic. He sent Knox back to care for his students.

Knox began preaching at St Andrews and spoke aggressively against the Catholic Church. Knox railed against indulgences, pilgrimages, enforced pilgrimages and celibacy as being in conflict with the doctrine of Salvation by Faith Alone. He also declared that the Pope was the Antichrist. Apart from being narrow minded in the extreme he became one of the most influential preachers of the Reformation.

In 1547 St Andrews castle was attacked by the French and Knox was arrested and made to row in French galley’s for two years. After his release he went to England and became minister at the protestant congregation in Berwick and then moved on to a congregation in Newcastle.

While at Berwick he met his first wife, Marjorie Bowes a fellow protestant and avid reader of the bible. She would later become the mother of two son’s with Knox. In 1551 Knox became a Royal Chaplain, preaching before King Edward IV and helped to revise the second edition of the Book of Common Prayer.

Knox was fervently against the practice of Kneeling for Holy Communion and had a note added to the Second Book of Common Prayer stating that kneeling to receive Holy Communion did not imply acceptance of the doctrine of Transubstantiation (That the bread and wine were the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ). This reflected Thomas Cranmer’s position on the sacraments and not Knox’s. Thus he refused to kneel to receive the sacraments himself.

Edward VI died in 1553 and Mary Tudor took the throne. A devout Catholic. Thus the Reformation came upon stony ground during her reign. Knox not wishing to become a martyr at the time fled to France and then Geneva in 1554. Where he studied under John Calvin and wrote his book ‘Trumpet Blasts of Women…” This was largely pitched against the rule of Mary Tudor and made more than a few enemies for Knox including Elizabeth I of England.

After Twelve years abroad Knox was finally able to return to Scotland in 1559 to assume his role as leader of the Reformation and became minister of St Giles Church. He wrote a dissertation on Predestination in 1560 and his wife Marjorie died that year. He was also able to negotiate a treaty with England and France which saw both countries armed forces withdraw from Scotland. The Scottish Parliament abolished the Papal Authority and outlawed the Catholic Mass.

In 1564 Knox married teenager, Margaret Stewart, who bore him three daughters. His Book of Common Order became the official book of Church Worship in Scotland. Knox’s enmity toward the Queen deepened as she continued to oppose Protestantism. It brought civil war and strife in Scotland and this took it’s toll on Knox’s health. He gave his last sermon at St Giles on November 9 1572 and died five days later. He was buried at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Needless to say these four leaders of the Reformation although hugely influential in the process of the Reformation were by no means the only people who can be said to have brought the Reformation into being. Martyrs like John Huss, William Tyndal and many others gave their lives to bring about the chance of Reformation that enabled God to use the foundation of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and Knox to build upon. Below is a link to a Wikipedia page listing the martyrs in the English Reformation alone. On assumes many more gave their lives in Europe. As Tertullian said of the Martyrs of Rome. “The blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the Church.”

Please note that this article is as always just my opinion and therefore only an opinion piece. It is by no means exhaustive as there are many well written biographies of the four gentlemen mentioned above. There are many well written and exhaustive narratives of the Reformation era as well. No this is just a brief article to rouse the interest of the reader to look into the the amazing events that God used to free the Church and spread the gospel abroad. It could be said that the Reformation laid the groundwork for a period of religious freedom and Christian expansion that has lasted five hundred years. No small achievement or wonder.

Reference List

Biography.com Editors Martin Luther Biography (1483–1546) https://www.biography.com/religious-figure/martin-luther

Fairchild, Mary. "Biography of John Knox, Scottish Theologian, Founder of Presbyterianism." Learn Religions, Aug. 28, 2020, learnreligions.com/biography-of-john-knox-4775110.

Fairchild, Mary. "Martin Luther Biography." Learn Religions, Aug. 25, 2020, learnreligions.com/martin-luther-biography-700828.

John Calvin: Father of the Reformed Faith https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/theologians/john-calvin.html

Jack Zavada Biography of Ulrich Zwingli, Religious Reformer in Switzerland

https://www.learnreligions.com/ulrich-zwingli-biography-699999

List of Protestant martyrs of the English Reformation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Protestant_martyrs_of_the_English_Reformation

A Christian Perspective on Social Media

 

Don’t get me wrong on this. Social Media is amazing. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that my Kiwi Christian Rants would attract the interest of dozens of Christian Folks in the Philippines. Lets face it if it wasn’t for the Internet and the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so much of the communication we take for granted in 2021 simply wouldn’t take place.

I’m going to attempt a fair and unbiased assessment of some of the things that are by products of our largely unfettered access to the Net and also the impact of Smart Phones on the Internet users. As always this article is an opinion piece which represents my personal perspectives so please don’t get to upset if you disagree with what is written here.

Which brings us to my first point. Regardless of who you are and by this I mean male, female, Christian, Atheist, person of colour or not and basically whoever you are. Just because you have an opinion does that mean you have an obligation to share it? What I’m angling at is the bullying that happens with teenagers on social media. Just because you have a smart phone does that give you the prerogative to comment on someone else in a personal way or to abuse them just because you can?

A question that I would put out there is that “Given that misuse of social media can lead people to take their own lives and cause other serious consequences. Should it as deregulated as it is. Shouldn’t we have laws controlling it as we do driving on the roads or being a responsible member of society.” I know the freedom of speech folks are winding up as I write this. Laws against hate speech I hear you say.

I am a Christian and I wouldn’t usually enter into a rights based dialogue simply because it is secular but I know enough Christians who put controls on use of cell phones at meal times to know you understand what I’m getting at. As a teacher I have noticed that students behavior ten years ago was in decline. The children were getting more difficult by the year. I’m talking about teenagers here. But then came the advent of smart phones and we are no longer talking about decline. We are talking something altogether more revolutionary. A device which provides a virtual life to the owner. It was like opening Pandora’s box.

The problem is that teenagers can’t envisage what they are missing out on if they become so distracted by this surrogate life that their smart phone gives them that they give up on an education. They simply don’t have the life experience. Add to this the carnage that Crystal Meth is causing in the communities of these youngsters and you’ve got a generation heading in a completely different direction to any other generation in recent history.

This raises a question. “Who is in the process of stealing our children’s minds?” I’m talking about Fortnite and a raft of other games. I’m suggesting the rap dirges that mostly focus on the F word and sexual depravity or the denigration of women as sexual objects. Add to this Google and Wikipedia and you have unlimited access to information. Some of which is excellent but quite an amount of which is dubious at the very least. It all leads to the idea that whoever controls the Internet or the Smart Phones controls our children.

To the point, that even schools are battling to make inroads against the power that modern digital devices have over their students. I’ve seen a live video of a fight shared at school and had a group of students literally flee from a classroom to check on the well being of a friend that was injured. Surely that is a good thing right? The problem is that the fight only happened so that the perpetrators could get subscribers on their YouTube feed and the students that fled the classroom did so in sheer panic. A dangerous situation.

Can they steal us too? Well this is surely a reasonable question isn’t it. For instance I have a Covid Tracer app on my phone that tracks my every movement. I share my experiences and opinions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. My phone listens to me and is always suggesting good products that I might want to purchase. So it certainly has a fair degree of passive input into my life. The police can track my phone if they have a mind too. There is certainly plenty of information about me out in the Net for anyone who has the right type of software and expertise to gather should someone need to put together a profile and assess my likely next moves. Too Orwellian? Perhaps, but there is a movement toward less personal freedom for the perceived greater good. The question is who is deciding who benefits from less personal freedom and which freedoms to remove?

Another concern about Social Media and the Net is the Dark Web and the Conspiracy Theorists. The Dark Web is a shadowy but powerful conglomerate of antisocial individuals, corporations, paramilitary and possibly governments using the seamy side of the Internet to implement covert agendas. Big money and exotic software.

Loosely associated with the Dark Web are the Conspiracy Theorists touting everything from Ancient Aliens, UFO’s, Friendly Fire on the Twin Towers, Flat Earth Theology, Greek Mythology combined with the Marvel Universe, Interfaith and polytheism, Socialism and Fascism – Both sides against the middle. Basically, if you have a theory we have the information. Add to this Google and the Social Media heavy weights like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and you have control of what people think and say. There is so much information and misinformation you can literally find data to back up any contention that you can come up with. People are literally drowning in an ocean of thought.

Which brings us to who’s controlling the Net and what is their agenda. My thought is a secret and illusive organisation that is moving the world toward a global government. The apostle Paul mentioned such an organisation called it the Mystery of Iniquity.

II Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 3-7 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. KJV

Don Stanton outlined the structure of this organisation in his book Mystery 666 published by Maranatha Revival Crusade in 1977. They refer to themselves as insiders and have infiltrated all levels of society across the globe. Member organisations include the Illuminati, Club of Rome, Bilderbergers, Nights of Malta, Society of Jesus, the Trilateral Commission to name but a few. Their control of every government on the planet is now beyond dispute which makes them the prime suspect in regards to who is controls the Social Media, Internet and the Smart Phones.

What can we do about this? To start with be aware of the influence of the Internet, Social Media and Smart phones in your life and the lives of your family. There’s a movie called “I Am Number Four” which is a science fantasy about refuges of an interstellar war hiding on the Earth. The movies is interesting but that’s not my reason for mentioning it. The reason I mention it is that one of the co-stars is the daughter of a good old fashioned American Christian couple and it shows the loving relationship this daughter has with her family and the way they handle cell phones at dinner time. They all go into a basket until dinner is finished so that the family can be present and converse with one another. The Star of the show says how precious family is and how he wishes he had that type of family life himself. Great message but again not my main point.

Smart phones, the Internet and Social Media have revolutionised communication in the 21st Century. There are many wonderful advantages to this state of affairs but there are also some real dangers. Unfettered access to pornography for instance. The ability to live a virtual reality life. Access to videos, games and music of extremely dubious quality pouring evil into the hearts of our children. This resulting in the loss of connection with our children and loved ones. My advice is don’t mess around. Intervene in your children’s Internet, Social Media and Smart Phone use. Make rules and implement them fairly and consistently. Things like no phones at dinner time. It’s our time to talk about the day we’ve had. Stay on top of what’s on their devices and how much time the have on them. You might feel like an ogre but believe me you’re doing the right thing and you will reap the rewards. Sane offspring. Finally, apply the same rules to your Internet, Social Media and Smart Phone use. It can take you out too!

About the Next Reformation. The Church sure needs a Reformation in our time. Most denominations have accepted the overtures made to them by Rome. We live in a day when we are seeing a great falling away. Perhaps the falling away that Jesus Christ mentioned in Matthew chapter twenty four verse ten. “And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one...” Evolution and secular society are dominating the gospel in the hearts of our children. Churches are dying as their aging congregants pass away.

Yet we are not without hope. As Jesus said “These things must come to pass.” Matthew chapter twenty four verse six “And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end…”KJV There will be a Reformation in this time. It may not come before the Tribulation that is near upon us but during that time the Israel will be carrying the gospel to the World. The Everlasting gospel will go out to every corner of the globe. Revelations chapter fourteen. “And I saw another angel flying in midheaven with an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people…” KJV This will lead to a great Revival as multitudes of people repent.

What should we do now as Christians? Do the basics. Read a paper bible, or a phone if that’s what you have. Spend time in prayer, and find a Church so you can fellowship with other Christians. Believe me you may have to make some compromises and overlook doctrinal differences but if do then you will reap a tremendous blessing. Worship Yahweh and ask the Lord for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon his Church. Remember that Yahweh is in Charge of everything and all things work together for good in Jesus Christ. Be prayerful and careful with the Internet, Social Media and your Smart Phone.

What is the Rapture and why would we need one?

The Rapture is an event awaited by many Christians where the entire Christian Church is taken up to heaven at the end of the Church Age or Age of Grace. This is described in Matthew chapter 24 verses 37 through to 42 “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left...”

 

The reason for the Rapture is to remove the Gentile Church of our era and allow the Christian Israelite's, converted at the beginning of the Tribulation, know as the one hundred and forty four thousand sealed of God and led by the Two Witnesses to take the gospel to the World during the Tribulation of the Last Days. So the gospel goes to the nations after the first advent of Christ Jesus and then the Church Age ends with the Rapture, to Heaven, of those living Christians in the Gentile Church at the time. 

 

Obviously this is a very contentious piece of theology. The straight forward approach is to interpret the scripture to say that we await the visible Second Coming of Christ returning in glory. The dead in Christ will be raised to eternal life first and then the living will be lifted into the clouds to meet that Saviour. That would be the most simple interpretation and the least contentious view and reconcile with First Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 17.

 

The idea of the Rapture comes in response to some scriptural anomalies in the text. They come as a result of theologians like J.N. Darby and C.I. Scofield focusing on dispensations or covenants between God and man. Secondly looking at the End Times in the light of God’s promises to Abraham and the nation of Israel as described by the prophets and in particular Daniel and his prophecy of the Seventy Weeks of Years. 

 

What Darby and others came to believe was that event in Matthew 24 where one person would be taken and another left wasn’t the same event as the Second Coming of Christ. The book of Revelation speaks of one hundred and forty four thousand of the Twelve Tribes of Israel taking the gospel to the World in the Tribulation time. Now if the Gentile Church was still available why would Israel be called on to perform this mission? I would just mention here that some say that Revelation is all symbolism but this event is described literally and appears to be the actual sequence of events.

 

So the question is “Where is the Gentile Christian Church at this time?” One possible explanation is that the Church has endured such persecution that there is no longer a Gentile Church in existence. Another explanation is that the Gentile Church still exists but is compromised by paganism and is now Religious Babylon. 

 

The former explanation is not really consistent with scripture and the later is quite possible looking at the scripture describing Babylon the Great Harlot in Revelation chapter 17 verse 6 “… I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement…” So it may be entirely possible that the Gentile Church has succumbed to the infiltration of pagan doctrine and become anti-Christian by the time of the Tribulation. 

 

However, the reasoning of Darby is that there will be a Rapture for the Gentile Church which will see the Church completely removed from the Earth at the time of the Tribulation. I believe that he came to this conclusion partly because of the verses in Matthew chapter 24 where Jesus speaks about two people who are walking in the field one is taken and the other left. This indicates one is saved and the other is left behind. 

 

So, if this applied to the Second Coming at the end of the Great Tribulation (Second Half of the Seven Years). Then there could not be two persons walking together in the field because the Christians would all be slain as to believe in Christ Jesus during the Tribulation means a death sentence. 

 

The only people left on the Earth at the end would be the followers of the Antichrist. However, if this describes the Rapture of the Church prior to the start of the Tribulation then the Christians and Non Christians would be still able to walk in the field together because the Tribulation hasn’t happened yet. Thus it seems to indicate two different events are plausible.

 

As is so often the case Satan excites controversy amongst believers and there is a lot misinformation added to the debate.. Controversy about the Rapture is no exception. The idea of the Rapture has been held throughout the Church Age but was popularised in the nineteenth century, through to the current era, by J.N. Darby and C.I .Scofield as well as Louis Sperry Chaffer and C.C. Ryrie. 

 

The Rapture is a central part of Dispensational Theology and over the years different versions of Dispensational Theology have arisen. There is Amillenialism which holds that the millennial kingdom of Christ Jesus is here already or happened during the Church Age. There are versions that shift the timing of the Rapture and the Second Advent of Christ. There are versions which apply the events in the book of Revelation to the Church Age so that much of Revelation has happened already. There are versions which say the Seventieth Week of Daniel occurred at the time of the First Advent of Jesus Christ. There has been a lot of enmity generated between the Dispensational groups and of course the proponents of Covenant Theology. 

 

However, as is so often the case the idea of a Rapture of the Church rather elegantly fits the descriptions given by Christ Jesus and the apostle Paul. Jesus mentioned that no one knows when the Son of Man will return. Not even Jesus himself only the Father knows the time. Whereas with the Second Coming we know it will most likely occur at the end of the Great Tribulation when only the Antichrist and his followers are left on the Earth. So what is this event that only the Father knows when it will happen? The Rapture.

 

Christ Jesus also spoke of the seven wise virgins and those unwise virgins who went to get oil and were away when the bridegroom came and so missed their chance. So when is the Savior coming for his bride secretly. As I have already mentioned we have a good idea of when the Second Coming or Second Advent of Christ will occur and that is most likely at the end of the Tribulation as He deals with the Anti-Christ and his followers and establishes His Eternal Kingdom. The Rapture happens to be somewhat of an elegant solution in terms of fitting the more subtle facts of Christ’s return for the Church.

 

So to recap the Rapture is necessary to fit the bibles description of Christ’s Second Coming which seems to be slightly different from the scriptures that describe the gathering of the Church before the Tribulation. The Gentile Church does not appear in the book of Revelation unless it is entirely subsumed by Babylon the Great Harlot of Revelation chapter seventeen. Israel is commissioned to spread the gospel in the Tribulation Time as described in Revelation chapter seven. The return of Christ at the end of the Tribulation will be seen by all and the saints who perished in the Tribulation will be raised then and gathered to him. 

 

The scriptures are definite about these facts. However, there are scriptures that speak of a coming of Christ which is not expected. The parable of The Wise Virgins hints toward a mysterious arrival of the Bridegroom. Matthew chapter twenty four speaks of one being taken and one left but that would not fit the facts at the end of the Tribulation as those for Christ were all dead. Those left alive were all anti-Christ or so it would seem. In any case these are humble thoughts of one Christian. I hope they help you to make some sense of the subject as you consider the Rapture of the Saints.

Making Sense of the World We Live In - July 2021

What can we say about 2021? Well in New Zealand we are in a comparative Eden compared to the rest of the World at the moment. For one thing we have Prime Minister who seems to have a genuine heart for the people and who has acted to preserve us from Covid 19. Much to the chagrin of certain other elements of the elite who are more concerned about diminishing personal wealth than the well being of their fellow citizens.

Or is this an illusion? At the same time social secularism is making great gains across the country. It could be said that are witnessing a shift into a virtual communist bubble and at the same time 180 degree rotation in the morality of the nation. A rotation which is at the same time a reversal of fortune for those who hold fast to Christian values and the worship of Jesus Christ. So, while the Prime Minister is center stage there is certainly furious activity on a variety of fronts behind the curtains.

Is this a new thing? The bible mentions a something called the Mystery of Iniquity. It describes it as a movement of the forces of evil which opposes the people and purposes of the one living God, Jehovah. Writer and Christian commentator, Don Stanton wrote in his book Mystery 666 of the activity of the forces of evil in the modern era. He mapped out the various arms of this organisation and the powerful people involved in bringing it’s plans into reality. The simple answer is no this is not a new thing but has been working behind the scenes for millennia.

What does the Bible say about this time? Well Jesus Christ spoke of the events that would happen in the last days of the Age of Grace in the book of Matthew in chapter 24. While there is much that He said that can be applied generally to the time since His first advent there are certain specific events that chime resoundingly with what we are seeing today.

Does the bible describe Climate Change and the Covid crisis? Not directly but Christ Jesus was quoted in Matthew chapter 24, and Luke chapter 21, as saying that in the End Times there would be earthquakes and famines and a time of such tribulation that if those days were not shortened no flesh would survive. The earthquakes and famines have been happening throughout the Church Age but a time of tribulation that if it wasn’t curtailed would lead to a global extinction level event? A nuclear war could cause that type of event, so could a meteor impact on a large enough scale.

Is man made Climate Change a contender? I would certainly think so. We have eight billion souls on Earth for the first time this side of the Great Flood. That basically means that mans need for resources precludes the survival of every other species on the planet. Our impacts on the environment are immense. In fifty to one hundred years there won’t be a forested area on the planet that is natural. If we repented and sort help from God we would have a reasonable chance of survival but we are looking to ourselves and rejecting God. As our Savior prophesied a time of tribulation of such magnitude that if it were not stopped no flesh would survive is imminent and it includes the events of the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation.

Are we entering that time of Tribulation? Well I think a lot of Pre-Trib Pre-Millennialists like myself would be starting to think we are getting close to the Tribulation. Most would be reconsidering whether the rapture will occur prior to the tribulation because if the tribulation has started and the rapture of the Church hasn’t occurred yet Pre-Trib is wrong. They’d be wondering if it will occur Mid-Tribulation. 

 

What are you on about I hear you saying? Fine then. I’m a Dispensationalist so I’m looking for events that signal God is about to start a period of judgment known as the Seventieth Week of Daniel. Part of the Prophet Daniel’s prophecy of Seventy Weeks of Years from the return to Jerusalem of the captives after the Babylonian Captivity. We hold that it was sixty nine weeks of years until Christ Jesus death burial and resurrection. Then the clock stopped for the Church Age or the Age of the Gentiles. There is one week of years yet to elapse. The Seventieth Week of Daniel.

A period of seven years also know as the Tribulation? Once the gentile church is removed by miraculous event know as the Rapture. The Tribulation begins and the nation of Israel is front and center again as God’s instrument in this time. That’s right there are described in the book of Revelation one hundred and forty four thousand Israelite's of the Twelve Tribes sealed of God to carry the gospel to the World during this time. They are led by the Two Witnesses also described in the book of Revelation. All of God’s promises to Israel and the establishment of the Kingdom of God happen during this period of seven years.

Is truth stranger than fiction? I’m wrapping things up at this point but I would say that yes truth is stranger than fiction. We live in a time of critical race theory that holds that you are a racist if you were born a white man. You can’t be anything other than a racist and our society needs to be torn down and remade as a Marxist Communist State to get rid of white privilege amongst other things. Think a Satanic attack on Christianity. Amongst this insanity is of course the gender bias issue and a total reversal of morality which aligns with what the bible says about those who call evil good and good evil.

What will this achieve? These folk think that they are on the rise and finally they will get rid of Yahweh and the Christians. Not learning the lessons of the past and rejecting the gospel. The last time that mankind completely rejected God and their every thought was only evil. God brought a global deluge. Mankind has nearly reached the same point again and is about to enter a time of judgment that would be extinction level if the Lord didn’t have mercy. The time of Jacob’s Trouble mentioned in Jeremiah chapter 30 verse 7 KJV.

What can we do about it? Watch and pray. Jesus is coming soon. Seek the Lord’s guidance and pray that he pours out the Holy Spirit of God on the Church across the globe. Stand up for Christians every where and be sensitive to God’s will. Be generous with the blessings that God has bestowed upon you and remember God is love so abide in His love. Remember that Christ is a breath of fresh air and as his servants we need to be as Christ to those in the world around us. I guess what I’m saying here is remember that Christ Jesus said “Come unto me you who are heavy laden for my yoke is light.”

A final word about the time that we live in right now? Normality as we knew it ended in December 2019 with the outbreak of the Covid virus. I don’t see us returning to that normality in the near future. I heard a news commentator say recently that he guessed this is the new order and we will just have to get used to it. I think this will prove to be close to the truth. A New World Order is coming upon us and I believe that time will show it to be a turbulent time of judgment for the peoples of the Earth that will ultimately end in the establishment of The Kingdom of God. Our job as Christians is to hold the faith in Christ Alone.

Stand up for Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and take every opportunity to share the gospel. Revelation chapter 2 verse 10 “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” NKJV

No One Wants To Be An Arminian: No one wants to be that Guy.

In Christian circles you will occasionally encounter the term Arminianism. I don't know why but it doesn't sound like a good thing to be. It sounds strange, different, kind of weak. Just not something you would want to be. So every time the topic comes up most everyone says “I’m not an Arminian.” I guess the obvious question is “Why?” I mean what is an Arminian in the first place and why is being an Arminian such a terrible thing in the second place?

Well Arminianism is named for a fellow called Jacob Arminius who was a very learned Professor and Theologian in the time of the Reformation. He was known for his views on soteriology or the doctrine of Salvation and most notably that he disagreed with John Calvin’s followers on Predestination.

Calvin’s followers believed that the gospel is not for all and that the elect (Christians) are predestined to salvation just as the lost are predestined to damnation. They were particularly strong on the view that the believer could do nothing to assist in his or her salvation. That man is so depraved that they could not even decide to believe on Christ Jesus as a personal decision. Thus God made the decision for them at the foundation of the World.

Arminius did not really entirely disagree with Calvinists about the state in which man found himself. However, he believed that God allowed man a degree of free will in the decision about his or her salvation and that the bible did not entirely support the Calvinist contentions about soteriology and the mechanism of Grace.

I sympathise with the Arminian point of view as although the bible supports the Doctrine of Predestination. I don’t believe that predestination means that persons are predestined to salvation or predestined to damnation which is a central theme in Calvinism as I understand it. The reason that I don’t like this idea is that with Christ Jesus came a complete sea change in the relationship available to those who follow Jehovah.

The emphasis under the New Covenant is now on a loving relationship between God and mankind for beside those scriptures on predestination are a raft of scriptures like John 3:16 on God’s love for the World through Christ’s work of Redemption on the Cross. It seems that all are called to salvation upon hearing the gospel preached. This is in accordance with the Great Commission given by Jesus at his ascension and found in the book of Matthew chapter twenty eight . John Wesley called this Prevenient Grace where the Father draws men and women close to His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

The Arminians also known as the Remonstrants hold a view of God that believes every man and woman has the opportunity to hear the gospel call. To be drawn to Christ Jesus by the Father and to believe that He bore their sins on the Cross or to reject Him. In that vain they wrote the Five Articles of the Remonstrance to compete with the Calvinist interpretation of scripture and the Calvinist beliefs around Predestination. Five articles of Remonstrance | Theopedia

Now at the time of the writing of the Five Articles of the Remonstrance in 1610. There was a furor among the mainly Calvinist Christians and in 1618 they convened the Synod of Dort. This is where the Arminians were convicted of heresy and stripped of their congregations and charged not to preach on the Remonstrants. However in due course they were allowed to form Churches and left in peace.

A century later John and Charles Wesley were God’s instruments in forming the Methodist / Arminian Church in the Britain and the United States of America. They also spearheaded a great revival in England which pulled the country from the edge of ruin by bringing an end to the Gin Craze amongst other things. Their work provided a foundation for the Salvation Army and other denominations to build orphanages and address poverty in England in the Nineteenth Century.

As time progressed toward and through the Twentieth Century. The Industrial Revolution combined with a kind of Christian Renaissance to bring about a period of relative freedom and prosperity in the West. Sadly at the same time the devil attacked the Church with Secular Humanism, Liberalism and the Tongues Movement to great effect. This resulted in a steady decline of Arminian centered Christianity to the point that by the advent of the Twenty First Century it had largely morphed into a form of liberal quasi Christian Social Support network. At the same time the Reformed Church had fared better and became the default Fundamentalist Church of the day.

In the current era the word Arminian is a slur that no Christian wants to wear. I don’t think that most Christians know what an Arminian really is but they are certain they don’t want to be one. Actually Arminian Christians believe that Calvinism portrays a perspective of God that is inconsistent with the God of the bible. A picture of God that relates more to the God’s of the Greek pantheon. Super beings with unpredictable temperaments who would punish men mercilessly for no particular reason. Who would create them just to appease some whim and destroy them on another whim. Strange beings with odd moralities.

It is true that Jehovah has reacted with indignant rage in the Bible. He destroyed the antediluvian world completely and he judged certain individuals in a seemingly offhand manner but there is common thread to this. The explanation is sin and wickedness. God will not tolerate sin and acts decisively against it always. However, the Redemptive work of Christ Jesus on the Cross has brought about a sea-change in the way God deals with sin and brought the emphasis back to love.

God so loved the World that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish but inherit eternal life. We are saved by our belief in Christ Jesus and the redemptive work He did on the Cross. That belief is credited to us as faith which is not a work. Belief is acceptance and faith is trust so God sees our belief and gives us the gift of faith which gives salvation under the law of faith and by the Grace of God.

The Arminians believe that Grace is in two parts and therefore the first part is called Prevenient Grace where the Father draws us near to Christ and the second part involves our Salvation when we believe. I know that none of this makes much difference to Calvinists they just don’t believe it. But it just seems right to most non Calvinist Christians. Yes there is predestination but God is a loving God and He seeks to find that which was lost. No one is destined to damnation who didn’t freely choose to go there.

So lets remember that Arminians are nice people with big hearts who happen to love the same God as the other Christians. You could say that Arminians are Christians too. We have a similar view of mans ability to save himself as Calvinists but we happen to believe that Calvinism is only half of the picture. The other half is that the Father draws all who hear the gospel preached to Christ Jesus – Prevenient Grace.

To sum up then, the argument is largely between the Calvinists who tend to need God to be the strong, silent type who doesn’t stand any nonsense. A key scriptures would be “God is not mocked.” Hence God is not averse to being angry and judgmental and get to physical if he needs too. He is a God we can be proud of. In a similar manner we could be proud that our government has just bought the latest jet fighter. God is strong. He’s the man! As it were. As a result Calvinists have a God who will only accept those he has predestined from the beginning of time and he doesn’t care about the rest. They can “Go to hell!” Literally.

From the Arminian point of view the key scripture is the one entitled The Beatitudes of Matthew Five. Here Jesus lays out the attitudes that are important to God. Note “Blessed are the Meek for they shall inherit the Earth.” The Meek from a Calvinist perspective would be the weak. However, the Meek are not weak. They are people of all kinds who love God and live their lives in peaceful humility. They never respond violently and are almost certainly represented by those who have laid down their lives in sacrifice throughout the Church Age. So to be Meek in the eyes of God is not to be weak but is a required attitude to represent God on the Earth.

John Wesley considered himself to be Arminian and his focus was strongly on the love of God. God used him to lead a great revival in England and America establishing the Methodist Church in the process. The outcome though was a period of Christian growth which reformed society and the way we treat the poor and needy in the Western World. It established a vibrant largely Christian middle class which lasted until the 1980’s. We have all benefited from the hard work that Arminians have put in to shepherd Christianity in a loving and compassionate way, even in this era when we are moving once more through a period of spiritual darkness. So next time someone mentions Arminians to you. You might be better informed as to who they are?