Hello my para beauties! I trust you had a amazing weekend and those you love are healthy. I've been asked more to touch on this subject which can get a bit dicey. This is my opinion and interpretation of what I read in the Gospel. So here we go....
Acts 4:12
Those that say the Book of Revelation has already happened base it on the assumption that Nero is the Anti-Christ and the mark of the beast (666) is representative of his name. The problem with that. The first verse of the first chapter " The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants WHAT MUST SOON TAKE PLACE. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John" (Revelation 1:1) This is not a history lesson, but a prophecy. Then there are those who will assume "soon take place" to mean immediately, but the whole book is not an immediate. There are some things that began at that point, and other things that will have to happen at a later date "After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." (Revelation 4:1) There are a lot things from that point on that have not happened. The tribulation has not occurred, and Jesus has not returned.
THE EARTH SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE WILL BECOME A GARDEN OF EDEN OR PARADISE WHERE PEOPLE CAN LIVE IN PEACE & SECURITY.
ARMAGEDDON IS SIMPLY GODS WAR TO CLEAN THE EARTH OF WICKED PEOPLE & ALL BAD THINGS THAT EXIST, & PEOPLE WHOSE WORSHIP IS UNACCEPTABLE TO HIM.
Why, though, would God wage a global war? Armageddon is closely related to one of his cardinal qualities, justice. The Bible declares: “God is a lover of justice.” He has seen all the acts of injustice perpetrated during man’s history. This naturally provokes his righteous displeasure. Thus, he has appointed his Son to wage a just war in order to do away with this entire wicked system.
Only God is capable of waging a truly just and truly selective war during which righthearted individuals on earth, will be preserved. And only Almighty God has the right to impose his sovereignty over all the earth, for it is his creation.
What happens to those that survive? No one needs to perish during Armageddon. The apostle Peter observed: “God, does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.” And the apostle Paul stated that God’s “will is that all sorts of men should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth.”
Consider the good Har–Magedon promises to achieve, godly humanity’s peaceful future on this planet, no more pollution, no more war, no more poverty, no more disease or even death. God promises: “Look! I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:3,4
The one's living in a Paradise Earth will be the survivors of Armageddon, and the one's that will be resurrected & obey the rules that are layed out by Jesus Christ.
Psalms 37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. King James Bible
[The Antichrist Covenant Week of 7 Years]
· [21] The Antichrist, also known as the king of the north and the little horn of Daniel—a Syrian and initially a man of peace executes a 7-year treaty with Israel in fulfillment of Daniel 9:27 (see also Dan. 8:23-25; Dan. 11:6, Dan. 11:11-16, Dan. 11:21-24; c/p. 1 Maccabees 1:29). This begins The Antichrist Covenant week of years. God's prophetic clock is turned on, as it has been turned off since the resurrection of Jesus and day of Pentecost. The last 7 years of the age or dispensation of grace has begun (Eph. 3:2).
[For an understanding of the distinctions between Daniel’s 70th week of years and the Antichrist Covenant week of years, please review Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, and the accompanying notes on Daniel 9:24-27.]
[22,23,24 and 25] Jesus opens the first 5 seals of Revelation during the first 3 ½ years of The Antichrist Covenant week (Dan. 9:24-27; Rev. 6:1-11).
1.5 billion [more] people die from: war, famine, plagues and the beasts of the earth [hungry because of the famine (Rev. 6:7-8)].
False Christs [false Messiahs claiming to be anointed] shall arise. There will be wars, rumors of wars, nation against nation [ethnic group against ethnic group] , kingdom against kingdom, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. Jewish Christians shall be called on the carpet for their faith because of the now restored Law of Moses in Israel, which is at peace with the Antichrist, killed, and shall become the most hated people on the earth for sake of the name of Jesus. The Jewish Church [especially] shall be plagued with offense, betrayal and hatred; false prophets shall arise and deceive many; sin shall run rampant and the love of many shall wax cold (Matt. 24:5-12; c/p. 2 Thes. 2:3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Pet. 3:3-4; 1 John 2:18-22; 4:1-3; Jude 3-4; 11-19)
The great falling away in the Church at large prophesied in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 gains momentum, as many Christians become offended at God when widespread persecution and killing of Christians increases, and the Church is not Raptured [caught away] before these things begin [see Two Prerequisites for the Rapture from The Thessalonian Letters In Verse Outline; see also The Offended Prophet from Seven Prophetic Pictures of the Rapture for an example of what can happen to God's people when they allow offense to take hold of their life].
· Mystery Babylon of the revised Roman Empire—its religious harlot—secures a lock hold on at least 10 of the governments of the old Roman Empire (Rev. 17) [See Rev. 17:9-10, The Book of Revelation In Verse-By-Verse Outline; see also Endnote #28 and 29 on Revelation 17:18, The Chronological Revelation ].
· The gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then the end comes (Matt. 24:14). [Just as happened in the Book of Acts, it is persecution of the Church that causes the gospel to be fully preached in all the world (c/p. Acts 8:1-4)].
· The Church began as a Jewish church on the day of Pentecost. There will be a latter day ingathering harvest of Jews back into the Body of Christ before the return of Jesus (Exo. 23:14-16, Rev. 6:9-11; c/p. Matt.20:16).
· The great prostituting whore city of the revised Roman Empire—Mystery Babylon—is destroyed by the 10-horn confederacy of revised Roman nations (see Rev. 17:16, The Book of Revelation In Verse-By-Verse Outline). The 10 horn / kings of revised Rome then give their power, strength and kingdom to the Antichrist. The revived Grecian Empire is thus formed (see Rev. 17:10-11, The Book of Revelation In Verse-By-Verse Outline). [See also, The Mystery of Mystery Babylon Revealed,]
The Rapture of the Church at Midweek
· Between the 5th and 6th seals of Revelation the Church is raptured; it is seen for the first time in heaven in Revelation 7:9, having been "snatched out" of the earth during the great tribulation [literally, the tribulation, the great: the first 3 ½ years of The Antichrist Covenant week]: caught up to meet the Lord in the air (Rev. 7:14; 1 Thes. 4:15-17. See also The Midst of the Feast, and The Body of Christ from Seven Prophetic Pictures of the Rapture).
· Jesus opens the 6th seal: all creation praises the Lord. The rocks cry out! (Luke 19:40; Rom. 8:19-21). All men remaining on the earth know the wrath of God has come—because they can't find any Christians! [see Rev. 6:12-17, The Book of Revelation In Verse-By-Verse Outline ]
I hope I've helped the best I can using biblical text explaining this subject per request of many. It's a lot to take in but we know who wins this battle and we praise his Holy Name. God is in control! We have nothing to fear. Obama or any world issues with any president. God is in control. Not man.
Written By Jennifer L Auld
Looking inside the spiritual & literary worlds
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Bad Bad Thing Saturday ~ Fake Psychic Sylvia Mitchell Convicted
By Kirby Robinson
"A
jury found a Manhattan psychic guilty on Friday of swindling two women out of
$138,000 in a case that probed the fine distinction between providing an
unusual service and running a confidence scheme." Read the full
story here:
"A 16 year old boy has died from drinking 18 litres of
water, which was claimed to possess magical power, during an exorcist ceremony
in Songkhla province." Full story here:
Do you know of a para-celeb, psychic, ghost hunter,
demon chaser, or false teacher who’s eligible for the award? You can take part
by sending us a name and why you think they should receive the BAD BAD THING
award. Contact freeallspirits@live.com
for more information.
Keep current and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/eyeonparanormal
EARN
EXTRA MONEY! If you have a website, forum or blog you can set up an Amazon
Associates Affiliate Program link and sell the Kindle version of our books. "Is the Long Island Medium the Real Deal?"
[also in paperback!], "Never Mock God: An Unauthorized Investigation into
Paranormal State's 'I Am Six' Case" [also in paperback!],
"Investigating Paranormal State," "Paranormal State
Exposed" and "Paranormal Teachings: The Best of Shedding
Some Light" and earn money. You can also sell other books and products
that Amazon offers. Here's the link: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/
Thursday, October 10, 2013
The Nature of God and the Greatest Question of All
By Reverend Mark Hunnemann
"For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:21)
I have been accenting the paramount importance of the doctrine of God in our worldviews...how it effects everything. How we view Ultimate Reality has a domino effect on the other six worldview issues. There are several worldviews in our culture, but the one gaining ascendancy is New Age or Neo-gnostic/occult, which we will look at perhaps next time. Obviously, the concept of Ultimate Reality in this pagan goddess spirituality differs significantly from biblical Christianity.
Let me briefly show how the primacy of what God is like effects the other issues, and then I want too camp on what is the most important issue of all--how can I be saved?
1. Ultimate Reality in the bible is the infinite personal God who is really there, and who has spoken to us Person to person in the bible. God is good--meaning He is holy and loving.
2. Since God is both infinite and Personal He took great delight in creating the heavens and the earth, the visible and invisible. (Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:16)
3. Since God is personal, He loves us and desires to be our primary love...He does not leave it to guesswork as to what our purpose in life is--it is stated in His communication to us.
4. The text above speaks of Jesus' sinlessness. Since God is really THERE, and spoken truth to us, we have an adequate basis for ethics. "Be holy because I am holy". (1 Peter 1:16)
5. God is infinite and personal and He made us finite and personal--that is, IN HIS IMAGE. Again, no guesswork as to what humans ARE, because of who God IS! (Gen.1:26ff)
6. We spoke of the three Lordship attributes of God last time (control, authority, and presence) This assures us that the flow of history (and our own personal history) is moving in a meaningful, linear fashion to it's culmination in the Second Coming/restoration. History is the stage upon which God is driving the drama of redemption.
7. The afterlife is, yet again, not a matter of speculation because God/heaven is really THERE. "For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ...", "...it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement." The moment we die we appear before the Lord's throne, and are sent to heaven or hell for all eternity. (2 Cor. 5:!0; Heb. 9:27) The greatest argument against the notion of trapped spirits is the nature of God (and His perfect atonement). His nature will also reveal in technicolor how we MUST be saved and enter His perfectly holy heaven.
Do you see how the existence and nature of God effects EVERYTHING? If we had the time, I would like to show how Ultimate Reality as energy/matter would "answer" these worldview questions. We would see that it, and all non-biblical worldviews, are utterly bankrupt to provide adequate answers to our deepest questions.
But what of the greatest question of all: how can I know I am going to heaven after death? Though it is not listed as a worldview component, it underlies and is implied in all of seven components--especially the nature of God. Once again, when we ponder our eternal destiny, the nature of what Ultimate Reality is will guide our thinking. For example, in the history of humanity there are three basic answers to that question. Though details may vary in a multitude of ways, we can accurately summarize three basic views of salvation--which (not surprisingly!) flow from one's view of Ultimate Reality. Let's look at these now.
1. Auto-soterism or self-salvation...otherwise known as Pelagianism (named after the heresiarch, Pelagius). Whether New Age, humanism, atheism, deism or theological liberalism (and scores of others), we either save ourselves by being good or we essentially "save ourselves" by denying that we even need salvation. The details vary from one belief to the next in auto-soterism (e.g. annihilation vs continued conscious existence), but the defining feature is that we don't need a Savior....we will earn or merit our way to our next incarnation or heaven. Perhaps the most common view of salvation is, "Justification by death alone." All we have to do is die, and we fly off to paradise.
The only way one can subscribe to Pelagianism is by having a seriously defective or deficient view of God's nature. Theological liberalism often states that the essence of Christianity is" living the Sermon on the Mount". Hmmm.....I wonder if they have ever carefully read this lofty sermon by Jesus? There is a spiritual logic to the beatitudes, which are the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, and the first is, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 5:3) That is, blessed (well being in one's relationship with God) are those who recognize they are desperately in need of divine grace and mercy, for they are spiritually bankrupt in themselves. A deficient view of God's holiness will lead to a deficient view of our true spiritual condition. In other words, self-salvation is the noxious fruit of having a distorted view of Ultimate Reality in our worldviews.
2. Semi-pelagianism or Arminianism (named after Jacob Arminius) is a half-way house between self-salvation and salvation by grace alone. Stated another way--we are saved by faith in Christ plus.... (fill in the blank). My intent is not to offend anyone, but to state things accurately and urge us to think (Berean style). I was raised in a devout Christian home, but the gospel was, "We are saved by faith in Jesus, plus doing certain things...but if you do other certain sins, that will kill the grace of God in your soul. You will lose your state of salvation until you do x, y, and z." I am intentionally being vague. However, regarding the view itself--we are saved by faith in Christ AND good work/s-I will NOT be vague. As Paul said to the "Arminians" of his day, "As we have said before, so now I say again:If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Gal. 1:9-10) The heresy Paul was eternally condemning to hell was the notion that we are saved by faith in Christ plus being circumcised. That was the Galatian heresy which so agitated Paul and the Lord.
There always has been, and always will be, differences amongst Christians this side of heaven. However, the essence of the gospel must be protected, regardless of what people say. The folks in Galatia were not pelagianists, or believers in self-salvation. However, they did add to the finished work of Christ on the cross by saying,"In order to be saved, you must believe in Christ and be circumcised." Today, that same sort of belief is alive and well in America, and globally. Only the Lord knows the true state of a person's soul and many folks raised in these traditions are truly born again, but it must be due to some happy inconsistency. Only the Lord knows when the line is crossed in practice--all I can do is state the biblical principle, for which I do not care what man thinks. What I plead for you to consider is that many professing Christians--either because they hold to a "easy-believism" or a version of faith plus works heresy--are not really saved and will spend eternit y in hell. That grieves me...and it certainly grieves the Lord.
The issue again is the nature of God. If we have depth view of God's holiness, then we will have a depth view of our sinfullness. With a deep awareness of our radical corruption comes a vision of the glorious beauty of grace. A deep appreciation of God's utter, burning holiness will reveal the utter futility and madness of adding anything to the finished work of Christ on the cross. A person on this faith and works treadmill can never enjoy (if they are consistent) an abiding joyful assurance of salvation. There will always be the insecurity of, "Did I do enough, or did I do TOO much sin today..did I get kicked out of God's family?" Listen, I lived this way growing up and it was horrible, even as a child.
The third way of salvation is the biblical way...the true way of salvation. GRACE. We are saved by faith alone in the finished work of Christ on the cross. (Romans 3 & 4;Eph. 2:8-10...Gen--Rev) "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it s the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." I included v. 10 because it is often left out when these verses are quoted and it addresses a significant issue--what is the role of works, if we are saved by grace alone? Concern regarding "cheap grace" or easy believism is valid, but is no reason to throw the "grace baby" out with the dirty water. Luther re-discovered the pure gospel in 1517 after it had languished under severe legalism for 1, 000 years or more. He put it this way, "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone." The book of James is about the evidence of true faith. Good works have no meritorious value but they have immense evidential value. As the text in Ephesians states, we were saved in order to be pleasing to the Lord.
This is not a systematic theology, so I need to wrap up. We come finally, again, to Ultimate Reality--the nature of the biblical God--which reveals the sovereign grace of God Almighty. All this talk of worldviews is foolish and empty if we ourselves are not reconciled with our Creator. 2 Cor 5:21 is one of the most important verses in all of Scripture for understanding the meaning of the atonement and justification. The sinless Son of God became a substitute for us...substitutionary atonement. We are justified by faith alone. To say that are saved by faith or grace alone is to say we are saved by Christ alone (and His finished work on the cross) Justification involves a double transfer. Christ became sin "for us"--and was punished "for us"--but His 33 years of righteous living (the righteousness of God) is imputed or counted to us as well. It pleased the Father to transfer our sins to Jesus, and to transfer Jesus' perfect life to us. We are declared eternally "Not Guilt y!" and the Father sees us "IN HIM".
The only way we can stand before the holy Father is due the robe of righteousness wrapped around us. Though it may not make sense to the world, we must be saved by grace alone because of how absolutely just, holy and righteous God is. Every sin is an act of cosmic treason against a thrice holy God and deserves eternal punishment. However, since we are in union with Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and ascension..God not only accepts us, He absolutely delights in us! (Isaiah 62:3-5) He delights and rejoices over us...may we relish this, and dance for joy because salvation is of the Lord....from beginning to end. For all eternity we will sing the praises of the King of Grace! Amen.
"For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:21)
I have been accenting the paramount importance of the doctrine of God in our worldviews...how it effects everything. How we view Ultimate Reality has a domino effect on the other six worldview issues. There are several worldviews in our culture, but the one gaining ascendancy is New Age or Neo-gnostic/occult, which we will look at perhaps next time. Obviously, the concept of Ultimate Reality in this pagan goddess spirituality differs significantly from biblical Christianity.
Let me briefly show how the primacy of what God is like effects the other issues, and then I want too camp on what is the most important issue of all--how can I be saved?
1. Ultimate Reality in the bible is the infinite personal God who is really there, and who has spoken to us Person to person in the bible. God is good--meaning He is holy and loving.
2. Since God is both infinite and Personal He took great delight in creating the heavens and the earth, the visible and invisible. (Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:16)
3. Since God is personal, He loves us and desires to be our primary love...He does not leave it to guesswork as to what our purpose in life is--it is stated in His communication to us.
4. The text above speaks of Jesus' sinlessness. Since God is really THERE, and spoken truth to us, we have an adequate basis for ethics. "Be holy because I am holy". (1 Peter 1:16)
5. God is infinite and personal and He made us finite and personal--that is, IN HIS IMAGE. Again, no guesswork as to what humans ARE, because of who God IS! (Gen.1:26ff)
6. We spoke of the three Lordship attributes of God last time (control, authority, and presence) This assures us that the flow of history (and our own personal history) is moving in a meaningful, linear fashion to it's culmination in the Second Coming/restoration. History is the stage upon which God is driving the drama of redemption.
7. The afterlife is, yet again, not a matter of speculation because God/heaven is really THERE. "For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ...", "...it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement." The moment we die we appear before the Lord's throne, and are sent to heaven or hell for all eternity. (2 Cor. 5:!0; Heb. 9:27) The greatest argument against the notion of trapped spirits is the nature of God (and His perfect atonement). His nature will also reveal in technicolor how we MUST be saved and enter His perfectly holy heaven.
Do you see how the existence and nature of God effects EVERYTHING? If we had the time, I would like to show how Ultimate Reality as energy/matter would "answer" these worldview questions. We would see that it, and all non-biblical worldviews, are utterly bankrupt to provide adequate answers to our deepest questions.
But what of the greatest question of all: how can I know I am going to heaven after death? Though it is not listed as a worldview component, it underlies and is implied in all of seven components--especially the nature of God. Once again, when we ponder our eternal destiny, the nature of what Ultimate Reality is will guide our thinking. For example, in the history of humanity there are three basic answers to that question. Though details may vary in a multitude of ways, we can accurately summarize three basic views of salvation--which (not surprisingly!) flow from one's view of Ultimate Reality. Let's look at these now.
1. Auto-soterism or self-salvation...otherwise known as Pelagianism (named after the heresiarch, Pelagius). Whether New Age, humanism, atheism, deism or theological liberalism (and scores of others), we either save ourselves by being good or we essentially "save ourselves" by denying that we even need salvation. The details vary from one belief to the next in auto-soterism (e.g. annihilation vs continued conscious existence), but the defining feature is that we don't need a Savior....we will earn or merit our way to our next incarnation or heaven. Perhaps the most common view of salvation is, "Justification by death alone." All we have to do is die, and we fly off to paradise.
The only way one can subscribe to Pelagianism is by having a seriously defective or deficient view of God's nature. Theological liberalism often states that the essence of Christianity is" living the Sermon on the Mount". Hmmm.....I wonder if they have ever carefully read this lofty sermon by Jesus? There is a spiritual logic to the beatitudes, which are the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, and the first is, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 5:3) That is, blessed (well being in one's relationship with God) are those who recognize they are desperately in need of divine grace and mercy, for they are spiritually bankrupt in themselves. A deficient view of God's holiness will lead to a deficient view of our true spiritual condition. In other words, self-salvation is the noxious fruit of having a distorted view of Ultimate Reality in our worldviews.
2. Semi-pelagianism or Arminianism (named after Jacob Arminius) is a half-way house between self-salvation and salvation by grace alone. Stated another way--we are saved by faith in Christ plus.... (fill in the blank). My intent is not to offend anyone, but to state things accurately and urge us to think (Berean style). I was raised in a devout Christian home, but the gospel was, "We are saved by faith in Jesus, plus doing certain things...but if you do other certain sins, that will kill the grace of God in your soul. You will lose your state of salvation until you do x, y, and z." I am intentionally being vague. However, regarding the view itself--we are saved by faith in Christ AND good work/s-I will NOT be vague. As Paul said to the "Arminians" of his day, "As we have said before, so now I say again:If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Gal. 1:9-10) The heresy Paul was eternally condemning to hell was the notion that we are saved by faith in Christ plus being circumcised. That was the Galatian heresy which so agitated Paul and the Lord.
There always has been, and always will be, differences amongst Christians this side of heaven. However, the essence of the gospel must be protected, regardless of what people say. The folks in Galatia were not pelagianists, or believers in self-salvation. However, they did add to the finished work of Christ on the cross by saying,"In order to be saved, you must believe in Christ and be circumcised." Today, that same sort of belief is alive and well in America, and globally. Only the Lord knows the true state of a person's soul and many folks raised in these traditions are truly born again, but it must be due to some happy inconsistency. Only the Lord knows when the line is crossed in practice--all I can do is state the biblical principle, for which I do not care what man thinks. What I plead for you to consider is that many professing Christians--either because they hold to a "easy-believism" or a version of faith plus works heresy--are not really saved and will spend eternit y in hell. That grieves me...and it certainly grieves the Lord.
The issue again is the nature of God. If we have depth view of God's holiness, then we will have a depth view of our sinfullness. With a deep awareness of our radical corruption comes a vision of the glorious beauty of grace. A deep appreciation of God's utter, burning holiness will reveal the utter futility and madness of adding anything to the finished work of Christ on the cross. A person on this faith and works treadmill can never enjoy (if they are consistent) an abiding joyful assurance of salvation. There will always be the insecurity of, "Did I do enough, or did I do TOO much sin today..did I get kicked out of God's family?" Listen, I lived this way growing up and it was horrible, even as a child.
The third way of salvation is the biblical way...the true way of salvation. GRACE. We are saved by faith alone in the finished work of Christ on the cross. (Romans 3 & 4;Eph. 2:8-10...Gen--Rev) "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it s the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." I included v. 10 because it is often left out when these verses are quoted and it addresses a significant issue--what is the role of works, if we are saved by grace alone? Concern regarding "cheap grace" or easy believism is valid, but is no reason to throw the "grace baby" out with the dirty water. Luther re-discovered the pure gospel in 1517 after it had languished under severe legalism for 1, 000 years or more. He put it this way, "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone." The book of James is about the evidence of true faith. Good works have no meritorious value but they have immense evidential value. As the text in Ephesians states, we were saved in order to be pleasing to the Lord.
This is not a systematic theology, so I need to wrap up. We come finally, again, to Ultimate Reality--the nature of the biblical God--which reveals the sovereign grace of God Almighty. All this talk of worldviews is foolish and empty if we ourselves are not reconciled with our Creator. 2 Cor 5:21 is one of the most important verses in all of Scripture for understanding the meaning of the atonement and justification. The sinless Son of God became a substitute for us...substitutionary atonement. We are justified by faith alone. To say that are saved by faith or grace alone is to say we are saved by Christ alone (and His finished work on the cross) Justification involves a double transfer. Christ became sin "for us"--and was punished "for us"--but His 33 years of righteous living (the righteousness of God) is imputed or counted to us as well. It pleased the Father to transfer our sins to Jesus, and to transfer Jesus' perfect life to us. We are declared eternally "Not Guilt y!" and the Father sees us "IN HIM".
The only way we can stand before the holy Father is due the robe of righteousness wrapped around us. Though it may not make sense to the world, we must be saved by grace alone because of how absolutely just, holy and righteous God is. Every sin is an act of cosmic treason against a thrice holy God and deserves eternal punishment. However, since we are in union with Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and ascension..God not only accepts us, He absolutely delights in us! (Isaiah 62:3-5) He delights and rejoices over us...may we relish this, and dance for joy because salvation is of the Lord....from beginning to end. For all eternity we will sing the praises of the King of Grace! Amen.
Bad Bad Thing Thursday ~ Crazy Crucifixion & Bizarre Florida Deaths
By Kirby Robinson
Calling this group stupid would be too kind. A 7-day crucifixion is no way to perform an exorcism. Full story here:
http://www.charismanews.com/world/41304-teen-nearly-dies-after-7-day-crucifixion-style-exorcism
If you live in Florida, bizarre deaths aren't unusual! From the Florida cottonmouth [snake] to flesh-eating bacteria to venomous spiders --- people in the Sunshine State need to be very careful! Full story here:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/your-home/os-bizarre-deaths-in-florida-20131008,0,4687548.story
Do you know of a para-celeb, psychic, ghost hunter, demon chaser, or false teacher who’s eligible for the award? You can take part by sending us a name and why you think they should receive the BAD BAD THING award. Contact freeallspirits@live.com for more information.
Keep current and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/eyeonparanormal
EARN EXTRA MONEY! If you have a website, forum or blog you can set up an Amazon Associates Affiliate Program link and sell the Kindle version of our books. "Is the Long Island Medium the Real Deal?" [also in paperback!], "Never Mock God: An Unauthorized Investigation into Paranormal State's 'I Am Six' Case" [also in paperback!], "Investigating Paranormal State," "Paranormal State Exposed" and "Paranormal Teachings: The Best of Shedding Some Light" and earn money. You can also sell other books and products that Amazon offers. Here's the link: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/
Calling this group stupid would be too kind. A 7-day crucifixion is no way to perform an exorcism. Full story here:
http://www.charismanews.com/world/41304-teen-nearly-dies-after-7-day-crucifixion-style-exorcism
If you live in Florida, bizarre deaths aren't unusual! From the Florida cottonmouth [snake] to flesh-eating bacteria to venomous spiders --- people in the Sunshine State need to be very careful! Full story here:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/your-home/os-bizarre-deaths-in-florida-20131008,0,4687548.story
Do you know of a para-celeb, psychic, ghost hunter, demon chaser, or false teacher who’s eligible for the award? You can take part by sending us a name and why you think they should receive the BAD BAD THING award. Contact freeallspirits@live.com for more information.
Keep current and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/eyeonparanormal
EARN EXTRA MONEY! If you have a website, forum or blog you can set up an Amazon Associates Affiliate Program link and sell the Kindle version of our books. "Is the Long Island Medium the Real Deal?" [also in paperback!], "Never Mock God: An Unauthorized Investigation into Paranormal State's 'I Am Six' Case" [also in paperback!], "Investigating Paranormal State," "Paranormal State Exposed" and "Paranormal Teachings: The Best of Shedding Some Light" and earn money. You can also sell other books and products that Amazon offers. Here's the link: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The Case Against Theresa Caputo the Long Island Medium—Parts 1 & 2
By Kirby Robinson
Here are two blogs
that were originally posted back in May, well before the release of her new
book—and mine. They concern the credibility of the Long Island Medium, Theresa Caputo. For
the past few years, she has become America's so-called number one medium.
Nowhere has she ever claimed to be a psychic, as those claims can easily be
disproven. Also, the Long Island Medium claims she is never wrong.
Americans are
embracing psychics and mediums. Go to Google and type in psychics and mediums--
you could spend 8 hours a day for a year, and never visit every site on the
Internet.
You can spend hundreds
to thousands of dollars getting a phone reading, Skype, and in person readings.
You can attend gallery readings, which is a group reading, and you're not even
promised to receive one bit of information from the other side.
Sylvia Browne is the
former number one psychic of record who has been featured onLarry King Live and
appeared frequently on The Montel Williams Show. Ms. Browne has
more than 50 books in print, 21 books in audio format, and all her so-called
nonfiction titles can't stand a serious test of legitimacy. For example, her
book "Afterlives of the Rich and Famous" is impossible to fact
check—she can make up any story. And she does---as her books are simply flights
of fantasy and fiction.
Why is this? Why has
the public become so accepting of these modern day snake oil salespeople?
- Rejection of
God's message and embracing a feel good new age false religion.
- Uncertain times
force people to find sanctuary in something. Some find it in drugs while others
find it in people who will tell them what they want to hear.
- Searching for the
truth about life after death. Going by what the psychics and mediums say, we
can live any way we want. We can do anything we want. We can think any way we
want to and sin any way we want to. If we accept their words, whether written
in a book or spoken on TV, there will be no price to pay. There is no hell, no
punishment -- just a bright and sunny afterlife.
- A society should
embrace a learning process. Now, everything is spoon-fed to us. Our ability to
think, question, and engage in a scientific manner has been reduced. If anyone
on TV says it is so, then it is so. If I read it on the Internet, it is so. If
some "expert" appears for a few minutes on Oprah or Ellen and
says it is so – then it must be so.
Like every other
medium and psychic out there, The Long Island Medium is a fake. She feeds on
the emotionally needy and the spiritually insecure. Like all the others, she
increases her bank account by tricking her audience that she has all the
answers. She convinces her cult-like followers that she has something called
"the spirit" that feeds her the information that you crave.
When I go to funerals,
you won't see me cry. It's not that I am heartless. It's due to my faith. I
know the saved have gone on to heaven. Why? Because that is what my faith
teaches me. When the unsaved die, they made the choice to go to hell. No matter
how many prayers one would say, no matter if some church baptizes them after
death, that is where they are going. It is clearly stated that way-- no doubts,
no worries. But so many new age "thinkers" are left in doubt. So, the
new agers must turn to a medium to find out where they are at and are they all
right?
The Long Island Medium
talks to "SPIRIT." [Some Christians might say that is a demon feeding
her information as they point out she never talks about angels, she never sees
God, only mentions "a God" and the word Jesus never crossed her lips
-- and they might be right].
What I've seen of her
readings and our investigation into her televised Florida road trip, we uncover
her so-called talent for talking to the dead.
Let me share a video
from the show "LIVE! with Kelly
and Michael" of a reading she did with the audience and show
how she tricks the audience.
Notice she's working
with an audience of over 150 people. Medium or not, you can safely ask:
- Who here lost a
child?
- Who here lost a
husband, wife, parent, sibling, or a grandparent?
- Who here lost a
baby?
- Who here lost
someone to cancer, AIDS, heart attack, car accident, etc.
You're going to have
hands shoot up because these things happen. They're fairly common so you're
going to get it right.
When they go out
looking for an audience to fill their studio they tell people who the guest is
so she knows why people are there.
Earlier on, she had a
long string of misses and she had to come up with an explanation for it. She
claimed it was confusion in interpreting the signs that she received.
She goes for "who
over here has lost a husband?" and she sees several admitted widows.
Notice that she goes over to an older female time. Cue violins, it's time to
yank the heartstrings. The next step is to go into her cold readings mode,
asking questions in such rapid-fire fashion you fail to notice Theresa isn't
really telling her anything but simply asking questions.
Once she starts
talking to the woman start counting the seconds.
- She says,
"People leave this world in many different ways." The purpose of that
statement is to fool the audience into believing that Theresa is knowledgeable
in the ways of the spirit world. Listen to what comes up next.
- Theresa complements
the woman for all the unselfish things she did. That is what the widow wants to
hear. Have you ever heard a medium say, "Hey stupid, your husband says you
were a lousy mother, couldn't cook worth a damn, were lousy in the sack and I couldn't
wait to die!"
- Have you been
counting? If you have, then ask yourself how could she be talking to the spirit
of the dead man and never get a name from him? When she starts to miss with the
food questions, she has to cover her tracks. These are signs and symbols she
gets. She isn't wrong only responding to the symbols that she's seen.
- She quickly breaks
it off and goes to her next reading. In reality, this isn't a reading but an
endorsement of her abilities. She tries, but fails, to get the audience to
laugh. Again, no name is given.
- She tells the group
that things she says might apply to them even though she isn't looking at them.
This gives the audience a false sense that they got something from the session.
In reality, they got nothing.
- She talks about a
"blood illness" that is head to toe and has something to do with the
liver. Anatomy 101—blood circulates throughout the entire body. All blood
illnesses are head to toe and all blood diseases impact the liver.
- She then asks who is
being tested for other illnesses? That's a very safe one to toss out as people
are always being tested for something.
- She talks about the
blow to the chest cause in death. It doesn’t pertain to those she reads for but
it applies to those seated on the other side of the studio. Then it goes from a
blow to the chest to her father died in front of her. The great message is
don't feel bad about it! Who wouldn't feel bad about something like that?
Notice that Theresa
Caputo has a string of misses and questionable hits so she decides to opt for
humor to keep the viewer derailed and bring in the hosts for a laugh.
Theresa tosses out the
question, who lost a daughter? No hits, so she jumps on to a brain aneurysm or
Alzheimer’s [you don't die from that illness]. A male reacts but she rejects
him. Nope, it's a young good-looking woman who takes advantage of the diseases
beginning with the letter A. It's easier to bring a woman to tears than a man.
This woman accepts everything sent her way, right up to the question "Do
you have any of her clothing?" That's a fairly safe one to ask, knowing
that you'll get a yes. But when the Long Island Medium starts to ask about
recent deaths, it's a big miss and Theresa breaks it off.
So let’s break down
this so-called certified medium readings down. [Ms. Caputo has been
certified by the Family Forever Foundation.]
1 Did she give us any
names? No.
2 Dates? No.
3 Places? No.
We are left to ask
this question--when people pass, do they get dumber? Do they lose the ability
to communicate with us? Are they unable to speak clearly through mediums? If we
go by what we see of the Long Island Medium, they can show up but are unable to
say who they are, whom they are here to visit. The deceased person can't give
their own name and the name of the loved one, not do they give a clear message.
People will always ask
how can people like this do such things? Theresa Caputo is not unique in any
way. She's just one more in a long list of flavors of the month/year when it
comes to fake psychics. She's now in the company of The Amazing Kreskin, Uri Geller,
Sylvia Browne, John Edwards, and James Van Praagh. Whether they claim to be
mind readers, magicians, mentalists, or mediums they all have the same basic
foundations.
1 They always claim
that the gift came to them early in life. Theresa Brigandi [maiden name] states
that her gift always sent her parents and brother into a crazy sort of ghost
hunt. At times, it led to having her father climb onto the roof of their home
looking for things with green scary eyes. This flies against what she now
claims -- to have never seen anything evil looking.
2 They always claim
that they did not really use their gift in life while they were children.
Except as a way to entertain others.
3 Others always found
them different.
4 They'll always find
a mentor which in the case of Theresa, was Pat Longo, a Long Island medium
herself. Mrs. Longo claims that she can heal you in person or over the phone
for just $175. Here's her website: http://patlongo.net/
In bold letters on
Mrs. Longo's website it says "…and in some God gave the gift of
healing."
That is found in the
bible: 1 Corinthians 12
But nowhere will you
find the passage: "And some the gift of healing which you can charge
$175."
Not to turn this into
a Bible thumping blog, but the moment money is connected to anyone carrying out
the gifts of the spirit, it stops being a genuine gift from God. The alleged
gift of healing means that it's either outright fakery or a gift from someplace
other than heaven.
In the May 26th episode, Why
Me, we learn that Pat had to deal with cancer and she had an operation. She
also mentions that her husband died from cancer five months ago. Why she did
not turn to her faith for healing? From the new age viewpoint, cancer is caused
by a negative spirit and/or negative energies being blocked at the chakra
points. This isn't something we'd expect from a healer.
We don't know if
Theresa went to Pat and was told that she was a medium or not. Or did she go to
Pat and say you're making a killing in this line or work, teach me how you fake
it. I'll take a look at the view that this so-called "spirit" they claim
to talk to is a demonic one.
Additionally it seems
that Pat feels she can teach anyone to do what Theresa claims to do. That means
it is not really a "gift" at all but simply a trade like driving a
truck or being a cook.
It seems her teaching
days are over as of 6/15/13.
Further digging into
the site leads us to a Wordpress blog made up of even more wacky new age
teachings on topics that were taught in the new age world back in the 1980s.
But there was a blog
that had an interesting title which lead us to a question to even more of her
claims. This is written by a participant in one of Pat's healing sessions. The
author writes about a mishmash of new age and eastern topics and describes
herself as a sensitive soul.
7 Ways to raise your Vibration: according to Pat Longo, Long
Island Theresa Caputo’s healer.
Pat apparently didn't
tell TLC that she was a medium [have you ever heard of a psychic telling their
client he/she is not psychic when asked?]. Anyway, she was/is Theresa's mentor
as well as her healer. Therefore, the Long Island Medium endorses people that
take part in illegal activates. Additionally, nowhere on the site is there any
evidence of medical science certifying that she is really a healer.
Pat seems she know how
to make a buck as she appeared on her student's show in the second episode of
the past season. If you want to see the pair together in the Season 2 episode
called Drumming and Healing, you can go to Amazon and see it
for $1.99. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ORWB86
This season, Theresa
complained that her shoulder hurt. Did she go to her healer for that magic
touch? No, she went to All-Star Physical Therapy. http://www.all-starpt.com/
Her brother is on the
staff there and took care of her needs. http://www.all-starpt.com/about-us/staff
Michael Brigandi PT,
MS
Guess she's afraid of
making Pat Longo a big star…
Check out my eBook Is the Long Island Medium the Real Deal?
It's available in eBook and paperback formats. http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/p/kirby-robinsons-books.html
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PARANORMAL wants you as a blogger!
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Monday, October 7, 2013
Disarmament for World Peace
Through history, mankind has pursued peace one way or another. It is too optimistic to imagine that world peace may finally be within our grasp? I do not believe that there has been an increase in the amount of people's hatred, only in their ability to manifest it in vastly destructive weapons. On the other hand, bearing witness to the tragic evidence of the mass slaughter caused by such weapons in our country has given us the opportunity to control war. To do so, it is clear we must disarm.
Disarmament can occur only within the context of new political and economic relationships. Before we consider this issue in detail, it is worth imagining the kind of peace process from which we would benefit most. This is fairly self - evident. First we should work on eliminating nuclear weapons, next, biological and chemical ones, then offensive arms, and finally, defensive ones. At the same time, to safeguard the peace, we should start developing in one or more global regions an international police force made up of equal number of members from each nation under a collective command. Eventually this force would cover the whole world.
Because the dual process of disarmament and development of a joint force would be both multilateral and democratic, the right of majority to criticize or even intervene in the event of one nation violating the basic rules would be ensured. Moreover, with all large armies eliminated and all conflict such as border disputes subject to the control of the joint international force, large and small nations would be truly equal. Such reforms would result in a stable international environment.
Of course, the immense financial dividend reaped from the cessation of arms production would also provide a fantastic windfall for global development. Today, the nations of the world spend trillions of dollars annually on upkeep of the military. Can you imagine how many hospital beds, schools and homes this money could fund? In addition, as I mentioned above, the awesome proportion of scarce resources squandered on military development not only prevents the elimination of poverty, illiteracy and disease, but also requires the sacrifice of precious human intelligence. Our scientists are extremely bright. Why should their brilliance be wasted on such dreadful endeavors when it could be used for positive global development?
The great deserts of the world such as the Sahara and Gobi could be cultivated to increase food production and ease over-crowding. Many countries now face years of severe drought. New, less expensive methods of desalinization could be developed to render seawater suitable for human consumption and other uses. There are many pressing issues in the fields of energy and health to which our scientist could more usefully address themselves. Since the world economy would grow more rapidly as a result of their efforts, they could even be paid more!
Our planet is blessed with vast natural treasures. If we use them properly, beginning with elimination of militarism and war, truly, every human being will be able to live a wealthy, well-cared-for life.
Naturally, global peace cannot occur all at once. Since conditions around the world are varied, its spread will have to be incremental. But there is no reason why it cannot begin in one region and then spread gradually from one continent to another.
I would like to propose that regional communities like the European Community be established as an integral part of the more peaceful world we are trying to create. Looking at the post Cold War environment objectively, such communities are plainly the most natural and desirable components of a new world order. As we can see, the almost gravitational pull of our growing interdependence necessitates new, more cooperative structures. The European Community is pioneering the way in this endeavor, negotiating the delicate balance between economic, military and political collectively on the one hand and the sovereign rights of member states on the other. I am greatly inspired by this work. I also believe that the new Commonwealth of Independent Sates is grappling with similar issues and that the seeds of such a community are already present in the minds of many of its constituent republics. In this context, I would briefly like to talk about the future of my own country, Tibet, and China.
Like the former Soviet Union, Communist China is a multinational state, artificially constructed under the impetus of an expansionist ideology and up to now administered by force in colonial fashion. A peaceful, prosperous and above all politically stable future for china lies in its successfully fulfilling not only its own people's wishes for a more open, democratic system, but also of its eighty million so-called "national minorities", who want to regain their freedom. For real happiness to return to the heart of Asia - home to one-fifth of the human race - a pluralistic, democratic, mutually cooperative community of sovereign states must replace what is currently called the People's Republic of China.
Of course, such a community need not be limited to those presently under Chinese Communist Domination, such as Tibetans, Mongols, and Uighurs. The people of Hong Kong, those seeking an independent Taiwan, and even those suffering under other communist governments in North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia might also be interested in building an Asian Community. However, it is especially urgent that those ruled by the Chinese Communist consider doing so. Properly pursued, it could help save China from violent dissolution; regionalism and a return to the chaotic turmoil that has so afflicted this great nation throughout the twentieth century. Currently China's political life is so polarized that there is every reason to fear an early recurrence of bloodshed and tragedy. Each of us- every member of the world community - has a moral responsibility to help avert the immense suffering that civil strife would bring to China's vast population.
I believe that the very process of dialogue, modernization and compromise involved in building a community of Asian states would itself give real hope of peaceful evolution to a new order in China. From the very start, the member states of such a community might agree to decide its defense and international relations policies together. There would be many opportunities for cooperation. The critical point is that we find a peaceful, nonviolent way for the forces of freedom, democracy and moderation to emerge successfully from the current atmosphere of unjust repression.
The Dalai Lama will be holding a public talk and teachings at Emory University from October 8-10. For more information, visit this website. http://www.dalailama.emory.edu/webcast/index.html
The Harbinger: Prophecy or Fiction? – Wednesday, October 9, 2013
“Hidden in an ancient biblical prophecy from Isaiah,
the mysteries revealed in The Harbinger are so precise that they foretold
recent American events down to the exact days. The revelations are so specific
that even the most hardened skeptics will find it hard to dismiss or put down.
It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller with one exception… IT S REAL,”
states the sales page for Jonathan Cahn’s book, The Harbinger: The Ancient
Mystery That Holds the Secret of America’s Future.
The book enjoys an almost perfect 5-star review status
from over 3,000 commentators on Amazon. And the big names in Christianity are
raving. “Extraordinary!” proclaims the Christian Broadcasting Network’s Pat
Robertson. Televangelist Sid Roth of
“It’s Supernatural” says “It’s mind blowing!” From World Net Daily, Joseph
Farah opines that the book is “stunning.”
The author, Jonathan Cahn, has been a guest on a
number of Christian and conservative programs, lauded by hosts like Glenn Beck
with the message of The Harbinger. Cahn’s teachings “are known for their
prophetic import and their revealing of the deep mysteries of God’s word,” his
biography states. He leads the Jerusalem Center / Beth Israel in Wayne, New
Jersey, and Hope of the World ministries, an international evangelistic
outreach.
Do the Old Testament biblical prophecies concerning
Israel correlate with the United States of America? Do the nine “harbingers”
described in Cahn’s work have prophetic merit? Eye on the Paranormal host Kirby
Robinson will address these and other topics in his review of The Harbinger. Be
sure to call in with your questions or comments.
As a weekly feature, Kirby will also share some book
reviews and recommendations, as well as his infamous incredible "BAD BAD
Thing Awards."
Showtime begins at 7 PM [PST] or 10 PM [EST]. See this page for more information: http://www.goddiscussion.net/2013/10/05/the-harbinger-prophecy-or-fiction-wednesday-october-9-2013/
Here’s last
week's show—Realistic or Fake? A Review of the Para-Reality TV Shows
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God: An Unauthorized Investigation into Paranormal State's 'I Am Six' Case"
[also in paperback!], "Investigating Paranormal State," "Paranormal
State Exposed" and "Paranormal Teachings: The Best of Shedding Some
Light" and earn money. You can also sell other books and products that
Amazon offers. Here's the link: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/
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