Sunday, February 20, 2022

Commentary: Should Christians Vote?


 by Guy C. LaMar


THERE are a lot of arguments involving this question. Both sides of the argument are good ones. Either may be acceptable points of view.

Although we, as true Christians, MUST take a stand while we have an opportunity available.

’ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, …’ - In Greek, the word “seek” is zēteō, meaning “to look for, seek out; try to obtain, desire to possess, strive for.” “ … ‘and all these things shall be added to you’ – Matthew 6:33.

“’ Choose men of wisdom, understanding, and repute for each of your tribes, and I will set them in authority over you.’” – Deuteronomy 1:13, NEB, see also Exodus 18:21-22; Numbers 11:16-17.

The New Living Translation adds: 
“Moses identified some of the inner qualities of good leaders: (1) wisdom, (2) experience, and (3) understanding. These characteristics differ markedly from the ones that often help elect leaders today: good looks, wealth, popularity, willingness to do anything to get to the top.” 1
Thus true Christians are to search out for the closest manner of God’s Way that we as mortal humans are able to find within our limitations.

So, by true Christians voting for the leader who best represents the kingdom of God and the Way of Jesus Christ, it shows God how we stand in our views.

Once we have voted, God will allow the proper leader to be allowed into power for the sake of His bidding – whether it’s in our favor or not. Regardless, God KNOWS our viewpoint!

We should not allow ourselves to be overly concerned by the leadership, no matter if we agree or disagree with the administration. Nothing we can say or do will change the outcome.

God’s Plan is in order.

By voting, true CHRISTIANS have told God who they feel is the best representative for the Way of the kingdom of God and of the manner of Jesus’ example.

THAT IS AS FAR AS TRUE CHRISTIANS SHOULD TAKE THE MATTER!

By allowing ourselves to be overly concerned with politics we allow ourselves to be victims of making an idol out of politicians, political policies, or political platforms.

And in doing so we replace the almighty Creator God with the god of this world – Satan the devil.

We allow ourselves to conform to the ways of this world while rejecting God’s Way.

So, true Christians should simply find who they believe is the best representative of the kingdom of God and who best follows the platform of examples given by our Lord Jesus Christ, and simply vote for that person – and leave it at that.

We have told God who it is that we stand beside. It shows God our frame of thought towards the kingdom of God’s Way and the example given by Jesus Christ.

If we, as true Christians, are able to find someone remotely close to the will of God’s Way, then we should vote for that person. If we can not find anyone who has any flavor of God’s Way, then we should not even bother to vote.

When a candidate opposes things that are an abomination unto God, such as homosexuality and abortion (for any reason), then it is our Christian duty to vote for that person.

But, if we vote for someone who agrees or promotes homosexuality and abortions, then we have just voted – in essence – for the Devil.

Indeed, true Christians should vote. This allows us to take a stand for the kingdom of God.

UNTIL the establishment of God’s physical soon-coming kingdom, all we as true Christians can do is to SEEK – to SEARCH – to TRY AND FIND – the best way of that kingdom and the only way to do this is to choose the closest leader that represents the kingdom of God’s Way.

I’ve said it MANY times, and I will say it again, in the United States of America, NO TRUE CHRISTIAN can stand by the Democratic Party (there’s no question that the Democratic Party is controlled by far-left radicals whose socialist policies would devastate this nation) and truthfully call themselves a Christian.

The Democratic Party – in this present evil age – promotes abominations!

They stand by an anti-God platform!

Once the leaders are in office, true Christians should not bellyache, whine, or complain about the leadership. It’s God’s will.

What the true Christian SHOULD do is stay in the Bible, strictly focused on JESUS CHRIST! Wrapping themselves with JESUS CHRIST!

Praying aways that God will protect them from the things that are before us that may be harmful to us.

Praying always that God will allow His wisdom and guidance to direct our steps in life.

PRAISE JESUS for His example to guide us in steps of life!

Sadly, people within a church gathering who get all bent out of shape over politics clearly are void of God’s Holy Spirit.

Stay focuses always on JESUS – not politics! That is the only true Christian Way in this matter. □

Bibliography:

1) Life Application Study Bible, NLT, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Ill. © 1996, 2004, pg. 264.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Personal from... Capital Punishment

Greetings Everyone! For this Personal this month, I would like to talk about punishment – as in parents spanking their child/children in this 21st-century world. This subject comes to the forefront of my mind because a friend of my wife’s and mine brought this very subject up in a conversation and had stated most assuredly that “we cannot raise our children the way our parents raised us. Our parents raised us to be prejudiced and segregationists.”

Now, there are different issues in his statement. Yet, he conjoined those issues into one. I, as politely as possible responded, “We are going to have to agree to disagree.” My parents both spanked me when my wrong behavior needed to be modified.

WHAT our friend is unaware of is the fact that there is a resentment in this world toward Authority. And that Authority being God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Would one not agree that whatever God says should go!? There is also a grave lack of authority when it comes to young children and religion!

Notice what this professing Christian world is like even today –

“ … there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, … 2) And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom THE WAY OF TRUTH will be blasphemed. … 10) and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries [as in, a person in GOVERNMENT] – 2 Peter 2:1, 2, 10.

It's difficult to raise children to respect others and to respect authority when parents don’t even respect each other. Large portions of our societies DO NOT respect the law. Yet, they want to repeal it, annul, emasculate and tear down every last vestige of right authority and law enforcement! And an ever-greater majority (like our friend) complain bitterly against any capital punishment. And what our friend had no knowledge of nor even thought about is the fact that there are currently 53 prisoners on federal death row. 22 of those prisoners are white, 23 are black, seven are Latino and one is Asian. And I could have easily mentioned to him that America has by far the largest correctional system in the world and that most commonly cited stats claim that there are about 2.3 million inmates in jail on any given day! Does our friend know how to put a stop to this!? Does he know more than God!? As God asks Job, “’ Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?’” So, whatever “punishment” he has in his mind for children in this present evil age is certainly NOT WORKING!

It is and has been, this basic, underlying hostility toward AUTHORITY, and the belief that corporal punishment in regards to children is WRONG and capital punishment, the death penalty, of convicted criminals of serious and violent crimes is WRONG that is and has been, pervading every cranny of our diseased and decaying civilization.

Now, I could have also easily stated to our friend that in America alone according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 19.7 million children in America – more than one in five – live WITHOUT a father in the home!

WHY this FEAR of corporal punishment?

Well, with the ushering in of this new Woke movement – which has been with us for quite a bit longer than most realize, called “progressive education.” The rise of such prominent “thinkers” of our time the likes of William James – considered to be a leading thinker of the late 19th century, one of the most influential philosophers of the United States, and the “Father of American psychology” along with even the likes of Dr. Ruth after having earned her doctorate in the late ‘50s – these prevailing and false concepts rooted themselves into even today’s confusion over child-rearing – notice these tidbits of “progressive human knowledge” -

“Any kind of punishment either by means of words or force, or even mild reprimands on the subject, is extremely unwise,” advises a foremost source in 1952 assuring young and impressionable parents that they should NEVER punish “or even reprimand” their child/children. “The chief danger of punishment is that it makes the child feel guilty — that he is bad, naughty. The child is likely to have a stronger feeling of guilt about his activity than about the other things he does. His ideas are vague and confused and his imagination vivid. He may build up pictures of the terrible things that will happen to him because of his naughtiness, thus sowing the seed of more fears and more anxieties, and increasing his emotional difficulties” 1

Friends, in these statements alone, they denounce ALMIGHTY GOD! – who gives them the very breath they breathe! Our great God spends a large amount of time in His living word detailing the frightful PUNISHMENTS to be inflicted in a God-rejecting sin-filled world than He does describe rewards! And what is ever-more important, God means what He says and He backs His words up! He DOES PUNISH!

Notice here the insipid and ignorant depths to which this “progressive education” sinks in its lawless doctrines of “just do as you please” –

“The ineffectiveness of this form of punishment [spanking children] has been demonstrated repeatedly. Of the problem cases described by 100 teachers, not one was improved by whipping. School social workers frequently report that a child’s emotional difficulties are aggravated by beatings at home. … Many parents have said ‘The more I whip him the worse he gets.’” 2

Notice that this “professional” lumped the words “whipping” and “beatings” together in his statement!? As if they are one and the same! And, again a complete lack of information from “100 teachers” is used to “demonstrate” that corporal punishment doesn’t work. Nothing was said at all about the frequency with which it was done, the consistency, or whether it was correctly and thoughtfully done. Rather that punishment for the sake of punishment is wrong. My wife and I came face-to-face with this insipid ignorance when we were going to adopt a child. In their “discipline policy,” they have stated: “The adoptive family doesn’t engage in the following …” and “engagement in the following prohibited practice may result in an investigation by Child Protective Investigations. …” And, of course, they list spanking as prohibited – in which they deem “hitting” a child.

Many child psychologists appear to believe the idea that parent-child relationships are as difficult as governmental diplomacy. So many and varied are the suggestions on the tactful employment of “modern psychology” in the parents’ dealings with their children that one is certainly confused by the utter nonsense and complete lack of statements, and unanswered questions. My wife and I were told that we were to punish with a “time-in.” Unlike a time-out, which traditionally involves sending a child to his room or some other solitary place, a “time-in” involves having a child sit quietly in the same room with a parent. Yet, according to Dr. George Holden, chair of the Department of Psychology at Southern Methodist University, “We’re currently doing research on whether time-ins work, but to my knowledge, there’s virtually no evidence on whether time-ins are effective.” 3

John Watson, an American psychologist who popularized the scientific theory of behaviorism, wrote, “The word punishment should not appear in our dictionaries except as an obsolete word, and I believe this should be just as true in the field of criminology as in that of child-rearing.” 4

“PUNISHMENT should NOT appear in our dictionaries!” O’ what were you smokin’ Dr. Watson!? Oh, how the gullible, untrained, and inexperienced young parents of the 20th century were warned against fearsome and unpredictable evils of parental discipline OF ANY FORM WHATSOEVER!

Corporal punishment, as in spankings, as we just saw from prominent “thinkers” of our time has labeled it bestial, inhuman, brutal, hateful, unreasonable, and useless as well as harmful. I saw first-hand that parents are threatened to “reason” with their unruly child/children or the authorities would get involved if spankings were used. Now, you can go on and read an innumerable amount of documented sources attacking the “old fashioned” methods of child-rearing from men and women doctors, from social workers, and a whole host of others – and you are more than welcome to do that at your leisure – but in this Personal, I want to get to the real heart of the matter.

Does God use capital punishment?

To properly understand God’s kingdom, we must first study His Way of governing people. And we can learn this from the Way that He dealt with ancient Israel in the past. We also need to learn how God deals with us even now, and what He will do in the immediate future. You are going to need and use this vital information.

The administration of the civil government of ancient Israel actually reveals to us God’s method of dealing directly with unconverted, fleshly, sinning people. To be factual – the government of ancient Israel had church and state combined – though it was physical, the administration of civil and religious statutes and ordinances was combined. Bear in mind, as Minister Michael Garrett reminds us over and over – ancient Israel was NEVER promised salvation at that time. The promises under the Old Covenant were material – cf. Leviticus 26:3-12. They were not converted, nor did they have God’s Holy Spirit, hence they could not understand spiritual things. They were like the majority of people today. God dealt with them in a purely physical manner – PUNISHING THEM FOR THEIR CRIMES.

The Ministry of Death

As I have written about before – the Ten commandments are entirely separate and distinct from the law of Moses. The Ten Commandments is a spiritual Law that lasts forever –

“The works of His hands are verity and justice; All His precepts are sure. 8) They stand fast forever and ever, And are done in truth and uprightness” – Psalm 111:7-8.

The apostle Paul wrote of this ministry of death – or the “ministration of death” as the Authorized Version renders it –

“But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8) how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?” – 2 Corinthians 3:7-8.

Just what is this ministry of death, which was written on stones!? Was Paul referring to the Ten Commandments!?

Turn with me if you will to the Book of Deuteronomy chapter 27 –

“Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: ‘Keep all the commandments which I command you today. 2) And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves LARGE STONES, and whitewash them with lime. 3) You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land … 4) … you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. … 6) You shall build with whole stones the altar of the LORD your God, …” – Deuteronomy 27:1-3, 4, 6.

So, Moses commanded the children of Israel to set up LARGE STONES, and whitewash them with lime, and write upon them all the words of the CIVIL LAWS – which he had repeated to them.

The administration of these CIVIL LAWS embodied the “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” principle – cf. Deuteronomy 19:21. And the penalty for breaking many of these civil laws was DEATH! This is what Paul is speaking of – NOT the Ten Commandments!

The very principles of the Ten Commandments form the basis of the civil statutes and judgments. A violation of these principles was punished by civil authority only in as much as they were later repeated in the civil statutes and judgments. The administration of death was the civil execution of punishments for the violation of this civil law which Moses commanded the people.

Now certainly some of these punishments seem rather harsh. But a careful study reveals an all-wise purpose behind them. Such things as murder, kidnapping, and adultery were punishable by death! They certainly show evil-doers the enormity of their sins!

A provision to protect the sanctity of the home and parental authority is set forth in the law regarding a rebellious son. If he obstinately refused to obey his parents, his life was forfeited – cf. Deuteronomy 21:20-21. Is this a stern measure!? Yes. But this certainly helped prevent children from growing up with an attitude of contempt and rebellion against everything good and decent. As God’s living word says, “all Israel shall hear and fear.” As I was saying earlier, too many young people in the United States of America do not respect Authority, or parental and government authority. And in this present evil age, parents are being threatened if they exercise authority over their children - cf. Isaiah 3:12.

And I want to address any who are saying that I am an advocate for child abuse. Spankings are not child abuse – they are a form of discipline. There are a growing number of people who believe that spanking means the same as beating or hitting. And if beating and hitting are bad (which they are), then to them spankings are bad. Spanking is not the same as a beating or hitting. Beating and striking are designed to inflict harm. A spanking is designed to promote good character. Surely, King Solomon was spanked – cf. Proverbs 13:24.

Today, as never before, people take crime lightly. But God wants people to fear doing wrong. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” – Psalm 111:10. People must learn to revere the LORD our God and His Law.

The ministry of death was instituted to show the children of Israel the result of wrong conduct. It was part of the law code – which was added: “because of transgressions” – Galatians 3:19. And, this law code – the Mosaic Law – was to last until “the Seed should come.”

The Ministry of the Spirit

Upon the acceptable year of the Lord, God the Father sent Christ Jesus to begin a new ministry. Why!? Because the first ministry gave only death for disobedience. Human judges are not able to impart eternal life, they could only minister death. What was needed was a new ministry – the Ministry of Jesus Christ! Which could pardon and offer eternal life to those who repent and are baptized and want to obey.

The promise of the Holy Spirit was given to all believers for the FIRST TIME – and instead of ministering the death penalty for sins, our Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles, and His ministers today minister and teach people the Way to eternal life through Jesus Christ.

So, do you see the vast difference!? The children of Israel under the Old Covenant only understood the letter of God’s Law. Being unconverted, the majority of them didn’t even obey the letter. So God gave them civil laws and prescribed punishments, or judgments, for breaking those civil laws. Ancient Israel’s judges punished transgressors of this civil law code by fines and even death. Thus, the apostle Paul called it the “ministry of death.” And it was necessary because the house of Israel was a kingdom of unconverted people. However, it was to only last until our Lord Jesus Christ came, who introduced a new spiritual ministry – the New Covenant – to reconcile us to God.

All men are born mortal into sin – cf. Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:18-19. All men are in need of God’s Spirit – the begettal of eternal life. Also, all men need to stop sinning – which means breaking God’s Law! All men need the love that fulfills the Law –

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” – 1 John 5:3; see also Romans 5:5; 13:10.

Recall, one of the fruits of the Spirit is love – cf. Galatians 5:22-23. Godly love.

Unless we have that love which only the Spirit of God can give, we sin – and “the wages of sin is death” – Romans 6:23.

What is sin!? “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” – 1 John 3:4. Now, the Law spoken of here by the apostle John is NOT the ministry of death written and engraved in stones. The “ministration of death” only lasted until “the Seed should come.” This Law which the apostle John speaks of is the Ten Commandments. Law in which NOT ONE jot or one tittle shall pass till ‘heaven and earth pass away’ and ‘all is fulfilled’ – cf. Matthew 5:18; Revelation 21:1-2, 5.

True Christians are being judged by this perfect and just Law!

“So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty” – James 2:12.

Friends, Christ came to free us from sin through His atoning sacrifice – cf. Hebrews 2:14-15.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus [the spiritual Commandments of the New Covenant] has made me free from the law of sin and death [the physical civil law of the Old Covenant] – Romans 8:2.

The law of the Old Covenant was an extremely physically oriented ritualistic grouping of ideas for people who were unconverted and very carnal, very physical – naturally human. But the Old Covenant, even though it had its place for a time, it ultimately could not solve your problems, because there was never life – there was never a promise of eternal life – contained in the tenants of the Old Covenant. The New Covenant, under which we now live with Jesus Christ being not only our Savior but now our living High Priest. That’s an agreement that has the PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE!

Ten Commands NO LONGER Written On Tablets Of Stone

True Christians are to have God’s spiritual Law – the Ten Commandments written in their hearts and minds – not on tablets of stone as under the Old Covenant. Nor are they to have them in tefillin or in phylacteries in regards to grave misunderstandings of Deuteronomy 11:18!

The apostle Paul writes that God’s holy Law is not at all abolished – that it is “written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” – 2 Corinthians 3:3. I don’t know how it could be any clearer!?

And since we, by our human nature, violate God’s holy and relevant Law, we certainly need His pardon – GRACE! The awesome power of God’s Spirit within us to fulfill them. Our Lord Jesus Christ died for all of our sins – cf. Romans 3:10-12. He made it possible to receive the Holy Spirit from Father God. And His ministers are to teach people how to quit sinning and to gain eternal life – by ministering or teaching the people how to be reconciled to God the Father and to receive His gift of the Holy Spirit.

True Christians are to forgive men their trespasses – Matthew 6:14-15. We are NOT to avenge ourselves, but rather rely on God’s holy and righteous judgment upon those who violate His Law in harming us –

“Repay no one evil for evil. …” – in other words, two wrongs don’t make a right. “ … Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 19) Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. 20) Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in doing so will heap coals of fire on his head.’ 21) Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” – Romans 12:17-21.

Nor should we judge another – cf. Matthew 7:1-2.

the Authority of Civil Governments

Understand – God is allowing these worldly governments, ruled by Satan the devil, to rule themselves in this present evil age. We are to be subject to these civil leaders and to realize that they hold their authority from the appointment of God to carry out the enforcement of law and order – cf. Romans 13:1-8. There are no nations in this present evil age carrying out the righteous judgments of Almighty God. Yet, it is His will that nations administer civil government to maintain law and order.

The apostle Paul explains to us –

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made FOR ALL MEN, 2) for kings [presidents, prime ministers] and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior” – 1 Timothy 2:1-3.

Are civil leaders sinning when they condemn a criminal of a serious crime to death!?

Well, going back to the Book of Romans chapter 13 – God answers this question –

“For he [this civil leader] is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he [this civil leader] does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” – Romans 13:4.

Now, these civil leaders will be held accountable if they willingly abuse the authority God has allowed them to wield. Theirs is a most serious responsibility! As I’ve said before – like a minister of God, civil leaders too should be above reproach.

The Penalty for SIN Is Still DEATH!

God’s living word says, “the soul who sins shall die” – Ezekiel 18:4. And for posterity and importance, it is repeated in verse 20!

The penalty of death is STILL in effect for those who break God’s holy and relevant Law! It is time for all true Christians EVERYWHERE to wake up and realize that God means what He says!

The apostle Paul teaches us clearly –

“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27) but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28) ANYONE who has rejected Moses’ law [speaking of the physical Mosaic law – the Old Covenant] dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

29) Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant [meaning, the New Covenant] by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

30) For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ 31) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” – Hebrews 10:26-31.

So, it is unmistakable that a far worse punishment than just “sleep” will befall those who willfully trample on God’s holy Law than that which was visited upon the children of Israel. For that punishment will be eternal death! The “ministration of death” of the children of Israel was only a lesser physical type of the eternal punishment in refusing to obey God’s Law once God’s knowledge has been revealed.

So, we see clearly, the Way that the LORD God dealt with ancient Israel in the past, in just how the soon-coming King of kings and Lord of lords – Jesus Christ – will stamp out serious crimes and lawlessness in His Millennial Reign!

God’s living word says –

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” – Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6.

He was the very LORD God of ancient Israel who enforced capital punishment in national physical Israel. The nations of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord (God the Father) and of His Christ (Jesus Christ), and He shall reign forever and ever! – cf. Revelation 11:15.

Those nations will still be physical humans, carnal, ruled by Christ Jesus and the saints – then made divine members of the Kingdom of God.

There will be swift law and order! And there will be no escape for the guilty! There will be no miscarriage of justice. Men will fear to do wrong that such serious crimes will be a thing of the past.

Now, there may be some who think that spanking (or not spanking) a child/children is not relevant to capital punishment of deserving criminals. Yet, God’s living word says –

“He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly” – Proverbs 13:24.

In a nutshell, it means: If children are not spanked when they do wrong, their personal development could suffer.

We, whom God is now calling unto salvation, are to teach God’s holy and relevant Law then – notice: “ … and books were opened. …” – Revelation 20:12. The word books in Greek is biblion, as in Psalm 56:8; 139:4, 16; Malachi 3:16; Romans 2:16, 16; John 12:48 – and to enforce His Law. Our life is now in training to educate and prepare us for that grave responsibility and glorious opportunity.

Let us brethren learn the lesson from these examples that our God intended, and STOP trying to use human reasoning to justify wrong deeds.

“DO NOT BE DECEIVED, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” – Galatians 6:7.

Do you believe God’s living word!?

Sadly, many of you have been trying to hide your eyes from God’s Law. You spend much time and effort in vain attempting to excuse or justify your beliefs.

God’s living word says that your reward for sin is DEATH!

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” – Romans 6:23.

Yes – in this case, God’s word teaches CAPITAL PUNISHMENT!

If you haven’t done so already, you’d best take the apostle Peter’s advice to “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” – Acts 2:38.

God dearly loves you. He wants to give you eternal life! □


Bibliography:

1) The Complete book of mothercraft : a collection of expert advice for successful parenthood by twenty-five leading specialists, New York, Greystone, 1952, pg. 391.

2) Strang, R., An Introduction To Child Study, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1938, pg. 382.

3) Heid, M., Are Time-Outs Harmful to Kids? The Latest Research Says Otherwise, Time, 15 Oct. 2019, Reviewed 8 Feb. 2022.

4) Watson, J. Psychological Care Of Infant and Child, George Allen and Unwin Ltd., London, 1928, pgs. 58-59.


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Baptism Is Commanded


by Guy LaMar


Baptism is commanded by God for salvation –

’ Go therefore and make disciples [meaning, teach] of all the nations, BAPTIZING THEM in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I AM with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen” – Matthew 28:19-20; see also Acts 2:36-42.

The apostle Peter commanded the crowd gathered in Jerusalem when the Day of Pentecost had fully come –

“’ Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” – Acts 2:38.

The word “baptized” here is from the Greek word baptizō, which means “primarily a frequentative form of baptō, to dip” 1 - “to plunge into.” Now, the Greek word for “sprinkle” is rhantizō, a latter form of rhainō, as in Hebrews 9:13. 2 Therefore, sprinkling nor pouring are proper forms of baptism. Immersion – being placed completely underwater is.

John the Baptist was baptizing in the river Aenon “near Salim, because there was much water there” – John 3:23.

When Philip the evangelist baptized the Ethiopian, a eunuch of great authority, “both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him” – Acts 8:38.

Baptism is done by complete immersion in water, as was the method practiced by the Church of God founded by Jesus Christ.

Even though Jesus had no sins to repent of, He was baptized by John the Baptist, setting us an example to follow – Matthew 3:13-16; 1 Peter 2:21.

Baptism is purely symbolic. It is an outward sign of inward repentance. It demonstrates to God one’s willingness and desire to change one’s life of sin and begin living a new life of obedience to God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Baptism demonstrates our complete surrender unto God.

Baptism is symbolic of one’s death, burial, and resurrection from the grave – Romans 6:2-6; Colossians 2:12-13.

Being immersed into the water pictures the death of Christ and of our old self.

Coming up out of the water pictures Christ’s resurrection, and of our coming up out of the water to walk “in newness of life” – to live a life of obedience to God, free from the guilt of past sins and the ultimate death penalty that those sins had incurred – Romans 6:23.

We now consider ourselves “dead,” so far as sin is concerned, but “alive” through God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ – Romans 6:11.

Baptism should be done as the result of genuine repentance toward God and complete faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. Only a mature mind can truly “count the cost” – Luke 14:26-30.

One must be mentally mature – enough to understand the commitment they are making and be able to truly repent and believe.

Generally speaking – only mature adults should be baptized.

There is no record of our Lord Jesus ever having commanded the baptism of children, nor is there any biblical record of the early New Testament Church having performed children baptisms.

Baptism is an outward acknowledgment that our selfish, vain, and sinful old self must die so that we might rise to live a new life of obedience to God’s holy and relevant Commandments as made possible through His Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is not given immediately at or by water baptism – yet, Acts 2:38 shows us that baptism must precede the gifting of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is given to a person through prayer and the laying on of hands of one of God’s true ministers.

The sequence of events is as follows:
  1. Repentance.
  2. Water Baptism.
  3. The laying on of hands.
  4. The receiving of the Holy Spirit as a result of the laying on of hands.

Counsel

The Independent Christian Church of God and our affiliated churches have ministers in the southeastern and far southeastern regions of the United States. They are ready to counsel with you personally – to answer any questions you may have – and to baptize any who are ready for it.

So, if you have deeply repented and sincerely want to be baptized, or if you are just desiring to discuss this vital subject with a qualified and dedicated servant of God, please contact us at https://www.facebook.com/gc.lamar.58/. Of course, these men will not contact you unless you request it.

You can also contact us at: pastorleonard1@yahoo.com, or write to us at The Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries P.O. Box 6458 Spring Hill, Florida 34606.


Additional articles of related interest:


Just what does it mean to repent? Is real repentance just an emotional feeling? Is it just merely feeling sorry for having made some mistakes in life!? What is God's definition of true repentance? Minister Michael C. Garrett examines what true repentance is and is not, detailing what God's definition of real repentance truly is.


Is God a Trinity or a family? Is the Holy Spirit a being or the creative power of the Godhead?


To refresh my memory and in the preparation for this message today I studied up, briefly, an outline of U.S. history, along with many of the lives of our earliest presidents, as well as doing something I have never done before – the reading of the whole of the Declaration of Independence – [...]

Saturday, February 12, 2022

Commentary: Women in the Church


 by Guy C. LaMar


As we go along in this journey towards the end of this age we are seeing more and more a great weakness within the Church of God.

More and more men are failing as leaders, and more and more women are calling the shots in churches.

Women are being ALLOWED positions of AUTHORITY over men.

Whether in the Church or in the home.

It appears that men – as a whole - are or are becoming emasculated.

People NEED to stop thinking outside of the structured Church box to give out THEIR OWN worldly input of thoughts of things so as to change what God’s very established living word says.

People NEED to get back to the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints and stick to the solid trunk of the tree – God’s living word!

No one wants to hurt people’s feelings, but we live in this present evil age of extremely petty and overly sensitive people.

Now personally, I’d rather piss off people for defending the living Word of God than make God angry at me because I did not stand up for His word.

And, take note: I am very well established in what I believe that I will NOT change one iota to what I stand for!

With me, there is NO ROOM for any debates on this subject.

It is important to stand against those who wish to twist God’s word to fit their own agenda.

Friends, I will NEVER EVER allow a woman to teach in any church meeting that I am over, and nor will I stay in a church meeting where a woman is teaching.

Now, I have no issue with a woman giving testimony in praise to Almighty God – but that will be outside of the actual church service – meaning, she will NOT be allowed to speak between the opening prayer and the closing prayer.

After the closing prayer – which is officially the end of church service – she may give her testimony.

Because a church service is actually during services and begins with the opening prayer of a blessing on the services and the closing prayer – the conclusion of the service.

Before and after that it is only fellowship time – a weekly “family reunion” of the brethren in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The apostle Paul teaches – inspired by the Holy Spirit of our God -
“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12) But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence” – 1 Tim. 2:11-12; KJV.

“Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. 12) And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man” – 1 Tim. 2:11-12; NKJV.

“Let a woman learn in quietness and be submissive in every respect. 12) For I do not permit a woman to teach, nor to exercise authority over a man, but to be in quietness” – 1 Tim. 2:11-12; NET.

“A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12) I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man” - 1 Tim. 2:11-12; NIV.

“Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 12) But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet” – 1 Tim. 2:11-12; NAS.

“Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. 12) For I do not allow a woman to teach, or to exercise authority over men; but she is to keep quiet” – 1 Tim. 2:11-12; Challoner-Rheims, Catholic Version.

“Women should listen and learn quietly and humbly. 12) I never let women teach men or lord it over them. Let them be silent in your church meetings” – 1 Tim. 2:11-12; TLB.
He also teaches us in 1st Corinthians –
“Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says” – 1 Cor. 14:34; NKJV.

“Let your women keep silent in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law” – 1 Cor. 14:34; KJV.

“ … As in all the congregations of the saints, 34) women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says” – 1 Cor. 14:33, 34; NIV.

“Let the women keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves, just as the Law also says” – 1 Cor. 14:34; NAS.

“Women should be silent during the church meetings. They are not to take part in the discussion, for they are subordinate to men, as the Scriptures also declare” – 1 Cor. 14:34; TLB.
People need NOT try and pervert the living word of God to fit their own agenda. □


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Is Civil Unrest Increasing In America?A greater amount of armed Americans could very well mean the greater possibility of civil unrest. [...]
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Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Revelation - A Book of the Past and the Future (Part 5)



 

Greetings Everyone, it’s great to be with you once again, here in Spring Hill, Florida, just a mile away from living mermaids here in Weeki Wachee! Welcome our dear brethren and friends in Germany – Grüße an euch Brüder und Freunde in Deutschland! Also, in Orlando, Florida; Buda, Texas; Athens, Alabama; and Lake Charles, Louisiana – greetings to everyone!

It is a pure pleasure to be here with everyone once again! I’m so glad that you are here! And, I’m pleased that you are here – our friends who listen to us on our YouTube and UGETube channels and our Soundcloud Radio channel – I send all you greetings, and I hope that you’re in a much warmer place than West Florida today.

Turn with me in your Bible again to the Book of Revelation chapter 8

Verse 1 – “When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”

Now, we believe that the first four of these trumpets are in conjunction with the prophesied witnesses which are spoken of in the Book of Revelation chapter 11 – which finalizes with the “Two Witnesses.” It’s the same type of situation that we read about in the Book of Exodus – in which Moses was given power to affect the pharaoh of Egypt, and in the end, the children of God were allowed to leave their captivity. So, we believe the prophesied end-time witnesses have a hand in all of this.

Again, and I cannot reiterate this enough, and so many times we and our affiliated churches have mentioned this very thing – a great many people do not understand what we teach from the Spirit of God. Question: When is the glorious resurrection of the saints!? Now, the majority of the remnants of the churches of God have been “doctrinally” proclaiming for some eighty-eight years that the resurrection of the saints would NOT occur until the seven seals were over, and the seven trumpets were over, and the seven plagues were over. And then, somewhere in all of that – they weren’t quite sure – the resurrection of the saints would occur. They also incorrectly stated as part of their “doctrine” that the seventh of the plagues was somehow an extension of the seventh trumpet blast. And, I still have in my file cabinet a copy of their 1972 booklet “The Book of Revelation Unveiled at last!” with its bright red cover which proclaims this very thing!

Well, close – but no cigar!

Friends, the seven seals are roughly equivalent to the very early part of what our Lord Jesus Christ has called the ‘great tribulation,’ the end-time troubles – ‘Jacob’s Trouble’ of Ezekiel chapter 30.

Then, the TRUMPS – where the angels sound their trumpets and some very terrible things begin to take place upon the earth! And then we’re told that the SEVENTH TRUMP in Revelation chapter 10 along with Revelation chapter 11 – of which I ended Part 4 of this series – that the SEVENTH TRUMP is that very time where the resurrection of the saints occurs! The last trump of which the apostle Paul spoke about! The very last trump which our Lord Jesus Christ spoke about upon His return and of hearing a ‘great trump,’ and that the people would be ‘gathered together.’

So, I wanted to reiterate this once again before we begin here in chapter 8. This seventh seal is equivalent to the beginning of the SEVEN TRUMPETS.

Chapter 8 of the Book of Revelation


Chapter 8 is a very moving Scripture to read – with the apostle John, prisoner, on the island of Patmos, the northernmost island of the Dodecanese, at a very elderly age – “for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ”! He was certainly there thinking about the life that he had lived and of the testimony which he stood for. And as we had read in the SECOND PART, suddenly behind him he heard as it were “a loud voice, as of a trumpet” blast! And upon turning around he sees JESUS CHRIST in His glory – “One like the Son of Man” – which announced, “’ I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last.’” He was commanded that whatever he saw he was to write down in a book and send it to the seven churches which were in Asia Minor.

In this full-color vision, he saw a mysterious scroll that had seven seals upon it. And it was asked in “heaven,” “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And the apostle John began to weep, “because no one was found worthy” in Heaven or on the earth or under the earth – in other words, no one who had previously died and had been buried – was able to open the scroll, or let alone even look upon it. And, friends, we should take this to heart – that looking back throughout the history of mankind; of everyone who has ever lived or will ever live – there is no one, but the One, worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals.

Yet, an elder.

And I don’t mean to get off subject here, but it behooves me to explain here who are these twenty-four elders. In 2020 I had written my sister and explained –
God’s living word does not specifically provide the identity of these elders. Yet, some information is provided enough for us to rule out some possibilities and consider some options.

So, they are clearly believers of God Almighty and Jesus Christ. They are “in heaven.”

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. …” – Revelation 4:1.

So, this “heaven” in this vision which the apostle John is experiencing may not be the Third Heaven. It could very well be New Jerusalem in low earth orbit. Notice: “Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. …”

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2) Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” – Revelation 21:1-2.

Also, they are “clothed in white robes.” A symbol of God’s righteousness (cf. Revelation 3:5, 18; 19:8) – “And to her [the Church] it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” – Revelation 19:8.

Also, they “had crowns of gold on their heads.” This is something that is not said of angels anywhere in Scripture. Something which saints are said to receive (cf. 1st Corinthians 9:24-25; 1st Thessalonians 2:19; 2nd Timothy 4:8; 1st Peter 5:4; Revelation 2:10).

Let us also keep in mind – and all of this is only thoughts, speculation, and nothing more – that the twenty-four elders could be based upon 1st Chronicles 24:1-5.

If so, this ‘kingdom of priests’ represents the Church that dwells – in the immediate future – on “heaven on earth”
But, I digress –

Yet, an elder said to him, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

And so here stands a Lamb “as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” Meaning, “the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.”

Again, we know that the Book of Revelation is not the revelation of the apostle John, but rather the revelation of Jesus Christ. And in the Book of Matthew chapter 24, privately, He had revealed to His disciples these very seven seals.

As we go along here, we’ll be comparing Matthew 24 with the Book of Revelation, as these seals are beginning to be opened – concerning religious deception, wars and rumors of wars, of nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places, about the martyrdom of the prophesied end-time witnesses which will take place – which even occurred in the time of the disciples. And then, ultimately, the blocking out of the sun and moon caused by volcanos erupting and even possibly a “nuclear winter”! Of Satan the Devil and his demons being thrown down to the earth and forbidden access to the atmosphere. And “then the sign of the Son of Man” appearing in outer space – “heaven.”

Friends, if you want to know what is going to happen in these latter days – the “end of the age” – reading and studying our Lord Jesus Christ’s words in Matthew 24 will certainly tell you! He stays in order of events!

Verse 1 – “When He opened the seventh seal [again, equivalent to the very early part of what our Lord Jesus Christ has called the ‘great tribulation’], there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”

Let’s focus a moment on the word “silence.” This word silence is used here poetically and is akin to something which the prophet Job writes – “ … A form was before my eyes; There was silence; Then I heard a voice …” – Job 4:16.

A hush, a whisper, a calm comes over God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Also poetically used to indicate respectful attention – and a thought which entered my mind – even a kind of melancholy. A sadness which befalls God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, because They know what is about to occur to the world They love – John 3:16.

Now, this is a prophetic statement – “silence in heaven for about half an hour” – the wrath of God is about to completely fall upon all mankind! “ … a memorial of blowing of trumpets, …” – Leviticus 23:24. That has a most prophetic meaning even back then, and this is the meaning right here!

Verse 2 – “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.”

We covered them in the first book of the Book of Revelation, they are the seven angels of the seven churches that stand before God. So, these seven angels are all about to blow on their trumpets – and we know what this term “trumpet” means in bible prophecy. We celebrate the Feast of Trumpets every year and its meaning – a trumpet which is to announce something, a warning, to assemble the troops.

Continuing in vision – verse 3 – “Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4) And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.”

So again, poetic language. It’s almost as if prayers are smoke.

You might recall I had typed up an article not long ago entitled “Is God Listening?” And I ask a question here, where do the prayers of the saints go!? Well, here they are. And what happens to those prayers!? Do they go straight to God the Father, or does something else happen to them before they go to God the Father!?

Notice – “He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints …”

To gain a better understanding of this incense, notice what Unger’s Bible Dictionary writes –
“Figurative. Incense in Scripture is the symbol of prayer. “Let my prayer be set before thee as incense” (Psa. 141:2; see Isa. 60:6). In Rev. 5:8; 8:3, 4 we meet with the same idea. But “it is not prayer alone that is expressed by incense … A good or evil savor was to Israel the symbol of a good or godless life; and when, therefore, the sanctuary of God was kept continually filled with fragrance, they beheld in this sweet savor, not of prayer alone, but of that life to which, as a priestly nation, they were called” (Dr. Wm. Milligan, Bib. Ed., iii, 226, sq.).” 1
Recall back in ancient Israel, when they gave an offering, they burned incense and it was like a sweet savor that went up before God the Father!? How is your prayer presented before God the Father!? It has to be accompanied with incense. And I’m not trying to get all religious on you – you can certainly go into a mystical store and buy all the incense you would want – and like my wife’s cousin, light them before a wooden idol of Buddha. But, that is not what this is about! In the New Covenant, this incense represents Jesus Christ as our High Priest taking your prayer and making it a sweet savor before turning and offering it before God the Father.

So, our prayers go up – and because of the sacrifice which our Lord Jesus Christ made – it is a sweet savor before God the Father.

The apostle Paul explains –

“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12) Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13) For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14) how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works [meaning, the Old Covenant] to serve the living God?

15) And for this reason He is the Mediator for the new covenant, …” – Hebrews 9:11-15.

And, before moving forward I would like to say – throughout mankind’s history there were some prayers that seemingly were unanswered. This is the culmination of those seemingly unanswered prayers – at ‘the end of the age.’ We can think about God’s begotten children who had lived their lives in the Catacombs of Rome. What about God’s begotten children who were in Jerusalem when Emperor Titus sieged Jerusalem in 70 AD and sacked the city of David and many of the inhabitants were killed or dispersed. According to Josephus, 1.1 million non-combatants died in Jerusalem and 100,000 in Galilee; 97,000 enslaved 2 – certainly some being God’s begotten children who were unable to leave beforehand!? Those prayers that went up to God the Father, to be saved, weren’t answered right then – here is the culmination of all those seemingly unanswered prayers.

Verse 5 – “Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.”

Certainly a massive earthquake along with thundering and bolts of lightning! Certainly very terrorizing and intimidating natural phenomena!

Again, we believe that the end-time prophesied witnesses, culminating in the “Two Witnesses” may have a direct hand in some of these early trumpet tribulations (which are in brackets below). Do you think this will get mankind’s attention!? Now, do you think that mankind will begin to repent at this time!? No, they won’t.

Is there anything more terrifying than the deafening cracking sound of a bolt of lightning ripping through the air at an incredible speed and striking in your proximity!?

Verse 6 – “So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.”

So, we’re reading about each of these seven trumpet plagues – each one of these corresponding to one of the angels that as he blows his trumpet these plagues are falling upon the earth.



Now, there appears to be a parallel here in the Book of Jeremiah the 51st chapter. One may ask – what is this “great mountain burning with fire”!? Certainly, we can say that it will be a large asteroid striking the earth, surely causing volcanoes to spew their lava into the oceans. But, let’s look at the Book of Jeremiah the 51st chapter –

Verse 25 – “’ Behold, I AM against you, O destroying mountain, Who destroys all the earth,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will stretch out My hand against you, Roll you down from the rocks, And make you a burnt mountain.’”

Now, who is He speaking about here!?

Well, this is the prophet Jeremiah’s writing, back in the days when the kingdom of Judah was about to be attacked by the Babylonian Empire. And Jeremiah is warning the people that this great kingdom is going to take them into captivity because of their rejection of God, His Way, and His Law. And that was exactly what happened to the kingdom of Judah – wasn’t it!?

But notice this is a judgment that is going to happen eventually to Babylon. And, the Book of Revelation certainly speaks of another Babylon – the daughter of Babylon – “’ Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, …” Ancient Babylon did fall – along with its most famous city from ancient Mesopotamia whose ruins lie in modern-day Iraq 59 miles southwest of Baghdad. In 539 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, with a military engagement known as the Battle of Opis. Babylon's walls were considered impenetrable. Yet, here, the prophet Jeremiah was speaking of this great impenetrable city falling.

Verse 26 – “’ They shall not take from you a stone for a corner Nor a stone for a foundation, But you shall be desolate forever,’ Says the LORD.”

Verse 27 – “Set up a banner in the land, Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations against her, Call the kingdoms together against her, … Appoint a general against her; Cause the horses to come up like the bristling locusts.’”

Verse 28 – “’ Prepare against her the nations, With the kings of the Medes, Its governors and all its rulers, All the land will tremble and sorrow; For every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant.’”

So, speaking about how the LORD God is going to exact judgment against Babylon. And we believe that in this final end-time BABYLON – the final installment of the “Holy” Roman Empire will be utterly destroyed, and BABYLON – a great civic leader and a great false church will be destroyed!

“’ Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!’” – Revelation 18:2.

So – “ … a third of the ships were destroyed.” All the international commerce – these mega-ships that carry cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Because of massive tidal waves and tsunamis – these mega-ships will be utterly destroyed! It all comes to an abrupt halt!

Verse 10 – “Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11) The name of the star is Wormwood [meaning bitter]. A third of the waters became wormwood [bitter], and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.”

Verse 12 – “Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, …”

Certainly, with all these volcanoes erupting, asteroids striking the earth, it would logically mean that a third of the time when the sun would normally be shining – it isn’t. A tremendous amount of smoke and pollution in the atmosphere!

Verse 13 – “And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven [the atmosphere], saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels [the messengers] who are about to sound!’”

So, everything up to here has been most terrible! But now this godly messenger announces, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!” The last three plagues are going to shake this world even more! Talking about end-time events of the most dramatic effect upon the earth which this world will ever experience. Let us always remember, our Lord Jesus Christ’s living words – “’ And unless those days were shortened, NO FLESH would be saved; …’” And friends, the Day of Atonement is speaking of this soon-coming terrible end-time!

________________________________________________________________________________________

In this section, I would like to shortly go over to the Book of Ezekiel chapter 5. Many might say that this has no merit upon the Book of Revelation, but we do believe it does. This is something which the prophet Ezekiel wrote against the siege of Jerusalem and his nation – inspired by God’s Holy Spirit. This contains a tremendous amount of information – and as we’ve been saying, the prophesied Day of the LORD is equivalent to (prophetically speaking) the Day of Atonement. And as Minister Michael C. Garrett says over and over – it is the most prophesied event in all the Bible.

In verse 1 the Lord GOD says to the prophet Ezekiel, “’ And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair.’”

Now, this is all prophetically a reference to the Day of the LORD!

So, the prophet Ezekiel shaved his head and shaved his beard off. And he divided all the hair upon a scale.

Verse 2 – “’ You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city [he shall burn 1/3 of the hairs], when the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword [in other words, chop the hairs with a sword], and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after them.’”

Verse 3 – “’ You shall also take a small number of them [the hairs] and bind them in the edge of your garment. 4) Then take some of them again and throw them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will go out into ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.’”

Now, at this point, it is rather ambiguous, but it becomes clearer in just a few more verses. Also, keep in mind – in our world today, the British Isles, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, have descended from the twelve tribes of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL – whose name was once Jacob.

It becomes clearer here – verse 5 – “’ Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘This is Jerusalem; …’”

And, Jerusalem is the rightful capital of one of those tribes – the tribe of JUDAH. When the prophet Ezekiel wrote this they had already been taken into captivity. Recall: He had written this by the River Chebar in captivity. He is actually writing about a future destruction of Jerusalem.

Verse 6 – “’ She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have REFUSED My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.’”

Certainly, one of the greatest judgments that they literally threw away was the Divinity of Jesus Christ as being the true Messiah and the glorious Son of God! And as Minister Garrett writes in “Notes Concerning The Day of Atonement Prophetically the Day of the Lord” “In fact, the people of Jerusalem, almost two-thousand years ago, chanted in unison, wanting to see the death, the crucifixion – a horrible death – of Jesus Christ. [Screaming,] ‘Crucify him!’ ‘Crucify him!’ ‘Crucify him!’” 3

Now, as I’ve been warning – of a prophetic dream and in a subsequent sermon “’ Blow the Trumpet!’” this is talking about war, ‘I will draw out a sword after them.’ And, this is also talking about a time – soon to take place in the immediate future – when ‘ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL’ is going to be suffering these consequences.

Verse 7 – “’ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, …’”

As I had said in a recent sermon – our peoples of the United States of America and the United Kingdom along with her Commonwealth Nations are even more disobedient than the nations even around us. As an example, what do many of these Middle Eastern nations do to their people when they catch them stealing!? Well, Houssam Ahmed, now living in Los Angeles, but who had lived in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, wrote this on Quora back in 2017 –
“Technically, for any theft as minor as shoplifting a candy bar, however, usually it is not enforced and some other forms of corporal punishment like lashes and/or a hefty fine plus jail time are substituted. … However, the actual punishment decision is left to the judge. So in a small town, he could rule on cutting off the hand as a punishment for stealing the candy bar and it will be enforced.” 4
David Lee & The Media Line writes in 2018, published by The Jerusalem Post
“One of the stark differences between Muslim countries and others that practice forms of westernized criminal law is the manner in which the systems define capital offenses.” 5
And, is that ever-more true in this United States of America today!

Verse 9 – “’ And I will do among you what I have never done, and the like of which I will never do again, because of all your abominations.’”

Notice Ezekiel chapter 7

Verse 2 – “’ And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel: ‘An end! The end has come upon the FOUR CORNERS OF THE LAND.’”

Verse 3 – “’ Now the end has come upon you, And I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways, And I will repay you for all your abominations.’”

Notice that the Lord GOD’s WARNING that ‘the end has come’ upon the land of Israel (cf. Genesis 48 & 49). Now, while a great many people claim that this only referred to (as in past tense) to the tiny nation of Israel in the Middle East, we should understand that the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles – referred to as the Commonwealth Nations, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, are indeed all across the ‘four corners of the land.’

Truly, with a national debt of well over $29.8 TRILLION and growing – with every terrorist attack, with every pandemic, with every devastating hurricane, or devastating earthquake or tornado, the US is becoming weaker and weaker. And I say, just as Greece needed to be bailed out back in 2010, who will come to the aid when the US dollar finally and completely collapses!? Well, according to Dave Hodges of the Common Sense Show – He asks, “What happens when the top dog collapses? Who would be able to come and render aid in America?” No one. Because they will be in a worse situation. In short, there will be nobody riding in to rescue the United States. 6

We ask the same question that King David asked. And we ask the same question which is asked by all our brethren – “LORD, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?” – Psalm 94:3; Revelation 6:10. When is all of this going to end!?

I myself pray brethren that we do have a mark upon our foreheads for our weeping, crying, and sighing over the abominations that are done within our nations! We don’t want to see any more evil and vile Islamic terrorists blowing our people up! We don’t want to see thieves getting away with crimes! We don’t want to see any more child abductions! We are sick and tired of seeing this vile evil on our televisions! Of what human beings are doing to God’s world!

Friends, it was not popular what the prophet Ezekiel had to preach. But somebody has to do it! Somebody has to say it! Somebody has to WARN this world and its nations – that what is prophesied is soon to come! It’s not a popular subject. But it is the living word of God. And well, you can certainly rip out the Book of Revelation from God’s living word – as they clearly wanted to at the Council of Nicaea 325 AD. And you can scoff at it like Martin Luther and author D.H. Lawrence had. And you can, as the Eastern Orthodox so-called Christians continue to do – refuse to include it in Scripture. And you can just ignore what we are warning and hope that we will all just fade away. But it is going to happen! And this judgment is soon to come because of our wickedness and abominations!

Friends, open up any history book of world civilizations and their empires – you will find that they rose and they fell. And truly the list is practically endless!
  • The Babylonian Empire
  • The Medo-Persian Empire
  • The Greco-Macedonian Empire
  • The Roman Empire
Can you imagine!? The mighty and powerful Roman Empire – which gave us our political aspirations and in which the US copied their government – fell!!? The official end of the empire came in 476 AD when the last insignificant emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed, and a barbarian chieftain assumed the title of King of Rome.

And the mighty empire of the United States of America – which has existed for nearly twenty-five decades – will fall! Of an internal rot and degradation which has been happening to our nation for centuries. And we see this being fulfilled here in the Book of Revelation.

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Chapter 9 of the Book of Revelation



This ‘fallen star’ is Satan the Devil and his demons being thrown into the ‘bottomless pit’ just before the glorious and powerful return of Jesus Christ, His saints, and His angels! – cf. Revelation 20:1-2.

Recall: back in the 1st chapter of the Book of Revealing, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that “stars” can represent angels – Revelation 1:20. In the Book of Isaiah chapter 14, Isaiah was inspired to write, “’ How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, …’” – Hebrew being Helel ben Shachar meaning “shining one” or “in or of the morning.” Also, we should pay attention to the fact that this verbiage is past tense – meaning it had already happened.

The apostle Jude wrote that Satan the Devil along with his followers are but “raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever” – Jude 1:13.

So this mighty and powerful Islamic army of 200 million soldiers destroys men with different types of weapons which destroy not the buildings, trees, or grass. It’s interesting in knowing that many nations have this technology and what damage these types of weapons can indeed do – like electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and chemical weapons.

Friends, could the apostle John be speaking about our modern effects of sarin gas!? According to the Mayo Clinic, “When a scorpion stings, its stinger can release venom. The venom contains a complex mix of toxins that affect the nervous system.” So does sarin gas! Of course, there are a plethora of dangerous and potentially deadly chemical weapons, which when exposed to, you would wish you were dead.

Here, certainly talking about a massive invasion from the north and the east – an attempted counter-attack by the likes of Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan.

Now again, the apostle John was seeing in vision in his day – in approximately 95 AD – and he was seeing as it were a film clip you might see of World War II, in which bombers are dropping bombs on whole cities like London or Berlin. Or like the dropping of napalm bombs on villages in the Vietnam War. And eventually the dropping of the atomic bomb Little Boy on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. He is trying to describe these military weapons with the very limited ability he had – having never seen such weapons before.

Now, if you’ve ever seen the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now which has a scene where a great number of helicopters ride in and they’re playing Ride of the Valkyries – their “wings” certainly sounded like “chariots with many horses running into battle”!

Verse 11 – “And they [these 200 million strong Islamic soldiers] had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.”

Of course here referring to Satan the devil.

Verse 12 “One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.”

Remember, there are the seven seals, and the seventh seal being the seven trumpets!


Now, friends, personally, we believe that this along with the “kings of the east” is referring to a collection of Islamic people from eastern countries – even including Indonesia, which is one of the most populist Islamic countries in the world! There are literally millions upon millions of Moslems in India and Pakistan – all of those countries of the east.

Here we see that Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ has been restraining and holding back this massing – this assembling into one body – of a radical Islamic confederation of armies that could have caused worldwide devastation long ago (with the very real possibility of obtaining nuclear and or biological weapons) – but here God releases the four angels (and these may be indeed demons in charge of FOUR COUNTRIES) who are bound at the great river Euphrates. I personally am thinking that there’s a good chance – I don’t know for sure – that this ‘200 million man army’ is attempting to attack the European forces which have wiped out their Islamic brothers and cousins.

Let us hold our place here in the Book of Revelation, and quickly turn back into the Book of Isaiah, the 9th chapter.

The prophet Isaiah says here in verse 13 – “For the people DO NOT turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts. 14) Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush IN ONE DAY.”

Verse 20 – “But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, DID NOT repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols …”

Well, it may come as a complete shock to many, but true Christians and Moslems do not worship the same God! And, as I had written previously, one only needs to read their Koran to see for themselves –
“The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was no more than God’s apostle and His Word which He cast to Mary: a spirit from Him. … God forbid that He should have a son! His is all that the heavens and the earth contain.” – Women, 4.171.
Now, even after all these plagues occur people will still NOT turn to God and repent.

… of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.”

The whole message of the salvation of mankind is about a message of being saved.

“Save me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your strength” – Psalm 54:1.

However, they, like my wife’s cousin, would rather fall down and worship some wooden carved Sukhothai style Buddha seated in a half lotus pose! – which does not see, hear, or walk!

REPENT! Our great and awesome God says He loves those who have a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

This is what God wants – He wants people to repent.

Yet, sadly, even during these terrible times to come which we are reading about here in the Book of Revelation PEOPLE WILL NOT REPENT!

It often makes you wonder – what other choice does God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ have!?

Verse 21 – “And they DID NOT repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immoralities or their thefts”

Is God’s loving grace so great that He will allow the crimes perpetrated by terrorist groups, such as Islamic Jihadists – the likes of bombings, assassinations, beheadings, and kidnappings – into His glorious kingdom!?

The apostle Peter quoting King Solomon says –

’ If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’” – 1 Peter 4:18.

I leave you this day with that thought. □

To be continued...

Bibliography

1) Unger, M.F., Unger’s Bible Dictionary, Incense, Figurative. Moody Press, Chicago, Ill., 1966, pp. 524.
2) Josephus, F., The Works of Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, FaithPoint Press 2006, 6.9. §3, pp. 795.
3) Garrett, M.C., “Notes Concerning The Day Of Atonement – Prophetically the Day of the Lord” Part IV § The Time of Great Trouble, 2019, pp. 51.
4) Houssam Ahmed, Quora, Original question: “The consequence to stealing in the Middle East is cutting off a limb. When is this true?” – 2017. Retrieved 24 Jan. 2022.
5) DAVID LEE/THE MEDIA LINE, “Cruel & unusual punishment in the Middle East” The Jerusalem Post, published AUGUST 28, 2018. Retrieved 24 Jan. 2022.
6) Hodges, D., What Will happen When The Dollar Collapses? The Common Sense Show, 30 May 2014. Retrieved 24 Jan. 2022.