ORIGIN OF EVIL/SIN

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The Bible reveals the origin of evil was before the creation of man. The story begins with the dysfunction of a mighty and beautiful angelic being referred to in the Latin translation as Lucifer (Morning Star). Also more commonly known as Satan or the Devil. Other names, Abaddon (destroying angel), Revelation 9:11, Apollyon (destroyer), Revelation 9:11, Accuser of the brethren Revelation 12:10, Adversary (opponent), 1Peter 5:8, Angel of light (messenger of light), 2Corinthians 11:14, Antichrist (possessed by Satan), 1John 4:3, Beelzebub (ruler of the devils), Luke 11:15, Dragon, Revelation 12:7, Father of Lies, John 8:44, God of this world (god of this age), 2Corinthians 4:3 – 4, Great fiery red dragon (serpent), Revelation 12:3, Man of sin (man of offense), 2Thessalonians 2:3, Liar (a falsifier), John 8:44, Power of darkness (power of obscurity), Colossians 1:13.

“You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created, they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire, you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. ” Ezekiel 28:12-17a

We are told Satan and the angels that followed him (1/3 of the angels) are eventually (God’s appointed time) cast into the Lake of Fire. As are unbelievers after the White Throne Judgement.

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.” Isaiah 14:12-15

“I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.” Ezekiel 28:17b-19

The Bible, in eight of its chapters, records seven fascinating and distinct times Satan the devil has spoken. We learn a great deal about man’s greatest enemy right from his own mouth! The first instance the Bible records of the devil speaking is, of course, his tempting of Eve in the Garden of Eden. His subtle deceptions foreshadow the craftiness he will later display in his effort to get Jesus to sin.

Adam and Eve cast out of the Garden of Eden

“Now the serpent (the devil) was more cunning than any creature of the field which the LORD God had made. And he (through an animal who could speak) said to the woman (Eve), “Is it true that God has said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'” And the serpent (the devil) said to the woman (Eve), “In dying, you shall not surely die! For God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like God, deciding good and evil” (Genesis 3:1 – 5)

The devil’s perverted thinking and rebellious spirit spread to the human race by enticing the first humans to think as he does. The apostle Paul wrote about how disobedience and suffering entered the world when he stated, “Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and by means of sin came death; and in this way, death passed into all mankind” (Romans 5:12).

God, as the all-powerful Creator, has a right to determine what is right or wrong (good or evil) for the entire universe. He told Adam (Genesis 2:16 – 17) and Eve (Genesis 3:1 – 3) that it was good to eat from the trees in Eden with the exception of just one tree and the consequences of eating from that tree was death. (Genesis 2:17). Adam and Eve’s test was whether they would believe what God had said or reject His instruction and sin by believing Satan, the Deceiver. We are suffering the consequences of their decision.

Thankfully, God knew beforehand the outcome and He already had a plan to redeem mankind from the curse of evil. It is 2020 years since Jesus our Redeemer came and from Biblical prophecy, we know His return to rule and reign for 1000 years is not too distant. During Jesus Millennial reign Satan is bound but when released is still able to deceive a multitude to mount an army to come against Jesus and the Saints.

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while.” Revelation 20:1-3

“And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:7-10

END TIMES ANTICHRIST

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What authenticated Jesus Christ claims to be God’s Son was His resurrection from the dead. Likewise the Master Deceiver will authenticate the Antichrist’s claims by seemingly raising him from the dead.

Let us look at the significance that the Bible puts on the seeming resurrection of the Antichrist from the dead. In the relatively short chapter of Revelation 13, it mentions the Antichrist’s fatal wound that was healed three times. The first instance is in verse 3: “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’” – Revelation13:3-4

Here it seems to imply that the world’s worship of the beast is directly connected to his deadly wound being healed. It says that they “wondered after him saying “Who can make war with him?” This is the exact same word used in our current verse: “wondered.” It is also in the exact same context, i.e., wonder from the earth dwellers, associated with worship, and the antichrist’s apparent resurrection from the dead.

This is one of the first descriptions of the antichrist we are given in Revelation 13, right after the symbolic imagery of verses 1 and 2. This is the first thing that we are told about the beast – that he has a deadly wound that is healed. The Bible, as we will see, considers this event very important. By the second reference to this event in verse 12, the idea of a healed deadly wound has become a title or an identifying description of the beast. Here it distinguishes the first beast from the second by adding the clarification: “whose deadly wound was healed.”

“And he [false prophet] exerciseth all the power of the first beast [Antichrist] before him and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” – Revelation 13:12

And in the third reference in Rev: 13:14, we see that the healed deadly wound is used again as a title or distinguishing characteristic of the antichrist beast. Here it says:

“And [the false prophet] deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had the power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” – Revelation 13:14

So we see again this idea of a resurrection being used as a type of title and to distinguish which beast is in view. Therefore, this phrase “was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit” is basically just another way of saying the same thing. It is an identifier as to which beast we are talking about, the one that was (lived), is not (died), and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit (come back from the dead).

Arthur Pink, an early English Bible scholar who wrote extensively on the Antichrist, agrees. He said the following: “A further reference to the resurrection of the Antichrist, his coming forth from the Bottomless Pit, is found in Rev. 17:8…. It is to be noted that the earth-dwellers wonder when they behold the Beast that was (alive), and is not (now alive), and yet is (raised again). The world will then be presented with the spectacle of a man raised from the dead.”

Is it any wonder then that the Bible says the world will follow after him even the False Prophet, leader of the world’s religions. Check out my last post – “Proposed visit to Iraq by Pope Francis”.

Pope Francis claims that Islam and Christianity are equal in the eyes of God

POPE PLANS TO VISIT IRAQ IN MARCH 2021

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Pope Francis recently announced he would visit Iraq for the first time in early March, 2021. He is scheduled to visit Baghdad, the southern city of Ur and the Christian heartland of Nineveh province.

Iraq’s Christian community has witnessed years of conflict and targeted attacks, forcing many to flee. From 1.4 million three decades ago, its population has come down to an estimated less than 400,000.

Days before Christmas, the Muslim-majority country’s parliament announced that Christmas will now be an annual national holiday.

The Pope’s announcement has sprung hope in Karemlash, a predominantly Christian town on the Nineveh Plains about 18 miles southeast of Mosul and which was once held by the Islamic State terror group.

“We hope this visit can prevent demographic change, preserve the identity of our region, and prompt the government to seriously start rebuilding our areas,” St. Adday’s priest, Fr. Thabet al-Mekko, said, according to AFP. “We’ve started the countdown. We need to feel closer to the Christian community in the rest of the world.”

Responding to the pope’s announcement, Zuhair Mansour, a 50-year-old school principal in Karemlash, said, “It could be the step in building peace in this wounded country.” Martin Banni, the priest at the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Baghdad, called the pope’s decision “a great, wonderful Christmas gift.”

Pope Francis has signed a covenant with major leaders of the world's religions, declaring them all equal in the eyes of God.
Pope Francis claims Islam and Christianity are equal In The Eyes of God

Pope Francis, who has previously called for a “one-world government” to “save humanity”, signed in 2019 a historic covenant with leaders of the world’s major faiths, pushing us much closer to a one-world religion.

Is this proposed visit by Pope Francis to Iraq in March 2021 one step closer to the biblical “end times” one world religion? Could he be the false prophet? If he is we know his end.

“And the beast (Antichrist) was captured and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.” Revelation 19:20

GOD WILL ACCOMPLISH “ALL MY PURPOSE”

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“I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,” Isaiah 46:10

God’s interventions in history to alter reality are a given for born-again believers that know God’s Word is inerrant. All traditional Christianity has always believed and taught that such interventions occurred and their occurrence is necessary for our salvation. It seems that for many liberal theologians those “mighty, saving acts of God” are symbolic, images, rather than extra-mental realities.

“Truth itself” is debatable—as to what the word or concept even means. One can no longer even know what a truth claim is without a somewhat extensive discussion about the meaning of “truth.” This is why communication is breaking down in postmodern Western culture. 

Reality exists outside the mind and “truth” is correspondence between our thoughts and claims and reality itself. Reality does not depend on its being known. Reality was, is, is yet to be…independently of any mind.

The Bible, God’s Word is truth and it provides the only true truth. The many fulfilled prophecies, Jesus coming to earth fulfilled many of them, are proof conclusive the Bible has been given to us by God so we can know the true history of the cosmos and our place in it. We are made in the image of God and were meant to be in relationship with Him as sons and daughters. Man’s rebellion caused the death, suffering and pain we see in todays lost world. The good news is Jesus is planning to return to rule and reign on His earth with a “rod of iron”. He does so with His resurrected and transfigured saints. Much of Bible prophecy gives us details of the events preceding His return, particularly of the last seven years.

Massive Earthquake Measuring 7.7 on Richter Scale Jolts Miami, Caribbean Dec. 29th 2020

“There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.” Luke 21:11

THE WHO, WHY, AND WHEN OF THE WISEMEN

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Wise men (Magi) from the East come to worship the new born king.

“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand... Nebuchadnezzar commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans… Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.” Daniel 1:1-6

Daniel was part of the king’s administration and was even made head over it all (Daniel 5:29, 6:1-3). Eventually, Daniel was the highest authority (next to the king) in Babylonia, holding the position of governor and ruling over all the authorities in this enormous kingdom. And this subsequent rule included reigning over all of the wise men or magi in Babylonia (Daniel 2:12, 48).

Daniel’s title was rab mag or “chief of the Magi” (Daniel 5:11), so he would have left historical records of his writings to the kings of Babylon which included Daniel chapter 9 where Daniel references the appearance of Jesus Christ and goes into very specific detail about the timing of the Anointed One’s appearance (Daniel 9:21-26), so even near the time of Christ’s birth, and even after hundreds of years had already passed, Daniel’s pronouncement of the Anointed One’s coming would allow the wise men to discern the when and where of the Messiah’s birth. So how was Daniel able to predict the time of the Messiah’s arrival (Daniel 2:12-48, 9:24-26)? Daniel was a man of prayer, and Gabriel answered his prayer and told Daniel not only when the Messiah would come, but when He would be killed (Daniel 9:25-26). And the location must have been obviously known to the wise men, recognizing that Daniel’s point of reference was not Babylon but the temple at Jerusalem (Daniel 9:16), so for the wise men, it was not a guessing game, otherwise, if they were too early, they would have missed Him, and if too late, the child Jesus would have been in Egypt (Matthew. 2:13).

Fulfilled prophecy is incontrovertible truth the Bible is God’s Word to us. It alone holds the truth about the Cosmos, its origin, history and future.

RECOGNISE AND SUBMIT TO GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY

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“When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or SEND PESTILENCE among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  2 Chronicles 7: 13-14

“The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it,  if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.”  Jeremiah 18:7-8

How foolish are our leaders! The answers to our problems are in God’s Word as these two scriptures testify. Sadly, as God’s Word predicts, in the “last days” the world turns away from God and in fact denies His existence. The consequences of that rebellion are also revealed in the Bible – God’s wrath will be poured out on an unrepentant world just as it was in Noah’s day. Jesus also warns us beforehand of the coming tribulation that will face Christians who fear God and hold to the inerrancy of His Word, His commandments, particularly the sanctity of marriage, and gender.

“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Jesus second coming). For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:37-39

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:29-31

He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

REVIEW OF 2020 BY FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA

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Tony Abbott is a former prime minister of Australia. This is an edited extract of his contribution to Cancel Culture and the Left’s Long March by Wilkinson Publishing which will be out in March 2021. His accurate summation of the spiritual condition of the world in the first paragraph was sufficient for me to bring it to your attention.

Tony Abbott Prime Minister 2013-2015

“My sense is that it’s the seismic cultural shifts, now underway in the West, that have driven a pandemic response that’s so different from that envisaged under plans drawn up even just a short time ago. We are materially rich but spiritually poor, and generally more fearful. More self-confident governments would not have placed so much faith in unelected and unaccountable experts. The experts would not have so readily changed their minds about the need for mandatory shutdowns. Societies that retained more “faith in the world to come” would have been less alarmed by a virus similar to those that have readily been seen off before.

Nine months on, with the virus much better understood and much less likely to kill, even here in Australia, it’s still being treated like the grim reaper. More perspective on this virus, at least going forward, could help to dispel the climate of fear that, once created, is hard to shake, and that tends to bring out the authoritarian in officials and the conformist in citizens.

When state governments get away with imposing tougher restrictions on churches than on brothels and on religious services than on sporting events, keeping state borders closed for months longer than any health imperative could justify, requiring people on the street to produce their “papers” in order to avoid heavy fines, denying sick and dying people ready access to their families because of minute infection risk, failing to notice stormtrooper tactics against people in parks or in their own homes, and announcing draconian new restrictions based on impossible-to-question “expert advice” (that’s invariably not released), public trust is unlikely to be sustained. Our sense of nationhood could take a long time to recover from the Queensland Premier’s declaration that “Queensland hospitals are for Queenslanders”; or the West Australian Premier’s refusal to allow Australians from other states to enter his, even with quarantine.

Always, it’s the job of a thoughtful conservative to question and to doubt; to insist that new measures be justified, and proportionate, especially when the change goes counter to considered positions that conservative political movements have been supporting for decades. Of course, as Cicero once declared, “the people’s safety is the highest law” but that hardly makes “safety first” the only principle or even the first principle that should guide government. Especially when the impact of action or inaction is speculative; and when not knowing the future makes it hard to decide what to do now; it’s more important than ever not to overreact. Even if Australia’s COVID toll remains low and there’s a quick recovery from the policy-induced economic slump; even if an early vaccine means that Australia does not need to remain closed to the world, this is unlikely to be a time anyone recalls with much pride because so much that’s happened has been out of character with an Australia accustomed “to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield”.

For premiers much more on centrestage than usual; for health officials dictating the terms of daily life; and above all, for the scientists seeking COVID cures, these have been the most bracing of times. For most of us, though, there’s been the dull prospect, not of doing more but of doing less: not “how much more can I do for my country” but “how much less must I do in order to be safe”.

I can’t think of a better way to kick off the new year than with a renewed emphasis on the active virtues and the robust attitudes that have made Australia a country to be proud of. Let’s get back to being people who “have a go”, so that 2020 turns out to be the only year in our history blighted by a focus on what we can’t do, rather than what we can.”

This extract of Tony’s comment in the new book is insightful. It supports Scripture and its end-times predictions of the state of the world at that time.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

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THE VIRGIN BIRTH IN CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM

Dr David Wood, Tony Costa, and Sam Shamoun discuss the virgin birth of Jesus in Christianity and Islam. This is a video I recommend you watch All three men are brilliant apologists and all have a heart for Muslims.

It’s often assumed the miracle of the Virgin Birth is something Christians take ‘on faith’ alone. Christian philosopher Lydia McGrew explains why the source material and embarrassing realities of the Virgin Birth accounts in Matthew and Luke make them historically plausible. Lydia recently debated these issues on a Christmas edition of Unbelievable?  It is part of a YouTube series on the virgin birth. Check it out, you will be glad you did.

COVID BREAKTHROUGH

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Fenoglide, Tricor tablets (fenofibrate) helps reduce cholesterol and triglycerides (fatty acids) in the blood. High levels of these types of fat in the blood are associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis (clogged arteries). It has now been found that the Covid-19 virus causes a major build-up of fat cells in the lungs which causes rapid patient deterioration. Patients given fenofibrate recovered fast from the disease. It was an Israeli Research Team that discovered the solution to the deadly outcome of the Covid virus.