TRUTH IS NO LONGER IMPORTANT ACCORDING TO FINNISH LAW

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Finnish Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen, acquitted more than a year ago after being prosecuted for voicing her traditional Christian beliefs about marriage and sexuality, is back in court, facing charges of “hate speech.”

Räsänen, a parliamentarian with over 25 years of service, and Bishop Juhana Pohjola arrived at the Helsinki Court of Appeal this week to face the prosecution’s appeal of their acquittal.

Päivi Räsänen holds a bible as she arrives with her husband, Niilo Rasanen, to attend a court session at the Helsinki District Court in Helsinki, Finland, on January 24, 2022. 

“Everyone should be able to share their beliefs without fearing censorship by state authorities. With God’s help, I will remain steadfast,” Räsänen told her supporters.

The prosecution kicked off the proceedings with arguments against the defendants, focusing on a booklet written by Räsänen nearly two decades ago and stating that the content was “insulting” and violated “sexual rights.”

The prosecutor argued that the use of the word “sin” in Räsänen’s booklet was “degrading” and that her interpretation of Bible verses was “criminal.”

“The point isn’t whether it is true or not but that it is insulting,” the prosecutor stated, according to ADF International.  

“We can limit freedom of expression in the outward expression of religion,” the prosecution added. “You can cite the Bible, but it is Räsänen’s interpretation and opinion about the Bible verses that are criminal.”

Last year, the Helsinki District Court cleared both Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland of similar charges. The prosecution appealed this decision, arguing that the court had “misinterpreted” Räsänen’s tweet and reached an incorrect conclusion.

Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International, was present in court to support the defendants.

“Criminalizing speech through so-called ‘hate-speech’ laws shuts down important public debates and endangers democracy,” he said.

Räsänen is facing multiple charges related to the content of the 2004 booklet, her participation in a radio debate in 2019 and a tweet containing Bible verses directed at her church leadership.

Bishop Pohjola is also facing trial for publishing Räsänen’s pamphlet, Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of humanity, nearly 20 years ago. The charges against both defendants fall under the “war crimes and crimes against humanity” section in Finnish law, adding another layer of gravity to the case.

The case originated when Räsänen questioned her church’s sponsorship of the LGBT event Pride 2019 in a tweet. Following this, she was subjected to 13 hours of police interrogations over several months.

As we approach the time of Jesus second coming He told us that persecution of Christians will increase at that time. In fact, the Bible gives us an incredible number of prophecies about Jesus’ second coming so that Christians will not be taken by surprise. One of the most troubling Scriptures for me has always been this one spoken by Jesus about the time of His return.

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.” Matthew 24:21-22

LINK BETWEEN THE MAHDI AND THE ANTICHRIST

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What both leading Muslim scholars, Sunni and Shia, declare: Islam allows the accumulation of sufficient force to “terrorize the enemy and deter against an attack upon Muslims.” The “prevention of Muslims from the production of weapons of mass destruction … while other countries are allowed to do this – causes general, great and large damage upon all Muslims.”

It is thus permissible for Muslims to produce WMDs “in order to seek balance in armed conflict between them and hostile forces.” The achievement of strategic balance with the enemy is not only legitimate but religiously obligatory. “It is possible for an Islamic state to use this type of weapon if the enemy uses it, or it is thought likely that the enemy is poised to use it. It is why Iran is determined to have nuclear weapons.

The achievement of strategic balance with the enemy is not only legitimate but religiously obligatory.

When recognized Islamic scholars speak, all Muslims listen. When those scholars state clearly that it is a religious obligation to produce nuclear weapons of mass destruction to ward off the infidels, and that Islam sanctions use of such weapons if “it is thought likely that the enemy is poised to use it,” you can see why everyone in the world should be nervous about Islamists getting within a million miles of nuclear weapons.

Who Will Unite Muslims and Take On the West?

What kind of leader would be needed to unite an extremely disparate group of Muslims around the world, tired of Western domination and seeking earnestly to “prepare” the world for Allah’s final judgment as the “last, best revelation of God” is presented to all? This man would have to have unusual gifts of diplomacy, holiness, charm, wisdom, and the ability to gain the admiration and respect of Muslims worldwide. Well, you should know that Muslims are already waiting for this man, with 42 percent in a recent survey believing the Islamic superman will appear in their lifetime. His name is al-Mahdi, the “Rightly Guided One,” who has been discussed since the earliest days of Islam. This Islamic messiah was referred to by Muhammad’s grandson, Ali, who said that Islam would “prevail over all religions … when the Messiah of this ummah (Islamic nation) makes his appearance.

All branches of Islam throughout history are expecting the al Mahdi, as revealed by this quote from what has been called the greatest Islamic history book from the pre-modern era: “Let it be known that it is a narrated event by ALL Muslims in EVERY era that at the end of time a man from the family of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) will, without fail, make his appearance and will strengthen Islam and spread justice; Muslims will follow him and he will gain domination over the Muslim realm. He will be called al-Mahdi.

He will appear just as mankind reaches a stage of great suffering, to show the light of Islam when men and women need it most, and to prepare the world for Allah’s judgment just in time, according to accepted Islamic teaching.

He will reappear on the appointed day, and then he will fight against the forces of evil, lead a world revolution and set up a new world order based on justice, righteousness, and virtue … ultimately the righteous will take the world administration in their hands and Islam will be victorious over all the religions.

If this sounds like the Antichrist, you can see why many of us who have studied Islam for years believe that Mahdi will be that man. One Muslim background Believer who has done a lot of speaking and writing about al-Mahdi, Walid Shoebat, says that as he read scriptural prophecy for the first time, he was astonished by the description of the Antichrist. His conclusion? This is the Mahdi (Mehdi) that we have long talked about in Islam.

Other aspects of Mahdi’s profile include: He will be from the line of Fatimah, Muhammad’s first wife, and become a public figure at the age of forty. Physically, he will have a high forehead and hooked nose, according to prophecies traced back to Muhammad.

He will center his operations in Karbala, Iraq, according to Shiites. A hadith of Muhammad says that he will sweep across the Middle East and set up his reign in Jerusalem. That reign will, of course, be headquartered at the Dome of the Rock, the mosque in Jerusalem

He will have miracle-working power, which will impress the Islamic community and verify his status as a special instrument of Allah. One teaching says, “In the Last Days of the ummah, the Mahdi will appear. Allah will give him power over the wind and the rain, and the earth will bring forth its foliage.”
He will guide Muslims to great wealth, but he will not lead a profligate lifestyle. Instead, he “will give away wealth profusely, flocks will be in abundance, and the ummah will be large and honored.” Likewise, “A man will stand and say, ‘Give to me Mahdi!’ and he will say, ‘Take.’”
He will rule over the world for seven years, according to most accounts, including those that claim to trace this time span back to Muhammad’s prediction. This will feature a seven-year “peace agreement” between the “Arabs and the Romans,” what many believe will be between Islam and the West. Such parallels with Scripture are no accident, according to many. He will be assisted by “Jesus,” who will descend, probably in Damascus, from heaven to work miracles and preach Islam. “Jesus will testify against those who had called him son of God, the Christians, and those who had belied him, the Jews.” I think this Islamic version of Jesus fits the description of the Antichrist’s assistant in Revelation 13 perfectly.

While Mahdi straightens out the ummah by “freeing Islam from the hypocrites who have corrupted it,” this Jesus will handle the evangelization of the Jewish and Christian communities.

The end result? “Jesus” will summon Christians and Jews “to live by the Qu’ran by purging them of the errors into which they have fallen. As Christians follow the Prophet Isa [Jesus], the Christian and Islamic world will unite in a single belief, and the world will enjoy a period of great peace, security, happiness, and well-being, known as the Golden Age.”[210]
Here is a fitting capstone to describe al-Mahdi: “He is the precursor of the victory of the Truth and the fall of all tyrants. He heralds the end of injustice and oppression and the beginning of the final rising of the sun of Islam which will never again set and which will ensure happiness and the elevation of mankind … The Mahdi is one of Allah’s clear signs which will soon be made evident to everyone.” Muhammad ibn Izzat, Muhammad Arif, Al Mahdi and the End of Time (London: Dar Al-Taqwa, 1997).

And, he will rule from Jerusalem, according to a hadith from Muhammad: Jerusalem will be the location of the rightly guided caliphate and the center of Islamic rule, which will be headed by Imam al-Mahdi … that will abolish the leadership of the Jews … and put an end to the domination of the Satans who spit evil into people and cause corruption in the earth, making them slaves of false idols and ruling the world by laws other than the sharia of the Lord of the worlds.

These Islamic prophecies are not from an infallible source. However, if the entire Islamic world is looking for a Messiah who will arise from the Biblical prophesied nation and accomplish all that the Biblical prophecies say the Antichrist will do it is unlikely it is a coincidence.

PROPHESIED END TIMES WARS AND RUMOURS OF WARS

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As China, in the past several years, stably imported over 60% of its semiconductor manufacturing equipment from the US, Japan, and the Netherlands, these countries agreeing to impose export controls together will effectively set back China’s semiconductor industry development. This will only intensify China’s interest in taking back Taiwan which with the Taiwan Semi-Conductor Manufacturing Company (TSCM) is the largest chip maker in the world including the most advanced microchips. They even contract manufacture for Nvidia and Apple. This would be a major win for China and assure the growth of all those manufacturing industries that depend upon the availability of the very best microchips. AI, Robotics, EV vehicles, I.T., etc. China would also be concerned that TSCM is building an enormous semiconductor manufacturing facility in the USA and announced its intention to build facilities in Europe and Japan. This only intensifies the pressure on China to respond as so much of China’s manufacturing relies on the availability of microchips.

While speaking at the Aspen Security Forum on November 3, 2022, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: “Based on my analysis of China, I think that it is likely (invasion of Taiwan) in the near future – being defined as six, 12, maybe 24 months, that kind of window.“

Iran unveils attack drone ‘capable of bombing Israel into Stone Age’. Mohajer-10 has a range of around 1,240 miles and is armed with a 660lb explosive payload.

Iran has blamed Israel for a mysterious explosion at the weekend that knocked out power at its uranium enrichment facility at Natanz.

Israel has not publicly said it was behind what Iran calls “an act of sabotage” but US and Israeli media reports are quoting officials as saying it was carried out by Israel’s overseas intelligence agency, Mossad. Iran has vowed to take revenge “at a time of its choosing”.

This is not an isolated incident. It follows a gradually accelerating pattern of hostile, tit-for-tat actions by both countries as they step up their covert war while being careful – so far – to avoid an all-out conflict.

What about the Russia/Ukraine war? The support given to Ukraine by the USA and European countries has escalated Russia’s losses of soldiers and equipment. The sanctions on trade by both the USA and European countries are having a major impact on the Russian economy. Putin is now under enormous pressure to end the war. The following announcement by Yury Borisov, the director general of the state space corporation Roscosmos, in a recent media appearance is of concern: “Russia’s newest nuclear weapons system — the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, known in the West as “Satan II” — is now operational, Yury Borisov said. It will replace a Soviet-era missile system. The Sarmat strategic complex has been put on combat duty,”

Back to the Middle East, The Israeli government has allocated $1.5bn (£1.1bn) to prepare the Israeli armed forces for a potential strike against Iranian nuclear sites, and there are near-daily warnings from political and military leaders.

Israel bombing Iran will awaken the Muslim world to a long-time enemy and unite Muslims against Israel and the “Zionist” U.S. It will create a perfect Petri dish for Islamism to thrive, as Muslims construct a compelling narrative that Israel and the U.S. do indeed want to wipe Islam from the face of the earth. As that message is spread around the world, it will not matter to Muslims if they are Shiite in Lebanon or Sunni in Turkey. They will amalgamate to defend what they have in common. This temporary unity will dissolve quickly unless someone can bridge the Sunni-Shiite gap and maintain the momentum toward a unified Muslim world, a caliphate. It so happens that all Muslims, Sunni, and Shia, are expecting their Messiah (al Mahdi) to appear soon. Considering the Bible says the Antichrist (Little Horn) arises out of what is now Turkey, we can assume he will be a charismatic, well-educated Muslim, very fluent in English. He may well be a leader for his country in the U.N. and the one who initiates a peace treaty with Israel. The Muslims al Mahdi, their Messiah, our Antichrist.

All of the prophesied end-times signs are happening now, whether it is wars and rumours of wars, pestilences, famines, earthquakes, an apostate church with most of the denominational churches compromising with the world on gay marriage, homosexual pastors, and even lesbian bishops. Most have forgotten that the major end-times sign occurred over 70 years ago, the re-establishment of the nation of Israel.

WHY CHRISTIANS REJOICE IN THEIR SUFFERINGS

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As we fast approach the time before Jesus’ return when persecution of Christians intensifies we need to begin to develop the type of Christian life that doesn’t need a large church to sustain it and a walk with Jesus that values true community, not backseat participation – in effect, non-participation. You might grow as never before under persecution, as millions around the world can testify, and as Paul testified clearly in Romans 5:1-5:

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5

We will experience hope in a new way as we are persecuted. Our focus will more and more turn to what is next on God’s agenda for this world, Jesus Millennial Kingdom (www.millennialkingdom.net). Suffering will purify us of our preoccupation with the current corrupt world. God will grow us all up in a hurry under such conditions, and those of us who have long lamented the differences between the church of Acts and the modern church will get a chance to see many of those differences wiped away in an instant. It will be an exciting time.

Middle Eastern Christians have learned what it means to bless those who persecute them.

Christians in Syria are learning daily how to do this. Many have chosen to stay in their towns and cities, even if Islamist rebels have overrun them and raped, looted, tortured, and killed them. As Open Doors USA spokesperson Emily Fuentes has reported: There are some Christians who are fleeing because they have no other choice, but there are many Christians who have really felt God’s call to stay in town, even though they have been attacked and targeted because of their faith. They realize that God’s using them, and (are reaching) out to their Muslim neighbours.
Thus, it seems to me that in the days ahead as persecution increases we will have the basic option of running, or remaining and seeking to win our attackers and fellow refugees to Christ. The choice that we make will be a matter of conscience, as Scripture can be used to support both. Believers in both Syria and Egypt have made different choices.

In the parts of Syria where church buildings have not been desecrated, they have become de facto relief agencies, providing clothes, food, and Christian teaching. These churches are seeing people come to faith in Christ as the congregants love everyone who has been made homeless, not just Christians. This is in stark contrast to the Islamic approach to providing aid for Muslims only.
As Syrian Christians have ministered to all people as war rips their country apart, they ask not for relief from the persecution, for money, or any sort of assistance, but primarily for prayer. Syrian Christians know prayer is the only way that peace will come to their country.
What an amazing witness, to care for everyone in the midst of intense suffering. The Church has done this throughout history. I would venture to say all of the books in the world’s libraries would not be enough to tell the stories of instances when Christians helped people in desperate need, regardless of skin color or creed.

Soon, I think, we will all enjoy caring for people in our communities and have the opportunity to make a bigger impact on their souls than a thousand sermons would be able to. It will be thrilling to watch all of our fellow church members get their hands dirty in ministry, a greater percentage than ever before, I believe! Can you see how suffering refines a church? It will do the same for us. There will be no more CEO (Christmas and Easter Only) Christians in our churches when the persecution starts. All of you who are tired of the pretenders coming to Sunday services will see the meeting sizes shrink as the wheat is separated from the chaff (Matthew 13:24-30). As a side note, won’t it be thrilling to see all the prophetic Scriptures that we have read for so long coming to pass? I think it will be an incredible time, even when it is very hard. I also believe God will give us abundant grace as we endure. All of the distractions that have kept us from following hard after God will be eliminated. Daily life will consist of a focus on how everyone in our community is doing, how they can be helped that day, how the new believers can be discipled, and how God’s love can be shown to the occupiers. Does that sound like Acts 4? It sure does to me. All of those sermons over the years, where pastors lamented the differences between Acts 4 and twenty-first-century churches will be made irrelevant. We will be living Acts 4.

Our churches will never become Acts 4 churches until the circumstances around us mirror the conditions of the early church. That prophesied day will come. And I think we will enjoy living out our faith as our predecessors did and those Christians who are already experiencing intense persecution in Muslim countries in the Middle East.

One source in Egypt reports the reaction of Christians to the burning of dozens of churches: “Churches are united together. And the spirit of prayer is happening in all the churches. People are praying all the time,” according to a source named “David.”

Churches united, churches praying, and people praying all the time. The church will become what we’ve all wanted it to become, but it may not happen until we are aggressively persecuted.

The churches in Egypt haven’t stopped with simply prayer. According to a Charisma News source in-country, Christians are answering the violence and pro-Islamic graffiti with signs that read, “You burned our church, but we love you.” If you were a Muslim in these cities, what would you think of such signs? I can tell you the two predominant reactions would be, 1. “Those Christians are just total weaklings” and 2. “How does this happen? How does someone love rather than avenge?” God is certainly doing all sorts of things amid this brutal persecution, acts of salvation that we won’t know about until we get to heaven.

During the great tribulation under an Islamic Antichrist, we will see brothers and sisters killed for their faith often, some right out of our communities. This is what is happening in the countries of the Arab Spring; martyrdom is expected, not imagined.

Soon, we will know true suffering and understand so many other portions of the Bible, such as 2 Timothy 4:6-8:

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to utter these words, knowing you are about to be killed for your faith? You might get this opportunity, and join the crowd of people who come out from under the altar as Jesus returns, those who had been martyred by the Beast (see Revelation 6:9 and 20:4), reigning on special thrones, and given authority to judge.

Early church father Tertullian’s famous line, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,” will come true before our eyes as those around us see our courage, even in the face of death, and are deeply moved.

It’s sad but true; people have to feel absolutely helpless sometimes before they look to God.

Peace and courage during these sorts of times of suffering have a powerful impact on the hardest hearts. One Egyptian has reported about the church’s witness there: “It’s a great message of forgiveness. This makes many Muslims discover the reality of Christianity, and many of them come to know Jesus.” These new believers are meeting “underground in a secret way. They worship the Lord together, and they’re growing.”

Extracts from Ralph Stice’s book Arab Spring, Christian Winter: Islam Unleashed on the Church and the World

PROPHESIED ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT BEING FULFILLED

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Former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has told CBN News she fears all the world’s nations are about to submit too much sovereignty to a United Nations organization. The attempted power grab described by Bachmann involves the World Health Organization (WHO). Through a series of 307 amendments and a global pandemic treaty, the WHO is seeking to gain authority over international health decisions of U.N. member nations in the event of something like another COVID pandemic. “Then they would be empowered to tell us in America we have to lock down, we have to shut down, we have to close our churches, we have to close our schools,” Bachmann cautioned. “We’re forced, mandated, to take a vaccine, whether we want to or not. We’re forced to mask. We’re forced to do whatever it is they tell us that we have to do.  We have never before in 5,000 years of recorded human history, seen this level of authority given to an international, global body.”

Those supporting this authority for the WHO say it’s necessary to protect the world’s population, even if it means restricting some of their liberties. Dr. Abdullah Assiri, who co-chairs the Working Group on International Health Regulations, explained, “The world requires a different level of legal mandates, such as the pandemic treaty, to navigate through a particular pandemic, should one occur, and it will. Prioritizing actions that may restrict individual liberties, mandating and sharing of information, knowledge and resources, pandemic control efforts are all necessary during a pandemic.”  Dechen Wangmo, Bhutan’s Health Minister concurred. “Let us seize this opportunity to foster international collaboration, ensure global health security and protect the lives and the well-being of all people beyond boundaries,” she stated.

Bachmann sees little to no opposition to handing over this power next year. “I don’t think all the nations fully understand what these implications are,” she warned, “so we have very little time.” And top backers of this United Nations move say speed is of the essence. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra conveyed the Biden administration’s urgency. “I wish to stress from our perspective, the quicker we can come together, the sooner we will all be safe,” he said. “We know that the challenges we face won’t be solved by a few leaders or a few countries, but by the world coming together and fighting for what’s right,” he claimed. Some in Congress opposed this move to further empower the WHO. There is proposed legislation that would deem it a treaty, which requires Senate approval. Bachmann, however, claims the White House is trying to make an end run around them.

She noted, “The Biden administration doesn’t plan to bring this treaty back to the U.S. Senate because they’re using a subterfuge. They’re calling it not a treaty.  They’re calling it an accord.  And they’re saying ‘This isn’t a treaty.  This is just an accord.  We can do this.  We don’t need the involvement of the U.S. government.’   But once you give government and power away, it’s very hard to get it back.” The former congresswoman points out that the Bible warns that a world-dominating power will bring trouble. “When you look at what the Bible says and the convergence of events that we are seeing across the world right now, and what the prophets from the Bible have said, we need to really pay attention to what’s going on. Because this is the creation of a platform for global government.  And according to the Bible, things that are not good come out of a global government.”

Source: CBNNews#

Bachmann is correct the Bible tells us that there will be a one-world government prior to Jesus’ return to earth to restore righteousness. The number of Biblical prophecies of Jesus second coming to earth is incredible. Almost 2000, and yet the church is not talking about the prophesied events prior to Jesus’ return. Mind you there were about 300 prophecies of Jesus first coming to earth and yet the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees and Sadducees missed it. Why because they wanted a conquering leader who would defeat the Roman overlords. Likewise, the church is hoping that God will take believers to heaven in the rapture event described in the Bible prior to the prophesied tribulation, even great tribulation that will come upon those that will not take the mark of the Antichrist. This is not what the Bible tells us. God will rapture the Saints prior to pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements but these do not occur until the trumpet blast of the seventh seal. The prophesied celestial signs that precede Jesus coming in the clouds and the wrath of God are not announced until the sixth seal.

“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Revelation 3:12-17

GOOD NEWS STORY – ON FIRE FOR GOD

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‘On fire for God’: Over 11,000 students attend worship event to pray, celebrate the Lord

Amid ongoing concerns about the younger generation’s religious dedication, thousands of students attended a worship event aimed at equipping youth with the knowledge of Jesus.

The latest Motion Student Conference, which concluded on July 29 at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, hosted over 11,000 students representing 230 churches from 31 states and six countries. In addition, 2,000 volunteers assisted with organizing the event.

Motion is organized by the Church of the Highlands, a congregation with multiple locations throughout Alabama and Georgia. Attendees ranged in age from middle school to college and participated with their youth leaders.

Mark Pettus, president of Highlands College and associate pastor at Church of the Highlands, told The Christian Post in an emailed statement that Motion exists to empower a generation to live out Ephesians 2:10, which states:

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

“It provides an environment where students discover their identity in Christ and set their faith in motion to do the good things He planned for them,” Pettus stated. 

During the conference, students had an opportunity to attend sessions featuring speakers and worship band members before breaking into community groups to “unpack” what they learned, Pettus added. 

“Motion is more than a conference and more than bands and speakers,” Pettus continued. “It’s about a generation of young people empowered by Jesus, equipped to make a difference, and living out their faith.”

This good news story follows my recent post which reported that about half of Gen Z respondents in the American Bible Society’s State of the Bible USA 2023 study agreed with the statement that “the message of the Bible has transformed my life.” Among Gen Z adults between the ages of 18 and 21, 49% agreed that the Bible had a transformative effect on their lives. That number rose to 52% among Gen Z respondents between the ages of 22 and 26.

As we move towards the last seven years prior to Jesus’ return, Biblical prophecy tells us that persecution of Christians will increase. Tribulation, even great tribulation is ahead when the Antichrist declares himself to be God in the new temple yet to be erected in Jerusalem. I do hope that Highlands College know where we are in Biblical history and therefore end times prophecies so that they prepared these young people for the escalating tribulation that is coming.

ESCALATING VIOLENCE AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN INDIA

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A wave of violence in India’s northeastern state of Manipur has left a trail of death and destruction, with the latest incidents resulting in six fatalities and numerous homes set ablaze. The ongoing unrest, which has already claimed over 180 lives and displaced thousands, has now become a significant factor in a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Three victims, identified as members of the majority Meitei community, were killed in the Kwakta area of Manipur’s Bishnupur district, The Times of India reported, adding that they had been living in relief camps and were killed the day they returned.

Retaliatory attacks ensued hours later, the media outlet said. Armed men targeted the area’s neighboring villages belonging to the Kuki-Zo community, resulting in two deaths and 13 severe injuries on Saturday.

The violence erupted in early May following a controversial court order for the state to consider extending special economic benefits and quotas, previously reserved for the tribal Kuki-Zo people, who are predominantly Christian, to the Hindu Meitei population. It would also give the Meiteis the right to buy land in the hills where the Kuki-Zo people live.

Opposition parties, under the newly formed India National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, have accused Modi of “brazen indifference” to the violence, according to Financial Times, which said they have successfully placed a no-confidence motion against Modi’s government on parliament’s agenda, with a vote expected this week.

Last month, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging the Indian government to urgently restore peace in Manipur. “There have been concerns about politically motivated, divisive policies promoting Hindu majoritarianism, and about an increase in activity by militant groups,” the resolution stated. There are also “accounts of partisan involvement by security forces in the killings have increased distrust in the authorities.”

In response to the resolution, India’s Ministry of External Affairs criticized the European Parliament, saying the issue was entirely an “internal matter.”

This escalating persecution of Christians was prophesied by Jesus and included in the three Gospels so we should not be taken by surprise it only confirms that God is in control of all events on His planet, Earth. He is refining His church before He returns first to rapture His Saints and then to pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

DRUMGOLD IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF CRITICAL THEORY PLAYING OUT AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

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I have written two posts on Critical Theory and its devastating impact on our world. In particular, three days ago, How Critical Theory is Destroying Western Civilisation. This was made possible because our political and educational establishments jettisoned God and His values many years ago.

I am quoting from an article in the Weekend Australian 06/08/2023 by Janet Albrechtsen

Amid all the reactions to the extraordinarily damning findings by Walter Sofronoff KC about the behaviour of ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold, one question stands out. Why? Why would a man at the pinnacle of the Australian legal profession behave so badly?

It is hard to comprehend why someone in that esteemed position could possibly think it was acceptable to try to conceal crucial evidence from the defence and, in doing so, lie not once but several times to a court, make numerous allegations he knew to be baseless, throw his staff and colleagues under the bus, and in critical respects ignore the protocols and etiquette of his profession?

The deafening silence in response to the Sofronoff report from most political and media quarters – starting with the ABC, which appears more concerned about how this important report was leaked – tells you they regard this as an irritating glitch that will slow but not stop their campaign to right social wrongs by whatever means necessary.

For these people, more convictions for sexual assault and rape are an absolute necessity if we are to mitigate what is undoubtedly a historical evil. If, in pursuit of more convictions, the occasional innocent man goes to jail, so be it. You can’t make omelettes without breaking eggs. So, this reasoning goes, a little collateral damage to principles such as the presumption of innocence, due process, and natural justice and the traditional rules of evidence is an acceptable compromise in the big scheme of things.

While we all share the aim of eliminating or reducing sexual assault, a little knowledge of history tells you that being prepared to sacrifice the odd innocent person to do so is not a trade-off a civilised society can accept. It is trite but true to say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Serious questions need to be asked of the ACT government, too. How did Drumgold get appointed to his role? Was he the best candidate? What kind of vetting took place? And this: does the ACT criminal justice system prioritise convictions over justice? Has the ACT government allowed the criminal justice system to be overrun by the most zealous members of the #MeToo movement? What other ideological obsessions of the ACT government infect the justice system?

What we see being played out is prophesied by God in His Word, the Bible, lawlessness will abound because God and His values have been jettisoned by the world. God is allowing Satan and his minions to have one last seeming victory to refine His church before rescuing it with the Rapture and then pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

SOCIETY DIVIDED: PRIVILEGED V. VICTIMS

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What they are promoting in our universities and colleges: Critical Theory insists that societies are oppressed by a hegemony of powerful ruling interests. People can be divided between those who are complicit with the hegemony and those who resist it. God does not exist. He is not a consideration. Evolution and billions of years did away with God and His Word. Take away the Creator God who made man in His image. the origin of death – man’s sin of rebellion, then who needs a Saviour? Who needs Jesus?

Humanity is viewed as divided between powerful privileged groups and powerless victim groups (and their declared allies).

‘Resource equity’ is the phrase used to demand equal outcomes between groups. In terms of knowledge, only those who have lived experience of suffering oppression can claim true knowledge of that oppression. In academic circles, this is referred to as ‘standpoint theory’. Different people have access to different truths. Those deemed to have multiple layers of privilege may be stripped of any right to comment on the position of those with less privilege. They are not allowed to question their claims.

They may be banned from speaking in public (‘Noplatforming’ is barring someone from speaking because they do not agree with certain views). People without privilege may need to be protected from hearing any opinions which damage them. The only option for those with privilege is to declare themselves to be allies of those without privilege (i.e. accept their accounts of ‘truth’). Proponents of critical theory know that their claims can’t be exposed to external critique. They have the ‘hidden knowledge’ of lived experience.

MULTIPLE TRUTHS

In 2017, Evergreen College in Washington State in the USA hit international headlines. The socially progressive president had been encouraging students to oppose any perceived discrimination, and he had an informal system of labelling faculty as either allies or enemies.

One of the teaching staff, Professor Bret Weinstein, asserted in an email: On a college campus, one’s right to speak — or to be — must never be based on skin color. But Weinstein was told by colleagues that ‘there are multiple versions of “truth” that exist at once’. And he was warned to accept the experience of minority students without question: If our students are telling us … that they are experiencing a hostile environment, we must take our students at their word. On one level, there’s still the belief that there’s no universal truth. But some activists imply that those without privilege have access to a truth that the privileged can never enjoy. The only hope for the privileged is to sign up as allies of those without privilege.

A free society should ensure equal opportunities. All human beings made in God’s image should have the opportunity to flourish. But human beings are different. There will always be a wide variety of abilities, competence, energy, motivation, and integrity. Enforcing equal outcomes demands social engineering on a vast scale. It assumes state intervention in every aspect of life. It signals the end of a free society.

God’s Word tells us that this would be the state of the world prior to Jesus’ second coming to restore righteousness. We are yet to see it, but we are heading for a one-world government, the Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast.

INJUSTICE MULTIPLIED

Critical Legal Theory: Use the Law to Right Past Wrongs: Ideas like ‘equality before the law’ and ‘justice is blind’ were part of the ‘hegemony’ of power by which the privileged kept victims oppressed.

Critical Legal Theory: New Injustices Perpetrated If someone is part of a victim class, their crime may be excused if it is thought to result from their disadvantage. We are no longer equal before the law.

‘Hate’ legislation means that if an alleged victim (or someone else) ‘perceives’ that hate has motivated a crime, then the sentence can be heavier. The law is a means by which to advance the ‘progressive’ agenda (e.g. abortion rights, same-sex marriage, or self-declaration of gender). Justice is no longer blind. Judges take on too much power when they create laws rather than applying laws.

A BREAKDOWN IN THE LOGIC OF CIVILISATION

Critical theory aims to dissolve the universe of meaning by denying the existence of objective universal truth.

If we can’t appeal to reason and logic there can be no reasoned debate. On what shared basis can civilisation continue? Such a society is vulnerable to tyranny. The subjective judgements of the loudest voices win. Those who resort to violence and intimidation are given a free pass. The great political philosopher Edmund Burke observed: Rage and frenzy will pull down more in half an hour than prudence, deliberation, and foresight can build up in a hundred years. Burke was writing in the context of the French Revolution. The dream of equality led straight to the ‘reign of terror’. Once universal truth has been denied, discrete groups claim their own ‘truth’ (aka experience of oppression) which others cannot comprehend. Reasoned debate is not an option. Violence is the only possible means to the end of perfect equality. That threatens the basic logic of civilisation.

Fortunately, Christians can affirm with confidence that there is such a thing as objective universal truth. And we are able to communicate with others, whatever their group identity because all human beings have been given the priceless gift of reason by their Creator.

“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:12-14

HOW CRITICAL RACE THEORY HAS DESTROYED WESTERN CIVILISATION

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As confidence faded in the bogus claims of modernism, you might hope there would be a turning back to God (the external authority who defines reality and truth). But that would mean submitting to God’s moral demands. By nature, we rebel against those demands and think that real freedom comes from doing what we want. Given the choice between submission to God or freedom without boundaries, the false utopia of unlimited liberty proves irresistible.

Western civilisation was built on the biblical worldview: respect for the individual as created in God’s image; the rule of law (rulers are accountable to God); and the creation patterns of family and work. Unprecedented numbers of people across the globe had been liberated from the grinding poverty of subsistence economies. Wealth creation had been made possible by the encouragement of innovation as well as the Christian work ethic. In a world made up of human individuals, respecting individual freedom won’t ever achieve exact equality of outcomes. Freedom allows for natural variation in competence and motivation. And there will never be perfect justice in a fallen world. But in countries influenced by the Christian worldview, inequalities have been mitigated by the Christian virtues of generosity, compassion, and social responsibility. Injustices have been challenged, and often addressed, by a variety of reform movements.

Rather than continuing such campaigns for reform, radical activists of the twentieth century set out to subvert, and ultimately destroy, Western civilisation. They regarded it as irredeemably corrupted with ideas that sustained unequal outcomes. Marx believed that workers needed to be liberated from capitalism by means of violent revolution (which would also destroy the married family, the church, and sovereign states, i.e. those institutions which propped capitalism up). By the 1920s, outside of Russia, efforts to incite violent revolt had failed. A long-term strategy of changing hearts and minds was needed.

ENTER CRITICAL THEORY TO DESTABILIZE HIERARCHIES

In the 1930s, Critical Theory developed in the Frankfurt school from scholars such as Horkheimer and Adorno with an emphasis on examining and deconstructing fascism and mass media.

Horkheimer and other radical thinkers downplayed the need to smash capitalism by means of violent revolution. They set out, instead, to undermine the ideas which propped up the establishment. Any beliefs incompatible with revolutionary thought must be silenced. Calls for ‘free speech’ would be re-defined as a repressive effort to prop up the status quo. But how do you get people to repudiate the old ideals of freedom and dignity? Get them to question the concept of truth and the meaning of language. Tell them that ‘freedom’ and ‘dignity’ are ‘just words’ and ‘words have no universal meaning’. Persuade them that those transcendent ideals are a fraud exploited by the powerful elites (the ‘hegemony’) in order to sustain their own selfish interests. Prompt them to think that believing such stuff is ‘false consciousness’.

During the twentieth century, first universities, then all the institutions of Western society, were invaded by the ‘virus’ of radical doubt built upon the theory of evolution that argues the Cosmos derived from the Big Bang. Critical theory hijacked certainty about everything. This theory was built on a lie. It began with the false premise that there is no transcendent reality – no Creator God.

From that, they concluded that the world of perception is a product of human activity. We make our own reality. As Horkheimer considered the ‘authoritarian structure’ of capitalist society, he and others concluded that the problem with liberalism (free societies) was that people were free to sort themselves into the ‘illusory harmonies’ which allow natural inequalities to exist (because of the distribution of various abilities).

According to critical theory, all hierarchies are oppressive.

The pseudo-stability of Western capitalism disguises the rotten reality. Multitudes are psychologically oppressed by inequality. This stability can only be shaken if the ideas underpinning it are challenged. Everything must be questioned. There are no universal ‘truths’. All is relative. ‘Natural privileges’ must be forcibly eliminated in order to iron out inequality.

In 1950 Adorno published The Authoritarian Personality. The traditional family was painted as a repressive institution that brainwashed people into giving up individual liberty, and conditioned them into accepting ‘father figures’. They were then softened up to demonstrate blind patriotism and acceptance of dictatorship. Adorno presented traditional ideas about family, religion, or patriotism as pathological. Capitalising on a revulsion against Hitler’s atrocities, Adorno and his colleagues labelled all authority as ‘fascist’. For the American audience, Adorno packaged the demand for revolution in the language of democracy. If you control language, you control the debate. In order to shift popular thinking from belief in absolute morality to acceptance of relativism, he redefined the concept of ‘phobia’ (an irrational fear) to make it refer to moral disapproval of certain behaviours. He associated ‘phobia’ with ‘bigotry’. People with traditional and authoritarian ‘phobias’ (against homosexuality for example), he suggested, needed re-education. That tactic was spectacularly successful. By the end of the twentieth century, many clergy refused to proclaim biblical morality because they were scared of appearing ‘bigoted’.

The Establishment then agreed that the current state of society could justify ‘strongly discriminatory tolerance on political grounds’ including the ‘cancellation of the liberal creed of free and equal discussion’. Tolerance must be withdrawn from ‘regressive movements’. There should be ‘discriminatory tolerance in favor of progressive tendencies’.

This is the pretext by which you can get rid of any who believe in absolute moral standards. This is the justification for censoring those who advocate such ‘repressive ideas’ as marital fidelity, gender as fixed, heteronormativity, or childhood innocence.

Let’s summarise five of the claims of critical theory, all of which undermine confidence in any authority, whether in the home, the lecture room, the workplace, or in society.

1. ‘TRUTH CLAIMS ARE POWER GRABS’ They aimed to persuade people that truth claims are grabs for power. Words don’t ‘mean’ anything, they are ‘tools’ to achieve what the writer or speaker wants. Critical theory was influencing many university humanities programmes by the 1980s. Students were expected to assess texts, to see if the author demonstrated sexism, racism, or homophobia. Critical theory could be used to deconstruct every subject on the curriculum, as the idea of truth itself was radically undermined.

They say, we can never know any truth about the past, and say that historians have constructed the past to suit their own (usually privileged) agenda. History has been used as a tool of oppression and it can be deconstructed, or ‘un-made’ to progress the cause of liberation.

2. ‘UNIVERSAL EXPLANATIONS ARE SUSPECT’

The next step was to label ‘universal’ human values (metanarratives) as deceptive ploys to keep powerless people from rising up. ‘Metanarratives’ are narratives about narratives; overarching explanations of events. According to this thinking, rather than respecting tradition, history, faith or moral codes, we need to consult individual stories and especially non-privileged stories. The multiplicity of these experiences opens the prospect of multiple (contradictory) truths. Take the statement ‘heterosexuality is natural’. This assertion is classed as a ‘discourse’, a power grab on behalf of the heterosexual majority in order to oppress the gay minority. Critical gender theory claims that binaries such as male/female, or fact/fiction, or reason/ emotion, are used to prop up the hegemony. They must be challenged, or at least blurred. To insist on fixed categories of anything is regarded as suspect. The ‘metanarrative’ of universal human nature is challenged. There is no way of accessing a truth that is true for everyone. The claim is that powerful groups use metanarratives to oppress the powerless. Christianity is viewed as a metanarrative, and God’s moral law is regarded as a major force of repression. Denying the validity of universal morality, we are left with my story, your story, and their story.

3. ‘REASON, LOGIC, AND SCIENCE ARE TOOLS OF OPPRESSION

Asking to test truth claims by means of science or evidence is disallowed, as it’s playing the game by rules set by the privileged. ‘Tools’ used by the privileged (science, rational argument, evidence), it is said, should be replaced with the lived experience of people in oppressed groups. Authentic knowledge is achieved within different communities. People outside those groups don’t have access to that knowledge. For example, if one particular cultural group uses ‘traditional medicine’ (including witchcraft or magic) if someone outside that group wants to test that medicine scientifically, that could be viewed as cultural oppression.

The foundation of Western culture is rational (‘straight line’, logical, scientific) discourse. This was denounced as ‘male’ thinking. The bias of male thinking, the ‘rape of our minds’, must be eliminated. All human thought, it was claimed, had been communicated from the male viewpoint, and was distorted.

The universal acid of critical theory cannot be contained. By the twenty-first century, it had dissolved the category ‘woman’. Women’s studies had to be replaced by gender studies. Now there’s fierce debate about what ‘gender’ means, and whether it’s a valid concept at all. In fact, Critical Theory can be used to subvert any academic discipline.

4. ‘DON’T QUESTION MY EXPERIENCE!’

Each person is to seek their own ‘authenticity’. Everyone can decide for themselves what is right for them. Individual experience is all-important, not an external moral or religious code.

The authentic experience of each individual must be unfettered by external rules. Increasingly, propositions are assessed, not on their rational merit, but on the status (privileged or not) of the person making the claim. Ultimately, only those who are victims, or self-proclaimed allies of victims, have the right to speak at all.

5. ‘ALL AUTHORITY STRUCTURES ARE REPRESSIVE’

Politicians, clergy, teachers, and fathers, were derided as idiotic, or painted as villains. The culture of repudiation undermined those who had previously been esteemed.

‘Outdated virtues’ of respect and deference were derided as infantile grovelling. Student protests encourage violence against the police. They are accused of complicity in upholding capitalism, regarded as ‘an army of occupation’, and decried as ‘pigs’ who could legitimately be attacked, even killed.

Reading books with pictures of mummy at home and daddy going to work were deemed to be so offensive that they had to be banned in schools. Books depicting every kind of unhappy, abusive and dysfunctional home situation were introduced in their place.

In order to undermine employers one strategy was to persuade people that all wealth creation is greedy and all private property is evil. The State should control all production and own all property.

‘Smash Capitalism’ became a common rallying cry. Many of the revolutionaries also opposed sovereign nation-states. Patriotism was derided as un-progressive; nationalism was vilified as racist.

Today, a common-sense assertion, such as ‘a boy cannot be a girl’ can be denounced as an outdated truth claim. This is how far the chaos has come. It is unbelievable but when you cast off the truth of God and His values anything goes and that is what has happened to arrive at the blatantly absurd.

Biblical prophecy tells us that this would be the state of the world prior to Jesus’ return to institute His Millennial Kingdom on this earth. We are seeing the UN taking the world towards a One World Government in order to deal with the consequences of climate change, and pestilences, such as Covid 19. All leading up to the emergence of the Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast.

This article has been adapted from the book by Sharon James, Lies We Are Told, the Truth We Must Hold: Worldviews and Their Consequences . Christian Focus Publications. Kindle Edition. Another good book by this author is How Christianity Transformed the World. My only disagreement with the author is the extent to which evolution laid the foundation for critical theory in our educational establishments.