A dust storm of political madness is brewing in Phoenix, Arizona as Grand Canyon University faces the continued threats of Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. Christians have watched as the Biden administration attacks biblical views left and right, with a particularly vehement disregard for the sanctity of life and marriage. As such, it can’t be too surprising that Cardona, a part of this leftist administration, has “vowed” to shut down America’s largest Christian university.
In late October, GCU was hit with “a $37.7 million fine brought by the federal government over allegations that it lied to students about the cost of its programs,” AP News reported — an accusation GCU President Brian Mueller described as “ridiculous.
Supporters of GCU agree the fine seems unprecedented and motivated by ideological bias, including American Principles Project Policy Director Jon Schweppe, who said, “The federal government’s education agenda is punishing schools that do not conform to their progressive ideology. It’s time we stand against this egregious abuse of power.” Another conservative think tank, the Goldwater Institute (GI), sued the Department of Education for “refusing to turn over” public “documents that explain why” they’re fining GCU. The goal of their lawsuit is to unmask the reason behind the fine.
Around the same time, Liberty University, America’s second-largest Christian university, was fined $37 million “over alleged underreporting of crimes.” GCU appealed its fine in November even though a hearing is not expected until January 2025. But the question Mueller has is one of integrity. Is this genuine consideration for the well-being of students, or is this a targeted attack against religious institutions?
“It’s interesting, isn’t it, that the two largest Christian universities in the country, this one, and Liberty University, are both being fined almost the identical amount at almost the identical time?” the college president speculated in a speech. “Now is there a cause and effect there? I don’t know. But it’s a fact.”
Mueller emphasized that GCU has faced various issues over the years. But despite the government’s action, he wanted people to know that “interestingly enough, “it has had zero impact on anything that we’re doing.”
He continued, “The enrollments are just continuing to grow … [and] the morale is very high in terms of our faculty and staff. The campus is extremely vibrant. I mean, the students absolutely love this place. They’re extremely loyal to it, and so we just keep marching through it.” And while the fine they’re being dealt by the Department of Education is “a problem,” Mueller is just thankful that GCU remains optimistic. The Christian “mission, not politics, is our motivation and it is our hope,” he told TWS.
A great article by S.A. McCarthy. He serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.
Every doctrine that Christianity preaches, leftism preaches its own perversion of it. The love advocated by Christianity is rooted in absolute truth, in “Love Himself,” as C.S. Lewis once put it. Leftism advocates “love” unmoored, anchored by nothing more absolute than the weight of fickle feelings and emotions — though, when those emotions are felt, they do reign supreme.
Christianity upholds sacrifice as virtuous — the giving of oneself for the sake of love is the zenith of the virtue of charity. Christ Himself tells His followers, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Leftism also values sacrifice, but never sacrifice of the self, only the sacrificing of others. Abortion is the ultimate example of this warped anti-virtue: sacrificing one’s own child for… financial comfort, a career, no responsibility, or even just consequence-free sex.
Christianity mandates submission to the will of God, accepting His design no matter how painful or difficult. Again, Christ Himself prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). Leftism demands obeisance to the only god it recognizes: the self-centered self. Transgenderism is demonstrative of this: just as Christian martyrs have willingly suffered torture for the sake of their faith, so the confused, self-centered, and self-loathing suffer mutilation and torture for the sake of their own wounded and twisted egos.
Like the dominant Christianity of the Middle Ages, leftism even has its own office of the Inquisition. Those who do not toe the leftist line, who dare to question the new religion’s dogmas, are hounded out of the anti-church. The famed “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling is indicative of this. A multi-millionaire and self-declared feminist, Rowling was once a darling of leftist media and political activists. She supported the Labour Party in the U.K. and Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Yet as soon as she voiced her concerns over transgenderism, she became a “heretic” to the church of leftism, targeted for disbarment from all the institutions controlled by leftism.
Although leftism is a uniquely 21st century phenomenon, its fundamental principles are nothing new. In fact, God has been dealing with the motivating mindset behind leftism since before the world began. The chief and unifying tenet of the leftist religion — indeed, that of all its precursors and predecessors, also — is naturalism. When first Lucifer said, in the words of the poet John Milton, “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven,” naturalism was born. Naturalism is the belief, the assertion that the creature can replace the Creator, that the peasant may, if he slays the King, rule in His stead. It is the hubristic declaration that “God is dead, I am god.”
Satan was the first to declare thus, in his immense pride, galled by the humility of God’s plan to become a man, to take on the form of a mere creature — “these disgusting little human vermin,” as Lewis called them in the character of Screwtape, a hateful demon. He has declared it ever since, leading countless souls astray. In the Garden of Eden, that was the temptation offered by the Serpent: “You shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5). Throughout Scripture and, certainly, throughout human history, that has been the great temptation, the great sin: to be as gods. When Moses ascended Mount Sinai, after God led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt, that temptation reared its head and the Hebrews made for themselves an idol (Exodus 32). Even then, the Hebrews fell to worshipping the demon Baal, until the prophet Elijiah proved the supremacy of God and slayed the Baalite priests (1 Kings 18).
Whether in the twilight years of the Roman Empire, throughout the Middle Ages, into the age of discovery, or even now in the modern day, men are tempted to declare themselves God, to worship their own selves over the crucified and resurrected person of Christ, to adhere to their own principles or preachings as supreme. Leftism is simply the culmination of this evil, this unbridled, unrestrained pride, brought to the fore via political prowess and instituted in American culture via institutions long ago captured by the prophets of leftism: Marxists, communists, perverts, abortionists, eugenicists, atheists, relativists, and countless other little ideologues subservient to the Luciferian sin of naturalism.
The current division in America is not ultimately a matter of Left versus Right, of Democrat versus Republican, of communist versus capitalist, but of good versus evil, of naturalism (in the form of leftism) versus Christianity, of the fallen angel Lucifer and his minions versus the crucified and resurrected Christ and the forces of Heaven. The war being waged over America at present is not a matter of differing political opinions but of diametrically opposed religions.
One side says that unborn babies, the most innocent of all persons, may be executed at will, torn apart and unceremoniously vacuumed out of the wombs of their mothers; that children may, on a whim, decide to ingest hormones foreign and unnatural to their bodies before subjecting themselves to irreversible surgeries so horrific that not even the most warped and depraved authors of the 19th and 20th centuries could have imagined them; that procreation is wholly unrelated to the conjugal act, that two men might sodomize one another and call it “love”; that sex-trafficking and child sexual exploitation are just the price to be paid for virtual images of increasingly perverted sex acts, readily available to young and old at the mere click of a button; that a nation has no sovereignty and must be subjected to millions of unvetted, unrestricted immigrants.
The other side says that innocence is worth preserving, that unborn children and their mothers must be cherished and protected from the evils of the abortion mill; that children must be raised to think and think critically, think well, think deeply; that the family is the basic and fundamental unit of society, that the very fabric of civilization would unravel without the family as its basis; that love necessitates self-sacrifice, not self-gratification; that nations have a God-given right to defend their borders and preserve the safety and security of their own people; that Christ is indeed King.
This present war is not between two ideological factions but between powers and principalities, between leftism and Christianity, between good and evil, and between God and Satan. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve… As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
We have to understand that on October 7th, 2023 something unbelievable happened in Israel. Something that’s really beyond imagination. Hamas fighters — but not only them, because it was Islamic Jihad, random Gazans came into Israel [too] — penetrated into the kibbutzim, to the villages around Gaza, and basically butchered 1,200 Israelis [including] kids in their beds. They raped women, they beheaded babies. They slaughtered parents in front of their kids and took 240 of them into Gaza.
When we hear politicians or protestors calling for a two-state solution, we need to remember that Israel tried that. In fact, many Israelis gave up their own land in 2005 to make it work. What was the outcome: Since 2001, Palestinian militants have launched tens of thousands of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip and now the Hamas invasion with unspeakable terror. A poll conducted in September 2014 found that 80% of Palestinians support firing rockets against Israel
Within the Muslim Middle East, everything is very simple. … If you’re weak, we will come and kill you. This is how it goes. … Hamas succeeded in doing something that all the Arab armies hadn’t succeeded in doing in 75 years. Hamas invaded Israel in one day. And if the Palestinians get a state at the end of it, it means it was worth it.
If Israel is forced into a two-state solution, what will happen next? “Radical Islam, because of it, will raise its head all over the world. We can already see it. It began in Europe. You can already see they’re telling the Christians in Europe, ‘We want to apply Sharia rules here in your countries, you are our slaves.’ This is how they treat Christians in Europe today. This is what they want to see in America. This is what they want to see in the entire Western civilization and they will never give up.
This is spiritual warfare and Biblical end times prophecy tells us that it will only get more intense.
Satan is about to be cast out of heaven and he knows his time is short. Note what it says about Earth: “But woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short.” Revelation 12:12
“Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” Revelation 12:7-9
End times Biblical prophecy tells us that the next war will be between the Muslims, Turkey (Sunni) will seek to establish a revived Ottoman Empire and will defeat Iran (Shia) which is currently trying to establish its dominance in the Middle East through its proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and Houthis in Yemen, as well as its proxies in Iraq and Syria. We are then told that Turkey’s efforts are short-lived and it is broken up into four probably by the United Nations forces. It is out of one of these four that the “Little Horn”, the Antichrist arises (Daniel 8:9). He will be of Muslim descent and be seen by them as their long-awaited Mahdi. Just look at the percentage of Muslims in each country that expect the Mahdi to return in their lifetime.
Despite two unanimous acquittals at the Helsinki District Court and the Helsinki Court of Appeals, Finland’s state prosecutor has now taken an elderly member of parliament and a Lutheran bishop before the Supreme Court to answer for their traditional Christian beliefs on sexuality. Dr. Päivi Räsänen, who has served in parliament for 29 years, and Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF), are facing “spiritual persecution” for upholding the Scripture, said a letter signed by dozens of Christian and Jewish leaders.
“Once again you face unjust charges. For almost half a decade, you have confronted targeted legal harassment for simply living out your Christian faith, the direct result of not just political persecution but also spiritual persecution,” says the letter, which was led by Advancing American Freedom and released today. “Now, despite twice being unanimously declared not guilty at the Helsinki District Court and the Helsinki Court of Appeals, the prosecutor has filed another appeal, potentially forcing a third trial at Finland’s Supreme Court.”
Authorities have centered their legal case on a five-year-old social media post made by the MP, a member of the Christian Democrats Party, asking why her Lutheran church body would take part in an LGBT “Pride 2019” event. The post on Twitter, now X, included a photo of Romans 1:24-27, which clarifies that homosexual behavior is sinful.
Two years later, in April 2021, prosecutors charged Räsänen and Pohjola with “agitation against a minority” under the nation’s law against “War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.” Police arrested Räsänen and subjected her to 13 hours of police interrogation before her trial. Prosecutors dubbed the Bible verses in her tweet, a booklet the two wrote in 2004 expounding on biblical doctrine titled “Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual Relations Challenge the Christian Concept of Humanity,” as well as comments Räsänen made on the radio in December 2019 as “hate speech.”
Räsänen and Pohjola were first acquitted by the Helsinki District Court on March 30, 2022. The three-judge panel ruled that prosecutors had violated the Christians’ right to freedom of expression contained in Section 12 of the Finnish Constitution, as well as noting the thorny legal questions posed if secular judges begin ruling on matters of religious doctrine. “It is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts,” the court declared.
But within days, then-Prosecutor General Raija Toiviainen appealed the charges. Räsänen then faced a two-day trial last August 31-September 1. The Court of Appeals unanimously acquitted MP Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola on November 14, 2023. Under the law, social media posts must be intended to offend, and “there must be an overriding social reason for interfering with and restricting freedom of expression,” they ruled. The judges ordered the state to pay both defendants’ legal fees.
Finland’s current state prosecutor appealed the dismissal once again earlier this month.
“It is shocking that the Finnish state prosecutor has decided to target MP Räsänen for a third time, because she politely expressed her religious beliefs in public,” Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council — and who signed the letter — told The Washington Stand. “So far, the Finnish courts have been clear in affirming Räsänen’s right to express her religious beliefs. However, the process of being dragged through court is often the punishment itself.”
The thirst to continually prosecute the grandmother of 10 exposes the government’s intolerance and malice toward traditional Christian viewpoints, said Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International, which is supporting Räsänen’s legal defense. “Dragging people through the courts for years, subjecting them to hour-long police interrogations, and wasting taxpayer money to police people’s deeply held beliefs has no place in a democratic society,” said Coleman. “As is so often the case in ‘hate speech’ trials, the process has become the punishment.”
What we see playing out in Finland is happening in most Western countries and it demonstrates that a spiritual battle of immense proportions is underway exactly as the Bible prophecies will take place before Jesus returns. Before Jesus returns Satan is cast out of heaven and knows his time is short (Revelation 12).
“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”Revelation 12:7-12
Jewish and Christian holy places are repeatedly targeted by Muslim settlers, such as the Tomb of Rachel near Bethlehem, the Tombs of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Lea, and Rebecca in Hebron, the Tomb of Josef in Shechem (Nablus) and many others,” the Rev. Petra Heldt, a leading Christian scholar who has resided in Israel for 40 years, told Fox News Digital.
“It is a consistent pattern that shows that there is a wish to eliminate the existence of Jewish and Christian history in Eretz Israel, the historic land of the Jewish people. Therefore, this holy place must be secured, like other holy places in Israel, from Palestinian vandalism.”
In early November, the European Union condemned what it called a “spike of antisemitic incidents across Europe [which] has reached extraordinary levels in the last few days, reminiscent of some of the darkest times in history.”
“We have seen a resurgence of antisemitic incidents and rhetoric in the European Union and worldwide: Molotov cocktails thrown on a synagogue in Germany, stars of David sprayed on residential buildings in France, a Jewish cemetery desecrated in Austria, Jewish stores and synagogues attacked in Spain, demonstrators chanting hate slogans against Jews,” a Nov. 5 statement from the European Commission reads.
The fact that God’s nation Israel has been subjected to such intense hatred ever since God established it 3500 years ago reveals that something sinister is going on. It confirms that there is, as Scripture tells us, spiritual warfare is raging on Earth and in heaven.
Even before Israel went into the promised land Moses prophesied their entire history with the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 31:30-32:47). It reveals they would be driven out of the land and scattered throughout the nations for their disobedience. Moreover, it reveals an aspect of God’s character that most of us do not want to know, God’s judgement, and God’s wrath, and it reveals the truth of the statement that the beginning of wisdom is to fear God.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.” Psalms 111:10
Jeremiah reveals that in the “last days” just before Jesus returns there will be another time of great distress (unparalleled horror) for the Jews when they will for a third time be taken from their land into captivity as they were by the Assyrians and Babylonians.We know what is coming so we can use these scriptures in Apocalyptic evangelism.
“Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 30:7
Malachi calls it “the great and terrible day of the Lord”.
“At that time shall arise, Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1
Satan has done his utmost to destroy Jerusalem as it was established by God for His purposes. We know from Biblical prophecy that when Satan is cast down to Earth he will take possession of the Antichrist’s body and declare himself to be God in the temple in Jerusalem
ETERNAL JERUSALEM
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:2-4
However, before the Eternal Jerusalem, there will be a Jerusalem in Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom. It is very different from the Eternal Jerusalem. In the next post, I will show the Biblical differences. They are many and they are glorious.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons…” 1 Timothy 4:1
In this verse, where Paul refers to those who “shall depart from the faith,” he is not talking about ungodly individuals who stick their middle finger in God’s face, spit on the Bible, and hate the church. He is talking about believers who will depart from the church, from the truth of the Bible, from the preaching, from prayer, from fasting, and from deliverance and miracles. And the reason they will depart is shocking. They will give heed to seducing spirits. These are evil spirits, and these dark seducing spirits will eventually woo them into accepting “doctrines of devils.”
Doctrines of devils are false religions and other false teachings that dismiss the Bible: idol worship, the worship of man, the worship of objects, the worship of charms and amulets and crystals and horoscopes, etc.; and they will eventually defend every sort of perversion that goes against the Word of God. Church people will literally side with demons, occultism, and witchcraft. If you haven’t seen that come full circle in our time, then you’ve not been paying attention. In short, Paul says there will be demonic activity in the church during the last days that will destroy the church. The influence of demonic activity in the life of the American church is an absolute fact. Demons work to destroy the conscience of their host and have no conscience of their own. A demonic spirit is void of that emotional connection to God, so it causes people to live numb and dry and lukewarm and barren, and in this context, we begin to understand that a demon is nothing more than a person without a body who has taken hold of a human body.
As we see more and more demonic influence in our culture, we need to heed Paul’s warnings. The devil is going hard after the people of God, and no one is an exception. We must buckle up with the armour of God, stick close to His Word, and keep our eyes focused on Christ.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:10-12
The true history of science that is never taught in our schools and universities is that all of the early eminent scientists were not taken in by the master deceiver, Satan, and his demons. They believed in God and the history He provided us of the Cosmos He created (God’s Word/Bible). Not only our world’s beginning, He even tells us how the story ends, to show us He is in total control of what He created, even time itself.
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:11-12
BRIEF HISTORY OF SCIENCE
The great Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) whose idea that the earth revolves around the sun laid the foundation for our understanding of the solar system, wrote: “For who, after applying himself to things which he sees established in the best order and directed by divine ruling, would not through contemplation of them … admire the Artificer of all things, in whom is all happiness and every good.”
The famous Italian astronomer, mathematician, and physicist Galileo Galilei(1546-1642) whose astronomical observations revolutionised our view of the universe, noted, “When I reflect on so many profoundly marvelous things that persons have grasped, sought, and done, I recognize even more clearly that human intelligence is a work of God and one of the most excellent.“
German astronomer and mathematician Johanne Kepler (1571-1630) who laid the groundwork for understanding the laws of planetary motion, saw divine order in the movement of heavenly bodies that reflected the existence of a Creator.
English physician, anatomist, and physiologist William Harvey (1578-1657) discovered how the circulatory system of the human body functions. His work pioneered the scientific method. His studies of human and animal anatomy led him to conclude: “We acknowledge God, the Supreme and Omnipotent Creator, to be present in the production of all animals… All things are indeed contrived and ordered with singular providence, divine wisdom, and most admirable and incomprehensible skill.”
The brilliant mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) wrote: “This beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
Newton also stated: “There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than any profane history, and I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God written by men who were inspired. I study the Bible daily.”
German-born British astronomer Sir William Herschel (1738-1822) discoverer of the planet Uranus, said, “All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more and more strongly the truth contained in the Sacred Scriptures.“
More recently, Werner von Braun (1912-1977), rocket scientist and father of the U.S. Space program, said, “In this age of space flight, when we use the modern tools of science to advance into new regions of human activity, the Bible… this grandiose, stirring history of the gradual revelation and unfolding of moral law … remains in every way an up-to-date book.“
The understanding of our planet, solar system, the universe, and the human body rests on the foundational work of scientific giants like these. They saw no conflict between God, science, and the Bible. The only possible reason we have departed from it is that mankind has been deceived to accept the great lie that evolution (goo to you via the zoo) can explain it all. Blame Ken Ham of Answers In Genesis (http://www.answersingenesis.com) for “goo to you via the zoo”. It is one of the two websites I urge all Christians to use and support. The other one is http://www.creation.com. They are the go-to websites for all the information you need to equip you to overcome the evolutionary origins delusion.
Academia, Media, and governments are now deeply opposed to Biblical Christianity. They hold a materialistic worldview (the world is all there is) totally opposed to a Biblical worldview (the world is created by God). Moreover, they have no understanding of God despite God giving us both a conscience to know the difference between right and wrong and the intelligence to perceive the complex design evident in His creation. Moreover, the billions of dead things buried all over the world including fossil fuels are evidence of God’s previous judgement with the flood of Noah’s day. They deny the evidence and ignore God’s Word that reveals that God will pour out His wrath again on an unbelieving world.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-20
COMING BOWL JUDGEMENTS (follow the TRUMPET JUDGEMENTS)
“So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!”Revelation 16:2-6
They also do not know that they are under the control of a spiritual entity, Satan and that the true battle being waged is a spiritual one. Paul tells us that our battle is a spiritual one and must be handled accordingly:
“For though we walk in the flesh [as mortal men], we are not carrying on our [spiritual] warfare according to the flesh and using the weapons of man. The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood].Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ…” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” Ephesians 6:13-18
A former Finnish Interior Minister, Paavi Rasanen, prosecuted for tweeting a Bible verse has been re-elected to Parliament in national elections. But Paavi Rasanen told Premier Christian News “a time of persecution” may be coming after news she faces renewed prosecution in the courts.
Paavi Rasanen is a member of the Finnish Christian Democrats, who were elected with five seats, after increasing their vote to four percent under an electoral system that uses proportional representation. “I am very happy”, she told Premier on the outcome of the elections. “It’s possible we will enter negotiations about participating in the new government. I am hopeful,” she added.
She came to prominence in 2019 when she took to Twitter to express concern that her church was hosting a Pride parade. In her tweet, she referenced the Bible. For this, she was charged with “hate speech,” tried under Finnish criminal law, but unanimously acquitted this time last year. Speaking to Premier, the 63-year-old said she will be forced back to court this August after the state prosecutor appealed against her acquittal.
We should not be surprised by what has happened to Paavi Rasanen, Jesus told us this would happen prior to His return.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:9-12