The United States of Evil

Generally shooting people is considered pretty wicked destroying a mans home and killing his family is pretty wicked doesn't matter who does it.

Michael V Pardo said:

Mattew 23 is a very condemning chapter. In it Jesus was addressing those scribes and Pharisees that rejected Him and sought His life. Jesus spoke in anticipation of the judgment of Jerusalem, and of the judgment of Israel in rejecting their King and in fulfilling the prophetic word about those who were under the law of Moses. The book of Deuteronomy is very clear about the blessings and the curses upon Israel as God's chosen people, chosen for blessing and curses under the law and as an example to the world. The reason for an example is that the world will also come under judgment, not for disobedience under the law, but for rejecting the Word of God made flesh:

[sup]47 [/sup]And if anyone hears My words and does not believe,[sup][a][/sup] I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. [sup]48 [/sup]He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. [sup]49 [/sup]For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. John 12:47-49

Please note that some Pharisees actually believed that Jesus was sent by God, most notably Nicodemus. The Apostle Paul was among the Pharisees and a persecutor of the Church prior to his Damascus road introduction to the risen Lord. Were they part of the "synagogue of Satan?" What that term referred to in its context were those unregenerate souls among the Jews, who denied the gospel of grace and worked actively to subvert it. All unregenerate souls are children of wrath and why? There is no one good, but God, there is no one righteous, with the exception of the One that God sent in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Your posts condemn the righteous (by imputation). If anyone is walking upon dangerous ground, well, I suggest you examine your own feet. Have you been washed in the blood? Don't worry, though, you needn't understand the scripture to be saved. You only need to recognize that you are guilty before God and separated from Him by your sin, and that He paid the price for your redemption with His own precious blood in the person of His Son. In believing Him you are justified and freed from the guilt of all your sin because that sin was placed upon Him at the cross. He bore your guilt upon the cross (and mine) therefore His blood was shed for us and we are as responsible for His death as the rest. However, God HImself chose His Son to be the propitiation of our sin, and for this reason He does account us righteous and frees us of our "blood guilt," when we submit to Jesus as our Lord and Savior. If this isn't true, then there is no elect, and only hell and condemnation for all humanity: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

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Yes I know that not all the Pharisees were guilty of having Christ crucified, just as not all unbelieving Israelites there did not take part in it either. You're still missing a very important part of understanding in God's Word concerning the "mystery of iniquity" which Apostle Paul in 2 Thess.2 mentioned, and in Jude 1 about certain men crept in unawares, and our Lord's parable of the tares of the field. The first Bible Message about that began with the Gen.3:15 verse.

That matter is not taught in most Churches, so most have to go study about it in God's Word for theirself. The false doctrine that has instead crept into most Churches involving the "mystery of iniquity" is the falsehood that everyone born in this world is born with equal spiritual disposition. Not so per Scripture like Jude 1:4 and several others. Some are here to purposefully work for the devil against Christ and His Church.

Ok, we know all the governmnetsof the world are bad... except maybe Israel. USA is the most powerful government in the world and so I contend the one easiest to spread corruption outsde its borders. I will not accept USA as it should be understood as a peaceful or un-corrupt governmet. The people of the country is what we would all like to think want and desire peace and justice. Should we atack USA's government, us being Christians? I believe so and I believe it is our complacency that has allowed this corruption, to not only survive, but also to flourish, .... when good people do nothing....

Same sex marriage, Abroritions, God taken out of schools, songs, institutions, etc etc... Legalities have run amok over justice - but that vould not have happened unless those in government office allowed it - with one exception - lobbyists. Our congessmen our senators, Our Governors. Our President... they all have duties.. often very time consuming duties... BUT lobbyists are paid buy private individual companies and organizations to be the squeeky wheel that stands before these elected officials day and night to imprees their desires until they achieve success and our elected officials ... cave in. Without elected officials with backbone to steadfastly deny these lobbyists the end will continue making this country worse.

Do I personall have a problem with this governmnet? more than one can imagine!!! Try being tortured in a hospital, un-able to walk, unable to talk... while a doctor calls the police on you to try to get you arrested, but they can't arrest you, for you have dne nothing...see you can't walk, can't talk all becauswe you are in that much pain. You have to reach in your mouth to pull out your tongue to breateh one moment then the next your tongue...in another spasm sticks out farther than you could make it stick out voluntarily. Have this occur for hours at a time, once even days and maybe you will see a glimmer of what has happened to me. Chronic pain is a horrble lifestyle, but malicious mis-treatment due in part to much govenment propaganda magnifies that horror.

I laid in a hospital 3 days and 2 nights while going through these spasms while the doctor wantonly mis-treated...i mean non-treated me. I could not talk, so i could not call anyone... I could not walk.. so i could not leave. TRY THAT!!! Did I sue any doctors or hospitals or police or sheriff's departemnts for these tortures??? nope!!! i do not chase money. Their actions will be repremanded in full by me and all thekings horses and all the kings men will be unable to put these humpty dumptys back together again. For thus saith the LORD... ( the rest is a secret - i will explain or reveal later - but I assure you is contained in scripture )

terry said:

Ok, we know all the governmnetsof the world are bad... except maybe Israel.

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No way I could ever agree with that. It's not the 'idea' of government that is the problem. It's corruptors within that are destroying what remnants of true government that we used to have. And it's not only happening in the U.S. As for the government of the state of Israel, they have the same problems with corruption. No nation is going to be 'left-behind' with the coming one-world Babylon harlot government system that the false messiah is coming to be made king over. And Jerusalem is going to be the main headquarters of that near-future beast kingdom over all nations, which why our Lord Jesus and His Apostles showed it's Jerusalem where the false messiah is going to setup up the abomination of desolation, not in Rome or New York city. It's impossible for anyone to get around what Christ said to those specifically in Judea when that abomination is setup there (Matt.24; Mark 13; Luke 21).

USA is the most powerful government in the world and so I contend the one easiest to spread corruption outsde its borders. I will not accept USA as it should be understood as a peaceful or un-corrupt governmet. The people of the country is what we would all like to think want and desire peace and justice. Should we atack USA's government, us being Christians? I believe so and I believe it is our complacency that has allowed this corruption, to not only survive, but also to flourish, .... when good people do nothing....

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God already gave us many Biblical patterns of history for what is happening to His people in the Christian west today. When the majority of Israel fell into Baal idol worship, a remnant remained faithful to Him. That's how it is in the west today also, as with brethren in other countries also. In the process of Israel falling away from Him per the past, He sent servants to give witness of Him to the people, and also witness directly against those who had fallen away. He already foretold us about the times of today through His prophets and Apostles, what to expect. So there's no excuse in not understanding what's happening today, for He already told us. Because of that, it is wrong to just assign a whole nation and people as being responsible for what corruptors are doing today.

As for taking matters into our own hands, that's what the corruptors are wanting to happen, so they can use that as an excuse to execute absolutism upon God's people in one fell swoop. Our resistence is going to continue to the point where the nations of Christ's enemies will in the end seek to come upon us and destroy us literally. That's when our Lord Jesus is going to step in (see Ezek.38-39).

The Obama administration's official declaration of hostility toward religion came in January with rules requiring faith-based service ministries and charities to offer their employees health insurance covering contraception and abortion-inducing drugs.
But it was not the first or only volley fired in what has become known as Obama's "war on religion."

Newsmax magazine's special report "Obama vs. Religious Freedom" offers an in-depth look at one of the most important religious liberty cases in half a century, the Hosanna-Tabor case in Michigan - an attempt by the Obama administration to dictate to a church who can and cannot be its minister.
It was an attack on religious freedom and the Constitution so outrageous that the Supreme Court blasted it in a decision agreed upon by all nine justices — including Obama's two appointees.

The Newsmax report explores the surprising reasons why the Obama administration has launched an assault on religious liberty that threatens every American's right to worship.This issue also looks at the 10 top threats to America's religious freedoms, including blacklisting the 10 Commandments and even banning the Easter Bunny.
source

Take, for example, what Michelle and Barack Obama told People magazine in 2008 about the “Obama House Rules.”

Of the seven “House Rules” they enumerated, most were conventional, but one stood out: Michelle and Barack do not believe in giving Christmas gifts to their children. Barack explained that he wants “to teach some limits.”

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Read more on Newsmax.com: Catholic League's Donohue: Obama Wages War on Religion
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veteran said:

Yes I know that not all the Pharisees were guilty of having Christ crucified, just as not all unbelieving Israelites there did not take part in it either. You're still missing a very important part of understanding in God's Word concerning the "mystery of iniquity" which Apostle Paul in 2 Thess.2 mentioned, and in Jude 1 about certain men crept in unawares, and our Lord's parable of the tares of the field. The first Bible Message about that began with the Gen.3:15 verse.

That matter is not taught in most Churches, so most have to go study about it in God's Word for theirself. The false doctrine that has instead crept into most Churches involving the "mystery of iniquity" is the falsehood that everyone born in this world is born with equal spiritual disposition. Not so per Scripture like Jude 1:4 and several others. Some are here to purposefully work for the devil against Christ and His Church.

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I won't disagree with your here. Even our Lord taught that the Kingdom of heaven included those that oppose Him, but pretend to belong in His kingdom. You find these things in the kingdom parables, but you also find special admonition given to the servants of "the man who sowed good seed in his field:"

[sup]27 [/sup]So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ [sup]28 [/sup]He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ [sup]29 [/sup]But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Matthew 13:27-29

The Lord never gave us the task of determining who is saved and who isn't, who serves Him and who doesn't. The church has the primary function of being His witnesses to the world, sharing the gospel, making disciples of men, teaching the meaning of scripture to the purposes of godly living and the revelation of God in Christ Jesus, to the glory of His name. The book of Zechariah has a lot to say about the "church age," in the form of visions and parables. It also has a curse which goes out into all the world to enter into the house of the thief and of the liar, and of those who swear falsely in the name of God. The Lord knows how to preserve His own and He knows how to bring retribution to the pretenders. We have a natural tendency not to believe things until we see them, and hoping to see the Lord's retribution is not something that I would call "faith," yet I believe that this generation shall witness great and terrible things at the hands of the Lord.
I took my breakfast in a local fast food restaurant on friday morning. While eating my egg sandwich and hash browns, I overheard the end of a conversation between two older men and one young one, dealing with the "facts" of evolution and the "foolishness" of clinging to biblical truth. Here was one man, a person of faith, simply holding onto his belief in the face of two scoffers. I didn't hear enough of the conversation to know if that man believed in the same things that I hold to be true, but I gave him a smile of my approval as he walked out the door; He knew well enough not to answer a fool according to his folly and sometimes that's all that we need do. This other fellow was left defending his position to the younger man, explaining how he'd been raised in "the church" but had to change his mind because of all the "facts" that were presented to him. I guarantee that this man never actually saw a dinosaur, or saw one species evolve into another species, and probably never participated in the attempt to date something more than a few years old, yet he was quite sure of the facts that allowed him to reject scripture and the God of scripture. This man, and the younger one who was quite eager to agree with him, took an active part in attempting to sway someone away from the truth of scripture. Was the man working with the same goals of God's adversary? Of course he was.
Perhaps his parents never prayed for him. Perhaps the "church" that he "grew up in" was not biblical or faithful to the gospel of our Lord. Perhaps the man is destined to burn in hell for eternity, or perhaps the man is destined to have his heart turned toward His Lord and away from foolishness and sin. I would hope that the latter were true and I believe that it is your job and mine, if we are to be found faithful, to share the gospel with such men when the Lord makes opportunity to do so, and to pray for them in the hope that they might know the Lord in His mercy rather than in His justice.
I know that our nation is already under the judgment of God, and I'm quite convinced that our leaders are those whom God has given us for either good or evil. I'm also quite convinced that the Lord can use evil men to satisfy His own purpose; He's used me.
If I compare myself with other men, as is the way of this world, I can think very highly of myself, but If I judge myself against the standard of God's word, I should probably go about in sackcloth and ashes until the Lord returns. However, I believe the gospel. I believe my Lord and my hope is in Him alone, where it belongs. I've met plenty of people who do good things and plenty who do evil things, and more who do both. I've never met a good man, but one, and that man I met through His word and His witnesses, and most significantly through His Spirit. Though I've never held His hand or sat by a fire to hear Him speak, I hold Him as a closer friend than any man I've known, and for all the times that I've failed Him, He's never once failed me. You can't ask for a better friend than that.
The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of those that are dying. Perhaps He'll turn this nation, and perhaps He'll turn the world, but we can only judge by what we see before us and by the word that was given us. That word also instructs us as to how we should live in this world and toward others, but we always have the admonition that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. The point being we are given as ministers of God's grace, not as ministers of His judgment, a fact that we always need to bear in mind. I know that I certainly have to keep such an admonishment before my eyes continually. The Lord, being just, judges us with the same judgment that we use to judge others. I'd say that if for nothing other than selfish reason, it would be best for us to reserve judgment for God to whom judgment belongs. Hate sin, love sinners? These are things which are more than difficult for men, perhaps impossible. I'd have to say that this is in part why He's given His Spirit to those who believe Him. Nothing is impossible with God, including loving those who crucified His Son, for "they do not know what they do."
I want to see good and not evil, life and not death, joy and not sorrow, peace and not war, but what are the choices that we make for ourselves as a people? Even worse, its not enough that we choose evil over good for ourselves, but we choose the same for others and corrupt them through our choices. Pretty much everything I've seen on TV tonight gives a witness to the last statement. Its the saddest statement of our times that those people who tend to hold God in the greatest sense of reverence and fear, don't actually know Him and hold christianity as their greatest enemy. What exactly does that say about us?

Matt 10:14
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
(KJV)

Acts 13:49-51
49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
(KJV)


Wishful thinking would be like Paul and Barnabus returning to those Jews and trying again with those who rejected Christ willfully.

Will we then listen to false prophets that have crept into the Church then tell us that Christ's servants are guilty for others refusing Christ? I won't listen to those false ones, nor their attempts to lay false guilt trips upon the brethren in Christ. Their working is of the devil, not Christ.

Christ's servants are not expected to keep trying to convert one who has refused Him over and over. If someone wants to keep trying, then that's their own personal choice, and not a responsibility of Christ's Church. We are not to spoon feed those who clearly work against Christ but rebuke them instead. Jesus commanded us to simply leave the 'tares' alone (per the parable of the tares in Matt.13).

It's the same thing even with brethren in the Church that have been blinded by God. The Holy Spirit allowed me to see the blindness placed upon one brother, because he came out of it temporarily, and then a week later it was like what he had learned and understood was literally removed out his mind. That was more of lesson for me than for him, that understanding is not given for all, which again, was another one of our Lord Jesus' Messages to His Apostles in Matt.13:11...

Matt 13:11
11 He answered and said unto them, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given."
(KJV)


That was Christ's answer to His Apostles after they asked Him why He spoke to the 'multitudes' in parables. He then told them why per the Isaiah prophecy. How is it you don't appear to understand that Isaiah prophecy is still... in effect today upon many?

ProphecyStudent said:

Being that this is a Christian (as opposed to political) forum, please consider that the U.S. is the only nation which Scripture speaks in such a positive note:

Psalms 45:17
I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations;
Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever.

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This is a perfect example of the phrase Joseph Stalin coined as 'American Exclusivism'. The Russian dictator used the phrase in a 1930's letter to the Communist Party of the USA. The letter's purpose was to rebuke his American comrades for their conceited nationalistic attitude.

Last weekend, the first weekend of October 2012, Mitt Romney used THE SAME PHRASE in a campaign speech. American exclusivism is so embedded in the American psyche that no one objects to its use or implications. America is special, too big to fail, too righteous in its motivations and actions to admit to a debauched government leadership, military excesses on foreign shores, lies and murder upon its own citizens and to admit that we as a people have forgotten God.....officially.

No drug addict, drunk, gambling or porn addict can hope to throw off his destructive habits until he first admits he has a problem.
No sinner can hope to be saved unless he first understands and admits his wickedness before God.

There is NO HOPE of turning our nation aright until and unless we admit to ourselves and each other our own duplicity and national wickedness - right to the bone.

And it begins by understanding that the Bible, the Holy Writ of God, does not mention America in any way shape or form. The notion that Holy Scripture is some sort of special unique endorsement of the United States is grossly inaccurate if not spiritual folly. Scripture does, however, mention what happens to people and nations who forget God, who deny the precepts of the Almighty, and who lean upon their own understanding instead of that which proceeds from the throne of Heaven.

but that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...

• 
  

  veteran said:

  Matt 10:14
  14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
  (KJV)
  
  Acts 13:49-51
  49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
  50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
  51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
  (KJV)
  
  
  Wishful thinking would be like Paul and Barnabus returning to those Jews and trying again with those who rejected Christ willfully.
  
  Will we then listen to false prophets that have crept into the Church then tell us that Christ's servants are guilty for others refusing Christ? I won't listen to those false ones, nor their attempts to lay false guilt trips upon the brethren in Christ. Their working is of the devil, not Christ.
  
  Christ's servants are not expected to keep trying to convert one who has refused Him over and over. If someone wants to keep trying, then that's their own personal choice, and not a responsibility of Christ's Church. We are not to spoon feed those who clearly work against Christ but rebuke them instead. Jesus commanded us to simply leave the 'tares' alone (per the parable of the tares in Matt.13).
  
  It's the same thing even with brethren in the Church that have been blinded by God. The Holy Spirit allowed me to see the blindness placed upon one brother, because he came out of it temporarily, and then a week later it was like what he had learned and understood was literally removed out his mind. That was more of lesson for me than for him, that understanding is not given for all, which again, was another one of our Lord Jesus' Messages to His Apostles in Matt.13:11...
  
  Matt 13:11
  11 He answered and said unto them, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given."
  (KJV)
  
  
  That was Christ's answer to His Apostles after they asked Him why He spoke to the 'multitudes' in parables. He then told them why per the Isaiah prophecy. How is it you don't appear to understand that Isaiah prophecy is still... in effect today upon many?

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Hi Veteran,
I don't know, but it seems to me that Saul of Tarsis rejected the gospel repeatedly. I know that he heard it when Steven gave testimony just prior to being stoned to death as the first recorded martyr of the church. It seems that the church gave up on Saul, and did their best to hide from him, rather than be arrested and killed for blasphemy, but the Lord didn't give up on him.

When Jesus instructed the seventy to go out through the territories of Israel preaching the gospel of the kingdom, He had them participating in a special ministry to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel," prior to the judgment to fall upon that nation, not to the gentile nations or to those who were born into "church families" or otherwise marginally interested attenders of some religious congregation. I don't believe that the great apostasy going on today is necessarily a falling away by those that have heard the gospel. On the contrary, I believe that the vast majority of those who would identify themselves as "christian" have never even heard the gospel (It's a bit more than John 3:16). As a youth I was forced to attend church services and religious classes and to learn the means of sanctification through the receipt of "Sacraments" until I reached the "age of adulthood" and made my own confession of faith (for what it was worth,) to become a member of what is probably the largest denomination on earth, yet I never heard the gospel preached from a pulpit in that church (in spite of the fact that excerpts from the gospel texts were read every Sunday.) My early exposure to scripture and a form of religious training from that denomination certainly helped to introduce me to "christian" concepts and teachings, but was of no value in changing my heart and my mind from their unregenerate and carnal state. If I hadn't been exposed to at least the words of Christ while attending that "church," its unlikely that I would ever have had any interest in spiritual or philosophical matters. Yet it took years of reading scripture and the faithful testimony of a former Jehovah's witness who is now born again in Christ Jesus, to prepare my heart to receive the gospel.

The situations and circumstances of my life certainly played a large part in my desire to know the truth, but our Sovereign God uses more than providence to convince us. The gospel is the power of God to salvation, and His Spirit is the person who gives His word life. That breath of God which is breathed through the gospel is the only thing that can give us new life, and there are millions of professing "christians" who have never even been presented with it. Its easy to reject a christ who requires works for salvation when it becomes clear that the works have no power to change us. Its easy to reject a christ that is less than equal to God when we understand that God is our judge and may or may not be willing to listen to a lesser being with regard to our own "worthiness." Its easy to reject a christ who only came to us to make us wealthy, healthy, and wise, when we see our money failing, our health deteriorating, and our intellect fading. But such christs are not the Christ of Scripture. When the gospel isn't being faithfully preached, the hearers aren't being given the opportunity to know new life. Is it a surprise when dead men stop attending dead churches, when those dead churches run out of ways to make them feel better in their carnality?

God's judgment upon Israel fell upon a people that would not hear Him and willfully rejected Him. Religion is a strong tower to those who make it their defense, but the word of God empowered by the Spirit of God, is more powerful than any doctrine of man, greater than any stronghold.
A familiarity with scripture creates a basis for faith, but only the Spirit of God makes that seed of the word fruitful and God has chosen the gospel as His means to create new life in dead hearts. We can't force men to receive the gospel and new life through it, but there is no possiblitiy of them knowing Christ and new life without ever hearing it, and how will they hear unless someone preaches it? I believe that people may "hear" through their reading as well, but much of what passes for "christian" writing is devoid of the gospel, and while the Bible remains an all time "best seller," few ever read it with a heart to receive it, simply because what it says about them is hard to bear.

Take another look at Matthew 28:19-20. Was this the great commission or the great suggestion? We aren't responsible for the results, just for the proclamation and the illumination: [sup]47 [/sup]And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. [sup]48 [/sup]But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
I pray that the Lord finds us faithful in these things. Would you argue that as well?

Michael V Pardo said:

Hi Veteran,
I don't know, but it seems to me that Saul of Tarsis rejected the gospel repeatedly. I know that he heard it when Steven gave testimony just prior to being stoned to death as the first recorded martyr of the church. It seems that the church gave up on Saul, and did their best to hide from him, rather than be arrested and killed for blasphemy, but the Lord didn't give up on him.

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Paul's situation was different in that he was a chosen vessel by our Lord Jesus, meaning he was a chosen elect. That was shown with how Christ directly intervened with Paul, which is Biblically a sign of a chosen sent apostle. Until that event Paul wasn't brought into service yet, that's all. It's obvious our Lord does not do that for everyone that works against Him, and that's why. And that also reveals all the more about Paul being one of His chosen elect.

veteran said:

Paul's situation was different in that he was a chosen vessel by our Lord Jesus, meaning he was a chosen elect. That was shown with how Christ directly intervened with Paul, which is Biblically a sign of a chosen sent apostle. Until that event Paul wasn't brought into service yet, that's all. It's obvious our Lord does not do that for everyone that works against Him, and that's why. And that also reveals all the more about Paul being one of His chosen elect.

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The Holy spirit intervenes directly with every person who is ever born again. Entrance into the kingdom of God is entirely dependent upon the intervention of God in the person of the Holy Spirit. We tend to think that because God is revealed in three persons, that these persons are entirely unique in their identity, the same way that we as men are, but God is not divided, He remains One being in three persons. Jesus said that He was One with the Father, that no one came to Him unless called by the Father, and that the Holy Spirit was One like Him, who would come to His disciples to lead them into all truth, among other things. We can't assume that those rejecting Him at the moment or in the past, will continue to reject Him in the future. If a man like David Berkowitz, a notorious killer known as "the son of sam," could receive Christ and put his faith in Him for eternal salvation, then anyone can be delivered from the grasp of Satan and saved. We have no proof that Mr. Berkowitz's profession of faith is legitimate, but the fact that he doesn't desire to be released and accepts his incarceration as just, suggests that his mind has been redeemed through faith in Jesus Christ as is his claim. This is a man who claims to have been part of a satanic cult and taken orders from a neighbor's dog, yet now works in the confines of the prison system to bring other prisoners into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Believe what you want, but no man is beyond the redemption of God and this never happens without hearing the gospel and receiving Jesus as the risen Lord.
My own salvation was a deliverance experience. I didn't consciously serve satan when I taught Tai Chi's spiritual aspects, yet I taught genuine spiritual practices of a fallen nature. In that manner I served the purposes of satan in willful ignorance, yet the Lord still chose to reveal Himself to me through His word, and to give me new life through His Spirit. From God's perspective, which is outside of time (eternal,) all that receive Him were chosen by Him from before the foundation of the world, but every one of us remained a child of wrath until that moment in time when we were born again by his Spirit and given new life in Him. These things are clearly laid out in the new testament scripture, but are not clearly understood without His Spirit. The carnal mind cannot understand spiritual things, and no man's mind can be renewed without the word of God and the Spirit of God, received by the asking and through faith in Jesus Christ and the redemption purchased through His blood, that of the risen Lord and beloved Son of God.
My purpose is by no means to simply oppose you, but sound doctrine is that which has as its basis the teaching of the Spirit of Christ, for the purposes of revealing the glory of God in the person of His Son. If a doctrine is not at its heart, or at the root of its significance, revealing God's glory in the person of His Son, then by definition, it remains unsound. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law presented to Israel through Moses and He is the founder of His Church. All History starts with Him, points to Him, and culminates with Him, so all sound doctrine is built around Him, with its purpose to lift Him up so that He may draw all men to Himself. The adversary of God, the beast, the antichrist, all the nations of this world, all the demons and everything that opposes Him are all just foot notes in His story. He's not only given us the privilege to be His servants, but to become adopted sons through the new birth by His Spirit, and even to be called His friends, friends of God. Do you understand that? What in heaven or on earth could be more significant than that? As children we like to do things like turn over rocks to look for creepy crawlers, but we aren't meant for such things in Christ. Our calling isn't just to salvation, but to maturity, to gazing intently into the face of Him who called us for this reason, to die to self and to live to Him. Are you with me brother? I know that you are astute and well trained, but are you moving forward, and looking to be remade from glory to glory? The Spirit of God is He that wills to do within us, but in order to follow it is necessary to keep moving one's feet, and primarily to keep your eyes upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
There is so much foolishness out there, so many things which distract and cause to stumble, I'm pleading with you not to play that game, but to remain faithful in the fight. The soldiers of our Lord win the battle by continually pointing others to Him, simply because the battle is His to begin with. His standard is what we carry. His name is what we proclaim, not that of the pretenders, and not causes of our own. Some look at the world and say that we're losing the fight, but their problem is with where they're looking. We walk by faith, not by sight, but the eyes of our faith aren't blind to His glory and that sir, is our destination. Grace to you, and sound judgment. I need to take my rest as I hope to attend a worship service in the morning, but I'll lift you up in prayer and I hope that you can do the same for me.

How is it that the majority is being overrun by the minority? Christian beliefs used to bee the vast majority and now the gays have rights abortionists have rights the... have rights. The flood of minority groups screaming so much that the political sect has embraced their desires, even passing laws against God's wishes to pacify them and in it.... we find them with foot holds against even basic laws of God we cannot break until Armageddon. We see these people talk to them... even about the issues they support and they agree with us in our presence and laugh at us behind our backs. Deceit and lies are malleable and can be bent, twisted and re-directed as needed to fight against truth.

The whole word comes against Israel in the final battle and that.... unfortunately includes... USA - period

Christ's enemies see New York where many Jews live as not wholly different from the state of Israel in the middleast. So you just gave a huge revealing about the coming attack by armies upon America along with the state of Israel for Armageddon.

terry said:

The whole word comes against Israel in the final battle and that.... unfortunately includes... USA - period

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America won't need armies of soldiers to invade. All that will be required is a few lawyers to make sure that the buyers of our national estate sign on the appropriate dotted line. The nation is being sold out wholesale right under our feet.

I've personally spoken to candidates for political office and they repeat the story we've all heard for years - that the nation is being sold out. You don't need to send an army to invade a country you own outright.

The same is true for our faith in God. National allegiance is now focused on a striped flag (of many colors) which is nothing in comparison to the blessings of divine providence. We have turned our back upon God. When honoring the almighty is made illegal wickedness abounds and the enemies of us all rule.

but that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...

America is NOT on the list to invade Israel. That kind of idea is not Biblical at all!

But it DOES sound like an idea that Satan's host would come up with.

veteran said:

America is NOT on the list to invade Israel. That kind of idea is not Biblical at all!

But it DOES sound like an idea that Satan's host would come up with.

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Your statement is correct, according to everything I have read and understand to be true about Biblical prophecy.

On the other hand, I do not cease but be surprised at the wickedness America does these days...as well as the way her people justify their crimes.

but that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...

[email protected] said:

Your statement is correct, according to everything I have read and understand to be true about Biblical prophecy.

On the other hand, I do not cease but be surprised at the wickedness America does these days...as well as the way her people justify their crimes.

but that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...

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America only????

Same evils exist all over... this world, and based on my own travels overseas, there's some evils going on in some non-traditional Christian nations that would make one's hair curl just to hear about them. The acts of the Taliban persecutions is one such case.

veteran said:

America only????

Same evils exist all over... this world, and based on my own travels overseas, there's some evils going on in some non-traditional Christian nations that would make one's hair curl just to hear about them. The acts of the Taliban persecutions is one such case.

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What nation furthered the organization of the Taliban and al Qaeda? The United States. Its been admitted to by Hillary Clinton. Back in the 1980's when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, the CIA recruited, trained and equipped several indigenous organizations into effective guerilla groups to fight the Soviets. One of their best students was Osama bin Laden.

Al Qaeda isn't some sort of coordinated international organization. Rather its a loose number of groups of Muslim radicals. They are specific to their regions and nations and as such are manipulated by national and regional influences. Some of the influences are quiet and work in the background - like the CIA. In Libya a few years ago, al Qaeda assisted the British, French and American governments in overthrowing Qhadaffi. Senator John McCain called them 'heros'. Heros? Don't think I'd use that term, but he did.

Forward to the modern day - the last months of 2012. Focus on Syria. For nearly two years 'rebel' troops have been fighting against President Assad. Al Qaeda fighters are chief among the insurrectionists and have caused more death and destruction than the government troops. They are funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar through offices in Istanbul. War materials are purchased organized and distributed by the USA, Britain and France. The 'rebel' groups are nearly identical to the flying death squads run by the CIA in Nicaragua in the 1980's. Coincidence? I think not.

Is it ok for American hands to be bathed in the blood of innocent people (again) just because everybody else does it?

Do you accept that justification from a child? Is it really ok to do it as long as everybody else does it? Really?

If God does not judge America, then He needs to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.

but that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...

In the same vein, we can thank Regan for empowering Iraq to fight a proxy war against Iran after the Shaw, "a puppet of the US and GB" was over thrown.

To what end? to vilify there creation after it had passed its usefulness and could no longer be steered by the will of those that empowered it.