Beauticians vs. Bible Teachers

Really, it's not a fair comparison in many cases. It's just that where I used to live, in Ohio, beauticians had to take a rather stringent test and be certified before they could operate, while Bible teachers did not. I'm all for beautician standards. I mean, they handle a lot of chemicals and can really mess someone up if they do things wrong.

Come to think of it, it's a lot like Bible teachers, except for the chemicals. A bad teacher can really mess people up too, starting with themselves. I know nothing about beauticians, but I've had a lot of experience with Bible teachers for about forty years or so.

I once asked a couple of pastors if there were any qualifications or tests for Bible teachers. I knew there were not, but I wanted to hear their responses. Would you believe they were a little perplexed. I mean, why would anyone ask such a silly question?

I had mentioned the qualifications for beauty operators, but they did not see any comparison. After all, these people work with ladies hair. They've got to get it right. Who wants to have their wife or daughter coming home with frizzy, purple hair?

On the other hand, a Bible teacher can't do much harm. He only works with the Word of God. About the only harm he can do, or fail to undo, is to let people fear they are going to a red hot "devils hell" upon death. There is no equating such responsibilities.

How's Your Filter?

I understand that a whole bunch of animals from clams and oysters, to whales are "filter feeders". Sea water or muddy fresh water is their supper table. All kinds of stuff drifts by or is sucked in, and the good stuff is retained. Whale bone serves as such a filter for the big guys. I think that is better than using it for ladies corsets.

I'm afraid I too am a kind of filter feeder. When I was a kid, I would visit the village dump. Once I brought home a plaster bull dog. You would plug him in and his eyes lit up red. It must have been put in the trash mistakenly by a person of exquisite taste.

People with eclectic reading habits, or those with unusual friends, are often suspected of drifting from the straight and narrow truth. After all, what could a person raised to be a good, narrow minded, pure, obedient unthinking slave gain from such associations? My answer is, much.

Is there such a thing as a hippy dippy, bohemian, fundamentalist? I aspire to be one. Almost anyone has truth I can learn from. The Bible is my filter. It saves me from adopting error.

But doesn't the Bible have an amazing cast of characters? It shows God's people from all kinds of beliefs and from all nations. I shun none of them. They have, and can, all teach me something, from Abraham, the Babylonian, and the pagan Egyptians who sheltered Joseph when his brothers hated and deserted him.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to be with Christians who would listen, and not always preach?

Two Things I'd Like to Leave Behind

I could have said "bequeath", but that sounds too much like a will. These two ideas are more of a way of telling you what I love.

First would be for folks to stand up and affirm their right (and ability") to learn the Bible on their own. Like home schooling, you're allowed to call in experts, but you should make these decisions, not a denomination or pressure of any kind.

This is so wonderful an experience and requires such minimal equipment that almost anyone can do it. A study Bible and a concordance will carry you light years ahead. How fascinating to find the agreements of ancients with people of modern times when both ground their beliefs on the Bible. This is so simple, yet so profound, you might think more would try it. Soon you will see why there are so many denominations, and often, so much haggling.

My second item is for people to grow some of God's great staple foods. Soon, if not now, it may be the only pure food around, and so much fun to do.

Now that Lou Kheemia has visited me (he has promised to never leave me until I die), I hope you believe I am sincere about these things.

Go Ahead, Eat Your Food - Of Course, It's Poison

Imagine that you're staying at a motel and on your way to the pop machine when you see the beginning of a fire. You begin to knock on doors, shouting, "Fire!" An irritated occupant opens the door and says, "Can't you find something positive to say?"

This is the reaction to those who warn about our Genetically Modified food . Actually, any reaction would be welcome. Such "claims" are usually answered with shocked silence, or with family members, a change of subject.

I'll name the company behind the effort to leave no food plant unchanged: Monsanto. The changes are justified by promises of increased yields, and a resistance to company sold poisons known as herbicides, insecticides, and herbicides.

Growing such GMO plants has been resisted on a local level by individuals in the USA, and by whole nations in Europe and Asia. This kills the export market for many farmers, which is a huge portion of their income. I believe the USA is the largest exporter of death on earth. Our multinational corporations lead the way. Depopulation here is well under way.

But the motel guests resent anyone who disturbs their rest. Soon they will slam the door and go back to sleep.

View Genetically Modified Foods in America Health Documentary.

You'll Never Find a Perfect Glass of Iced Tea

A lady I know goes to a church that she says has glaring faults. Since she is a musician, she is jarred by the music, especially that played during prayer time.

A set of big band drums is getting to be a standard fixture in many churches. This is said to be "to help bring in the young people". I suggest we appeal to young and old with Gospel preaching. Rather than our ever present animal natures we might appeal to the Holy Spirit within the elect.

I'm not against music, just mixing a night club atmosphere or "Home Depot Muzak" sound with our worship time. Aren't I an old crab though!

The lady I first spoke of, when confronted with my criticisms of the modern corporate church, would say, "You'll never find a perfect church." Guess that settles it.

But she is quick to return a glass of iced tea because it does not meet her high taste standards. You know what I'm tempted to say to her, regarding this.

Home School, Home Church

My best friend has home schooled his two children. He has done a knockout job. They have spent no time in government schools, except for a visit with friends. They have missed things, of course, like how to put condoms on cucumbers (no kidding).

Please understand, I have the profoundest respect for teachers. My wife's aunt was one and a very good one. Even I have spent a season in a classroom doing science demonstrations. It was a wonderful experience. But still, stats are building up that are heavily in favor of home-controlled education.

But what about home churches?

One of my early mentors was J. Vernon McGee, a pastor of a very successful church in Los Angeles. He had a Ph.D, was heavily educated and traveled the country with his teaching ministry. His ministry continues world-wide through his recorded messages as a Bible teacher.

His conclusion after years of such activity--the church is in apostasy. Not a severe or intolerant man usually, he once said, "If it has a steeple, it is a brothel." He made a cassette on how to have a home church. I agree with his idea completely.

People love their corporate churches though. A friend of mine said, "I have gone there so much, I feel like some of the furniture." It is often hard to break away from society in these things, but in my experience, very well worth the effort.

Things That Will Be

"Are these the shadows of things that will be, or are they shadows of things that may be?"
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Is it that I have seen so many vain attempts to alter the inevitable that I see the pure, deluded, ego in such a question?

Now the mandatory disclaimer: yes, we can alter many things through human effort. But the mindset of whole cultures is that "wishing will make it so". Even wishing accompanied with the most strenuous effort is not enough to change the big things. We age, we die, and our sin nature is bringing us down, with all our golden dreams.

This pessimism--more than emotion or disposition--but a world view, perhaps is an echo of my genetic heritage. In "The Dark Eye in Africa", an address, later made into a book by Lauren Van der Post, the author states that the Germans have a mythology where evil triumphs. At the end of time, the Rainbow Bridge collapses. I know it is said to all start over, but the end remains the same.

As I daily scan the state of the world, I wonder, will the unrealistic optimism ever stop? This whole line of thought can be expunged by calling it "defeatist". This has always worked in the past. But I am cheered to see such terms grow silent. Finally, I do believe, we are facing that awful thing called reality. Perhaps many will see, that Pandora's evils have escaped, not to be retrieved.

Why would anyone be cheered by such grim truths? Because here is hope that many will seek a true remedy for them all. He exists and his promises are sure. I count on them every day. As I face my imminent death, it is in the expectation of "new heavens, and a new Earth, and yes, a new me.

Slow Lightning?

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matt. 24:27

A whole bunch of (corporate) churches are promoting a kind of kingdom building. If forced to talk about the Kingdom of God at all, they will tell you that it is a work in progress. Its fulfillment will be gradual and invisible. Perhaps if you give more money you could help speed up its progress?

This progress, of course, will be imperceptible, because it will be a"spiritual" kingdom. I mean God would have nothing to do with a physical, earthly kingdom, would he?

Imagine God coming to the Earth to rule his people at a specific geographic location, such as Jerusalem. The very idea! Why it's almost blasphemous.

They will admit that when God sent His Son, he was born of a woman, walked upon the dusty old earth, ate food, drank water, performed physical miracles like restoring sight to the blind--things such as that. He also was falsely convicted, fell under the weight of his cross, gave his life, and after three days resurrected, showing proof of his physical body by inviting a skeptic to thrust his hand into his spear wounded side.

This is good physical evidence and makes good topics for the solar holidays of Christmas and Easter. But we're far beyond that now. We're much more "spiritual". This applies to the Kingdom of God, of course.

When it comes to money, real estate, and the market though, these are physical and literal--get it? To my church, prophesy meant selling short on Proctor and Gamble stock.

Tiny Tim for Christmas

Not the one in A Christmas Carol, but the singer that people laughed at, and few remember now. I love the Nativity Story, but refuse to share it with Solstice Day. Picky me.

Tim has some things to say on this occasion, to the surprise of many. You may not have heard his song and talk before. Please give him a listen.

I include another song. My friend says that it even surpasses the rendering by the iconic Doors. That is, in wildness. People hear it and comment on Tim's voice. Those who listen though hear a different message. I call it the cry of the outsiders, the misunderstood. Often I have been one of them, so I think I understand.

What do you think?

Listen as Tiny Tim takes Silent Night to a whole new level.

Listen as Tiny Tim sings People Are Strange.

Purifying the Bitter Waters

And the people murmered against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: Exodus 15:24-25

When Israel had no water to drink, Moses used a tree to take away the bitterness. I remember a chemist saying of this, "Cellulose is a great ion exchanger." What would we do without technicians? Some of us would have to rely on faith.

There is the straightforward literal interpretation--the report of an event that occurred thousands of years ago--which I believe. Yet much can be made of this happening. In a very dry region a multitude were saved by a miraculous restoration of undrinkable water.

I bring this up because a little talked about situation is making our water unsafe to drink also. Not only is our water under attack, but the air we breathe and the food we eat. But this contamination does not taste bitter. Yet it is very dangerous. It is spread over the sky by a process called geo-engineering. The poison is one of the most abundant of all elements, aluminum.

Naturally occurring aluminum is not found in metallic form, but is locked up in very stable and harmless compounds, such as oxides. But the high level spraying that is used to distribute it, uses nano particles of aluminum which are highly toxic and far too small to filter out.

One of the greatest experts on this subject is Dane Wigington, whose video is linked below. He believes that though filters cannot catch the nano sized aluminum, perhaps the use of carbon can keylate them, binding them so they do not circulate. There may be hope in a biological process where these particles are captured, also.

But the hazards to life in our water are not limited to the presence of aluminum (and barium). Radioactivity in oceanic water and in the atmosphere are traveling from the destroyed Fukushima reactors.

As I study this poisoning of our world, I hear no one proposing a solution of any kind. Rather there is resignation to mutations and death. If ever there was a need for divine intervention, it is now. Can the One who intervened in the wilderness, do so again?

View Jeff Rense & Dane Wigington - Geo Engineering Out of Control.

Fenced-in Evidence

Don't you become weary of great Bible truths being treated as legends told by the ignorant and credulous? Documentaries speak of such great people and events in God's book as hearsay or legends. This morning I watched a video which puts them all to shame.

I thought the marvelous discovery of Noah's ark in Turkey would be the one great event in my (shortening) life. But two men, and then a family of four, have found the Mount of Moses, altars that he and Aaron built, the split rock, which, when struck, gushed with water. These, and much more evidence, have been visited and touched by some really thorough searchers.

I promise not to go on, though I could. Rather, I invite you to watch videoed evidence by these bold searchers.

Watch The REAL Biblical Mt.Sinai FOUND. Secrets can't be kept forever.

Why Are Some Countries Not Mentioned in the Bible?

Does God care about non-Biblical nations? It might not seem so at first, but I believe the answer can be found in the history of Israel, especially in the kingdom of David.

When President Kennedy was asked in a press conference about the prototypical Mrs. Murphy being affected by a proposed public accomodations bill, he replied, "That depends on how much influence Mrs. Murphy has on interstate commerce." Everyone laughed, but they got the point.

In the same manner, a nation can have a rich culture and many people, such as Maylasia, but not be mentioned by name in the Old Testament. People try in vain to apply prophecy to the United States. Does God care about these people? If so, why are they not mentioned?

It is the question of their impact on the nation of Israel.

Small and "stiff necked" as they were, God selected them as His people, to be an example to the world. That they had no special worthiness is plainly revealed in the Bible. Like in the story "Pygmalion", and later "My Fair Lady", unworthiness was the whole idea. Election is funny that way.

One of my early texts had this inscription in its title page: "How odd of God, to choose the Jews." Yet other nations are judged by their relations to them.

Though Gentiles are referred to and their blessings are promised, it is in the book of Acts, chapter fifteen, that they come into focus. While Israel sleeps, people of every nation, language, and culture are being called out to be in the church. Here, the whole world is in view. No one is left out. Geopolitically the so called elite have chosen who rules for now, but in the end God chooses from every nation on Earth.

Puked Out by Paganism

I do rant, don't I? But I have run out of patience in waiting for the corporate churches to get it right.

Yesterday I heard a radio broad cast on a super, super, fundamentalist radio station, give out with the theology of The Little Drummer Boy! While the background music reflected the current "Holiday" season, they tell of how pure they are. Then they ask for money, of course.

Let's see. how are Christians different from the world? Some would say they know the true meaning of popular carols. Man, that is so deep!

While the commercial world waits breathlessly for success at the cash register, some of us look not at a baby, but God become man and dying on the cross.

Don't Mention the Boss's Name

There was a cartoon where a man was orienting a new employee. He said, "You'll like the boss. It's one of the rules."

My friend and I were discussing an article about who runs the world. Such writings can be very thorough, but only up to a point. That point is the top ruler. It has been said that Satan's greatest achievement is to convince people he does not exist. In this he has largely succeeded.

It seems that naming Satan has been left to the realm of so called religious fanatics, such as I am, to do so. I will say it--as the Bible does--"Satan runs the world." Until one admits this fact we are in the realm of underlings.

With only a day to live, my wife read the entire New Testament. She said that when she read where Jesus says, "I have overcome the world," she cried. At about two in the morning, this old man will not look up the exact quotations, but Luke chapter four tells the story. Satan offers the world to Jesus if he will only worship him. He could offer it because it was his.

I told you how the hymn "This is My Father's World"--so popular in my childhood church--is in reality a reference to Satan. But by the Blood of Jesus, the victory has been won. The twelfth chapter of Revelation reveals the transfer of power. This present world will be destroyed and even death will be destroyed.

We may talk about the names of those who are the minions, but the Bible plainly tells us who is at the top.

Jack be Nimble, Jack be Quick

I have probably told you that in my latest stay in the hospital, a therapist diagnosed me as having "a wandering mind". My best friend laughed and told her, "He has always thought that way."

I just listened to an audio reading of the Book of Amos. It didn't take long, of course, but oh how the God inspired prophet jumps around!

His message begins in the B.C. times of the descendants of David, leaps to the Day of the Lord, then to the millennium and Israel's restoration. There seem to be no transitions, and no timelines except in the introduction of his messages.

Amos of Tekoah was an obscure man, who sometimes was a gatherer of sycamore figs, the poorest food for flocks. There is no trace of his city yet found. Some would consign this powerful prophet to the dusts of time. Most do.

But centuries later, in the Book of Acts, his words are quoted to prove a wonderful idea. The tabernacle of David has fallen down, but it shall be raised again, after the church is complete. The first church council said that the kingdom of David, now in abeyance, will be restored.

In many denominations these are fighting words indeed. But it is a fight that those who read Amos, and the other prophets will always win.

Where Will You Be 15 Minutes After You Die?

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am.
John 14:3, NIV

The doorbell rang, and I opened the door to see two young girls who asked me this question. The teaching of a detachable immortal soul that goes to heaven or hell within minutes after the body dies, is a very common witnessing tool. 15 minutes is the time that is usually mentioned for the soul to go to heaven.

The two young ladies were so earnest that I told them I had been a Christian since I was 17 years old. They invited me to their church and gave me a picture postcard showing their church building, their pastor and his wife. I thanked them and they went on their way. I still have the card.

I could have gone to their church and had a good, worshipping experience. Perhaps they had good music too and I know that their church was filled with good people.

The one thing I ache for that I could not have is a discussion. I would have been told that I needed to be re-baptized and then instructed in the doctrine of which they were the possessors. No questions about what my beliefs or Biblical knowledge are.

One of these days soon I will find out where I will go and how long it will take me to get there. I fully believe I will go to heaven with my wife, and beloved friends, led by Jesus. We will go in resurrected bodies, not as disembodied souls.

I believe this because it is plainly taught in the Bible, despite the teachings of the church. If you read and study the Word for, say, 40 years, even a slow learner like I am can pick up a lot of things. You can shed a lot of things too.

As I prepare for my death, my biggest regret is that I was not able to have good talks and scriptural searches with many friends. My searches now are on the Internet, and the wonderful news is that people are catching on to true Biblical doctrine.

Too late for me, but some day I will awaken from my sleep in Christ and I will never be lonely again.

When David Wakes Up

As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. Psalm 17:15

David, who lived 3,000 years ago, is dead. We read about him in Acts 2:29 in the past tense as dead and buried. It is so easy to think of him as someone who lived long ago, wrote many Psalms, and lived an amazing life. All this is true of course. But no matter what we read or hear of him, no matter how he is extolled, he is consigned to the past, however glorious it was.

Have you ever heard a sermon on David's future? It is quite common in some churches to forget about a very wonderful fact. He will wake from his sleep and behold the face of God.

Maybe he will be pictured as a little boy, killing Goliath with a stone and cutting his head off with his sword. I know of a church that made a plywood likeness of Goliath to show the children. But that event was long ago. Of course God is through with Israel they say, and David is just a distant memory.

By the way, I recently saw a detailed drawing of Goliath--very impressive. But the artist pictured him with five fingers on each hand. They could have at least read the Bible account of him and his brothers before they made the picture.

David as a boy. Daniel in the lion's den. Drama about the past is what we are told about. Jesus as a humble carpenter. Or better yet, as a blond baby in a manger, oh so long ago.

But there are those who think of David, Daniel, and Jesus in their future states and roles. I confess, I am one of them. I am a futurist. Daniel sleeps in the dust, but Daniel 12:2 pictures the time when many sleepers in the dust will awake. Jesus, brighter than the sun returning with his resurrected saints to slay and judge.

How I love these promises. Must we always look backwards in our admiration?

Depopulation from a Doctor's Point of View

Time to get up, nine o'clock P.M. Ridiculous time to arise, but sometimes I need to turn on the computer, read and listen.

I had heard of Dr. Rima Laibow, but tonight I listened all the way through her talk, and I am so glad I did. She is not alone in her ideas, but brings an added perspective when she speaks from a doctor's vantage point. It is such a revelation when someone in a discipline learns the truth about the deeper meaning of what their collegues are doing. Simply, they are involved in killing people, most without intention. Good people, but taken over, run over, by those who follow an agenda of wealth and genocide.

Many have great difficulty in reconciling the modern view of a God who only loves and forgives, with a God who destroys a whole world system. Those who rely on what the Bible alone says, do not have this problem. They have read, and believe in the great flood--destruction and saving, in one act.

To hear what the rulers of the world are planning and doing, is to understand why Peter, for instance, tells of a future cleansing of the Earth. I invite you to listen to a brilliant and knowledgeable lady whose message shows the need for a killing of the killers.

Watch and listen as Dr. Rima Laibow Exposes Genocidal Plot.

Noah, Daniel and Job

...even if Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness. Ezekiel 14:20

Ever have the frustrating experience of trying to communicate your faith to the non-elect? I am sure we all have.

The Catholics have a term for the condition of those who will not be enlightened--"invincible ignorance". Church of England C.S. Lewis describes the ineptitude of non believers who try to discuss Christianity. However sincere they are, he said, they never get it right. It seems that even basic doctrines will always be beyond them. Even their negative arguments are off target.

In the end we find that it is not a matter of logic at all. That is, not the logic of the flesh and the world. As Ezekiel confirms, there are depths of depravity, where the greatest examples of righteousness do not prevail. Someone said that it is like trying to describe a watermelon to an Arab.

We learn to expect this from the world, but what are we to say when we are confronted with such intransigence within the church? Doesn't it seem that many of the faithful are set against even basic doctrine?

I worked with a young charismatic man who told me that he believed such knowledge was "fleshly", and to be avoided. Goodbye Paul, goodbye Peter, and even Luther and Augustine.

There is good news however, and it is online. Some people are catching on. They are deserting the error of the churches and returning to the Word.

Did We Talk About Biochar?

My best friend sent me an article about biochar, which has been called the world's greatest soil. Lincoln University in Missouri has been talking about it. But they are hundreds, if not thousands, of years behind native Amazonians who have known about it that long.

When I took a course in geology, I was surprised to learn that "jungle soil" is really quite poor in nutrition. Once it is cleared of its lush growth it turns as hard as asphalt and becomes a good surface for an airplane runway.

Yet explorers in such regions have found a local soil which is an exception to this general condition. Instead of the usual reddish soil of poor growing quality, there are regions of a black and very fertile soil near former human habitations.

When this black soil is removed, it has the ability to regenerate. Broken pots, once used as "piss pots" are found in the ancient soil and may be part of its biological source of fertility.

Now, this soil is being marketed--the original stuff and modern versions. You may start finding it in garden stores. Its black color comes from charcoal, which is a great medium or refuge for helpful soil bacteria.

I believe it is a good thing for us to live low on the food chain and raise that, if possible, ourselves. There is hope in using this wonderful substance as a "sourdough starter" to enrich soils, even if they are "piss poor".

View an article about biochar research at Lincoln University in Missouri here.

The God of Free Will

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:13

Guess that's an exaggeration, but many people do tend to worship it. "The great monarch of the universe is helpless against one man's free will."

Wow, that's dramatic, isn't it? Yet I have heard this said. What an ego boost. "I arm wrestled with God and let him win." Jacob would have something to say about this, as he limped through life as a reminder of when he "strove with God". Some day the entire nation of Israel (the surviving remnant) will learn this lesson too.

There is an additional source of pride when we say that all people have free will, but we chose to use our free will to choose God, while others failed the test. Such people are proclaiming that they were superior to these lost ones. Those who fail to opt for God will burn in hell forever, and no wonder, it's their fault. Except those who never heard of Jesus, even his name. They will burn too, and forever.

I too believe that the unsaved will burn in hell. That is, their dead bodies will be disposed of that way. I'm so thankful for Isaiah chapter 66. It showed me the way to the truth, though at the expense of being called an "annihilationist". In some circles this is a very bad thing to be called.

I must admit, I could get kicked out of almost any church, at least those who care about doctrine. My Baptist friends, in horror, would try to straighten me out, so I wouldn't spend eternity in these flames. I love them anyway.

Millet, Strictly for the Birds

At least in America, millet is often used for bird food. I don't begrudge the birds their food, but I would like to see people eat as well as they do.

It can be used in "dry farming", grown where other crops need irrigation, and it thrives on poor or marginal soil. The attached video shows how nutritious it is.

So why don't we eat more of it? Maybe because it's growing uses less of the chemicals we seem to be dependent on.

How do I like it? Cooked in a little water, like oats, topped with butter and a little honey. How sweet it is.

View Millets - The Miracle Grains.

It's Not True Until We Understand It

This was the unofficial motto in the church I once belonged to. Their Imperial Leaders were SO intellectual. They were to be revered and never challenged. Awful, how many churches are based on the idea that truth comes from preachers, not the Bible. Preachers are important, but they should be examined regularly in the manner of the Bereans, with their beliefs and teachings compared to the Word, nothing else.

This does require that the congregation is knowledgeable about the Bible though. I understand and sympathize with those who prefer the man they hire to do the study. This leaves them free to watch ball games and other more important stuff.

I was in a class that ran into some passages that implied that God, not man, was in charge! Obviously this could not be. They asked their pastor-teacher, "How do we handle this doctrine of predestination?" It sounded like a home owner asking for help from a pest control expert.

The preacher shrugged and then lamented that although his church (Presbyterian) was based on this doctrine, he objected that it made us all into robots and violated the most sacred of all doctrines, Free Will.

Now I happen to believe in free will. God's that is.

This contrived problem is the result of the Reign of the Intellectuals, those awe inspiring ivory tower dwellers that we are lucky enough to share the planet with. This disease of fake intellectualism is, unfortunately, communicable. Whole congregations have caught it. In fact, whole denominations.

It is treatable though. Very simply, see what the Bible says, even use a concordance. Instead of the sterile, and ignorant attempts at reasoning, trust in the Word. It's that simple.

As though creation from nothing could be understood. The eternal existence of God, substitutionary atonement, existence itself--do we understand them? Yet, for the most part, they go unchallenged.

Why is Predestination such a problem? Could it be that it makes God, not man sovereign? A crude, ignorant, dispensationalist,like me, who often uses a Scofield Bible to study from is considered an enemy of truth, perhaps a hopeless one.

I had no idea what I was getting into, when I joined this church. I became the victim of what the Bible calls "party spirit". At the time, I did not know that interpretation of the Scripture had caused a schism in this church. Those leaving and forming their own church, were called, oddly enough, "Bible Presbyterians".

How They Avoid Prophecy

After my wife died two ladies invited me to lunch at a nice diner. It was Wednesday, or "chicken special day". They were trying to recruit me into a program my wife had been involved in, helping the handicapped to take their college exams.

As we enjoyed our meals I mentioned that I studied and once taught Biblical prophecy. The head lady, a Phd, rolled her eyes. I could see the look of derision on her face. "Oh, one of those." As a subject of study it was, of course, not to be taken seriously.

"Things in the book of Revelation are taking place now," she said, as if to placate my supposed fanaticism.

Guess I should have asked her, "What things?" But I resisted. Hopefully, I could be induced to return to her recruiting spiel. I could have said that I had spent at least as much effort in my much aligned "field" as she had getting a doctorate in Education. Again, I resisted. I knew the thought was out there that "You can prove anything from the Bible."

I wonder how many different theories there are concerning her choice of study? I know they keep adding up. Must be hard to come up with new doctorate theses. We've come a long way from Plato's Academy, so I'm sure new ideas are there.

Since John Walvoord emerged in the 50's, the study of prophecy has come of age. Dwight Pentecost wrote Things to Come, his doctoral thesis, and in one volume, systemized the major themes of prophecy, so wonderfully and fairly that you get a good grasp of them by studying his wonderful book.

So, how do major denominations resist these intrusions into their previously exclusive domain of Biblical interpretations? I believe their approach is two fold.

Number one is to ignore it entirely--never preach on it or teach it.

But when lowly congregations clamor for the whole Bible, you can, as an exalted one, spiritualize it until it has no meaning. Muddy the waters. I wonder how many of those who strain against plain literal meaning are subject to getting hernias for there efforts.

Fighting scripture is a hopeless battle. People are catching on.

Not to worry about their hernias of course. They are non-literal. They are "spiritual".

The Braveness of Christy Fellon

Way back in 1955 (I looked it up), Kraft Theater carried what I thought at the time was a corny little play. An old man reporting to his job as a guard opens a door and knocks the gun out of the hand of a man attempting a holdup. Someone grabs the gun and the police are called. Though his action was accidental, the police and media credit him as a hero. An award is offered.

At the time I did not think much of the production. I felt it was done very poorly. Back in the days of live dramas they often were not staged very well and I was a blaise youth. But here I am, 5 8 years later, still thinking about it.

Christy, modestly, did not want to accept the acclaim or the reward. "All I was doing was going to work," he told his wife. But she had the wisdom to see it differently. She reminded him of the years he had spent, doing just that, faithfully working and without any acclaim. "You deserve a reward, for this," she said. "You should accept it."

Many years passed before I saw her wisdom in this. I don't remember now if Christy got his reward, but now I see its wider application.

My wife sacrificed a potential career to work in a braille printing house because she felt it was helping people. How many of the faithful are patient drudges whose work is unrecognized, and their labor poorly paid for. Someday they will get their long awaited reward.

Inspired, Amused, or Informed?

My mother woke up in the hospital one night and heard someone screaming. She told me that she thought she was in hell. My sister was afraid she would go to hell because her church membership had lapsed. My father said he believed we were saved "day by day".

Why do I tell you these things? Because they were all church members, and my father taught Sunday school. Church attendance in my family was every week unless you were sick. My elder family members had gone to the church for decades.

Finally I rebelled. What was the point? I got zero from attending, though I was full of questions, hungry to understand the meaning of life and our faith. Any person who would have talked to me could have given me a great lift and a great start in life.

In later years, I learned that most people who go to church have very different motives than I had. I'm not sure I understand, or even know, what they are, but I am sure that learning is not what they are. To me, it was paramount. My family was clueless, and the people around me were clueless, as far as I could see, though they were very nice people.

I did not want ceremony, inspiration, or church "humor". All I knew was that I got nothing from going to church. Once, after I quit going, my parents came home glowing about a "wonderful" sermon against drinking. Did they think that is what I needed to hear? Was God impressed? Years of going to church had taught us nothing, so my family was living in fear and ignorance.

I began to listen to radio preachers and, oddly enough, philosophers and scientists, who helped me to fill the vacuum I had inside. I realize, that for many, soothing, or inspirational services are enough. But they did not satisfy me then and do not now.

So, I am considered cold and unemotional. Yet when I read the mighty words of God, I am not ashamed to cry.

My Favorite Aborigines

Maybe that is an insulting term. I do not mean it to be. But the American Indians have a history and way of life that I admire.

But I intend to go much further than that. My intentions or hopes, would be that some of us could imitate them, live as they did before the Europeans came.

Their demise, and in many cases death, was as sad and inevitable as the felling of a beautiful tree. This is not to blame anyone. The clash of cultures was as inevitable as a Greek tragedy. Before the white man came many of them fought one another, I know that.

I am not mourning the advance of the modern culture. With all its exploitation it became a great missionary culture. The first book ever printed in America was the Bible in an Indian language. Someone translated their spoken language into a written language.

I have no Indian blood. I am English-German. So this is not an ethnic rant. All I am saying is that we can learn a way of life from these people. We may soon have to live without electricity (horrors!), no food stores, no houses even. We may be hunted as they once were, as cultures totally change and collapse. Can we learn to live off the land as the Corn People once did? Can we be mobile as the Bison People were?

Does this sound crazy? To reject this idea may be what is crazy.

View Authentic Native American (Indian) Pictures from 1850-1940.

The Feet of the Great Image, Part of Iron and Part of Clay

And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be, partly broken. Daniel 2:42

As a youth I was accustomed to hear the expression, "He found his idol had feet of clay." Of course I had no idea what it meant or its origin. Like many popular idioms, it represented a garbling of scripture.

You know that I truly love the book of Daniel, and particularly the second chapter. Not as some kind of devotional or emotional lift it gives me, but because it demonstrates the continuing power and determination of God, in the affairs of men.

How many Old Testament prophecies include the church age? We start in 585 B.C. and follow history until the return of Christ. Since Jesus has not returned to the earth yet, the time frame includes our times. We live within the times of the Gentiles portrayed by this great image.

Ever heard a sermon from Daniel's chapter two? Maybe in Sunday school? "Of what practical use is it?" some may ask.

Much, because among other things it dispels the idea, now commonly held, of an emerging "New World Order". The phrase did not emerge from a speech, often quoted, by the senior President Bush, but is quite old.

So what does it tell us about the latter days--those which have yet to take place?

We have revealed to us that the final gentile kingdom will be a divided and shattered Roman empire. This last gasp of Rome will be of limited scope and power. While its strength should not be ignored, it certainly will not include the whole world nor will it be omnipotent. It's final phase will be the emergence of ten toes, or ten nations commanded by a leader whose career is cut short by the return of Christ.

They used to say, that even if you cut off a snake's head, it would not die until sundown. The revived Roman empire seems like it will not die, but its time will be cut short.

Hurt Not the Earth

Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Rev. 7:3

This passage, of course, is about the sealing of the 144,000 out of Israel prior to the Great Tribulation. So there is no direct application to today. But it does show us that no matter what mankind is doing to the earth--and it is horrible--that a greater trial lies ahead and this one is caused by angels.

So why do I bring it up to apply to our times? Only to show that angels can both cause great judgements to occur, but also to withhold them.

Earlier I told you about my "Threats" file. The world holds its breath as Tepco attempts to remove fuel rods from reactor #4. The other reactor buildings are even more of a threat to the world, and all are presently emitting radiation and radioactive elements that are endangering Japan, other parts of Asia, and the USA and Canada. Though this is number one on my threats list, it is not the only peril we face. These are not a source of anxiety to me, but of great interest.

In Revelation 3:5, Jesus promises to take us from the earth before His great judgement begins. How close are we to that time? Perhaps it is wrong for me to speculate. But it does seem close to that time when the church has fulfilled her number.

Are angels restraining the terrible conditions which threaten us? A chemist might say that the world's reaction has not "gone to completion" yet, but it does seem to be near a critical stage.

Our Wonderful Online Study Guide

You may know all about this and use it all the time, but the concordance in the link below, is a terrific aid to Bible understanding. If the lights go out we can still use our printed model, and I have one of those. But the computer model gives you the ability to look up a phrase, which the book cannot do.

The whole chapter relating to a verse may be accessed by clicking on it, also. A number of translations can be compared on this program. Plus, the original words can be looked up in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, with their definitions. I like to use several Bibles besides my trusty and beloved King James, but many versions are available.

It really helps if you print out your findings, as when you are preparing a class. I really mean this when I say that this source, together with a study Bible will put you far ahead of even a seminary student.

An invalid, anyone in bed, with a laptop, can give you access to great knowledge. It is useful to look up doctrines online too.

People are catching on. Instead of following teachings based on tradition, you can open up your Bible as never before. True students will find an amazing fact, even those in different cultures and times will agree with one another, as man made ideas yield to the Word of God.

View Strong's Concordance with Hebrew and Greek Lexicons.

Shinar's Beginning and End

And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.Genesis 10:10

A lady asked me if I could get her an "original" (Latin Mass) Bible. Her mother was concerned that the modern Catholic church was going liberal. The lady wanted to please her mother. I was quite naive in those days and gave her one from my bookshelf.

I had looked at the notes in the updated Douay-Rheims Bible, and saw that the teaching of those days was that Babylon, or Shinar, referred to the city of Rome. It is common in some circles to teach that everything in the Bible is symbolic, not literal. I was surprised to see, according to the notes, that the fall of Babylon meant the fall of Rome. An evil last Pope and apostasy of the church was to occur. Besides being a hopeless case of self-reference complex, it is a plain mangling of scripture.

There are eight references to Shinar in the Bible, Gen. 10:10 being the first. The last, portraying the latter days of Shinar, are in Zechariah 5:11. Babylon, a later New Testament form of Shinar, concludes in the book of Revelation. Sorry Rome, and the Roman Catholic church, but Shinar means the region and city of Babylon.

The Roman church has many similarities to Babylon in customs, dress, and theology, but in order to qualify as Shinar or Babylon, a city would need to be between two rivers. The Tiber is not the Tigress and the Euphrates. Now Rome is old, but Shinar is the oldest civilization known, far older and in a very different location. It is the site of Nimrod, and later of Abraham. How bizarre to have as the psychologists might say, a bad case of "Shinar envy".