No Temple, No Israel

And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. 1 Kings 18:44

I began to watch a video in which a man claimed that Israel had been restored. His proof? He had witnessed the very moment when rain had come to the land, indicating God's approval. When God was displeased with them, the wind came from the arid east. But when He was pleased, the western wind brought rain from the Mediterranean Sea.

Now that Israel is slaughtering Palestinian people, mostly children, may we assume that the wind is once again blowing from the east? For according to this man, he had just happened to be there at the time of the blessing of God in the form of rain.

He held up his hand, as if we did not know what one looked like. It was a gesture to illustrate the scene from 1 Kings 18:44, as if he were Elijah, perhaps. Though the one who saw the cloud was Elijah's servant, and this did not signify Israel's restoration. A horrible example of so-called teaching, but I am sure many in the crowd ate it up.

So, what should we look for concerning the restoration of Israel? How about the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem? Since God has supposedly restored Israel, why do they not rebuild the temple?

Answer: the Muslim's will not allow them. Every year, there is an attempt by orthodox Jews to lay a cornerstone (in the wrong location) and a huge riot, ending in the removal of the stone.

A Covenant theologian might say that Israel will never build the temple because the true Israel has become the Presbyterian church. No kidding.

But the temple will be rebuilt. Paul tells us that when it is, anti-Christ will then desecrate it, starting the Day of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4).

Attempts to imitate the scene from 1 Kings are no proof of Israel's return. Without their temple, there is no Israel. This is yet in the future.

Our Infallible Guide

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,... I Peter 1:23, NIV

There is a wonderful, natural example in the Bible that explains things so well. In fact it is ignored just because of that, by those who have "private agendas" of devilish doctrines, or are just plain ignorant. This is the eternal truths revealed in the birth process.

Try as they might, those who try to tell us that we can be lost after we are saved, cannot say that a baby, once born can be "unborn". So the saying "once saved, always saved" is often expressed as "once born, always born". To me, this settles it.

Now about the sacred and holy subject of "free will", bowed down to and worshipped as the idol that it is. Have you ever heard of a baby choosing to be born, or selecting who will be his father? Birth analogy to the rescue! Even insemination has a Biblical example for us. Natural birth is an example that cannot be reversed, even if the baby grows up and says, like Job, "I wish I had never been born!"

The only way that those who promote the "losing your salvation" idea, and the "free will" fallacy, can escape these Biblical birth truths, is to ignore them.

The Harmless Knife

I recommended a book from my dusty old bookshelf to my sister. She later said she had enjoyed it. But she had discovered a very interesting thing. This with an accusitory look that was characteristic of my "Miss Perfection" sister. With her "gotcha" expression she told me she had found two of the pages still uncut, stuck together. I happily declared I had lots of books like that.

While I once collected books like a hunting dog collects burrs, there were some I did not find worth finishing. But not the Word of God! If you find a Bible with pages stuck together, someone has glued them shut. Now who would do a thing like that?

I'll tell you. Some Covenant Theology churches. Not a theory. I know they do it. Any particular pages? Yes, a bunch of them. Any time they find anything that says that Israel will be restored, and that the Kingdom of David will be restored--yes the literal Kingdom of David. Get out the glue pot! Because, for the willingly ignorant masses, Israel is dead.

But for those trouble-makers who read the Bible, Israel is not dead. She will rise from her sleep like Sleeping Beauty, once the church is complete and raptured away.

So what about this "harmless knife" business? Well this is not a deadly blade carried in the teeth of an attacking pirate. Someone--a lot of someones--have glued together the pages of Acts--chapter 15. And the knife to separate these pages is a harmless knife with soft edges. You see Dispensationalists use them all the time.

Beloved Acts 15, written by the Apostle Luke, reveals that Israel will be restored and ruled over by the Kingdom of David. It uses a quotation from Amos to prove this point. This harmless knife divides the Old Covenant from the New Covenant. In doing this it harms no one. It's like the knife you might use to open a birthday present.

I confess, something will be abolished in the process--church agendas that would try to replace Israel. The Rightly Dividing knife is bad for the Corporate Churches. It is bad for their profits.

Do I love Acts chapter 15? Yes, I love this present from Luke! If Acts 15 were a married lady, her husband would bring her coffee in bed every morning.

Religious Without Discernment - The Israeli Lobby

We've got to support Israel, right? After all, they are God's chosen nation. Case closed, it would seem.

Someone could argue that the UN-created nation called Israel is not the Israel of the Bible. That true Jews live all over the world and we should support them until those elect among them believe in Jesus. This is my stand, and furthermore, the stand of the modern day Torah Jews who do not support Israel.

The Torah Jews believe that the worst place for a Jew to live is in Israel. They believe true Jews should support the nations in which they live, until Messiah comes. Then He will lead them to their promised land.

So, the concept of supporting Israel divides even the Jews.

What about supporting Torah Jews who live in your country? A Torah Jew will not hold up your place of business. He will not break into your home. He will not murder you or show up on your welfare roll. Like Joseph in Egypt, he will help you to prosper and do you no harm.

The slaughter in Palestine by those who claim to be Jews shows the true nature of these beastly people. You will know them by their works.

Israel is acting in defense, some will say. These monsters have had the Palestinians imprisoned, geographically and economically, as they steal their land. So some of the Hamas fight back. No law that Israel has agreed to will restrain them as they kill innocent people.

My best friend sent me a very revealing article entitled "America Is the Only Country with a Favorable View of Israel". Now why should this be?

I believe the Godless Zionists have used our religious beliefs against us by distorting our "support for Israel" into supporting them. Our government gives Israel billions, sells them high tech weapons, and looks the other way as they bully the innocent. If you go to one of these "support Israel" churches, then you have been grievously deceived and share in their guilt.

I support the Torah Jews, and, yes, I have read Genesis 12.

Please see the following articles and video.

• Torah Jews Reject Zionism
• America Is the Only Country with a Favorable View of Israel
• Israel passes law drafting ultra-Orthodox for military service
• The most harmful place for Jews is in Israel !!!

I'm a City Boy, I'll Survive

And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians Acts 7:22

Paul answered, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Acts 21:39

There is, in some circles, the idea that the less a Christian knows, the "purer" he or she is. Knowledge, it is said, corrupts.

Following this logic, a person with Appendicitis and in need of a surgeon should forgo a doctor with a medical degree. What you really need is a country boy with no knowledge at all. He is so "pure" he won't even need to wash his hands before he pokes around with an unsterilized kitchen knife.

"It's in here somewhere, whatever they call that thing." Anesthesia? Anatomy? Don't trust 'em, that's "book learnin'".

No one would make such a choice. Yet people are misled by ignoramuses all the time in spiritual matters. Not just unfit preachers and teachers, but mothers and fathers unable to teach their own children.

But aren't I always harping about super intellectuals?

Yep, I am. Intellectuals who would substitute human knowledge for an understanding of God's Word. There are two ways to go off the road--left or right--either ignorance or a false knowledge.

What then is the middle road? Get good men to teach you, then check them out, just as the Bereans did.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11

Checking up on Paul!

Just as the more you know about automobiles, the better you can understand when the mechanic tells you about your car. In this case, the answer is to "search the scriptures daily". If this were done more often, many "mechanics" would stop trying to sell you antifreeze for your air-cooled car engine.

Painting Faces On Acorns

My grandmother was descended from simple country folk. As a child, she and a girl friend would go into the nearby woods to make doll houses. They had no doll houses or even dolls, so they would make them.

They started with slabs of tree bark, (maybe shag bark hickory) which they used for the walls and roof. For carpets they used sheets of moss, which was appropriate, for her name was Green.

What about dolls to live in these little houses? Hollyhock blossoms! The little bulbs at the stem would be the faces, and the petals made beautiful, flowing skirts. For extra fancy dresses, hollyhocks of different colors were used. Maybe white for the outer dress and pink for the petty coat. In her old age, her face would light up as she recalled these memories.

One day we went for a visit, but Grandma did not answer our knocks. We searched the house and finally found her in the basement, seated at a little table. When she noticed us she blushed. "Oh, you've caught me!" she said.

Spread out on the table was a basket of acorns with their caps removed. She had yarn too, some of it carefully teased into strands and braided to make doll hair. She had been gluing these tiny little hairdos onto the acorns and then replacing the caps. Last stage was painting delicate faces on her natural dolls, tiny little smiling faces. We had caught her, being natural, and recalling the happy days in the woods of her childhood.

Isn't there a Smart Phone app for such things now? No, and there never will be.

You Are an Overcomer

for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John 5:5

It used to be that when I heard of overcomers, I felt left out. I figured they were a class of super Christians who had won great battles. That would certainly leave me out.

Of course, in those days I was still in the "work hard enough and you might make it" mindset. I caught this in church.

"That's a nasty workaholic mindset you have there. Are you taking anything for it."

"Yes, I am. I take daily doses of the Bible and I feel better already!"

"But John says it is OUR faith that overcomes. So don't we have to struggle to get enough faith?"

Imagine a baseball team that is losing every game. They have crude, home made bats, split and held together with tape. Even when they make contact with a pitch, the ball falls to the ground and they are thrown out at first.

High in the bleachers,a rich man sees their plight. He gives each team member a very special bat, better than they could ever make or buy. They are labeled "Faith Bat Company". Now these players win every game.

A new player says, "You guys are amazing. You never lose with those bats you made."

"We didn't make them. They were gifts. That's why we can't lose."

After the season is over the team goes to the Rich Man's house to thank him. He has another surprise for them, a whole new set of uniforms. Even the bat boy gets one. Written across the uniforms are the words "The overcomers, those who have defeated the world."

Israel's Chariot

An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. Psalm 33:17

Throughout the history of the nation of Israel, they were told by God not to have horses or chariots. Rather, they were to be foot soldiers. Today we would say it was to be infantrymen versus armor. As early as the exodus from Egypt, God defeated the enemy with their horses and chariots. Israel was commanded to do the same.

Recently I have watched the struggle between the UN-created fake nation of Israel and the Palestinians. In this particular slaughter, my sympathies are entirely with the Palestinians. If I were to state this in many so-called Fundementalist churches, they would fight to see who had the privilege to throw me out. I would become another victim of church theology versus Bible theology.

It is so ironic that in the present conflict, and those of the recent past, Israel has adopted the tactics of Egypt and the Palestinians are using the tactics once assigned to Israel.

Israel has developed a really super tank, the Merkava, or "chariot", in Hebrew. Some call it "God's chariot". It has luxurious accommodations for the crew, including air conditioning and chilled drinking water. It's main cannon is larger than a 105 howitzer.

Easy victory with such a machine? It turns out that Hamas foot soldiers have found a number of ways to blow up this incredible tank. Using buried explosives, they have breached its vulnerable underbelly, and setting off the explosions of its mighty cannon rounds.

Its rear door is poorly armored too. But using shoulder-fired Russian anti-tank weapons, even heavily armored parts of the Merkava can be penetrated. Oh, the wonders of the shaped charge, wire-guided for accuracy!

Hamas, on foot, destroyed a great number of the greatest tanks in the world. But, to many, the era of tank warfare is moribund. Dispersed combat is coming to be the norm.

As they slaughter innocent Palestinians, world opinion is turning against them. Soon it may be "open season" on national Israel.

Who will come to their aid? Not God--not yet. It will be Anti Christ, offering them a seven year peace treaty. He will violate this treaty, instigating the Great Tribulation.

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Daniel 9:27

Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigarette

I told you about a man I knew who was ego-inflated to find that everything in the Bible really meant something else. Once I had a class in a church where I said that the only way to accurately understand the Bible was to take it literally. I heard a gasp as if everyone had just inhaled pepper.

A little man in the front row was wearing a fake-jewel Masonic pin. From his demeanor and trivial manner, I would guess he was Blue Lodge, with only three degrees available. In Europe, where they really take Masonry seriously and study the occult to earn their degrees, this man would have been dismissed as a mere cash cow. Here, you just plunk down the money and buy your degrees. If I had had a tire gauge I could have measured his pressure. I'm sure it was high.

The influence of the "symbolic" school is everywhere, especially as you get higher up the ladder of corruption. I know that the literal people are mocked because some things in the Bible are symbolic, and are plainly revealed as such.

A Fundamentalist was accused of being simple minded because he was so literal. His defense: "When we see Christ represented as "the Lamb that was slain," he said, "we know we are not looking at a dead sheep."

If I Had the Wings of an Angel

"If I Had the Wings of an Angel
O'er these prison walls I would fly."

A friend told me of seeing an old beggar sitting on the sidewalk and singing this song. He had apparently been placed on the walkway so he could beg. My friend, an unbeliever and worldly man, choked up as he told me this.

I am so thrilled and comforted too, of what the Bible says about flying. Someone should write a story entitled, "You Won't Need To be an Angel to Fly." Until that glorious day, we are all in a prison of this world, and like the beggar, can only sing of flying.

I looked up "The Prisoner's Song." Johnny Cash tells us it was the first country record to sell a million copies.He and others have very slick and professional recordings of it, but I prefer the home video linked below. I think of the beggar when I hear it.

Listen to The Prisoner's Song (If I Had the Wings of an Angel).

Under a Death Paragraph

Geminis are not blabber mouths, they just talk all the time.

Death paragraph sounds a lot better than death sentence don't you think? Because Geminis only dread death because it will (finally!) shut them up.

But there is even a remedy for that. I am writing my little entries ahead, so that when I can no longer write, my webmaster and best friend can have them appear after I have disappeared. Even my death will not shut me up!

What have I tried to do? To show you that you do not have to rely on "authorities", the Scribes and Pharisees of today. In case you don't know it yet, you can think very well, and plumb the depths of God's Word on your own.

Joel

You can see why I didn't want the dream to end. My best friend and I had just arrived in the city. Our CEO's son had picked us up and brought us here, personally. I couldn't believe my apartment! I was told it was a reward for what I had done for him.

"But I didn't do that much," I protested.

My best friend replied, "Neither did I, but our employer is very, very, generous. You do one small thing for him and he loads you down with rewards."

We were walking to a huge amphitheatre. As we entered through a gigantic round door, my friend said he had a wonderful surprise for me. "The guest speaker is named Joel," he said. "He was once a famous author."

"How many books did he write?" I asked.

"Just one, but it made him famous."

The hall was enormous. It was like a big shell, pink and pearlescent. The seats looked hard, but when we sat on them, they molded to our bodies, as if each one was custom made for us.

"I've never seen such a place," I told my friend.

"Wait until you see the rest of the place," he said. "Its over a thousand mile square, 1,500 actually, and just as high."

Then our speaker appeared on a stage flooded with light. He wore a white robe that sparkled like snow and was gathered with a golden sash. He wore sandals made of gold too.

After the thunderous applause had quieted and Joel begun to speak, I marveled at the sound of his voice. We could hear him as he was speaking directly in our ears, softly, yet powerfully. His address was brief but deeply touching. It was amazing how so few words could impress us so deeply.

Later, I asked my friend, "When did you learn about this wonderful writer?"

"Oh, years and years ago," he said. "I used to read him all the time, when we were on the Earth."

Daddy, Why Are We Going Backwards?

I was riding with a friend and his little son. He drove past his intended turnoff, and because there was no traffic, he decided to back up instead of turning around. He backed quite a long way, and as he did so the little boy became alarmed.

He quavered, "Daddy, why are we going backwards?" He recovered his composure when his father turned off and began to drive forward once again.

But I am thinking of another type of trauma from which it would be harder to recover. That is, changing churches, or even denominations. This, of course, is coming from one who remembers when doctrine was considered an important thing.

When the magazine "Christianity Today" took a poll on why people attended certain churches, they found that the number one reason was driving distance. To many, church for young people is a kind of spiritual day care center. "It's good for the kids to get religion, so I have the wife take them somewhere." With this loose attitude, really wrong doctrine can be taught to the young.

I once worked at Standard Publishing Company and had an opportunity to see some of their material. It showed a puppet policeman named Jerry, complete with nightstick, lecturing the kids on The Law, the ten commandments. See an implied threat there--a little legalism? Hopefully, parents would become enlightened enough to realize this violation against the plain teaching of the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans, and withdraw the child and themselves.

Some are becoming wise. Millions are not in any corporate church. Daddy will not have to back up from the living room or kitchen table. There, at his side, children will learn that God is not a policeman ready to strike them if they violate the law.

What the Bible Really Means

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved , a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15, NIV

A man I knew from one of my classes disappeared for a while, a couple of months really. He had found another teacher, and this one was teaching him what the Bible really meant.

He looked at me with glowing eyes as he asked if I knew what the exodus stood for. I had thought for years that the exodus was all about Israel leaving Egypt. In fact I still do.

Recent discovery of the burned mountain top where Moses stood and God revealed his glory have been found. Even the altar that Moses erected is there. But not so, according to this man. The whole story was symbolic. The poor people who believed it was a mere literal event were ignorant. I assumed this included me.

His manner, once humble, had been transformed. He now oozed with pride. I tell his story because it illustrates what can happen when ignorant people fall under the spell of teachers who appeal to their egos.

Some claim to have the knowledge to confer instant wealth. Others claim that they will teach you how to perform tongues. The subject, of course, is "you", not the study of God and his Word.

Some normal, regular, people feel the need to gain power and knowledge that places them in a higher order. They're tired of being what they are. Uneducated people are likely to fall into this. They believe, not in study and patient work, but in the discovery of a "secret", that will give them an advantage. I believe that a background of learning can prevent this delusion.

I have a lot of respect for those who have mastered a discipline of any kind. It can be gardening or cooking, for example. These people know that patient application (often involving many mistakes) is the key to learning, not the discovery of a promised "secret".

Condensed College

Old time Bible teachers said that every major doctrine or event in the Bible had at least one chapter devoted to it. I agree. Instead of the "battle of the verses" to learn and illustrate great truths, we can cite whole chapters.

It nay seem almost heretical to say that you don't need to go to seminary or study for many years to learn about God's Word. You must have seen programs on how to read through the whole Bible in one year. This is considered a great achievement. Now I wouldn't recommend that you ask such a one a deep theological question. I would pit a graduate of the Condensed College against these patient sloggers any day.

The question arises, can you lose your salvation? Whole religions would bite the dust, like the serpent in Eden, if people knew of Romans chapter 8. End of argument. End of such a false religion. A CC graduate would know it, though he might not know of the genealogies of the Old Testament.

I have cited some of my favorite chapters, and you will have yours. This is not an attack on thorough Bible study at all. It is rather about a witnessing tool possibly for one in a false religion or someone with weak faith who is afraid to face death. Many will cite a favorite Psalm. This is a wonderful start.

It is said that you can prove anything from the Bible. This is said by those who can quote a seemingly contradictory verse against well founded doctrines. These people are--in technical terms--dumb asses and sceptics of the Bible altogether. I have yet to hear anyone say "You can prove anything from a chapter of the Bible."

Like a part of a mathematical equation or one portion of a chemical formula, when incomplete, it can be misunderstood. The whole unit, in this case, an entire chapter reveals great truths. I really believe that God has given us such chapters, sometimes containing stories, to teach us "condensed" truths.

The White Stone

I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. Revelation 2:17

No one is certain of what this means, though interpretations abound. The passage does refer to those who overcome and their rewards. What I love about it is the individuality or intimacy. Something between each of us and the risen Christ.

McGee thinks it may refer to a name for Christ that is known only to each of us. Maybe it is a name by which each of us alone may call Him. We all obtain salvation and eternal life, but what this personal reward is, we may have to wait to find out.

When Friedrich Nietzsche Hugged a Horse

In a shop frequented by college students, I saw a card that showed angels and the philosopher. The caption read, "God says, Nietzsche is dead!" I was surprised to see such a digging motto displayed. For Nietzsche was the inventor of the statement "God is dead."

Rather than change the word, like Darwin and others of this era are accused of, I believe that he merely reflected a decaying structure. His ideas of so-called freedom from moral restraint are followed by many who have never heard of him or read his works.

After my second watching of a BBC video on his life, an event of his latter years touched me. For this man, who believed that the virtue of pity should be eliminated, saw a horse fall, perhaps slipping on ice. His response was to hug the fallen horse. Soon he descended into madness, perhaps from the syphillis he had contracted as a young man. He had sought the elimination of compassion, which he felt was a sign of weakness associated with Christianity.

Through the editing of his work by his sister, I believe Nietzsche is falsely associated with Hitler and Naziism. He despised such nationalism as of this movement. I have a photo of Hitler gazing rapturously at a bust of Nietzsche.

He died alone, his mind gone. In his last years he looked like Ben Turpin on steroids, not a superman of ruthless will. I prefer to think of him, moved by pity, hugging a fallen horse.

Predestined

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:29, NIV

And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:30

he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- Ephesians 1:5

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, Ephesians 1:11 (the King James uses predestinated)

The question is asked, and the point argued, are we predestined? You can hear all kinds of attempts to escape, what is to many, a horrible doctrine. I have heard a bunch of them.

The common factor in these attempts of evasion is that they rebel against the truth that God has chosen us before we were born, before the world was made, to be his. It eliminates the "holy icon" of free will. Let me say I do believe in free will. Only God is the one who has it.

A Bruised Reed, a Smoking Flax

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. Matt. 12:20

Care to interpret this verse? We know how delicate and tender these two items are. Without seeing what Matthew Henry or some other expositor has to say, let me try with unpredjudiced eyes.

If we look at the story of Jesus, it goes from an infant, to a grown man, who was without violence or guile. Upon his return to earth he comes in bloody garments with the sword of the Word proceeding from his mouth. In the interval, so far, he is not ruling or punishing the world. Bruised reeds and smoking wicks are not being disturbed.

From the viewpoint of our future Lord of the World, this is still the Devil's play pen. Then, when his church is called out in the Rapture, judgement begins. At that time, bruised reeds and smoking wicks will be the least of concerns.

This Suit Covers Fear

"See this suit? It covers fear."

So began a routine by Milt Kaymen, comedian. He told us he was afraid to walk in the woods because a tree would deliberately drop a limb on him and later, in court, claim it was an accident.

I just heard a short piece on NPR about stress, part of a series. Psychologist Mary McNaughton-Cassill told of the effect of watching, or hearing about, terrorist events replayed by the media. The stress-inducing effects of lurid images and language, repeated many times, often induced greater stress than that experienced by those witnessing the actual event.

To me, it is a picture of a perfect ad campaign. I learned that the greatest amount of money spent on psychological research was directed towards motivation research, inducing people to buy products or vote for candidates. With this knowledge at hand, all that is needed to induce a high level of stress, is a so-called terrorist event.

She mentioned two of such major events--Oklahoma City's Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and the World Trade Center in New York City. Any research on these two incidents reveals that they were staged events, followed by just such media exploitation as mentioned above. More recently there have been a series of such events. Sandy Hook, for instance. Suspicion is growing that they were created to keep people in fear.

I learned in psychology class that fear is the most powerful of emotions. So, to really do a job on people, use fear. The willingly ignorant public will stampede like a herd of frightened cattle. It works for most of us.

Others see through it. We are not afraid to take a walk in the woods.

Ding, Dong, the Witch is (Almost) Dead!

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; Zephaniah 1:18

Two safe crackers are in an office. One of them is drilling out the dial of the company's safe. The other looks on the wall at a chart of its profits. The line has sunken down to the bottom of the chart and continues down the wall. He says, "Look at this, Hank. I think we're wasting our time."

I listened to a fascinating video where James Rickards is interviewed. He is the author of The Death of Money:The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System. Lots of people are talking about this, and the death of the American dollar. But Rickards is head and shoulders above the pack in his detailed knowledge and experience. His latest book, and his earlier Currency Wars: The making of the Next Global Crisis, give the facts behind his reasoning.

Am I happy about this coming collapse? Yes. I want to see the demise of the whole Satanic system. Better that people should be bartering fish for corn than to be galley slaves, chained to a sinking ship.

The greatest crisis, the Tribulation, is for Israel, not the church. We will be taken out of the world for a honeymoon in heaven (Revelation 3:10).

Watch Catastrophic Outcomes May Come Faster Than Expected-James Rickards.

How Dry is Your Baltic Index?

At the time of this writing, the Dow is hovering around seventeen thousand. Things have got to be great, right?

One might wonder at the contrast between the stock market's record high and the wretched financial circumstances of many people. Certainly, the over all economy is prospering, and we can all benefit by the trickling down of this amazing wealth, can't we?

I am a babe in economic matters, but I have found an indicator that does not suffer from the manipulated illusions of the Dow. It is not mentioned in the evening news, though you may be familiar with it. I am new to this game, but I do like to get the facts, so I refer to the Baltic Dry Index for realistic information on how the world's trade is doing.

While the markets zoom upwards, this index shows a totally different trend through the record of goods shipped. Since the beginning of this year, the Baltic Dry index has declined by over half. The video linked below has more information.

See Realist News - 300 year old shipping company closes its door. Baltic Dry index collapsing.

The Intermediate State

If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Job. 14:14

How totally lovely is the 14th chapter of Job! Like the book of Job, it is the ending that pulls it all together. Dead trees, dead people--who wants to think of them? But we have no choice, deny them if we try. We buy into pagan fables to aid in our attempts at denial, but like Scrooge looking at a vision of his tombstone, eventually the reality hits home. We do die.

My best friend and I were discussing how grass must be the toughest plant in the world. It gets mowed, frozen, and baked in the heat of the summer sun. Yet rain brings it back, good as new. Is it not wonderful how God uses nature, trees, to show us death and then the return of life?

For it can be argued that the book of Job is not about suffering at all. There is great suffering in it, but the lesson Job learns is not how to grit his teeth and take it, but about restoration. Job loses people, wealth, and respect. Then he thinks of his death, even longs for it. In the end it is not a manual on "successful living" but on successful dying in faith and hope.

So what of the intermediate state? Do the dead go to heaven or hell? Do they dream? No, they wait, to be waked up to life eternal. This book even speaks of Job sleeping until God's wrath is passed.

"What was the Great Tribulation like, Job?"

"I don't know, I slept through it."

Soon I'll have my time of waiting, in the same hope that Job was given. I will be waiting for His call.

Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands. Job 14:15

The Eternal State

Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 1 Corinthians 15:24, NIV

When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. 1 Corinthians 15:28, NIV

Many look, rightfully, to the 1,000 year reign of Christ. He will complete the Kingdom of David. There is much about this wonderful time, such as in Isaiah 11. What is obscure is what takes place after this future period. For although the millennium is a time of peace, it is an enforced peace, kept that way with rods of iron.

This period ends in rebellion after Satan is released and the great multitudes of the unrighteous are destroyed. Tares growing for all this time, under perfect conditions, have not changed their identity. With Satan bound and Christ on the throne, they have not become wheat.

People in this time have long life spans, but they still die. This is not to always be true. After what is called the Final Rebellion, death will be no more. Evil will be no more.

In English class we were told that you cannot have a story without dramatic conflict. This may be true in literature, but a time over a thousand years from now is coming where there will be no conflict. I look forward to such a wonderful time.

Antiochous Epihanes - Terrible, but not Antichrist

There is a very important argument about this man. He ruled over Israel about two centuries before the time of Jesus. He seems to have fulfilled some of the prophecies concerning Antichrist. Certainly his lineage would lead one to think that way. For Antichrist will arise out of the Greek empire. He also desecrated Israel's temple, as will Antichrist.

His very name makes him a powerful type, as he adopted the title of "Epiphanes", meaning "god with us". But despite these striking similarities, he was, and remains, only a type. The real Antichrist was yet future of the days of Jesus, who told us, unmistakenly, of the consequences of his rule, which ends in the Great Tribulation.

Paul warns of his coming and his actions which will usher in the Day of the Lord. Since the Day of the Lord has yet to take place, all the attempts to identify Antichrist are false. He was not Antiochous, or a pope, past or present. He was not Hitler, and so forth.

False teachers try very hard to make prophecies a thing of the past. Many, of course, are. But the end of the days for Israel--the "time of Jacob's trouble"--are yet future. The church will not be on earth to endure them. We will be in heaven (Revelation 3:10).

See Daniel 11:21-35 Is Not Antiochus IV.

Our MacArthur Park Country

The matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. Daniel 4:17

I had intended to write about Antiochus Epiphanes, I really did. But instead this will be a mini state of the nation address. I promise it will be short and I hope, not boring at all.

To talk about the president and his first "lady" may seem to be a total departure from the Bible, but there is a saying that we get the government we deserve. You can gauge a nation's merit by its leaders.

This goes far beyond mere politics, to the freakish nature of our first couple. There have been rumors that Obama and Michele were all mixed up in the gender department. Pictures of Michele show her wide shoulders, adam's apple, and most tellingly, the length of her ring fingers. Men's ring fingers are longer than their forefingers.

I will not involve the apostle Paul in this one, though he writes about it most clearly. Instead I will invoke, of all people, Joan Rivers. I quote her as an insider, one who knows about dark secrets. Only, to her, this issue is not a secret at all. Don Rickles, famous for his barbs, once said of Joan, "You notice how she never moves out of her key light?"

In the linked video below, she is in the light of day, as she wearily answers the reporter's question, "Do you think we'll ever have a gay president?". She tells him that we already do, and that his partner is a "tranny". "Everybody knows that," she says dismissively. Such naivety. not to know this.

But the man with the mike is young. He may even believe in his once-great nation. To me, it is a dead duck. It is a MacArthur Park cake, melting in the rain. Put it back together? We'll never find that recipe again.

See Joan Rivers President Obama Video | Michelle Obama Is A Man | Gossip Cop.

How to Cross a Barbed Wire Fence

A long time ago, as part of my basic training, I had to learn how to do just that. I had roamed a lot of fields edged with barbed wire, so I thought I knew how. You bend down a strand and poke your head through. I found out I could not be more wrong. To stand up would put you in the sight and shooting range of an enemy.

The only enemies we had at Fort Knox had stripes on their sleeves and yelled at us a lot. But before we hit the Infiltration Range, one of us had to go to the PX and buy a supply of feminine napkins to protect our elbows as we crawled through the gravel.

Machine guns were fired so close overhead that if you stood up you would be killed, as a soldier in another outfit did. There were dugouts surrounded by sandbags where nitro starch explosives were set off to simulate artillery rounds.

So how did the Army teach us to cross a barbed wire fence? We were to hit the ground and crawl until we came to one of the fences. Then we rolled onto our backs and held our rifles above us. The weapon was what was used to lift the wire. On our bellies, a snag would have been hard to undo. So instead of facing the "enemy" we kept our eyes on the wire.

The wire was the enemy. Crawling on your back, carrying equipment, while wearing a steel helmet can be tiring, but it was good training.

So much could be made from this event if I were the kind of guy who sees "lessons" in everything. But since I am not, I won't talk about looking at the immediate problem--your "wire"--instead of looking too far ahead. Or being ready to learn a new strategy for a combat situation, where the old civilian way once worked. What was a good tactic for your boss, may not be so good for resisting Satan.

But I won't mention these things.

Lord, I Know That You Created the Universe, But Would You Care for Some More Bread?

There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at table with him.
John 12:2

Supper with Jesus, who earlier in the book of John is revealed to have created all things. Not only the setting of the universe, the Earth, the food that they ate, and the people who ate it. Wouldn't you love to know what they talked about? Not only at this meal, but at other ones they had with Jesus before Lazarus died and was resurrected.

One thing we know, from Martha's own lips, was that they learned pure doctrine. Little credit is given to this blessed woman. She seems to be remembered as the "busy one" in the story of Mary and Martha. But in John 11:24, Martha says of her brother, "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

If you could find a crowbar large enough, you might be able to pry the minds of ministers away from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the only Lazarus they seem to know. But hell is much more important to them, along with an immortal soul to suffer in.

How I love to read of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus! I love to imagine what they spoke of as they ate, when Martha learned the wonderful truth from Jesus.

Two Suppers

Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" Revelation 19:9

And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come gather together for the great supper of God,... Revelation 19:17

Two suppers--one for the saints, one for the vultures.

God can sure be ironic. In one case he sets a table for us. In another the wicked are the food. For those who believe that God only loves--that people are all alike and God does not punish the wicked--let me say that the subjects of these suppers were to be invited from the beginning of time. The invitations were already written before the world was made.

I once taught a little class in which a man said that the vultures in Israel were laying extra eggs for the earthly feast. At one time this was a popular myth distributed, no doubt, to discredit believers. I asked who in Israel has the job of counting vulture eggs? Is there a job description of "vulture egg census taker"? He became very angry with me because I would not accept such an idea.

When the time comes, I am sure there will be no lack of vultures. For the fate of the evil has been set long ago, just as God has prepared a feast for those who love Him.

But there is another supper I think of that is not future. It is available now, to all believers. It is so striking that it is offered, not to a church, but to anyone who invites Jesus in. I call it a "church of one". No music. No preachers. Just Jesus and you.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3:20, NIV

Treasure in a Discard Basket

My old church had a library. I'll give them credit for that. Too bad it was held in such low esteem. They had a young seminary student clean it out, get rid of the old stuff. He did.

I think of how much a seminary student knows--one going to a university approved by my church at the time. What a horrible thought. But he discarded many books that were old and, in his esteemed judgement, no longer "relevant".

There was a nice basket on a table with a little book and a sign in it. The sign read "free discarded books". When I saw the title of a book in the basket, I grabbed it. It was The Chronology of Revelation, by Gary Cohen.

I just saw such a title listed on Amazon as "690" pages! I'm sure it was "69". It was just a little paperback, printed on the kind of paper that soon turned brown and brittle, the kind that no 690 page tome would be printed on. Wood pulp bleached by sulphur dioxide, not meant to last. So I photocopied this treasure and three-hole punched it for a notebook. It fit into the pocket of my guard jacket, so I could read it on company time.

I was so impressed with this book's careful exposition. The author had a degree from Wheaton. He was careful and thorough, not a speculation anywhere in his book. I taught a course on this book and gave boxes of it free to my classes.

My course was on the chronology of Revelation. The very subject was considered a heresy in my old church. I was ignoring some time-honored Presbyterian beliefs. These were: Revelation should never be taught or even mentioned. But If someone studies it, they must remember that the events in it are all past history.

When the sea turns red and all the animals in it die, this is NOT LITERAL, or at the very least, it was an algae bloom in the Red Sea, past and limited. The predicted Anti Christ was just Nero, limited in scope, and of the past.

Apparently God made a big mistake when He recorded the last words of Jesus to his church, as recorded by John. Even the oldest members did not remember the teaching of this blessed book. The church hated it. It was never to be read, studied, or preached on.

I have great respect for the knowledge of the Covenant people concerning salvation.They are the best. But when God speaks through His Word concerning the future they refuse to listen. To them, doctrine ends with Luther and Calvin. The 15 hundreds are a safe cut-off point.

They have no use for outsiders to their closed club. Gary Cohen ends up in the discard basket, and what does a security guard know anyway?

Twin Speak

A couple I knew had twin boys. Since they had no other children, the babies grew up together while learning to speak. I was there when a counselor called to ask about the language the boys were developing. They were starting to speak a language of their own.

In the movie "Mr. Saturday Night", the comic Billy Crystal has his comic character look out at a heckler and say, "See that folks? That's what happens when cousins marry."

Serious or humorous, these are examples of what happens when churches become inbred. Not only to their doctrines, but to their language. We shouldn't need a translation guide to understand them. But over time we have terms like "Pontiff, Eucharist, genuflect, and denominational myths of church origins.

I'll speak of Baptists, since I love them and know about them. I remember my grandmother saying that the first Baptist was "John the Baptist", though there was no church until after John died, and no Baptists until after Luther. Must we speak in "church speech" concerning our faiths? We invent words and doctrines found nowhere in the Bible and even contrary to it.

Confucius was asked what he would do if he were emperor. He said, "The first thing I would do is purify the language." No wonder he is considered a wise man.