I posted in April of 2023 how I woke up at 4:30 in the morning and drove to the highest point in our area to view a rare 5 planet alignment. Well tonight there will be a....7 planet....'planetary parade'....as some are referring to it. Also if you are interested....March 13/14 will be the first blood moon since November of 2022.

When We Come To See Who We Really Are.....Then We Will Come To See Who He Really Is

                The wonderful chapter 53 of Isaiah begins with this...."Who hath believed our report?" This the KJV....or as the ESV has it...."Who has believed what he has heard from us"....or the NIV...."Who has believed our message?"
                Not many believed what Isaiah had told and warned them of over his entire ministry to them....nor had many believed all the words of the apostles. So those ministers today who have warned about Donald Trump....and what he had and is doing to us....and those of us other believers who tried our best to sound this trumpet....we can say....lamenting....as did Isaiah....'Who has believed us? Has any believed us?' There is nothing else that we can do. This before us with this man is as plain as any of the warnings throughout Scripture....but God has blinded the eyes and stopped the ears of evangelicals....and shut the mouths of the shepherds in their pulpits.
                The Psalms are in a chronological order....of some sort....not in when they were written....but in a pattern of redemption. Psalm 106 is the last Psalm in Book Four....and begins with....Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 107....the first Psalm in Book Five....begins with the same words. I want to point out verses 12 to 15 of Psalm 106....for what the psalmist says of Israel is also true to us today. The people sang God's praises after He parted the Red Sea...but they soon...."forgot His works." That's us also. They were in the wilderness and did not have patience to seek His counsel. that's us again. We made our choice nine years ago in who was going to lead us to what we wanted. God gave Israel their request....and He gave us our request. Verse 15 says...."But He sent leanness into their soul." That's the NKJV....the ESV puts it...."He gave them what they asked. but sent a wasting disease among them." That's where we are today.
                 Quite simply....we do not want warnings....we want winnings! This man has been a destroyer his entire life. He is the very definition of a deceiver. There is no greatness coming back to America. There is no peace coming to the world....or to Israel.   This I know....because God's Word tells us so. What I do not know is how long that we will think that what is happening before our eyes is good? This is all delusion....prophesied to us in God's Word. We should have been expecting false signs and wonders and proclamations of peace and security. 
                 One sermon from a man of God....who preaches in the power of the Holy Spirit....(not these phony preachers who take your money to build their reputations...they have their reward)....one sermon would show us how we have taken the wrong path....and Trump's name or politics or governments would never have to be named....only the name of the one who leads us down this wrong path....and only how we always have a tendency to go down this wrong path. For when we come to see who we really are....then we will also come to see who he really is.

I Put On More Than New Shoes....

                "So where does the strength come from to finish the race?" That was a question that Eric Liddell asked of the Scottish coal miners in an impromptu sermon after a race on the track....this from the film Chariots of Fire....which I watched last week for at least....at least the twentieth time in my life. He incorrectly answered his own question...."It comes from within." This is usually interpreted as the faith deep down in you....but the faith itself comes from without....not within!
                  I....my wife and I....watched that film in the theater on March 5, 1982. I know that because It affected me so that I logged it in my Jim Fixx Runner's Log....and over many years I never logged in anything but the run or how I felt or the weather or a new pair of running shoes.
                  Eric Liddell's faith was humbling almost beyond measure....but he was not a very good theologian....and C. S. Lewis....as powerful as his apologetic was....was even less of a theologian. Billy Graham....whose face stares at me every day from a coffee table book I have displayed...was also not the best theologian....and his son Franklin....much....much less of one.
                  Pat Robertson....great televangelist that he was....he more than anyone else watered the seed that God put in me....was a terrible theologian! Charles Finney was an out-and-out heretic....but even Martyn Lloyd-Jones once gave his work a positive comment. Martin Luther had an Achilles Heel that developed later in life.
                   No denomination is perfect. No Bible translation is perfect....even though the scrolls and parchments were perfect. Not even Joni Eareckson Tada's faith is perfect....and I can't find a more difficult example to use than this wonderful woman!
                   How about me? Well I'm just about perfect....inversely....but I do think that I did get a few things correct....and those obviously are the things that I post about.
                   There was a famous NFL football player....this back in the early 1960s....who picked up a fumble and ran it into the wrong end zone. Instead of six points for his team....it was two points for the other team. I've done that many times. I had a friend who in high school grabbed a rebound and put it right back up....into the wrong basket.
                    That great defender of the faith....John MacArthur....metaphorically did the same thing over the past four years.
                     Alistair Begg scored a hundred touchdowns....but fumbled the ball once....and was kicked off the team. That is not what we want to do! If it was....then Peter would have gone back to fishing for a living....and Calvin would have retired early....and John Wesley would have given up ministry.
                     If we are wearing a red football jersey....we would tackle another man in a red jersey if he were running the wrong way with the ball. What we have today in Donald Trump....is a man....who is not wearing the same color jersey that we have on....and we are running along side of him providing blocking! He may indeed get six points....but for the other team!
                    In the fog of battle we all can become disoriented at times. When I got out of the army at Fort Bragg back in late 1972....I packed up my MGB....with the top down because of all my belongings.....and drove home for twelve hours in the hot sun....(it was a longer drive back then)....and when I came to the Pennsylvania Turnpike....I headed east instead of west....or did I head west and then become disoriented and go east...and then west....and then east again. To this day I don't know if my original direction was correct.
                   Metaphorically again....there is a great fog in evangelicalism today....over the battlefield. God brought it down upon us because we became too big for our britches....(you may have to look that one up.) He gave us the rod...but He is ready to gently pull us back in with His staff if we but open our ears to the Good Shepherd's call.
                   

Note: It's funny but I never noticed this before....on that March 5, 1982 runner's log entry....I also wrote...."ran in new shoes...(Saucony Jazz)....great feeling." So apparently we went home and I went for a run....and maybe put on more than just new shoes? Today....almost 43 years later to the day....I can only thank God for these precious words from Isaiah chapter 40....in this order....verses 15, 17, 23, 28, 29 and 31....that Eric Liddell....in the movie....preached to a congregation in Scotland....how the power of these words must have affected someone like me!!!!

"Behold, the nations are as a drop in the bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance....All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.....[He} bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity....Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth might....But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint."

Satan's.....Art Of The Deal

               Here it is....Satan wants something.....and he knows the things that we want....in fact he whispered most of those things in our ear. He knows that if he comes right out and asks for what he wants....then the Christian will not give it to him. He knows that we would never deal with him to begin with if we knew it was him....but he still wants what he wants.
                There are a lot of evil things that over a long time he tempted us into giving him. He has like a trophy room of pictures and autographs and game balls....and he doesn't need them all....in fact he would trade them all if he could get the thing that he really wants....which is simply that we turn away from total trust in Christ....stand at attention....bring our right toe behind our left heel....and pivot on that left heel! So instead of looking to Christ....we are looking to something else....anything else....and then we are prey....ready for the taking.
               So we made the deal about eight years ago....and we got a lot of things that we wanted. We haven't noticed yet that we have changed....and the peace and the joy in the Lord are gone. The light is all but gone and we are stumbling around. We are not standing on a rock anymore....but sand. We see that we have to walk between these two roaring lions....like we've done before....but they are no longer chained....and we haven't noticed that yet.
               Satan gives up a few things....Roe v. Wade....sort of....but we on our side are not forced to give up anything....in fact we add to the things whispered into our ears....as we are lured with gold and the pride of life. He gets his man in there....and we put him there! This whole thing my friends....is the real....Art of the Deal!
                May tomorrow....the Lord's Day....be the day that we notice that the shekinah glory is gone from the sanctuary! And may we as Israel had many times long ago....seek God's mercy and forgiveness for our waywardness. May we seek the kingdom of God first....and trust in Him for everything else. May we seek to make His house great again! May we turn away from the deal that we made....and look only to God's covenants!

We Went to Truth Social....Put On Our Jack Boots....And Red Hats....And Charged Down Off The Hill Of Righteousness....With The Flag In One Hand....And A Megaphone In The Other

               So....speaking to whatever percentage of evangelical readers here who know that Donald Trump is pure judgment on America and the church....and not a blessing of any kind....speaking to them I pose this question....why or how did so many....a majority of professing Christians....miss a man that scripture everywhere....when it is talking about who or what to avoid and flee from....is referring directly to someone like Donald Trump? The essence of God's Word when directing us to 'be separate' and 'come out of'....points to Donald Trump. So how did this happen?
                There are plenty of political and psychological explanations on how this occurred....and I've posted on that a number of times....but I only want to refer to God's Word here....specifically that famous chapter six of Ephesians....verses that have....since we were young in the faith....been chiseled into our minds and memories.....the Armor of God.
                We taught them to our children....and bought them little figurines of a man in ancient military armor. They could play with the man...and put the sword in his hand and the helmet on his head and the shield in the other hand. The problem is that it became too familiar to us....and we forget that these pieces of armor were necessary for our protection....for without them we would indeed fall in battle....and that in essence is what happened.
                Those verses in chapter six....starting with verse ten....begin by warning us of the...."schemes" or "wiles" of the devil. We seem to have forgotten that the devil is real....and smarter than we are. He set us up....we did not remain vigilant nor even awake....and thus we did not have those pieces of armor on to protect us from deception.
                 Truth comes out of God's Word....not Fox News. Righteousness is up on that hill with love and compassion and ethics and integrity.....but we charged down off that hill back in 2016 yelling.....USA USA USA....Make America Great Again! Our feet were not shod with..."the preparation of the gospel of peace"....but rather heavy boots to stomp anything that talk radio and podcasters tell us to stomp. We threw down the shield of faith and picked up the American flag....so we had no shield to protect us. We took off that helmet of salvation and distributed red MAGA hats to everyone. And as for the....Word of God....our memorization today is in sound bites....Russia Hoax....Trump derangement Syndrome....deep state....fake news....make America strong and wealthy and proud and great again....and the new verse for the day....the Golden Age of America Begins right now.
                  This is only an initial synopsis of why evangelicals were taken in by Donald Trump. We tore down hedges of protection....and did not stay awake....we were not vigilant....and we woke up somewhere in 2015 and did not put on that armor.. That....is why we cannot see who this man really is!

                                                                        

The below video is from CPAC....which was once a legitimate conservative conference. That chainsaw signifies lives that are being torn apart right now....pain and suffering....as we evangelicals laugh. These are the people that are leading us today.

The Old Man....And The Beast From The Sea

                It was honorable....the old man and the great fish....in a fight to the death. They both had to eat.....it was nothing personal....but either the old man would kill the beautiful fish....or he would die trying....which in essence would mean that the fish would kill the old man. It was life as we know it....oftentimes not pretty....but not necessarily ugly either.
                The sharks were another story. The great fish may have....probably would have....escaped them.....but now that it had lost to the old man....the sharks would tear it to shreds. The battle was lost....by both the great fish and the old man. The killing machines did what they do.
                Is this not at least slightly similar to the fate of man? Two armies....or two navies....occurring many times over the many centuries....would fight each other....either one fully believing that he was merely protecting his country....and his family. This was never more evident than our own civil war. Oh the stories of honor were enough that we built shrines to them....and hallow their efforts.
                It's been sixty years since I had to memorize the Gettysburg Address....but I just did a passable job of reciting it....maybe a C....maybe even a B-?
                It's not the day to day skirmishes that we have. That came with the fall. It's the same sharks....the killing machines....the ones who start wars. The ones who want something for themselves beyond food and raiment and warmth.
                It's not the lion in God's Word that is evil....for the lion is a noble animal. Lions do what they do....since the fall....it is the devil who....prowls around....like a lion....looking for something to devour. That is what a Hitler did....and a Stalin....and a Putin.....and many more..
               Lions prowl at night....usually....because they operate better in the darkness. When we are in the darkness....spiritual darkness.....we are in....plenty danger....and odd description....but maybe one used where the old man fought the great fish?   
               Most older people do not like to drive at night. I don't like it. We should want to live in the light folks....so when someone comes to us....someone who lives in the darkness....and they say....'come with me....prowl with me....there are plenty of riches to share....whose luminescence can only be seen in the darkness'....we should flee...flee to the light....for...."The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." 

John 9:5 ESV        

                 

"And Jesus Spoke To Them Saying, 'I Am The Light Of The World. Whoever Follows Me Will Not Walk In Darkness, But will Have The Light Of Life'." John 8:12 ESV

                So who (or what) might be the rider on the white horse from Revelation chapter six? Does this following verse actually mean anything...."This calls for wisdom; let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666."....(Revelation 13:18 ESV)....or is it just another one of those verses that we think is too difficult to even think about?
                We can be confident of this....the teaching of what is known as...the pre-trib-rapture....is not correct....and that is important because if you are living under that assumption then you will quite naturally not be too concerned with the rider on the white horse or the number of the beast or preparation for what is ahead or self-examination.
                What is all this about seven heads and ten horns? And what were all these prophecy teachers talking about way back when concerning a revived Roman empire? 
                Here is what you will be told....you will be reminded of all the times in the past two-thousand years when some man said that Jesus was coming back right then....or the end of the world was going to be right then....and then disaster followed. You will have been scolded for having the audacity to even attempt to peek into God's Word on the coming of the Son of Man....and told to just sit down and eat your gruel. It's as if to these men Satan was not real....and that even if he was he would never be smart enough to promote all of these cults from the past....and even the present.
                There are good systematic theologians out there....and there are not so good systematic theologians out there....always have been. There are good prophecy teachers out there....and there are not so good prophecy teachers out there....and there are some terrible pretenders to be prophecy teachers out there. So why don't we all just give up? We don't give up studying God's Word on the Second Coming for the same reason that we do not give up on finding biblical truth in systematic theology! We have patience and trust in God! And that is what we have to do concerning the return of the Son of Man.
              In that first century....before followers of Jesus had a bound....large print....pick your favorite translation.... paperback or hardcover Bible to carry with them....God provided ways and means for their guidance and protection. He will do the same in the confusion of these last days....the last of the last days if you will. With great delusion and deception literally everywhere....and the Antichrist walking around right now planning his rise to power....and that rider on the white horse either right now galloping to cheers....or about to spur the side of the white horse....with all these things crashing in around us....those who trust in Christ alone are secure! Those who actually believe the warnings in God's Word will not fall away nor fall for the delusion!
               There is a winnowing coming if not already in full swing. The fog will slowly if not suddenly dissipate enough for us to see who else among us fell to the threshing floor....not carried off as chaff in the wind. We can praise God that even in times like this....He is the sure rock beneath our feet....and the light for our path....the captain of this ship....and the wind for our sails....the wings to cover us....the bread of life....the living water....our Savior and our Lord....and along with His mighty angels....our Coming King!

PROBABLY OUR MOST OFTEN QUOTED BIBLE VERSE......SORT OF

                I hear it all the time. I'll begin talking about Bible prophecy....to a Christian....and that will be fine.....but if I extend my welcome....they will....almost to a man or woman....put up their guard....and quote Matthew 24:36....more likely shorten and summarize it....probably their favorite or most often used Bible verse...."no one knows the day or the hour."  Whereupon I will be patient....and follow with the very next verse...."For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." I'll give them a few seconds to let that sink in and then quote two verses later....this Jesus speaking.in the Olivet Discourse...."Therefore stay awake....for....(or because....as the NIV puts it)....you do not know what day your Lord is coming." If I continue....then they will put their dukes up. So I usually let it go at that. Not knowing the exact day or hour is an encouragement and a command to stay awake and study God's Word....not an excuse to avoid the signs all through God's Word of the coming of the Son of Man.

Kids Say The Darndest Things....Art Linkletter titled a book with that saying. He had an afternoon television show back in the 50s and 60s....and the last segment was always with him interviewing young kids. In Matthew chapter 18....Jesus was talking about faith...."Calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them....and said....'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven'." (Matt 18:2,3) Back to Art Linkletter....he once asked a question of this young boy....maybe six years old at the oldest. He asked the boy what he wanted to be....and the boy said...."a pilot"....Art thought about that and then asked him....'What if you were the pilot of a plane and all four engines stopped? What would you say....the boy was very serious.....with his head down....he said...."Our Father....who art in heaven...."

Folks....here is the hard truth that Christians do not want to face....even pastors. We simply do not want Jesus to return right now. The....'maybe in twenty years"....thing works real well for us....for we get to kind of fake it without having to change anything. I offer this opinion after decades of conversations. We've got places to go and things to see....goals to meet....and kids to raise....college....who knows....maybe a child will even be a pro golfer...where he can thank Jesus for winning the U. S. Open....or a congressman....or a doctor or lawyer or famous singer! All we have to do is ignore all the evidence around us and pick a church where the pastor feels the same way. But here is the fly in the ointment....as clueless as we as to the very specific warnings in God's Word that judgment is not only coming but is here....we are as clueless on the world situation! AI alone should cause us to fall to our knees....that surely has something to do with the Second Coming....and add Europe and Israel and Putin and China and Trump....and Elon Musk....where did we lose our minds....and earthquakes and asteroids and weather going crazy....and all this make America great again stuff should by all rights be seen as pure nonsense. But alas it is not....not yet anyway.

We Don't Want To Be Bothered By........Incidentals

            

Preface: So Trump says no to the Ukraine in NATO....and no peace keeping forces in Ukraine? And he wants elections.....never mind that Putin is there because they do not have fair elections in Russia. He wants Putin taken back into the G7....to make it the G-8 again. And there are reports out now that he doesn't want war crimes charges pursued against Russia?  He called Zelensky a dictator....and accused him of starting this war. So NATO nations....with the United States seemingly on Putin's side....may never be able to trust our alliance again? Every one of our allies around the world now has to reassess everything. Even some of Trump's supporters in Congress are beginning to wonder why....why is he against NATO....why does it seem like he does Putin's bidding? The following was first posted on February 17:

            It's not an easy topic to tackle....particularly at this time....but it needs to be done. Yesterday....and thankfully for the innocent American citizen involved.....one of Putin's political prisoners....an American history teacher....arrested in Russia on a trumped up and false charge....was released and returned to America.
            He returned with the biggest smile that you can imagine....and went to the White House....thanked President Trump profusely and profoundly.....and called him.....(along with others)....a hero. It was a tremendous....optic....in cementing Trump's first one hundred days in office as being not only a great success so far....but extraordinarily visionary....and encouraging and motivational for many Americans on that side of the political equation.
            So....as we look at the smiles of this gentleman....and smile ourselves....after an obligatory period of time....we need to go further into what has happened....and it is not going to be pretty.
            Putin went to extraordinary lengths....and tried his best....to get Donald Trump elected in 2016. Now....whether his efforts in the long run were a factor or not....and they probably were not....the fact and the question remains....why....did Putin want Trump to win....and why today.....does he still want Trump to be exalted as he is being?
            Folks....this is a major issue....Trump and Russia....but it is only one of the major issues. Please keep that in mind. There are numerous books that have been written just on this subject....and I've read a number of them....but we on our side have been told...and we obeyed....in not reading this information.
            Donald Trump had been involved with Russians since the 1980s....both with oligarchs in Russia....and with their representatives here in America....and even in New York City. They would buy into his very expensive residences in various towers....as a means of hiding money that suddenly was available to entrepreneurs in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. You do remember do you not....how when Eric Trump was long ago asked if they were concerned about getting loans for their many projects....that Eric said that there were no worries because they could get all the money they need from Russia?
            What's known as....kompromat...has always been at the core of Soviet intelligence gathering....and Donald Trump....according to a number of testimonies....had been of prime interest to these Soviet and now Putin led agencies. Paul Manafort comes into the equation. How familiar are you with the history of this man? He....almost unbelievably....was at one time named to head Trump's political campaign! Our intelligence agencies were very concerned about then candidate Trump actually becoming the president. It was their duty....and it would have been dereliction of duty....for them not to follow up on what was happening. Today....with all the purging being done on orders by Trump....I can't even imagine anyone in the agencies sitting down at a meeting and even bringing up some concern about Trump and Putin....for they would summarily be dismissed of their duties.
             Trump had from day one in his first term been against NATO. He said that it was only about money....but Putin was lovin' it. In Helsinki....Trump and Putin met....with only interpreters! Trump's aides were aghast at that....but today those diplomats have been purged. So today we have the war in Ukraine. What would have at one time been almost inconceivable....is that the United States is perceived to have become more of an ally to Putin....than to Europe. Trump has to walk a fine line....that's for sure....but we no longer have the intelligence agencies to check on him.
             So it was not surprising that Putin gave up this political pawn in the release of the American history teacher. I'm sure that just about everyone on the republican and conservative and even evangelical side of things today....think that this was more...."winning"....by Donald Trump. All that the rest of us can do is just watch....and pray....and continue to examine ourselves....because we are as responsible for what we have become as anyone....for....'we built this city'....as that old and much-maligned rock song lyrics rang out...."We built this city.....we built this city on Rock n' Roll!" We were right there in the culture all along....enjoying it all....making money....until we took umbrage with the radical wokism that was a natural result of life in Vanity Fair. Now we just want to be great again....and go back to enjoying ourselves....and we do not want to be bothered by incidentals of Donald Trump....or Bible prophecy....or the holiness of God....or anything else that might stop us from....'winning."

                    

Lord's Day Post

 

               I thought that this May of 1963 sermon by Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a little different than his usual....in that it seems to me to be laid-back....but what struck me was in how The Doctor.....as he was so often called....because he left an extraordinary vocation as a medical doctor....where he worked to see people physically healed....to an even more extraordinary vocation of a minister of the gospel....where he worked to see people's souls saved....what struck me was that his soft manner....belied the necessary eternal truths contained in this sermon....that each and every believer needs to hear!

DISPATCHES

February 25....There may indeed be vote tonight in the House on....what they call...."kickstarting"....Trump's budget bill. That means....officially starting the negotiations where X number of dollars must be cut out of the budget. All the republicans are just supposed to follow Johnson's orders and pass the bill. They can....(porbably)....lose only one 'yes' republican vote....the numbers are that close in this....mandate. Now...some Rs want assurance that Medicaid will not be touched. Johnson says that there are no specifics talked about at this stage. So some Rs tell him top put it in the bill that Medicaid will not be touched. Johnson says that he can't do that. Trump says that Medicaid will not be touched....but no one....wisely.....believes Trump on this.....becuase he will say anything to get a vote. Some republicans who know about these kinds of budget issues say that if X number of dollars have to be cut....then it would be impossible to do so without some cuts in Medicare. Cuts in Medicare mean....all over America....that people of limited or fixed incomes....will go the doctors as usual....and then find out that something or other is no longer cover.

Update....Thursday morning....the vote did pass....the only Republican 'no' being Congressman Massie who demands more cuts....not less.

February 25....Trump says that he is in talks with Putin about a shared...."Shared economic development."

February 24....I wouldn't be surprised at all if Conclave wins the Academy Award for Best Picture. It's an accurate portrayal on how popes are chosen. What makes it more interesting is Pope Francis's health....and you can add to that the....end of the end times....or the last of the last days....that we are living in right now.

February 21....We knew him on our television sets as Baghdad Bob....the Iraqi Minister of Information who comically gave absurd reports during the 2003 invasion of Iraq....one particularly where he was reporting on the air how there were no American tanks in Baghdad....as you could see American tanks in the background. How soon will it be until Fox News (Fox Internet....folks we do not receive prime time cable in our home)....how soon will it be until it begins to resemble Baghdad Bob....reporting on all these great things that Trump is doing....while we can see for ourselves what he is really doing.

Trump's Attorney general said today that the Jeffrey Epstein list of clients is on her desk right now....ready for review. That was not a wise statement to make because it can be construed as a threat to people in congress that may be on that list....a threat to stay in line.

Troy Balderson....(R-OH)....made news all over by saying that President Trump's executive orders were...."getting out of control"....and that it was the job of Congress...."to decide whether or not the Department of Education goes away. Not the president, not Elon Musk." His office later said that his remarks were...."mischaracterized"....which means that the congressman was probably spanked. Whether he recanted or not....I'll give him credit for being one of the first in Congress to attempt to stand up to a demagogue.

February 18....I read it....then I had to hear it for myself.....Trump was coming down hard on Ukraine....specifically Zelensky's complaint about not being in today's talks....Trump very forcefully said....as if he were talking straight to Zelensky...."You had three years to end it....You should have never started it!" May God have mercy on us....not for what we will or will not do on Ukraine....that may be bad enough....but in that we no longer are honest even with ourselves....for a statement like that from Trump should shake us to the very core....

SERIOUS....I need to give the evangelical some serious advice here. I check the news about....I don't know....guessing here....forty times a day? And each time it involves about a half dozen different news sites....and this has been going on for many....many.....years. So here is my advice from what I have learned....if you only listen to or watch conservative news sites such as Fox....you are in....serious trouble....and if you only listen to or watch progressive news sites such as NBC....you are in serious trouble. Both sides in this equation give only the news that they want you to hear or read....the result is that you will come to have a very distorted view on the issues.

It is called....exorbitant privilege. The United States dollar is still the world's primary reserve currency....and that comes with benefits to the United States government....as it can borrow at much cheaper rates. This should be considered when we attempt to  get every penny they owe us. We are in the process of pulling the rug out from our long-time allies. I hope that Bibi is taking note....but I don't think he is. Will the other economies now look more intently at the issue of the reserve currency? 

There is a jolt every day. Today it was Vance....(what a sad person he turned out to be)....who lectured Europe about shared values....as if we had any values left with Trump in charge? This is hardcore authoritarianism that we are witnessing....in both foreign and domestic policy. So at the very least....what is transpiring in the world today....should be sending pastors who know anything about the Lord's Second Coming at all....to their pulpits with warnings on what they are seeing.

The first thing that MAGA has to do with an interview like this is to point out that this is....CNN....and therefore it is all fake news....and thus to be totally ignored. The second thing would be to point out that Trump said that John Bolton was a "moron"....and that he was...."one of the dumbest people in government"....and that he was a...."totally & unhinged warmonger." Then maybe no one will watch the interview? Hey...it worked for eight years. All you have to repeat is....'fake news'.....or....'Russia hoax'....or....'Trump derangement Syndrome'....and the information will not be taken in!

When Trump announces the immediate shutdown of a department of government....or any kind of agency....the evangelical's first rection is to shout...."Yes!"....and possibly raise a fist of victory. It never enters their minds that hundreds if not thousands of men and women would immediately lose their employment. We are only into money and winning today. That is what Trump has done to us. When USAID or a DEI agency is shutdown....we have the same reaction. It never enters our mind that as ideologically bad as they may be.....there will most definitely....most definitely.....be many poor and needy that will now not be helped! When the ICE raids are mentioned we cheer again. It does not matter how many families might be hurt by this. Here in Western Pennsylvania....Mexican restaurants were shutting down temporarily trying to protect their good workers. The evangelical today has by and large turned all his attention and compassion to himself....thanks to Donald Trump....and those who blindly fought to get him nominated again....when there were good people....and sane people....that would just as easily defeated Biden or Harris.

I encourage you to research this for yourself....but from what I have read....Samaritan's Purse received about 5% of their money from USAID. Apparently their cuts have been waived. Are World Vision and others still getting their money? I don't know. Frankling Graham was quoted on this...."It's probably good for things to be shaken up....I'm not saying

it all needs to be thrown out, but it needs to be reviewed." Well that is not what Trump is doing on anything....reviewing....he is cutting like an army basic training barber....I been there...'Sit down....shut up....get out!' If Franklin Graham was not Donald Trump's number one evangelical supporter.... would Samaritan's Purse still be getting this money?

Two Articles....for those who are daring....and willing to oppose this new authoritarianism. One is by Matt Labash....Our New Pandemic: Moral Cowardice. On the second....older Christians....my age....will remember the books of John Whitehead and the Rutherford Institute. His article is titled....Sleepwalking Into Tyranny. In it he says that we allowed Bush and Obama and Trump to...."overstep"....their constitutional powers....but what is happening right now with this new Trump and Musk goes well beyond overstep! My opinion here....the Democrats did not need the intellect in constantly putting forth progressive policy....because there is no intellect involved in wokism. So now they have to contend with Trump...and their intellect is atrophied beyond use. On our side....our intellects.....Cruz and others....have completely abdicated in this area....and although they have the intellectual ability....they refuse to put it to use.

Note: I took the title to these little bulletins....DISPATCHES....from a 2016 book that I recommend to you on what happened with Bolshevism in Russia.....Caught In The Revolution....by Helen Rappaport....as this historian tells her story through dispatches that journalists sent back to their own countries. The second book would be Peter Fritzsche's.....2020 book....Hitler's First Hundred Days....When Germans Embraced The Third Reich

"May Your Silver Perish With You...."

                                                                                 

               Cabaret still holds the record for winning the most Academy Awards....(eight)....without winning Best Picture....as The Godfather won that award on March 27, 1973.
                Pitt's theater department staged the play a year later. It was a very good production and even encouraged me to take an acting class. One of the student actresses was the instructor....and I think that I was doing well....until it came to....'animal week'....where we had to act like an animal. I had to slither around the floor like a snake. I can't think of a single animal that I would have been good at....except maybe a sloth.

"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." Romans 12:11 ESV

                 The above YouTube of Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey could have fit right in to the Trump rally song list. I remember one rally where Sympathy For The Devil was played. I think that I even posted on it at the time....but somebody must have wised up and I never heard it again.
                  This song from Cabaret....could be an anthem of sorts for us today....maybe even a praise song in some of the churches. The following post is from May 27, 2021:

Life Is Not A Cabaret....Old Chum

                As of today.....May 27, 2021.....we....not only conservatives....but evangelicals....are totally under their control. 'They'....being those in power.....(which turns out to be a carefully delegated and controlled power....for it is not their own)....who are under the sway.....or spell....(either word fits)....of Donald Trump....who incredibly as of now has been resurrected.
               I'm trying to write here as an outside observer. It's possible because Christians should be outside of this new power movement....for what we are seeing occurring in this that still calls itself the Republican Party....is ungodly. It may yet carry a pro-life banner but ultimately everything here is transactional....for we have proven in the coronavirus debate....as we demanded that the cabarets and churches be reopened....that we care little about human life if it does not politically benefit us....or validate our....as more than a few have described....Christless Christianity. What we did not realize concerning the economy is that because of its mind-blowing debt....and because of approaching war....that at best gold and silver will mean little as God's judgments continue....lockdowns or no lockdowns.
               We....whatever the size of this remnant that has not fallen for a false prophet....we watch this power grab....blatant as it is....not even caring what it looks like....and we for the most part are vexed....as we watch the news....and see two ungodly forces going at it against each other....in this once at least God-fearing United States of America.
               Talk radio will continue to dominate our souls....giving us spoonfuls of truth....mixed in a drink concoction that would have made H. G. Wells and Aldous Huxley sit up and take notice. History....from a hundred years ago....is  being repeated....and we conservatives who probably have often quoted George Santayana in...."those who forget history....are doomed to repeat it'....(a slight variance on the original quote)....have....forgotten history....as we are right now repeating it.
                I posted this last August under the post title....A Very Natural Temptation...."Martin Niemoller....you may have heard about him....represented those who at first thought that National Socialism was a great thing if kept in its place. Dietrich Bonhoeffer....you certainly have heard of him....saw the horrors of where this extreme nationalism could go. Niemoller spent years in prison and concentration camps before finally seeing the mistakes that he made before the war. Bonhoeffer paid for his discernment with his life....We are getting too close to having an 'American Church' movement'."
                I can tell you that over the decades.....particularly in the 80s....we in the church warned that delusion was coming....but I can tell you this also....we had no idea that the evangelical church would fall for that delusion. You see....we were warning others....but not aware that if we were not vigilant....that we ourselves would be vulnerable to a false governmental system.
                God may awaken our pulpits....(they're sound asleep)....and He may not....but even if He does it would only be mercy upon many as we go through what is ahead....a mercy that at least would see multitudes brought to salvation....so that we all could sing in unison...."Now to the King eternal....immortal....invisible....the only God....be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen"

Note: Verse title....Acts 8:20

1989......The Year Of Revolutions

                It was the winter....here in Western Pennsylvania....February of 1989....and I had gone on a two week missionary trip to Paraguay....which had one of the most unequal wealth distributions in the world....where a strongman simply gave power and wealth to the few who kept him in power. Well it was summer at the time in Paraguay....(I checked just now...it is 102 in Asuncion)....and the temperature hit 100 degrees every day that I was there....and there was a coup in progress as we waited to board our plane out of Florida. Would we even be able to go? We did....and as we took the short trip from the airport in Asuncion to where we would be working....we could see the main government building pockmarked from artillery fire. 1989 of course would be a year of revolutions.
                 The mission trip was with the Assemblies of God....and our group continued where others had left off in building a school. We would fill two 12 seat vans and eat out every evening. On one evening after we returned...three of us took a walk in a small town. As I mentioned it was sweltering....and in amongst the brightly lit storefronts there was a church with its doors open. We could see people sitting in a circle of chairs....a halo of yellow around them....praying. I asked my friends to walk on as I was drawn to stay and just watch these people with their bowed heads. We as a group had visited about a half dozen churches....just fellowshipping and experiencing the local Paraguayan Pentecostal church....which was all wonderful....but something about that quiet humble and unassuming prayer group in that small Baptist church affected me in a way that I was not even sure and barely aware of.
                   When I returned home to Pennsylvania I knew that I needed to find that small....serious church. There were many other things going on in my life. That experience in Paraguay was not even one of the more important ones. Only a few years later we wound up at a reformed Presbyterian church. There were only about a dozen people in the congregation....and our 8 year old son was the only child....but the message from the pulpit....from a humble pastor who preached with a stutter....was the serious message that I wanted. So a revolution of sorts began in my own mind in 1989....and it took about ten years sort out what was happening.
                   Well it is now 25 years later....Billy Graham and R. C. Sproul and Tim Keller and Pat Robertson David Wilkerson are all gone to be with the Lord. There are no more Christian bookstores anymore....(my wife and I once owned one).....so we are in effect a people without knowledge....and few avenues to attain knowledge. The megachurch....of necessity....with the need to grow fast....weakened the gospel message. The cross is all but gone....other than the gold cross that shows up on the V neckline of celebrates and female government officials. Evangelicalism fell for a false prophet....all the warnings of God's judgment are gone....and we now no longer look for the glorious return of our Lord and Savior in power and glory....but the return of our country to what we perceive to be greatness....but a 'greatness' that even Billy Graham warned was going to be judged.

If This Isn't That...."Falling Away"....Then It's A Good Imitation

                    It is a different church than it was thirty and forty years ago. You could tell back then who the Christians were. You can't tell that today....as they have been swallowed up by patriotism....so everybody says that they are Christian. The world would shy away from us back then because we would always talk about Christ. They stay away from us today because we always talk about Trump.

                  Even though our country was nowhere near in rebellion to God as we are today...we had the fear of God in us. Our youth were Christian youth back then. They are republican youth today. We just knew that Jesus was about to come back soon. Today....a genuine biblical false prophet leads our nation....and we put him there. We are right now on the very precipice....and this man shows every sign....of every tyrant in the past....and just like in the past....that tyrant has a people who believe every lie that he says. It is nothing less than astonishing.

                  We knew what cults were at one time. We might read a book now and then on any one of them. The charismatic leader had complete control....using mind-altering methods of the members....where they only read what they were told to read....and were shunned or purged in they didn't toe the line. We don't even know or care who those cults are today....and there is a very strong likelihood that that we have been taken in by a new one.
                  God has judged His church first. He has put blinders on us....which is the only explanation on how someone as empty and as bloodthirsty as Donald Trump....could successfully bind and lead away most of evangelicalism.
                  God's Word says that there will be a falling away. If this isn't it....then it's a good imitation. The Bible talks about last days/end times false signs and wonders....and delusion....and deception. We've been taken in to believe that what Trump has done in a few short weeks is marvelous! We actually think that what this man is doing....will bring peace and safety....and we are oblivious to that being exactly what God's Word tells us we will think! Benjamin Netanyahu....this surprised me anyway....was taken in also by Trump's promises and rhetoric....but then so has Ted Cruz and so many others.
                  We are in the midst of a winnowing. A strong wind is passing over the threshing floor....as we are being tossed up....again and again....trying to breath through the dust...vexed....and landing hard time after time. Whether the Lord gathers us up....or replants us to sprout new wheat....it will be His perfect will.....may He give us the strength and wisdom and discernment necessary to wait upon the Lord....and to endure to the end.

"Truly....truly.....I say to you....unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." John 12:24

Update: This morning....just as I sat down to write the post above this one....the landline telephone rang. It was a Christian friend that I had not seen or talked to in twenty-nine years.....since the day that he and about a hundred others were laid-off from where we worked. I didn't ask what put me in his mind....but I told him that I have thought of him often....for when we drive by a local college....fifty miles away....which is fairly often....I think of him....because I had long ago heard that he now had a good job at that college. I was pleased in that I remembered little things to bring up....a shoulder problem that he had....the day his small son was kicked by a horse....and his favorite music.....the Moody Blues....but the real joy in the conversation was in our talking about our faith in Jesus Christ....which we shared back then....and still share today. Praise God for that....for it is He who keeps us! One thing that I mentioned to him was that....as I remained at that workplace for twenty years after he left....was that it was never quite like those early days when there were born again believers all over the place....when we were sharing Christ at every opportunity that we had. We talked for about thirty minutes....and there was not an inkling of politics....just like the old days....for back then we were more likely to talk about the nearness of our Lord's return.

                   

"The Man Who Died In The Pulpit"

Preface: I'm bringing this post a little closer to the top because I have been on a few college campuses recently....and this post is a challenge to the college student on how they view the weekly chapel requirement:                                                                                    

             Last evening my wife and I dined with some Christian friends....a husband and wife....and I discovered that the gentleman....who is a couple of years older than I am....was a graduate of Wheaton College! My mind went back to an extraordinary episode of....desiringgod.org....John Piper's ministry....where Pastor John....twenty-two years old at the time....was in the audience of 2000 students....this was in a Friday morning chapel which was mandatory....and the date was September 22, 1967....where the college president....V. Raymond Edman....spoke for eleven minutes....and then collapsed and died at the pulpit! I texted the above link to my friend this morning....and I'll wait to see if he had matriculated to Wheaton at the time....or if he was a year away?
            The eleven minutes of Dr. Edman's sermon were profound....and in retrospect they were breathtaking....in that Dr. Edman spoke of one day standing before the King of Kings....and in eleven minutes he himself would do just that! Why would God do something like this?
            Yesterday afternoon while rearranging books in the many bookshelves of our basement...an old yellowed paperback fell to the floor....a book that I had read forty years ago....Through Gates Of Splendour....a first-hand account by Elizabeth Elliot of the martyrdom of her husband and four other missionaries in the jungle of Ecuador. Why did God permit that? Well...that book probably had sent thousands of people to their knees while reading it....and many others to the mission field....as it humbled me greatly yesterday in just reading parts of it....and John Piper's telling of the death of V. Raymond Edman in the pulpit....with his commentary on the topic that Dr. Edman was preaching on,,,,probably  greatly encouraged and motivated and humbled just as many believers today? Maybe it will even do so to you?
             On the topic itself....Dr. Raymond was describing how he once met Ethiopia's king Haile Selassie....and how extraordinary measures were taken to be given an audience with this king....so how was it back then in 1967....(and it is the same today)....that we....Christians....enter into the presence of the King of Kings....often laughing and joking....not taking seriously who we are meeting with? 
             I don't have much of an alternative....because we are with an elderly loved on the Lord's Day....a loved one who needs 24/7 care.....so we stream our services....but I in a way thank God for that....because I don't have to deal with the gaiety and the laughter....(honest and good as that at any other time may be)....that the average American church service gives us both before and after what should be a meeting with the....KING of KINGS!
             The glory has indeed today departed in much if not most if not all of evangelicalism....particularly when politics is involved. We nonchalantly summon God in our prayers....and we throw around....'God bless America'....as if we believed that we were the new Israel...and folks....believe it or not....there are those who believe just that! There are no warnings anymore....no burning bush....no taking off of sandals for the holy presence that we are in....no mortification from the sermons....and no falling prostrate before a Holy God! May He have mercy upon us and restore to our pulpits the awareness of what happened on that sandy beach in Ecuador....and in the Wheaton pulpit....and may He do this for His name and Hid glory alone!

Addendum: I am often....throughout the year....on Christian college campuses....and I have been recently. I might ask of a student on any of those campuses who reads this if they might try to promote this John Piper episode from Desiring God Ministries, revolving around chapel services. One simply might type up the title....and directions to Google...."The Man Who Died In The Pulpit."
             

Praise God....For His Providence In This!

                The top ten most watched television broadcasts of all time have been Super Bowls....all of them obviously on the Lord's Day....with last year's sitting at the top with an estimated 123 million viewers....and they say that tomorrow's Super Bowl has the chance to beat that....but when was the last time....silly question for you have never heard it....when was the last time that your pastor even mentioned from the pulpit this concept of idolatry? Broadcast companies did not have the measuring apparatus that they have today but the moon landing was surely up there somewhere. How fitting for President Trump to make an appearance....for it will strike a dagger in the heart of half of the audience....and that is his Super Bowl.
                 So it will be a big day for the average evangelical....an eventful day....not the typical boring Sunday....for this is....Super Bowl Sunday! They will be gathering somewhere...their house....or a brother's house.....or a friend's house. The smiles at church will be bigger than usual....and you might as well forget calling it a worship service in Philadelphia or Kansas City.
                 Folks....I am out of my league....no pun intended....on this paragraph. So please bear with me as I try to navigate this thing. I have to start with an anecdote. My mother....she passed away ten years ago....so this story is from 2009 when the Steelers were last in the Super Bowl....she was a big Steeler fan. She did not know Christ at the time....but she loved her Steelers. She lived forty-five minutes away from us.....and it was Super Bowl Sunday.....and I knew that she would be in front of her television set. As for us....the television has not been on....on a Lord's day....for at least forty years....(that's one of the reasons that I know that Jesus is near...and that Trump is bad news)....with one exception....the Lord's Day in this anecdote. So it was about six o'clock in the evening....or whenever the Super Bowl started that year....whatever time it was the game was starting right then....and I received a frantic phone call from her....remember she is 85 at the time...."Special Dog! The Super Bowl in not on television!" I calmly told her...."Mom....the Super Bowl is on television." She was panicking...."No....no....it's not on!" I had two choices....three actually....I could get in my car and drive fast to get there to get the game on her television.....or I could call the Pittsburgh station to see if there was a technical problem. That's what I did and I called my mom right back and told her that the game was indeed on in her area....."No....No! I checked everywhere and it's not on!" So there was the third choice. I turned on my television....and there was the Super Bowl....and I told her. So I settled her down....and guided her one station at a time on the remote....until she said...."Oh....there it is! Bye!"
                  Another small anecdote....this past summer I had new tires put on our SUV....and as I waited in line at the counter there was a crotchety elderly woman who was having trouble with her automobile registration. The man at the counter told her that all she had to do was to go online for the information. She gave him a fierce look and said...."Do I look....ONLINE!"....and turned around and walked out.
                  From what I can see....tomorrow's Super Bowl will be broadcast on Fox....cable....or I guess that you could stream it. Now....we have never had premium cable of any kind. The only time that I could watch for example....the Hannity show....was when we were on vacation. So even if I wanted to I could not watch tomorrow's Super Bowl.

PRAISE OUR HEAVENLY FATHER....for in His providence....the poorer people who can't afford premium cable....and people like us who have no need for a hundred television stations....will not be able or tempted to tune into that monstrosity tomorrow! America may indeed be under God's judgment....but there is grace here for the lower economic scale in America! The American church....evangelicalism....is Laodicean. We think that we are the cat's meow.....but we are destitute in discernment....having fallen for a false prophet....and false signs and wonders....and lacking knowledge....while seeking glory for ourselves. 

Note: The Lord's Day is a hedge of protection on our minds. Cut that hedge down....and we can lose discernment in many ways.

"For False Messiahs And False Prophets Will Appear And Perform Great Signs And Wonders To Deceive. If Possible, Even The Elect." Matthew 24:24

Brothers and sisters....you are living right now the verse title of this post....and we are that...."elect!"  I stand amazed at how friends of mine...who are genuinely born again Christians....even pastors....have been totally deceived by this man Donald Trump. Gone....absolutely gone are the warnings over many decades from men like Billy Graham. Gone is the need to be born again. We only have to be patriots today. Gone is the need for any kind of preparations for the Lord's return. Gone are all the admonitions of idolatry....and the call to...."Therefore, come out from among them and be separate....says the Lord." We actually think that the things that we are seeing are good....the black flag revenge....and the greed....saving money and losing one's soul...and the pride of thinking that we are better or more deserving than others! This man is everything that God's Word tells us from which to flee!  There is a winnowing going on....slow but sure....as judgment has begun at the house of God. The following post is two weeks old:

              The verse that I used for the title of this post is from the Olivet Discourse. If you have been a Christian for fifteen or twenty years....(I'm being generous here)....and are not familiar with the Olivet Discourse in all three synoptic gospels....then shame on you. You probably know all about the big game [s] yesterday....the Lord's Day no less....but you failed in taking adequate interest in the Second Coming of He Whom you claim to be your Lord.

                As for the verse in the title....at the time of the end....it should be an easy verse to understand....there will come those who seem to be heroes or even messiahs....to rescue us out of our fears and troubles....these...."wonders"....they supposedly perform will be so convincing....that even the...."elect".....you and me and even the Billy Grahams of the church....could be taken in....if only for a short time before we see how weak and feeble that we are when we do not abide in the Word on a daily basis....when we have no preachers to warn us....and when we fail to separate from Vanity Fair.

Brothers and sisters....if you are reading the news stories on....Trump did this....and....Trump did that....and interpret this as God blessing America through Trump....then you have been deceived....and this verse is for you....and to all those who had no interest in truth or the righteousness of God....then this is that...."strong delusion....so that they may believe what is false." 2 Thessalonians 2:11

Check Your Calendar....Oh....That Explains A Lot!

                We rely upon and actually live according to the Gregorian calendar. That's fine and it certainly serves its purpose. It took a lot of evolution to come to where we are today....but....this isn't God's calendar. You can see this all through Scripture but it's very clear in the seven year tribulation period. You don't have to calculate....let's see....is there a leap year in there.....and take in consideration the various months of thirty or thirty-one days. It's very simple and straightforward.....1260 days.....42 thirty day months....3 1/2 years!
                God's calendar....is lunar.....not solar....and those new moons and full moons and blood moons mean something.
                 All of this talk about four blood moons in a row....or tetrads....began in earnest around 2015....and primarily through the research of a pastor/author out of Washington....Mark Biltz....who you can easily Google.
                 Total lunar eclipses....or what has come to be called....blood moons....are not that rare at all....as NASA statistics show that over thousands of years they occur on an average of one every year and a half. Now four in a row....meaning no variations between them....over a period of say a year and a half to two years....that's pretty rare. To have them all fall on Jewish holidays is very rare....to say the least! 
                  This situation occurred right around when the Jews were kicked out of Spain....1492/1493....and it happened when Isreal became a nation again in 1948....and it happened when Isreal took control of Jerusalem during the six day war in 1967....and it happened again in 2014/2015. Donald Trump was born on a blood moon....and he came down that escalator in the middle of that 2014/2015 tetrad. To the credit of Mark Blitz....I heard him say that Trump could turn on Israel...."on a dime"....and he isn't sure if Trump will turn out good or bad. That's not an easy admission today in evangelicalism!
                   When that last tetrad passed it's as if people started thinking....well nothing happened....so there's nothing to that theory....but that isn't the theory....the theory is that that time period is bringing about something significant....and if you look back at 2015 to today.....and everything that has happened....and all the changes that are happening right now almost every day....then something of biblical proportions did indeed change at that time!
                   So.....blood moons aren't being talked about much anymore....not because the issue itself was proven wrong.....but because the issue itself was interpreted wrong. People....(believers).... either wanted an immediate answer to that sign....and others....(unbelievers)....waited for that no immediate answer so that they could ridicule it.

Changing course a little....

                    I certainly do not have to bring up what I am going to bring up. It will only make matters a little worse for me....but I think that it is worth going over. There was a Christian book on Bible prophecy written in 1986 that put forth a theory that upon first glance it appeared to be rank speculation. I'm going to make this sound as absurd as I can....and get that out of the way....and then hopefully make it a little easier to at least consider. Here it is...Psalm 1 pointed to 1901....and Psalm 2 to 1902....and Psalm 3 to 1903....and right on down the line....meaning that Psalm 125 is speaking about our day.
                   There it is....and I can guarantee to you that most pastors would immediately denounce this as gross and egregiously absurd speculation. And I would agree....and pretty much did agree back when I first read the book....Prophecy In The Psalms....by Baptist pastor and television prophecy teacher....J. R. Church. I wasn't convinced....but I could not bring myself to throw the book away....until years later when I did donate it to a library book sale. Fast-forward a few more years....this maybe ten or so years ago....and I reordered the book! As I witnessed history unfold....I just could not get this concept out of my mind. 
                    What was happening was that I continued to read into Bible prophecy....which has been a seven day a week thing for many years now if not decades....and I'm listening to sermons every single day by men of the past (primarily Spurgeon and Lloyd-Jones)....where the glory and power of God were still in the sermons....and if the doctrine of the....means of grace....has a practical blessing as it is said to have....then at least it would not be unusual to see things that even pastors....who will be watching the Super Bowl this Lord's Day....have been and are oblivious to.
                    J. R. Church himself was humble in this....as he described how a secretary in the church simply brought up a few seeming coincidences to him....and he then could not get the concept out of his mind....which eventually led to the book. Looking back....the problem was that J. R. Church went beyond seeking discernment for the present....to predicting the future. But you know what? Calvin made mistakes too....and C. S. Lewis made a trove of serious doctrinal mistakes to go along with his extraordinarily profound wisdom in apologetics! 
                    I need to segue  here....O. Palmer Robertson is not a television prophecy teacher....he is a well-respected theologian of Reformed Theology. He wrote an extraordinary book on the Psalms.....The Flow Of The Psalms....Discovering Their Structure And Theology....which was published in May of 2015. Although not speculative....it is the discovery....of a progression in the Psalms...through the five books contained within the Psalms.... Psalms 1-41 as 'Confrontation'....42-72 as  'Communication'....73-89 as 'Devastation'....90-106 as 'Maturation'....and the final section....Psalms 107- 150 as 'Consummation.' The author would surely not agree with this but he may have been inadvertently entering into a chronology of years.
                    Maybe I put something into your mind that will come to the forefront as you read through the Psalms....which you should be doing all the time! Consider Psalm 73....verse 2...."But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped." That is exactly what happened to the leadership in Israel prior to the Yom Kippur War of 1973....and there are many other intriguing examples.....but it is Psalms 117....so short....as if to imply a watershed moment in time.....and 118....a messianic Psalm....and Psalm 119....a Psalm of the law....and the beginnings of the....Psalms Of Ascent....(Psalms 120-134)....that wedged its way into what had already been dominant in my mind....that surely Jesus is at the very doorstep...and surely we should be desiring His soon return in this world....that surely is...."as the days of Noah."
                   These are not predictions....these are consolations as we see everything....including great delusion....and false teachers....and false prophets....and false signs and wonders....and a "falling away"....already in progress....and people thinking that peace and security is finally here....when it is God's impending judgment that his most faithful ministers have been giving us in warnings!

                
                     

                  

Christian DISPATCHES

               Trump attending the Super Bowl is yet another manifestation of the sickness of this man. He knows very well what the other half of America thinks of him....yet he needs the rage....he thrives on it. He needs to anger them. He has to stand there at some point amongst the cheers and feel the despair. It could not possibly serve any good purpose....but there is no one to come into the king's presence and tell him so. It is a symptom of a nation that no longer has a soul....as everything today is just mockery....including evangelicalism.....particularly on this day that is already a travesty of national idolatry....on what once long ago was recognized as....the Lord's Day....so it is a fitting addition. Add to that the halftime show....and the commercials....and it is Belshazzar's Feast....American style. 

                The National Prayer Breakfast that we hear about every first Thursday in February has been around since the Eisenhower days....and has always been sponsored by a private and secretive religious group named....The Fellowship. Two years ago the Congress decided that it wanted to part ways with that traditional NPB.....and started their own NPB. So today there were two breakfasts....and Trump showed up at both of them. Think about this Trump quote from today if you would....referring to the events in Bulter Pa. last year...."It changed something in me. I feel even stronger.  I believed in God, but I feel I feel much more strongly about it. Something happened." Folks....I have done PHD quantity research on Donald Trump over the past eight years....not only does Donald Trump have absolutely no clue what the gospel is....he also has absolutely no interest in what it is. Franklin Graham is clueless on Trump. Trump makes statements like the above all the time. If you are a Christian then you should recognize the juvenile....'here's a dollar for your church benefit now go away"....attitude. Last year he said that we should...."pray for God." He doesn't even have enough respect to even fake a better statement. He is sucking you in folks. He doesn't think that you have a brain in your head.

Brothers and sisters....all of this that you have read and heard in Jonathan Cahn podcasts and
television shows about Donald Trump being another Jehu is nonsense. So it impresses you that....for instance....Jehu defeated king Ahab's wife Jezebel....and Trump defeated Bill Clinton's wife ....this along with numerous other similarities. Surely this points to Trump being another Jehu! Consider this....Satan can read....he knows Scripture....he can empower people with riches and great power....so he picks someone who can help him....makes them look like Jehu....knowing that a Jonathan Cahn will pick up on this....and all of evangelicalism will nominate.....(notice that I wrote....nominate....for that is where the great mistake was first made)....will nominate that person....and evangelicalism will in due time lose all of its discernment in the process? 

At that National Prayer Breakfast....the second one....speaking more to evangelicals than those in Congress....Trump announced the formation of a....White House Faith Office.....To be headed by his longtime faith advisor....Paula White/Paula White-Cain. The following is a video from the last election cycle. It is important because it shows very clearly the demonic influence in some of the people around Trump. That's the bad news. The mitigating news is that Trump uses these people....and creates offices like this to pacify evangelicals and keep their support....but he doesn't believe any of the stuff that any of them say.

Just When You Thought You Had Heard Everything....

                I tried to absorb as much of the Trump and Netanyahu press conference as I could. On a basic level....without any legitimate analysis....while suspending common sense....it could be construed as possibly the most stimulating political rhetoric that I have ever heard....rivaled only by JFK and Reagan....both in West Berlin....possibly Jimmy Carter with his peace Middle East initiatives....and George W. Bush in the aftermath of 9/11. Both men tonight were....masterful in their presentations.....dynamic in their plans....and yet calm and assured. I fully understand how so many people are encouraged in this new way of doing government....and yet....and yet....there is no substance to their assurance. It is like a model city proposed....that everyone around the table except the architect....knows that it will never happen. Can Marco Rubio be this blind....or Mike Huckabee....they seem to be only normal ones that Trump nominated? Are they totally gone? I thought at one time that J.D. Vance would be a sounding board....but he's turning out to be just another motherboard to plug things into.
                 I listened with sorrow to Benjamin Netanyahu's glowing words. He is in the most difficult position of leadership than anyone in the entire world. He has been a rock-solid defender of Israel his whole life....and he references the Bible on occasion....half of it anyway. He can find passages of Scripture where God leads Israel to victory over their enemies....but cannot seem to see why God gave them those victories. He can recognize Amalek.....but not King Saul....and the proclamation of Cyrus... .but not Daniel's prayer of mortification in Daniel 9: 3-19. He knows a prophet when he sees one....but cannot distinguish between a Hananiah....and a Jeremiah.
                 How many would share my opinion? The answer would be....not many....which in a way proves that I might be right.....because God's Word speaks of a remnant at the time of the end...."Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
                God's word....with an eternity past....and thousands of years in it's proclamation....tells us clearly....'us' meaning those who have eyes to see and ears to hear....that the One who created every rock and every grain of sand in this whole world....the one who without His power....every molecule in the universe would detach from each other....He doesn't just give a plan.....He declares what will happen....and that declaration is that man could either start wars or work for peace....until the appointed time....and then comes the judgment....and that judgment is...."near....at the very gates."
                The audacity of some of the proclamations that we heard today are full-fledged eschatological! The rest of the world must just be sitting there stunned. Other presidents....even the bad ones....even Joe Biden....had experienced men around them....so that something like what we saw today could not happen.
                 I would think that John MacArthur would be looking for the hospital nurse to take her break so that he could grab a coat off the rack and escape the hospital so that he could get back in the pulpit to warn us. Pat Robertson would be....if he were still with us...."shouting from the rooftops"....that something is wrong....terribly wrong.
                 Things are moving very fast. It's time for us to get off the merry-go-round....let  our head stop spinning....and bury ourselves in His Word for peace and assurance and even wisdom in preparation for the evolving revelatory times .in which we are living.

Luke 18:8
Matthew 24:33

The Optimism Is Palpable

The following post is from this past November 9....and today it is three months later. It was mentioned quite a few times back then how there was a concern about Trump seeking vengeance on those who investigated him....and there was a little genuine concern.....but no one....no one could even imagine how he could put America in so much jeopardy as he is in fact doing right now. I was reading an article yesterday where a psychiatrist was quoted as saying that Trump is more than a narcissist....that he is a....solipsist....which is worse in that a solipsist doesn't merely think that he is the greatest....but that his mind is the only mind that exists. I've read over a hundred books on Trump in the past eight years....on every decade of his life....and every area of his life....and what comes out very clearly is that he indeed thinks....as it was described in the article...."the only point of reference is himself." I mentioned something like this in a recent post where Trump....when addressing evangelicals....often makes the dumbest statements....that you would think were coming from a five year old. You see....it doesn't matter to him that his words don't make sense....because he is the only reference point!

The Optimism Is Palpable

                 Jesus was crucified on the Passover which would have been a full moon....but it is impossible for there to be an eclipse of the sun during a full moon. God could have eclipsed the light of the sun in any way that He desired to do so. I'm sure that this was not the case....but I like to think of it....that all of God's holy and powerful angels hovered wing to wing....and eclipsed the light of the sun....and then as they watched in obedience.....their fists clenched in rage....the vibrations from which caused the earth to quake. Those angels are coming back in force.
                 Sit back please and think this over with me. From a secular conservative political position this election quite naturally has most everyone dreaming of the great possibilities for at least the next four years. We are thinking about the Supreme Court and the economy and the stock market....peace and safety....and all this without the distraction and angst that a progressive woke society brings with it. It is a heady time....and greatly optimistic. That's not me folks....my optimism is that Jesus is coming back....I'm just describing what conservatives and evangelicals are thinking about right now.

                
"For when they say, 'peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape." 1 Thessalonians 5:3.   

               Discernment right now in evangelicalism is close to zero. Everything that you see going on around you at the moment is supernatural. A false prophet has ascended to the most powerful position in the world....and the church helped put him there. My amazement is off the scales on what I have witnessed concerning Donald Trump. We are living in one of the epic moments of history....but everything may go south....to use that colloquial phrase....and very fast.      
              We are so excited about making America great again....that even thinking about....let alone panting for....the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior and King....and anything and everything related to that....is near impossible in this church atmosphere! The sun was just right as I passed by a beautiful golden field of wheat a few weeks ago....this just before it was to be harvested. There is a harvesting and a winnowing ahead.
              I had a very difficult time getting friends to take seriously God's warnings to us before this....'great victory'....of an election. They had no interest at all. I expect that now it will be even more difficult....that is until we begin to see that this past election period was not a blessing....but a curse.

Update....Today....Monday November 11...My wife had lunch with three lady friends....all Christians....and Trump was brought up. She had similar stories in the past week since the election....where the ladies might say that they do not like Donald Trump....but then they would wind up defending him? These are Christian women....who should know better....but today....one lady....an older lady who is 87 years old....demurred....and said that it does not matter who is in office because Jesus is coming back! This is a microcosm of where the church is going. A remnant will be formed....indeed it is here now....that has not been taken in by this false prophet cult leader. The great delusion brought on by Donald Trump has destroyed just about all the discernment of the church. The return of Jesus Christ in power and glory and judgment....mortification at what we have become....self-examination and repentance....all of this and more is the last thing on our minds....as we have been taken in by political glory.

DISPATCHES

Trump scans the news all day....(so do I)....when he is not golfing that is....(remember a few months ago when he lambasted Biden for being on the beach?) No one in his administration makes any major moves....for instance Rubio suspending South Sudan visas....without Trump telling them to do it. This is how a dictator or a cult leader operates. I spent many years researching cults....and this cult handbook stuff. 

Bullying....psychologists have a lot to say about bullying....the effects on students....why the bullies do it....and how they tend to do it....intentionally and repeatedly. It doesn't have to be physical....it can be threats only....and the stress can lead to serious mental problems in those being bullied....including making life miserable. Why do these perpetrators do things like this? It can upset whole school systems....and there is a high school in Ohio right now making news....and the parents are fighting back. There's a lot of theories on all of this. I haven't read any but I'm sure that there are some theories out there concerning why Trump acts like he does....which is essentially being a bully....who enjoys causing pain and discomfort in others. The bigger problem here is that this is more than a local school system....but an entire country....now expanding into the whole world. The Republican Party is the school board that chooses to do nothing about the bullying in the school.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu today announced that he....Israel....was eliminating all tariffs with the United States. He says that it is because of the special relationship Israel has with the United States....but in reality....Trump would have sent someone to tell him to do this. First of all....Israel in the Old Testament was never to depend on Egypt for anything. Netanyahu is one of the many who have been taken in by Trump. He thinks that it is good that Trump wants Israel as a special ally....but is oblivious to the fact that to Trump....allies are always a transactional deal....subject to aborting at any time. Bibi has made one mistake after another because he did not have enough faith in God to keep Trump at a distance. Trump doesn't have an ounce of concern or interest in Israel. They are just a piece on the chessboard....and right now he needs that piece. He might....defend it....if it continues to benefit him....or he might sacrifice the piece for some other end game. What a way to live Bibi.

LET's CHAT....Fifty-five years ago I was in the army with a top secret clearance....and worked in a compound. Nothing came out of that compound. If you blew your nose into a tissue....that tissue went into a burn bag. I moved my Let's Chat post over to my humor page.

February 13....It was reported an hour ago that the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman was involved in a collision near Port Said, Egypt. We know there were no injuries....and no major damage. What we need to know is whether the carrier will need repairs....and for how long will it be out of commision....if at all....and we need that information now. Who owned this other ship...and how did the collision occur?

February 3....Trump is indeed moving at warp speed so to speak. What he does is hit you with one thing right after another.....including trolling....in amongst these things are legitimate moves....but played in a staccato rhythm....rat tat tat....the result being that we are at one moment outraged....and before we can catch our breath there is another event,,,,that might actually be legitimate....thus temporarily assuaging the outrage. It's a form of a con game....and very effective. What is amazing is that  people....or countries if those people represent countries....seem to fall back at his voice....or his threats. Whether this is temporary or not we shall see. 

Trump's money-making Gaza scheme is very close to ethnic cleansing. Panama does not have to be reacquired in order to insure the flow of traffic through the canal. Greenland is a member of NATO....and that should give it the same protection we would give it....but we are anti-NATO aren't we? Canada as another state is ridiculous.

We are witnessing what may be the complete collapse of American society. An election win does not mitigate that statement. In this case it amplifies it. There are stages in the collapse....beginning maybe sixty-two years ago with JFK in Dallas. America's youth in the 60s....I was one of them....were sold up the river. They found out that we had disposable income. 1992 was an important stage when Americans fell under the alure of the Clintons. 2021....January....the 6th to be exact....was a killer....in fact all of 2020 was the first water falls that we went over. Joe Biden was breathtakingly deplorable. At the end he looked like he was going to keel over any minute...but the biggest problem with Biden was that he played right into the hands of Donald Trump. Other Republican candidates never had a chance.     

On Immigration....It is one thing working quickly to send gang members and genuine undesirables back across the border....but it is an entirely different matter when you are raiding Mexican Restaurants. I for one am not for sending any man back who came here with his family....seeking employment.....to be able to provide better for them. Brethren....are you aware of God's warning on how we are to have compassion in treating the alien within our midst? 

January 25.....Why is it that whistleblowers on our side are always great people....while whistleblowers on the other side are always evil people? And why is it that inspectors general watching over the other side are always great....while inspectors general watching over us are always corrupt.

Franklin Graham is a good man....and very compassionate....but against the warnings of his own father....he made the same mistakes on politics....a hundred fold over. He is probably the most deceived true believer high profile evangelical in America!

The Kennan Doctrine and MAD Mutual Assured Destruction....were the best that the West could do to stay away from a third world war and a nuclear war. As imperfect as it was....and in the hands of imperfect humans....we never had that third world war or a nuclear war....but we are no longer systematic in our thinking. Threatening and America Only are the new doctrines.

January 13.....Blood Moons....I am one of those who think that God gives signs in the sun and moon and stars. Some....many....can laugh at that but I've done my homework on it.....can those laughing make the same statement? Anyway....the next total lunar blood moon is March 14....falling on Purim. Do you know what Purim is? Every Christian should at least be familiar with the Jewish feast and solemn days. CBN has a small article out right now on blood moons....and as all these articles do they give information of past tetrads....but they never....and I mean never....mention that Donald Trump was born on a blood moon. So if they would be consistent....would they say that that blood moon birth signified something great happening....or possibly....something else?

Charles de Montesquieu..."there are three kinds of government.... Republican.....Monarchical....and Despotic. I assume three definitions, or rather three facts...one, republican government is that in which the people as a body or only a part of the people, have sovereign power; monarchical government is that in which one alone governs, but by fixed and....Monarchiald established laws; whereas, in a despotic government, one alone, without law and without rule, draws everything along by his will and caprices."