Rick Warren and the Daniel Plan
Check out the the posted workbook and the introductory seminars at Saddleback Church.
Rick Warren, so-named America’s Pastor, introduces the Daniel Plan. The Decade of Destiny, seemingly veiled dominiionism, is unveiled and with it, the world-renowned medical doctors are introduced. In the workbook, a short bio on each of the doctors is provided for you. What is not provided for you in these bios are the spiritual qualifications of these doctors. For those who exercise discernment, you may find that at Renew America.
Rick Warren ‘s impetus for this is, as he says “The Father made your body, Jesus paid for your body and the spirit lives in your body so you better take care of it! That is an issue that God spoke to me about, and said you need to do this for your sake, Rick.”
O_o Hmmm… I am confused here and have to ask… is that law, or grace? It sure smacks of law to me!
I am all for all of us getting healthy for that sake alone. I am sure it does have some spiritual benefits now by helping stamina and drive. But, please do not confuse it and put it in the place of the gospel.
Our entire mission should be that until the whole world hears the gospel, we should not stop proclaiming it. Even if the whole world hears, I am sure we should not stop!
We are all appointed one day to die, and taking care of our bodies is important. However, remember what the bible says in Luke 12:22-25
“And he said to his disciples, Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Jesus then asks a very rhetorical question in verse 26.
” If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?”
I understand the context of the scripture may pertain somewhat to the subject matter at hand, but my point comes from the first part of Jesus’ question in Luke 12:26. Jesus makes the point that not one of us can add any stature to our lives!
We are instructed to seek first the kingdom of God… this is our calling. Matthew 6:33 says further, we are to seek after righteousness… and then we will be provided everything we need.
Sloth, gluttony and covetousness are at the root of America’s health problems. And yes, these are sins. So the problem that we have is sin. What is the Bible’s remedy?
It’s Jesus and His finished work on Calvary!
By this, I know Saddleback is tackling the problem the wrong way. They are doing it through the law, and law brings wrath (Romans 4:14!) They have prepared a yoke for you, and are asking you to willingly carry it. The only way out of this problem is REPENTANCE, not work!
But then, it leaves a greater question to churches… Why are these sins accepted, covered and not confronted as other sins, like adultery or homosexuality?
What Rick Warren is instructing you to do is NOT seek righteousness, but work to obtain something else for yourself. The real issue at hand is not just to become healthy! That cannot provide the cure. This case, as with any other stronghold sin, requires repentance, and necessitates a like-minded brother or sister with who are willing to be and to hold others accountable. What a concept!
But, back to the seminar…
After reading these short bios, Rick introduces each doctor and what they will speak on.
First… Dr. Amen will speak on motivation meaning, and will come back later on stress, belief and brain health. One question that pops into my mind is belief in what? And another, will the psuedo-science of psychiatry be involved?
Next, Dr. Hyman will speak on the fascinating topic of functional medicine. It will be a “whole systems” approach to health. Why do I immediately think holistic, universality?
And, finally… Dr. Oz will speak on losing weight and keys to longevity. He sends a personal hi from the studio of “30 Rock.” The words Daniel Plan are introduced… we will learn from the best! Dr. Oz exclaims “We believe that you could become a national model for many of the congregations and houses of worship to get healthy.”
All three of these doctors, who Rick says are his friends, have agreed to put together this Daniel Plan. The website is introduced… and I am sure there is a reference to Daniel, and his friends, Hannaniah, Asariah and Mishael.
Let us take a look at this Daniel Plan by going to the source, Daniel himself. Daniel opens his book by giving us the setting of how he and his friend s came to be in the Babylonian palace of Nebuchadnezzar. How some of the (already) FITTEST young of the royal and noble clans of Israel would be educated in the customs of the Chaldeans. We’ll pick it up in Daniel 1:5
The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.
So, the king of Babylon would care for these young teenagers as royals. They would be provided a portion from the king’s table. But as we read further, we come to Daniel 5:8-10.
But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.”
It was not that the king’s diet was bad. It was that Daniel “resolved he would not defile himself.” He was required to keep the Kosher dietary laws that all of Israel agreed to keep under the old covenant. Whether the king’s delicacies were pork, some other forbidden meat, or it wa just not bled properly, is unknown. But, it was not simply because it was meat. That would violate the command God gave to all after the flood in Genesis 9:3-4. But Daniel knew, vegetables would not have been sacrificed to other gods and would not defile him.
Daniel gave the servant an option, he said…
Daniel 5:12-13: “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
The servant agreed, and Daniel and his friends drank water and ate vegetables. We know what happens in the story… but have we really payed attention to the details?
Do you understand why the eunuch was upset to begin with? Could it be that just eating vegetables is not really healthy in the long run? Let’s find out…
Daniel 5:16 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food.
So, at the end of ten days, Daniel and his friends looked better and FATTER than all the other youths who ate the king’s food. Do you understand? They were FATTER!
O_o Hmmm… I know, it is confusing! This “plan” as described by Daniel actually made fit people fatter than others not fed the same diet!
Here is how the account of this dietary saga ends, in Daniel 5: 17-20.
As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.
Think about it!
So God blessed Daniel and his friends, causing the diet that they ate to keep them healthy, in fact, in better health than all the rest of the youth. The food from the kings table was not wrong to eat because of its nutritional value, but only for the promise they had made to God not to defile themselves. It was God who blessed them, for their commitment to keep His ways, not just eating a diet of vegetables!
I am not telling you to not try to be healthier, but please… do not spiritualize it! There are plenty of reasons to stay healthy. But, when spiritualized, many dangers become imminent… Not the least of which is spiritual deception by the teachers involved.
We are promised by Rick Warren that The Daniel Plan will be promulgated through small groups. Be very prayerful, there are many who do not discern the danger. To most, I am sure this is coming to your small group, and soon. And there will be many who will be deceived… missing the grace of God, and the free gift of Jesus Christ… salvation!
That would be terrible indeed.
It is best for us to refect the teaching of those who would place us under a yoke other than that Jesus gave. Make no mistake. It is a yoke, and it fits right in line with the United Nations Agenda 21… A bold plan that is being implemented in every facet of society to further sustainable communities. Sustainable communities requires some form of population control, though tacit (meaning unspoken) just let your mind wonder.
Saddleback would like everyone to join them in this endeavor. It is cloaked in Biblical themes, but is it really a mechanism for control? This fits, conveniently, into the current global political, ecological and economic pressures to centralize control. The church is the last stronghold, but is quickly succumbing to this deception.
Guard yourselves, make sure you know… Satan tempted Eve by corrupting “God’s words.” See for yourself in Genesis 3:1. He asked Eve “Did not God say…” Look to those who teach you, make sure they are not the doing the same.
Jesus warned us, in the parable of the mustard seed, in Mark 4:30-32, and as Dr. Thomas Ice explains it in Consistent Biblical Futurism…
“Even though specific prophecy is not given concerning the present church age, we have seen that the New Testament does paint a general picture of the course of this age. We learn that the purpose of this age is to preach the gospel throughout the world, knowing that there will be various responses to the message. As the church starts out small, like a mustard seed, it will nevertheless grow into a large tree where birds will come and dwell in its branches. Thus, the larger that Christendom grows the more apostate it will become.”
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| Tags: apostasy, Daniel Plan, Decade of Destiny, dominionism, eschatology, grace, Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, salvation |
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Question from a friend
A friend asked me what I thought of this statement:
Would you agree with this? I believe there are three “baptisms.” One, baptism of the soul into the body of Christ which happens at salvation; second, being physical in the flesh, by water after salvation; and the third (this one I hate using the word baptism for, some call it baptism of the Spirit) when the Spirit breathes into your spirit for works.
Let us look at baptism first of all. Originally, the word baptism had nothing to do with water or God. If you had some cloth that you wanted to be another color, you took it to the local baptist who would dye it for you, changing the identity of the cloth. Eventually baptism came to be a statement of identity with a certain creed or movement. This is why Jesus was baptized at the start of his ministry. Not to show his repentance from sin, but to identify with the repentant souls that were trying to follow God and get closer to him.
At the beginning of your salvation, when you ask Jesus to forgive your sins and be your lord, Jesus does indeed baptize you into the Church, the ecclesia, the body of Christ, the called out ones. Your identity is changed as he writes your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life. At the same time, as a pledge or seal, the Holy Spirit indwells you, just as it did Jesus, to empower you to walk like Jesus. This justification, this beginning of your salvation, is truly a baptism.
Your justification (first baptism) is usually followed in short order by a physical baptism. This is a public statement of identification with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, what my friend calls the second baptism. See Acts 8:26 – 40 “See, [here is] water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?”
The third baptism he calls “when the Spirit breathes into your spirit for works.” Before someone shouts “Legalism!”, the works he refers to are like the works that James refers to in his letter, the same type of works that the writer of Hebrews referred to in Hebrews 11. These are works that occurred as the Spirit moved believers, as a demonstration of their faith.
This “third baptism” is a process called sanctification, the present tense expression of salvation. Make no mistake: Jesus has fully justified you before the father. Nothing you can do can help or improve that. This baptism occurs as you move out of the way and let the floodlight of the Holy Spirit shine out of your heart. You could say the third baptism is where Jesus identifies himself with you, in that you become a conduit he can flow through to bless the world.
This sanctification is a choice to die to yourself. Jesus said “If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” Matt 16:24 . In John 12:24 Jesus said “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Paul said “I die daily” in 1 Cor 15:31 If these three statements do not qualify as baptism, nothing does.
It is through dying to self that we allow Jesus to shine out from us and do the works which we were ordained to do from before the creation. If we try to do these works by our own power they will get messed up. Jesus has to do them through us if they are to count toward our rewards.
The big question is how do we allow this baptism to occur? We can see this in the life of Jesus. He had two things in his life that we do not have as much as we need. He had an immense knowledge of the word of God, the bible. He always referred to scripture, he thought in scripture. We can have this if we follow the command he gave through Paul in Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Again he said in Eph 5:26 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word”
Bathe yourself in scripture. Download the bible as mp3′s and just play it all the time. Get music that sets scripture to music, especially the Psalms. Get expositional bible studies on your mp3 player and just stuff them in your ears before bed. That way when you wake up in the middle of the night you have something to do as you fall back to sleep. I do this every night; you cannot imagine the dreams that come from this. If you want to grow a lot in a short time, let the Word of God wash the world out of your brain.
The other thing Jesus had in his life that we could have just like him is a dedication to prayer to and worship of the Father. Just think about it: Jesus was fully God, yet he was always getting up early to pray, staying up late to pray. If Jesus needed to “pray without ceasing”, how much more do we need to spend time praying? God is delighted when we talk to him, think about him, meditate on his word and pray it back to him. We were created for his pleasure, so please him by turning off the TV and spending time with him.
As we bathe in the third baptism we become more conformed to Jesus’ image, get further from the power of sin, walk in more wonderful works, shine forth Jesus for the whole world to see, become more pleasing to him, get more ready for the time when he comes back for us so he can finish history and return to reign on the earth for 1000 years. Are you ready for his return? Are you identified with Jesus, baptized with him?
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Why Evolution Cannot be True
This is a response to Dan Kuik‘s comment posted to the article Is there any hope for this generation?
I shall try to explain this the best way I can. To some it may be very difficult indeed to hear. I know there are a lot of committed Christians who are scientists, and I praise God for them. It is truly a difficult field to be called into. These scientists are not idiots, however, they may very well be deceived.
As Christians, we are not against science, either. However there are some “sciences” that are truly exist in a gray area between philosophy and science. They are mistakenly accepted as true empirical science, but are not directly observable. Among these are psychology, sociology, and evolution. These fields of research lend themselves to grand theories based on an incorrect philosophy. These philosophies are grounded in stories that may have some truth within them. But regardless of the content of some truth they are still, nevertheless, stories.
The field of science truly endeavors to make sense of creation. Yet, what began as an innocent desire by humanity to understand who we are, it has now gone awry.
That desire to understand, as innocent as it began, has given birth to delusion. This delusion is now being used to deceive people, giving them a convenient excuse to deny God and live their lives as they see fit. It infects them with the irrationality that all truth is relative. Regardless, many trod down that wide path.
This practice, unstopped, leads to destruction and sadly, death. It is this innocent desire that births delusion, then deception, in turn becoming destruction, and finally death. It is the basis for all sin.
First off, let’s establish some things 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness. I will use scripture alone. It is the essence of instruction from a holy God.
Second, I contend that the days we live in are indeed the last days, the signs are plentiful. For my reference, I will use 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. (2) For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, (3) heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, (4) treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
Paul goes on to say that such people are “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:7) This is because when using an incorrect philosophy as a basis, one cannot do true science. To begin with one that excludes the very Author and Creator of life will always belie the same!
One must be on guard for this delusion. Jesus Himself said “See that no one leads you astray.” (Matthew 24:4) But one strong warning comes in 1 Timothy 4:1, Paul says “in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” In fact Jesus, in Matthew 24:24, says the deception will be so strong “so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” Those are some strong warnings!
But we must, as watchmen, stand on the wall and warn others. It is not our intention to “pit God against evolution.” Simply for the fact that the converse is already true, evolution has pitted itself against God. I would dare say it exalts itself against the very throne of the Most High.
Satan’s favorite tool is deception, in fact, he is called the deceiver. He also disguises himself as an angel of light, as Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 11:14 “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”
But as with every deception of the enemy, he loves to use it coupled with truth. But a lie, no matter how small, coupled with a truth, no matter how great, is still but a lie. Paul warns us of this by saying a little leaven leavens the whole lump. (1 Corinthians 5:6)
Through subtle deception, evolution exalts itself against some of the very foundational doctrines of the faith. I contend that evolution CANNOT be true in the light of God’s word.
There are too many to go through in a post such as this, so I will choose one.
If, as is posited by Dan, God “used” evolution JUST to create a man, that means that millions of creatures would have had to die before there was even the first man. This means that evolution must establish that man exists as a result of millions of years of death!
But, my Bible teaches me something entirely different. It tells me that man was created by the will of God from the dust of the ground. It tells me that man was created good. It also tells me in Romans 5:12 that death is the result of man’s sin! In fact, because of that first man’s sin, we all inherited that propensity.
So as I see it, man’s wisdom teaches that death brought man, but God says man brought death!
Those two ideas cannot coexist!
Therefore, evolution, as purported, cannot be true. We would have to deny sin, which brings us back to the deception. 1 John 1:8 ” If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Sin hardens by deceit… Hebrews 3:13. Scoffers are here and they plainly mock Christianity… 2 Peter 3:2-6. Unrighteous people suppress the truth… Romans 1:18.
We need to stand firm… 2 Thessalonians 2:15.
It is not that “Human beings have no less purpose in life,” but that One human’s purpose is then not necessary (John 3:14-17.)
When we read the bible, the warnings are plentiful. Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23 are indeed truly sad. This is an admonition to examine ourselves regularly, and against the very word of God, to identify and deal with that deception. Lest we find ourselves standing in His very presence hearing those fateful words… depart from me.
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| Tags: Apologetics, bible study, Christianity, corruption, End Times, Evolution, God, Science, sincrety, stupidity, the lie |
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Justified by the Precious Blood
Oh, the precious blood
that flowed from Mercy’s side,
Washed away my sin,
When Christ my Savior died.
Oh the precious blood
of Christ the crucified,
speaks for me before your throne
where I stand justified.
It is interesting how we spend much time justifying sin. We like to think the little white lies we tell are okay because they are justifiable. We also may believe it okay to steal food when we are starving.
We know that lying and stealing are wrong. However, we want to be justified. If then we long for this justification, how is it obtained?
Do we bring out a scale and weigh the perceived good and bad, and then make a decision?
If so, and we proceed with “justified” sin, is it still not sin?
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that we all have to work for justification. However, we know that we need it. Romans 3:20 tells us that if we try to be good enough to always do the right thing, it will not be good enough!
As the lyric in the song above… if we have put our faith in Jesus, we ALREADY are justified! It is by Jesus’ blood alone. It testifies to God the Father as we stand before His throne.
Hey, don’t believe me! Read it here in Romans 5:9.
We cannot justify ourselves, yet it is there readily available for all! Abundant enough that all can, in Christ, stand before the throne of a holy God! (Romans 4:5)
Oh, it is precious blood indeed!
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Is Christianity Religion?
All religion, basically, is man’s effort to raise himself or make himself acceptable to God. Muslim, Hinduism, Buddhism even Mormonism and to some extent Catholicism require certain work or duty to become accepted. They all have their different tenets, but there is always something YOU have to DO to become acceptable to God.
This is played out in the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. After their eyes were opened to good and evil, they knew they were naked. They tried to cover themselves with leaves to hide their nakedness and make them acceptable before God. That was the first religious act.
But Christianity is different…
The Bible tells that there is none righteous and that no one seeks after God. (Romans 3:10-18) In fact it goes so far to say that we have all sinned. (Romans 3:23) It instructs us that the burden of death on the physical world is the result of sin. (Romans 6:23)
But there is a Remedy offered in the second half of Romans 6:23, where Paul speaks of a gift from God through one man Jesus Christ. If we step a few verses backward, it tells us that even though we were not yet born, nor even considering to stop sinning, that Jesus died for us. (Romans 5:8)
So there is nothing any of us can DO to please God. What condition are we left in if we then have no hope to please God?
Romans 10:9 offers the solution. It is to look upon yourself, and agree with God on your condition and the finished work of Jesus who took our penalties upon Himself willingly! A few verses later in Romans 10:13 it is declared "For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”"
The results of salvation are summed up in a few more verses. In Romans 5:1 we find we have been justified and have found peace with God. Romans 8:1 then explains that we have been removed from our former condemnation. A little further ahead in Romans 8:38-39 we read that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God.
That is Christianity… we are justified by faith alone, through God’s grace alone in Jesus Christ alone!
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The Danger of Sincrety
Today, many are given to this air of reconciliation. Political apologists would have you believe it is centrism or really, being moderate or better, progressive, somewhere between the political extremes of liberalism and conservatism. The real essence of the problem, is that capitalism without morality tends to the anarchy of lust and greed. This is dangerous enough, having liberty requires exercising self-discipline and responsibility. They call it the Third Way. The Third Way is sincrety, simply stated, trying to unite two irreconcilable things. These irreconcilable things are not what they would have you believe, let me explain.
As a society we are encourage to forget God. In so doing we have driven morality out of our schools, our homes, our entertainment and even our government. In return, there is a lack of self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) and personal responsibility, lawlessness grows. Consequently, this requires more of an external control and temperance, usually in the form of government.
This governmental control attempts to dictate morality and communal behavioral standards that apply to institutions and individuals alike. As personal self-control wanes, the reigns of government control must become tighter. This is the tipping the other end of the scale, and the centralized, command-and-control tyrannies of socialism, communism and Marxism. This type of government become dangerous because morality is rooted in the heart of the individual by God and is exercised in relationship to and knowledge of God. When the individual forgets God, and his responsibility to God, and the government then has to dictate morality, it becomes the arbiter of morality, deciding what is right and what is wrong. This is extremely dangerous.
The genius of our founding fathers, was finding a middle ground between these two extemes of anarchy and tyranny. One where the morality of the individual was recognized as God given. And with that personal morality, came sovereignty. This sovereignty required liberty, such that came from God and the government could not take away! They established a ance of power in governmental structure and prohibited the government from infringement on individual rights. This form of government recognized that sovereignty is bestowed upon the individual and not the government!
In the history of the world, this had not been done. As most governments place sovereignty in a person or particular group of rulers, not so in the United States.
The Third Way is not some reconciliation between partisan political extremes, but it is a way to reconcile these two forms of sovereignty. One that requires the individual to cede his control to that of another, transferring sovereignty to the government. Eventually, the government will be the arbiter of freedom, providing the individual with choices. This is just another version of the lie… the one Satan told in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:1-7. In essence, he took the freedom Eve had to eat of every tree of the garden, and gave her choices; she could remain as she was, or she could be like God.
Look around, we see it everywhere… corporations are bad, yet they pay our wages. Government is good, yet it dips its hand in your pocket to steal your sweat. Becoming a parasite on government largess is good, working hard to provide for your family is not.
Marriage is seen as a restrictive covenant, not as to only benefit the furtherance of a society through procreation. But its very essence must be bended and twisted to satisfy individual whims of indulgence, relegating the ability of marriage as the primary vehicle to sustain society to obscurity. Eventually, that very society shall end up on the refuse heap of history. (That can be the only logical conclusion!)
This sincrety can be non-sensical , as in the claim that carbon-dioxide is a pollutant, when it is necessary for plants to grow and thrive.
Oftentimes it is subtle, as when we are told pregnancy is not always a human carrying another individual human being. Instead we are asked to believe it is really a lump of tissue, or worse, a parasite! We know, without the benefit of science it is another INDIVIDUAL human being.
The problem with sincrety, is the same as Paul asked in 1 Corinthians 5:6 “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?”
Think about it, we let a little error cloud our thought processes, will the preponderance of right thinking win out, or will that little bit of error, pollute all of our thinking?
The battle for control of the church has begun… the weapon of choice is SINCRETY! It is even predicted by John in Revelation 3:15-16, Jesus is speaking and says of the church of Laodicea “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
Is this not a warning from the Savior Himself to be very wary about coupling irreconcilable things?
Why do we accept Yoga in the Christian church?
Yoga at best is against Christianity. It is a system of works based on merging with God. Though some of the language sounds the same, it is a system of works. The poses in Yoga are meant to teach the body how to die! Just peering at the five basic truths of Yoga is enough to make me run!
Why do we accept the peace sign in the Christian Church?
Take the time to find out why. It is not simply a symbol to bring about peace, but is being used to sincretize all of society. It has many different stories of its creation. However, some every citation couples some nefarious meaning to it. One cites its creation to a group with communist and Marxist sympathies. Regardless, it is a symbol of rebellion… and we attempt to reconcile it with our Christianity. That is precisely what it was used for in the 1960s, to rebel against the church and society Curiously, it is accepted and adored by many Christians today!
Why do we celebrate movies like Harry Potter and New Moon in the Christian Church?
They are really good moral stories, but that evil stuff is thrown in just for fun. Come on, incantations and vampires, are not true, yes, but some are carried away unawares. I mean seriously, we are to take character lessons from Edward (a vampire) and proclaim his testimony?
Is Jesus Christ not good enough?
And most dangerous of all, why do we accept the emergent church movement in the Christian Church?
With its focus on the here and now, social justice and sustainability… this is the near end-game of seduction. As Christians, we are encouraged to pray for God’s kingdom to come… it will be a Earthly kingdom, yes. However, it is not our home, or even our hope. Our hope is eternal, as it is written in Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.”
There is a war being waged… it is spiritual. It is being waged for individual hearts! It is both overt and subtle, through using subterfuge and Hegelian dialectic it reaches deep into the church snaring elders and pastors. The powers-that-be may just be useful pawns, however they serve the father of lies. He is hard at work, knowing as we, that his time is fleeting. These leaders are moving us to the place we are warned to stay away from… medicority. Jesus Himself warned us of His reaction to mediocrity in Revelation 3:16… “I will spit you out of my mouth.”
I would even point to a hint of this prediction in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, recorded in the Daniel 2:31-45. The image Nebuchadnezzar saw in his sleep was impressive… and it is easily explained by Daniel with revelation from God.
The image is sort of “timeline” of world empires, with the gold head representing the Babylonian empire. Each empire deteriorates, as is evident in its movement from the more prominent position of the head on the body and composition of better materials. As each succesive empire appears, it occupies a less prominent place in the body and the material is of slightly inferior value and density. We find ourselves somewhere close to the feet and toes of the statue… the toes being the final empire. Here is where it is stated in Daniel 2:41-43 as follows:
And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.
Here you see sincrety described in the form of iron mixing with clay… but they do not hold together, because iron does not mix with clay.
Christian be wary of everything you are taught… even from your own church leaders. As is written in 1 John 4:1-6:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Christian… you can be taught another Jesus. The enemy is working out the last pieces of his dominion. This is his lie, dominion theology taught by the emergent church, to realize Utopia in the here and now. He is using the language of the Christian to lure away captives unaware. Words like justice, hope, kingdom, conversion and salvation arer being used to connect concepts that are biblical with a concepts that are extra-biblical and prideful.
The emergent church is calling for “conversions that can change lives, neighborhoods and this world,” that is meant for the community. It is a gospel of communitariansim (better communism,) and relativism. It is not the true Gospel of the shocking individual recognition of personal sin that leads to responsibility, repentance and service to a holy and loving God through salvation in Jesus Christ.
So let’s be clear: sincretism… in other words is oxy-moronic!
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Who Are the Two Gods in Daniel 7:13-14?
Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
This is a particularly exciting passage of scripture. It records God, here described as the “Ancient of Days” on the throne, yet someone who looked like a human being was presented to Him. Yet, implied in the original language, this human being was not mortal. In fact, this Human was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, and that all peoples and nations and languages should serve him. I would ask, is this Human then a God on par and equal to the Ancient of Days?
The Israelites of Jesus’ time new the scripture well… in fact they knew this very passage referred to the Messiah, they also knew that the Messiah would reign forever, as is clearly expressed by the last phrase in the passage. They also knew the Messiah was God.
In John 12:27-34 there is an interesting conversation between Jesus and a crowd of Jewish followers. The Jews ended with some questions posed to Jesus. “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
Curiously, Jesus Himself declared He must be lifted up, and would die. Those Jews present knew what the scripture said of the Messiah, or son of man, in Daniel 7:13-14. It surely must have perplexed some… but let us look at another New Testament passage… this time in the book of Matthew. Jesus is on trial before the high priest.
Matthew 14:60-63 “And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need?”
Here, recorded for us, is exactly what the high priest and Jews believed before the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The son of man was indeed God, as Jesus Himself quoted and even ascribed Daniel 7:13 to Himself, calling Himself the Son of God. The reaction of the priest is self-explanatory.
And as the priest declared, I then ask you… “What further witnesses do we need?”
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An Argument for the Early Dating of the Gospels
Adapted from a podcast at pleaseconvinceme.com
For those who would claim that the Four Gospels are a reliable eyewitness testimony, there is substantial evidence to bolster the claim. The Four Gospels, and the New Testament, were indeed written soon after Jesus’ resurrection.
Since the first century, there have been movements to eradicate the deity of Jesus. It is an old art, based on unsupported claims and purported reason. In the early church, it was the Judaizers who would negate the finished work of Jesus, if possible, by applying the yoke of the law to all. There were even purported gospels by Gnostics extolling the various teachings of an imperfect god. It is in their vanity they refuse to align their minds with the mind of God, instead making god in the image of man.
Presently, the neo-atheists and neo-Gnostics are presenting the same worn claims, albeit to fresh ears. In humanity’s quest for something spiritual to fill a self-imposed void, they eagerly consume the delusion offered to them by the same ravenous wolves.
What is at stake?
Paul answers this question in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. The resurrection is central to Christianity. If there is no resurrection than we hope in vain. One well used weapon in their arsenal is the reliability and veracity of the eyewitness testimony. The attack is relentless, as it has happened throughout church history. Most will tell you that the New Testament was penned in the late second century.
Is that true?
Let us examine the evidence.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 250
On 19 November 1931, Chester Beatty purchased a collection of papyri. The manuscripts were purportedly found in the city of Aphroditopolis. The eleven manuscripts in the collection consisted mostly of portions of the Old and New Testaments and are known as the Chester Beatty Papyri. The three New Testament manuscripts contained fragments of the Four Gospels and the book of Acts of the Apostles.
These fragments are dated by paleography to the first half of the third century. In other words, between A.D. 200 and A.D. 250. What is significant, is that the substantial amount of time for these works to be collected and transmitted would have had to occur before this time. Regardless, the gospels were written and accepted before A.D. 250.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 200
The Bodmer Papyri were discovered near Dishna, Egypt in 1952. They were found at Pabau, the ancient headquarters of the Pachomian order of monks. These 22 papyri contain segments of the Old Testament, New Testament and other Christian literature. Significantly, this collection contains the oldest written fragments from the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John.
The Gospel of John manuscript is almost a complete copy and is dated at A.D. 200 Because the Gospel of John is widely accepted as the last gospel to be written, this would put the other gospels into circulation well before this date.
Gospels dated Earlier than A.D. 175
The Diatessaron, created by Tatian the Syrian, was a harmonization of the Four Gospels. This important work was the standard text for the Syrian church. Tatian died in A.D. 180, and the Diatessaron is generally accepted as written between A.D. 160 and A.D. 175. At this date, the gospels were accepted and in circulation before it was written.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 150
Early church fathers had a habit of quoting these Four Gospels. One such church father, Justin Martyr, ministered in Rome, where he founded a school. Amongst his pupils was Tatian the Syrian. Justin was an early defender of Christianity, he wrote eight apologies. Only three have been found to still exist… they are First Apology, Second Apology and Dialogue with Trypho. Justin quoted John 3:5 in Chapter 61 of his First Apology, further in chapter 63, he quotes Matthew 11:27 and Luke 10:16.
This presumes the Four Gospels were known and used in church teachings when the First Apology was penned somewhere between A.D. 147 and A.D. 161, based onto who it was addressed. However, the mention of “Felix” as governor of Egypt is believed to be a reference to Lucius Munatius Felix which further fixes the date to around A.D. 151.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 130
Eusebius of Caesaria was one of the first writers to chronicle the history of the early church. He quotes Papias, whom he called the Bishop of Hierapolis (modern Pamukkale, Turkey, ) among others. Most notably in volume 5 of Historia Ecclesiastica, he quotes Papias’ Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord. In the quotation Papias , himself, quoted the Gospel of Matthew, as well mentioning the Gospel of Mark. Papias died in A.D. 130.
The Rylands Papyri contains a fragment of the Gospel of John. It has been dated to about A.D. 125. This fragment, discovered in Egypt, puts the Gospel of John in use, there. Allowing for the copying and transmission of the text, we can presume that the youngest gospel, John’s, was in use before this time.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 120
Polycarp, a disciple of John, was Bishop of Smyrna and was martyred around A.D. 155. He wrote a letter to the Philippian church (ca. A.D. 110 – A.D. 135)in which he quotes or alludes to the Gospel s and other New Testament writings. The date of the letter cannot be fixed with certainty, Polycarp lived around 86 years, fixing a date of around A.D. 120 would put him at around 55 years old when he wrote it.
The significance of this letter is Polycarp’s reliance on the writings of the Four Gospels and other New Testament books. It is apparent that these were recognized as the word of God and perceived that way by both writer and reader, when the use of the letter is taken into account.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 110
Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, wrote several letters in A.D. 110. In his letters he quotes and/or alludes to the writings of Matthew. This would mean that the Gospel of Matthew would already be in circulation for it to be used this way.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 100
The ancient writing Didache: Teaching of the 12 Apostles, in chapter 8 quotes the Lord’s Prayer from the Gospel of Matthew. The Didache had been widely disseminated by about A.D. 100.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 95
Clement, Bishop of Rome, in a letter to the Corinthian congregation, quoted Matthew. The letter is dated during the reign of Domitian circa A.D. 95.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 70
Herod’s Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 under Titus. This was predicted by Jesus in the Matthew 24:1-2 and Luke 19:44. There is no recording of the temple’s destruction in the Gospels. If the Gospels were dated later than this date, this would be a significant omission, considering Jesus’ Himself predicted its destruction!
Even the writer of the book of Hebrews would have included this fact to bolster the claims set forth in that book. In fact, the entire New Testament is silent on this fact, in stark contrast to those who would have you believe that Christianity was invented over a period of time.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 64
Luke authored his gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, yet there is no mention of the temple’s destruction, the siege of Jerusalem or the intense persecution of Nero. These would be significant and important milestones for the early church.
Early skeptics thought the titles, terminologies and customs used by Luke were primitive and thought false, until Luke’s terms were bolstered by archaeology.
Luke is likely writing Acts very early, as there is no mention of the martyrdom of James in A.D. 61, Paul in A.D. 64 or even Peter in A.D. 65. In fact, at the end of Acts, Paul is still alive! With that fact, it would be a reasonable conclusion to date the book of Acts before A.D. 64.
Luke himself, in Acts 1:1, refers to his previous work, leading one to reason that the Gospel of Luke would have to be written, circulated and well known before this book was written. Bolstering this claim, Paul quotes both Deuteronomy and Luke’s Gospel in 1 Timothy 5:17-18.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 60
If Mark is the earliest gospel written, it would have to precede the Gospel of Luke. This is derived from Luke 1:1-4, where Luke tells of his purpose in writing the account. He occasionally quotes the Gospel of Mark, so it would be reasonable to conclude that the Gospel of Mark was recorded before A.D. 60. This would allow time for transmission and circulation.
Gospels dated earlier than A.D. 55
There are three letter widely attested to be written by Paul. These are the epistles to the Romans, 1 Corinthians and Galatians. These were written between A.D. 48 – A.D. 60, the Epistle to the Romans, in the opinion of most scholars was probably written in A.D. 55 – A.D. 57.
In Galatians 1:18-19 Paul tells us that three years after his conversion, he went to Jerusalem to meet Peter and James. Paul returned to Syria and in Galatians 2:1, Paul tells of returning to Jerusalem to meet the apostles 14 years later. In Galatians 2:7-9 Paul describes his meeting with the apostles. The theory that this is one of Paul’s earliest epistles, would date this before A.D. 55. This same theory purports the meeting in Galatians 2: 1-10 and Acts 11:30 is the same. This theory implicates Acts 15:20 as describing the non-existent letter to the Galatians. If so, this places Acts well before the Epistle to the Galatians, and pushes the dating of the Gospels even earlier!
It is reasonable to conclude that Paul saw the risen Christ within five years of the resurrection.
Paul opens his letter to the Romans by declaring Jesus as the resurrected Son of God in Romans 1:4! This is about 17 years after the resurrection. The message is clear in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, Jesus is accepted as God incarnate, resurrected and glorified! Paul is reciting the gospel. These men are resolute and steadfast in doctrine. Attesting to the reasonable conclusion that these books were written, accepted and circulated among still living witnesses. Living witnesses who could refute the testimony.
In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Paul quotes almost word-for-word Luke 22:19-20. Luke was Paul’s traveling companion, and Luke borrowed from Mark… this would place the gospel of Mark’s account very early in church history.
Jose O’Callahan, a Spanish Jesuit paleographer made headlines in 1972. He announced he had a translated piece of the Gospel of Mark on a Dead Sea Scrolls fragment. The Dead Sea Scrolls are dated to between 50 B.C. and A.D. 50. Again, this places the Gospel of Mark well within 15-17 years of the resurrection of Jesus.
There is ample evidence that points to the Gospel of Mark being recorded very early in church history. Some even think that the Gospel of Mark is an early memoir of Peter. This theory also requires an early date for the Gospel of Mark. It is a reasonable conclusion when one examines the evidence put forth.
Conclusion
Jesus is no prophet evolving into mythology as the agnostic apologizers would have you believe. Instead, He is indeed the risen Christ, Messiah… Son of God. Because Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection, He has taken the sting from death, as Paul proclaims in 1 Corinthians 15:54-55.
But as Paul goes on to declare that the sting of death is sin through the power of the law in 1 Corinthians 15:56. We now declare from the rooftops , 1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
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The Person of Christ
This appeared in a tweet I received today. It is an interesting article that expounds on the deity and humanity of Jesus. There are numerous references to scripture throughout. It is a worthwhile read!
It is interesting to note… and reflect upon the fact that while the God of the universe, forever put on flesh… He will forever bear the marks of His purchase. Yet we are given temporal bodies and we mark them with sin, and when we repent of our sin and accept the finished work of Jesus, we are given an eternal PERFECT body!
Happy reading… by the way, the article is in a pdf file, so you can take it with you. And for those who already have the ESV Study Bible… it is in there, too!
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The Room
Brian’s Essay: The Room…
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