Thursday, 30 January 2014

WRONG AND DEVIOUS TERMINOLOGY

WRONG AND DEVIOUS TERMINOLOGY

International Christian Zionist Center -Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Director

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil." (Isaiah 5:20)
"The vile person shall no more be called: liberal." (Isaiah 32:5)
 As someone once said, an undue mixture of ethics and statistics prevails in our day - and more often the statistics influence ethical standards rather than the other way around. What it means is that no objective standard exists with which to measure moral or ethical values. For ethical norms to be changed to call what was evil and wrong in the past acceptable and good today, all that is needed is for enough people to call evil good.

Thus statistics rule today's ethics, to the detriment and ruin of all mankind. And so we see the absurd moral or ethical standards which today object to a tiny operation being performed on a baby for the purpose of religious observance (circumcision) - the rationale being that the child should be old enough to participate in the decision making process concerning whether or not he is willing to submit himself to this religious rite. But before that child - or any other child for that matter - is born he or she, even when already alive and breathing, can have his or her life cruelly terminated without being allowed any say in the matter. This is foolishly called a 'pro-choice' decision that gives the mother alone the choice of having her own child - carried in what was supposed to be the safest place in her body - killed and subsequently disposed of.

What a world we live in!

The people of Israel can rightly claim that they liberated territories - Judea and Samaria - which were part of their own historic land. And their case is made even stronger by the fact that Israel did not want this war and fought in self-defense. No Israeli should therefore ever refer to these areas as other than, at the most, 'disputed territories.'

Therefore:
  
Abortion is not pro-choice, but is in fact the murder of the unborn child by the will of the mother.

Homosexuality is not gay, it is the perversion of sexual relationship, often resulting in AIDS, but never in the birth of any child.

Israel is not occupying 'Palestinian land' and in explaining her case should never yield to using that terminology. In a war of self-defense, the Jews liberated the land promised them by God Himself but which, at that moment, was illegally occupied by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Israel is thus not occupying a land that belonged to another nation. "The territories" - concerning which practically the whole world is seeking to corner Israel as it did with South Africa years ago - are not 'occupied territories' but, at most, 'disputed territories' liberated by the IDF in the self-defensive Six Day War. Jordan, which did illegally occupy these same territories from 1948 to 1967, was never treated in such a way by the nations of the world who, by rejecting as illegal Jordan's occupation, could have forced the Hashemite kingdom to hand over these territories to Ahmed Shukeiry, the then leader of the Palestinian Arabs who were already seeking independence from Jordan for themselves.

And today, as described by Raphel Ahren in an article published on December 25, 2013, "the EU maintains that Israel's presence in the West Bank (SIC) and East Jerusalem is unique, legally speaking, but consistently refuses to explain exactly how it differs from, say, Turkey's occupation of Northern Cyprus or that Moroccan presence in Western Sahara; while Rabat asserts ownership of the territory, not a single other country recognizes the claim."

Ahren quotes from a letter written to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, by legal scholars who posit that "the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement, approved earlier this month by the European Parliament, appears 'to directly contradict what the EU has called obligations of international law in its dealing with Israel.

'In fact, the EU has been negotiating this agreement with Morocco even as it imposes on Israel unprecedented funding guidelines and rules of origin requirements that say the exact opposite,'" wrote the scholars, referring to guidelines that, from January 1 this year, ban any European funding from going to Israeli entities beyond the Green Line or those with any connections beyond the Green Line.

If all this does not prove the hypocritical and - call it what it is - anti-Semitic double standard that Europe and most of the international community subject little Israel to then tell me, what else can it be called?

This is anti-Semitism in its new and dangerous form - anti-Zionism!

Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Director

International Christian Zionist Center

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Thursday, 23 January 2014

The Way

It was another one of those times when the disciples thought everything was going smooth. They were in Jerusalem celebrating Passover with Jesus. They were chatting and enjoying the Feast. Jesus had just done something very unusual - He had washed their feet. This wasn't something a teacher would do, but Jesus never did what was expected by men. What the disciples didn't know was that Jesus was giving them a lesson in the way they should behave. Soon Jesus would be arrested and crucified. He knew the time was short and wanted His followers to understand some important things. He was going away, but by going He would open the way for all who accept Him to follow. The disciples needed to understand this.  "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." John 14:3-4. This time it is Thomas, not Peter, who jumps in and asks what Jesus meant. "Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?" John 14:5. They didn't understand that He would be crucified and go to be with the Father. He didn't say that every way would lead to Heaven, but He had had spent three years with these men showing them the only way.He was specific in His answer. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6. That makes it very clear that all roads don't lead to salvation. Only through Jesus can we find eternal life.
Today born again believers in Christ know exactly what Jesus meant. His example is what we must follow. Jesus showed humility by washing the disciple's feet, and so Christians must be humble. Jesus never was politically correct by kowtowing to those Pharisees who had twisted God's truth, and so we must never compromise God's truth.Jesus never condemned individuals but forgave sin and encouraged them to move away from their sin, and so we must love the individual but take a stand against sin. The road, or way, that leads to destruction is broad and wide and filled with worldly ideas. That is not the road a Christian should travel. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it," Matthew 7:13-14. The Greek word "hodos" means a travelled way or a road. Metaphorically it means a course of conduct or a manner of thinking, feeling, and deciding. Jesus' example should be our guide in the way we think, feel, and make decisions. It should be our way of life. As we read these two verses we realize He's making a comparison between two different ways of thinking and acting. Those who are perishing choose the broad and wide road, but those who follow Jesus choose the strait and narrow way. We must all ask ourselves which road we are travelling. The one which Jesus showed us that leads to eternal life, or the broad one of the world that leads to eternal destruction?
In the very early days, Christianity was referred to as "the way". Apparently the way the early Christians lived was based upon what they were taught about Jesus by Peter and the other Apostles. At one time Paul violently persecuted "the way". "And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women." Acts 22:4. Why did he want to destroy Christians? Paul was a Pharisee and the first Christians were Jewish converts. Christians had a way of thinking and acting that was different from other people, specifically the Jews. The belief they held about Jesus and His teachings was blasphemy to the Jewish way of thinking. Christians know that Jesus was God in the flesh; He was the Messiah that the Jews are still looking for today. After an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul came to know the truth and dedicated his life to serving "The Way".
Everyone has a choice of which road to travel in this life. We may feel as though it is easier to travel the broad road that leads to destruction, like animals being herded to the slaughter. The problem with traveling that broad road is it doesn't include Jesus. It's a destructive road in which God's plan of salvation is totally rejected. Those who suffer this destruction - who choose poorly and reject Jesus - are those who will go down to the fiery pit of Hell when they die. There will be no possibility for a reprieve and no second chance. There is no payment that can be made by anyone here on earth that will get you out of that horrible place. You must make plans to stay out of Hell while you're still alive and kicking. Remember what Jesus told Thomas? "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:5-6. If you are not following Jesus you are going the wrong way.
Following the strait road that leads to salvation may not look rewarding in the eyes of those who are partying on the broad road. Once we're born again, staying on the strait and narrow road will be difficult at times; it will take determination on our part to stay on the strait road. Those on the broad road will dangle temptations in front of us. We will need to make hard decisions that might be unpopular with our family and friends. We shouldn't be yoked with people in the world because it is easy to give in to temptation and stumble on our narrow path. Our fellowship should always be with God and our fellow Christians. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" 2 Corinthians 6:14. Is that narrow minded? Yes it is. That's following the strait and narrow way that Jesus talked about. If you're on the way Jesus taught you will be led by the Holy Spirit Himself. Jesus is always with us; therefore we won't travel the "strait and narrow" alone.
How do we avoid getting detoured from following Jesus along that strait and narrow way? "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves," Matthew 7:15. A false prophet is one who utters falsehoods under the name of divine prophecies. They spout lies, but make them sound profound and true. There are many false prophets in the world today and they follow Satan to lead the masses astray. We need to study God's word so that when confronted by false teaching we will not be confused and turn from the truth. "All roads lead to Heaven" is a very popular lie spoken by the false prophets of today. No, you cannot follow the lies of Joseph Smith, Mohammed, New Age, Darwin, or any other false teacher and expect to be on that strait and narrow path. You cannot shun Jesus and expect to spend eternity with Him. The disciples should have known the way to the Father because they knew Jesus.
False prophets, false doctrines, and false religions are all leading people by their noses along that broad road and right through the wide gate that leads to Hell. Think of all those individuals who've died before us. The ones who chose to follow the broad road are in Hell right now awaiting judgment at the white throne judgment seat of God. There He will judge all those who have rejected Christ's sacrifice which was made for them. They will then be sent to the lake of fire to remain for eternity. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15. They now know they chose the wrong road. If they could, they would warn everyone who is currently traveling that broad road about the danger ahead.
Jesus told of a rich man who had everything and of Lazarus who had nothing and begged for the crumbs from the rich man's table but was turned away. Upon death Lazarus went into Abraham's bosom, but the rich man went to Hell (Hades). The rich man wanted mercy and asked that Father Abraham send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and put it on his tongue so he could feel some relief, but is told that is impossible. Then he tells Father Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brethren so they would have a chance to repent and not join him in torments when they died. "Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead," Luke 16:29-31.Those who are waiting the judgment of God would do anything to send a warning to all those who are still alive and remain in rebellion to God. The dead cannot come and warn the living but we have Christ's example. Yes, He died on the cross, but He conquered death and lives. By accepting His death, burial, and resurrection we, too, can have eternal life. By choosing to follow Jesus you will not end up like the rich man who followed the broad road to destruction. Many Christians struggle with one sin or another and question if they are saved. That sin which brings only temporary pleasure is in fact a cause of misery.
Being a Christian does not mean we follow a set of rules and regulations. There isn't a list of "do this and don't do that". Once a person has accepted Christ as their personal Saviour, the most important journey in life has begun. When Thomas said that they didn't know the way Jesus was going, Jesus reminded him that they did know the way. These men had followed Jesus and observed His way of life for a long time. Since Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; they needed to follow His example and so do we. We know His way by studying His life. Study the Bible and apply it to every situation in life. When we sin we need to go directly to Jesus and ask forgiveness. Knowing Jesus' ways will help us to follow Him on the strait and narrow road.
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,"  2 Peter 3:9. It's not God's will that those who are traveling that broad road should continue in their rebellion, but that they would hear the Gospel and believe.Christians need to share the truth with all who will listen so they will have the opportunity to leave that broad road. Before we became Christians we were also walking along that broad road ready to step through the wide gate. Someone cared enough about you to share the Gospel...they told you of God's saving grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Do you know someone who you need to share the Gospel with before it is too late?
Everyone makes bad decisions now and again and will continue to do so throughout this earthly life. There is only one bad decision that will eternally damn the soul, and that is the decision to reject the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who've made a decision for Christ will spend eternity with Him. On the other hand, according to Jesus' own words, many will remain on the wide destructive road that leads to Hell, no matter what we tell them. Nevertheless, the truth must be presented to everyone. Nobody will spend eternity in the lake of fire because they sin. It is the choice of rejecting Christ's finished work on the cross that condemns a person. 
The Way. You can choose the way that leads to destruction, or you can choose to follow Christ. Jesus' words shine through brilliantly "...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6. In the big picture, this time we spend on Earth is very short. Choosing to follow Christ - the way, the truth, and the life - will lead you to an eternity of peace and love. Remember that if you choose to follow the broad road that leads to destruction, eternity is a long time to kick yourself for making the wrong choice.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham

Friday, 17 January 2014

That One Pivotal Event Just Ahead

By Gene Lawley

Amid the social, political and economic turmoil in the daily news as we enter year 2014, is the running engagement of Secretary of State John Kerry in consultations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a dedicated push for a peace agreement between those two entities. When Kerry took the job after Hillary Clinton resigned, he hit the ground running and has been on the go constantly with that goal in mind.
It has been an annual target for each September since Barak Obama became president in 2009.  Obama was “primed to lead us into a new world order,” according to Henry Kissinger, and his globalist cohorts were fixated on the destruction of the United States, and a final solution to that annoying Middle East standoff of that tiny peanut-sized nation of Israel (against hordes of angry, bristling Muslims who had vowed to drive them into the sea). 
Those two obstacles stood in the way of that New World Order vision, and Obama went to work in destroying the American economy and its sovereignty by undermining its Constitution and doubling its national debt by some $8+ trillion dollars.  Complicit “fifth columnists” within the various levels of national government, many having been appointed and put in place by Obama without congressional approval.  The downfall of America is, by most observers, hovering on the brink of economic collapse and the prospects of martial law being enforced, is quietly being prepared for its citizens. No one wants to talk about those things very openly these days.
But for the God of Prophecy
Knowing that the God of the universe is in control and sets the appointed times of events on earth is a great source of comfort and peace to the believer. As for the place of America in biblical prophecy, it is not mentioned in any direct way as a super power in the last days. Yet, it seems to be tied inseparably to Europe and its resurrection of the ancient Holy Roman Empire.  At this point, it seems that the United States is the leading factor in bringing a peace agreement to the forefront in the Middle East.
That particular event is predicted in Daniel 9:26-27:
“And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. And the people of the ruler who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end of it shall be with the flood, and ruins are determined, until the end shall be war. And he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease, and on a corner of the altar desolating abominations, even until the end. And that which was decreed shall be poured on the desolator.” 
Here is a list of the important points of these two verses:
  1. When the Messiah was “cut off” (crucified), there had elapsed  a total of sixty-nine weeks of years, to that point. Some years ago a British student of prophecy, Sir Robert Anderson, carefully calculated the times in Daniel’s prophecy to verify that the sixty-nine “weeks” to the crucifixion of Christ comes to exactly 483 years, and that final week of seven years has yet to come about. Earlier in the passage Daniel was told that seventy weeks would be visited upon his people and upon his holy city. (Seventy weeks of years would total 490 years.)
  2. The people of whom a future ruler or prince will come were the Romans, under the command of Titus, who destroyed the city and the sanctuary (temple) in 70 A.D.  Just as Jesus predicted to His disciples, “not one stone will be left upon another” (Matthew 24:1-2). They sought out every thread of gold that glittered between the stones in the morning sunlight.
  3. That prince that shall come will confirm a covenant with many for one week (seven years), but halfway through that period, he breaks the covenant and proclaims himself God.
  4. Since the Romans will have destroyed the temple, and this prince will move into the temple, the holy place, and desecrate it at the halfway point, the covenant must have allowed the Jews to rebuild their temple and restore its religious functions.
  5. As confirmed in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4: “…and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself forth, that he is God.” Thus, he desecrates the temple.
  6. The passage ends with the declaration that this desolator will receive a decree of judgment “poured out upon him.
One obvious point that stands out is that this event could not have happened at the 70 A.D. destruction. Why not? There would have been no time for a seven-year covenant and the temple was being destroyed, not rebuilt so that after three and one-half years that prince could cancel the sacrifices and desecrate the altar. And there was no agreement favoring the Jews, for they were scattered into all nations following the city’s destruction. So, it is a coming moment that seems to be that pivotal, climatic event that ends the age of grace.
 The “taking out of the Gentiles a people for the Lord’s name,” ends, and the beginning of that final 70th week which was to be visited upon Daniel’s people now follows. It is the time that Jeremiah calls, “The time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7).  Note that this visitation of God (in judgment) is upon the people of Daniel, the Hebrew nation, not the body of Christ, the church.  That entity, the church, was not announced until Jesus did so at Matthew 16:13-19.
Now, break for a bit of current event headlines right out of the Rapture Ready News page:
“Netanyahu Plans a National Referendum on US Peace Framework to Extend Negotiations for Another Year”
(A poll taken last July 24 reported that 55 per cent of Israelis would support the prime minister were he to submit a peace deal for a public referendum.)
 “Kerry: Saudi King Backs Israeli-Palestinian Peace Push”
 “Peace Deal Is Best Israel Will Get, Says Lieberman”
In the first title above, posted on the January 8 page, it appears the Prime Minister is beginning to lean in favor of the U.S. proposal framework, yet wants another year to swing the Israeli people behind him. A year’s extension makes that confirmation more uncertain as to the time line, but then, what about the signals of the blood moons, this year and an exact duplicate for 2015?  Netanyahu may well have in the back of his mind the fate of his two predecessors.  (See below.)
The second article, posted January 7, reports Kerry’s success in getting Saudi Arabia backing for the U.S. proposal, thus increasing pressure on the Israeli faction.
The third one, posted January 10, is especially worthy of note: Avigdor Lieberman, the hawkish Israeli foreign minister widely regarded as a major obstacle to peace with the Palestinians, has urged his country to accept the deal currently being brokered by Washington as the best offer it will ever receive. 
Since 2009 and Obama’s debut on the world scene, diplomatic efforts have increased with annual target dates for the successful completion of an agreement that both sides will embrace, yet it has never come this close. Combined with the converging of other related end-time events, it does appear that God’s appointed time may be rising over the horizon.
During the week of January 6 news reports marked the declining health condition of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, finally coming to his death on Saturday, January 11.  The whole scenario presents a very interesting picture of why, perhaps, the former prime minister has suffered in a coma since 2006, yet alive, marking time. Remember, it was during his term in 2005 that Israel agreed to turn Gaza over to the Palestinians. All Jewish residents were moved out of Gaza and all of the improvements were left to the new owners.After it was finished, Prime Minister Sharon suffered the stroke that has left him in a coma for eight years.
In 1993, Bill Clinton met with then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat in Oslo, Norway, and worked out an agreement now called the Oslo Accord. It was not favorable to Israel’s progress up through the June, 1967, war and the Yom Kippur war in October, 1973, in obtaining more of the territory God had promised them. It was a five-year process that would have turned over territories to the control of the Palestinians after three years.  In 1995, Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated.
Now, former Prime Minister Sharon, having been the central Israeli figure in turning Gaza over to the Palestinians in 2005, has come to the end of his long coma. Is it only a coincidence that these two leaders have met such tragedy in their lives?  Or, is God sending a message to Israel?  It may be that more time for clarification on the issue is Netanyahu’s concern. It would definitely be mine. God apparently does not like to give up territory. He promised to restore to Israel in these last days.
“Comfort One Another With These Words”
The “signs of the times,” under which I would list this suggested coincidental linking of events,  are in many venues, just as Jesus predicted in the gospels—wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes in many places, turbulence in weather, strange things in the heavens. All these we are seeing, regularly and in increasing volume. The coming “blood moons” this year and next are also among those signs in the heavens and deserve our instant attention, for the first one reported by NASA will be on April 15.
This pending event about to happen is tied particularly to Paul’s prophecy of the Rapture of the body of Christ, for he includes it as the pivotal event that is the turning point for the coming of the day of the Lord, like a thief in the night. If one reads 1 Thessalonians 4:16 through 5:4 without considering the chapter break, it reads as one context, just as in the original text. Verses 2-3 of chapter 5 detail the circumstances in which that transformation of believers, both dead and alive, in chapter 4:16-17 happens. Those final verses read like this: 
“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. For when they shall say, ‘Peace and safety!’ Then sudden destruction comes on them, as travail upon a woman with child. And they shall not escape.But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief.
This incident is not the Second Coming of Christ; it is very evident upon thoughtful consideration. A thief at night comes, takes what he is after and goes away with it; he does not stay. At the Second Coming, Jesus will come, fully visible, with His large army of saints, and He will stay and establish His authority over the whole world.
When that pivotal event happens, perhaps even when the agreement is announced, or some time in between the announcement and the signing of the covenant, that cry will sound out, and believers by the millions around the world will disappear, in the twinkling of an eye.  Sudden destruction and chaos will begin a seven-year period of increasing lawlessness and evil without resistance; then judgment.
Contact email:  andwegetmercy@gmail.com