Revelation chapter 12 is one chapter which has produced a lot of debate, especially within the last 150 years. This is a chapter, even if you are 100% futurist, that contains certain aspects which cannot be easily explained away by saying its to be yet fulfilled.

Rod, at Adam’s study group blog, Pursuing Truth at 2909, has a study posted of 2 common interpretations of Chapter 12;  Futurist and Partial-Preterist.

Another interpretation is more in the line of viewing this chapter as depicting a panorama of history; this is commonly referred to as  Historicism

I plan on adding to this post (by editing it later), but in the meantime I want to only post the chapter in-full. Feel free to jump in with your own thoughts pertaining to chapter 12:

1And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 2And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 3And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 5And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 6And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

7And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

10And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 13And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

14And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 16And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (KJV)

“The church or individual who is Bible taught without being Spirit taught has simply failed to see that truth lies deeper than the theological statement of it. We only possess what we experience. The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still.”

~ A. W. Tozer

Quotes by Great Men of God -  The Old Time Gospel

Sigh..

A 22-year veteran kindergarten teacher in the Texas Bible Belt could lose her job for refusing, on religious grounds, to give fingerprints under a state law requiring them.

The evangelical Christian, Pam McLaurin, is fighting a looming suspension, claiming that fingerprinting amounts to the “Mark of the Beast,” and hence is a violation of her First Amendment right to practice her religion. Her case is similar to a lawsuit by a group of Michigan farmers, some of them Amish, challenging rules requiring the tagging of livestock with RFID chips, saying the devices are also the devil’s mark.

The latest case is the first in which a teacher is refusing fingerprinting on religious grounds, the woman’s lawyer said. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to decide whether the First Amendment is implicated in fingerprinting, especially at a time when states, local governments and civic organizations are increasingly making them mandatory for anyone wanting to drive a car or coach a youth basketball team.

McLaurin’s lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency cites various passages of Revelation, the final book of The Bible:

He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand and on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.… Then a third angel followed them saying with a loud voice — if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God.… He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

Her attorney, Scott Skelton, said his client believes that the computerized fingerprinting, in which her fingerprints will be stored in a database, is the mark addressed in Revelation. The teacher does not believe that it is merely coincidence that Revelation says only those with the ‘mark on his forehead or on his hand’ will be able to buy or sell, since only those teachers who comply with fingerprinting requirements will keep their jobs, he said. (more)

If its self serving:

Lou Engle of The Call:

“…we face a crisis that many believe could be the turning point from a society of free men and women to a society under the economic and moral control of a government hostile to Christian values…the healthcare bill..”

“The Bible shouts to us across the ages “we have not because we ask not”. Therefore, on November 6th, we are calling a Friday “Night of Petition” prior to the potential vote on Saturday November 7th. Join Mat Staver, (*BattleCry’s) Ron Luce, (*Political activist) Tony Perkins, (*NAR associate) Lou Engle, and other key leaders at 8:00pm EST with thousands of concerned believing citizens for a national prayer conference call to cry out to God for mercy and ask for the restraining of this unrighteous legislation”

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. Luke 18

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6

As I first considered “selfish prayer” I thought about the obvious applications for it: prayers that revolve around me—my needs, my wants, my desires and my dreams. I pray selfishly when I focus primarily on what I want from God rather than what He wants for me. And I pray selfishly when I focus on what I want at the expense of what others may want or need.

I have often thought of the strange fact that, during many of the wars that have raged in days past, men on both sides of the conflict have prayed to God for protection and victory. Perhaps the American Civil War was the most notable of these for there were God-fearing men, men who are known for their godliness and desire to honor and serve God, each trying to defeat the other and each pleading for God’s assistance in doing so. Why God ultimately chose to answer the prayers of Abraham Lincoln rather than those of Robert E. Lee is something we do not know. Somehow it served God’s purposes.  – (Excerpt, Selfish Prayer by Tim Challies)

Below is a very sad and true story about an American Christian Conservative Talk Radio Show Host (Trunews) and now turned African Missionary, who is a true picture of pseudo missionaries who go to Africa not to serve the people, but to serve their own interests.

The experience of this Pastor in Kenya who had such a bad experience with Rick Wiles is very similar to some experiences I have had too and the problem is far and wide as some Western Missionaries are fully engaged in abusive, manipulative, intimidating work relations with their African counterparts. Such missionaries do not see African Pastors and Leaders as co-workers but as slaves and servants who are supposed to be subservient and sycophants at best. Many African Christians endure such harsh and abusive work relations simply to get the Dollars from the missionary to survive and buy a day’s meal. (continue here)

Related: See, Rick Wiles Pleads for $1 Million to Launch 24 Hour Christian Patriotic News Network

After spending the morning reading a number of posts around the Christian-internet ranging from “Its time to arm-up, we real Americans want blood!”,  to “The shooter at Fort Hood is a Muslim, our President is a Muslim; think about THAT!”..

My simple statement is pray for all involved.

I also liked Dr. Bruce Prescot’s simple message, Regarding the Violence at Fort Hood

A wonderful companion message to the one posted last evening, What were Gentile believers grafted into?.

The Gentile Believer and the Law

We have said that the experience of the ‘wretched man’ of Romans 7 is not the normal experience of a converted Gentile. It is, nevertheless, a sad fact that it may (and often does) become the abnormal experience of converted Gentiles, who, through ignorance of the great gospel truths revealed in Romans, or through the influence of Judaizing teachers and legal systems of theology, fall from their standing in grace, and seek justification, or spiritual enrichment, through law-works.

Hence the solemn warning of Galatians 5:4: ‘You are deprived of all effect from Christ, whosoever in law are being justified; you are fallen from grace.’

For as there were in Paul’s day, so are there now, many who desire ‘to be of the law, understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm’ (1 Tim 1:7).

So also the struggle of that ‘wretched man’ becomes the experience of many unconverted Gentiles who, totally ignorant of remission of sins through faith in the blood of Christ, are seeking perpetually (because seeking vainly) for an inclination of the heart to keep the Mosaic law. The condition of such, if they be earnest and sincere in their desire to keep the law, is indeed ‘wretched’ in the extreme.

It was thus necessary, in addition to the revelation given in Romans 7 of deliverance for the believing Jew from the yoke of the Law, for the Letter to the Galatians to be included in the Word of God, in order to instruct and warn Gentile believers against putting themselves under that yoke.

In referring, however, to Galatians our object is simply to see what light it throws on the conflict described in Romans 7. What we find in Galatians confirms strongly the view that the experience described in Romans 7 is that of a conscientious unconverted Israelite, and not at all a ‘Christian’ experience. In fact, the main object of the Apostle in writing to the assemblies of Galatia was to warn them against teachings which would lead them into such an experience.

Galatians 2

In Galatians 2, Paul relates how he remonstrated with the Apostle Peter for compelling the Gentiles to live as the Jews do (v. 14). We can be sure that the matter in dispute is esteemed by the Spirit of God to be exceedingly important; otherwise it would not be brought to our attention in the form of a rebuke administered by Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, to Peter, the leader of the twelve.

In this connection Paul draws the line sharply between Jews and Gentiles, saying: ‘We, Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man in not justified out of the works of the Law, but out of the faithfulness of Christ, even we [Jews] have believed on Christ Jesus that we might be justified out of the faithfulness of Christ, and not out of works of Law’ (vv. 15-16).

And he adds: ‘For if I build again the things I threw down, I constitute myself a transgressor.’ That is to say, if he should set up the Law again as an obligation for himself, he would make himself a law-breaker. ‘For,’ he continues, ‘I through the Law died to the Law, that I might live to God.’

Here Paul again brings himself forward, as a typical Jew, and repeats in few words the doctrine elaborated in Romans 7.

‘I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live‘, or, as the Greek may be equally well rendered, ‘I am not any longer living, it is Christ that lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God.’

It is possible for every believer to reach the place where he can make this saying of Paul his own. It involves death to sin and life to God in Christ, and the abiding presence of the Spirit of Him who raised up Christ from the dead. This verse obviously contains a condensed statement of the truth revealed in Romans 6 and 7 concerning the believer’s death (as to his old nature) with Christ, and his living again in the supernatural life of the risen Christ.

That new life is not and cannot be lived under the Law of Sinai.

‘I do not,’ says Paul, ‘make void the grace of God’ (as Peter was doing by his dissimulation and by returning to the practice of Judaism) ‘for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died for nothing’ (v. 21).

Galatians 3

Having thus dealt with the case of the believing Jew, who had been delivered from the Law by means of Christ’s death, the Apostle directly addresses the Galatians, who, being Gentiles, never were under Law, but began their relations with God in the Spirit.

The Jew began his service of God in the flesh. For him, therefore, there might be found some excuse for continuing after conversion as a man in the flesh under Law, not exercising the liberty for which Christ had made him free.

But for Gentile believers, who never were under the Law, but had the great advantage of beginning in the Spirit, to put themselves under Law and to attempt to be perfected in the flesh, was the ‘senseless’ action of those who had been ‘bewitched.’

‘O senseless Galatians, who had bewitched you,’ that you should act thus after the truth concerning Christ crucified has been plainly put before you? ‘Are you so senseless? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected in the flesh?’ (Gal. 3:1-3).

It was indeed ‘senseless’ in the extreme to undertake the perfecting in the flesh of the work that was begun in the Spirit.

The Apostle then refers to Abraham, whose faith was accounted to him for righteousness, and points out that the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles out of faith, proclaimed that good news to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all nations (Gentiles) be blessed’ (Gal. 3:8).

The Galatians are warned of two serious facts.

First, Paul teaches that all who are of the works of Law (in contrast to those that are ‘of faith’) are under the curse of the Law.

Second, he asserts that the curse comes upon everyone who ‘does not persist in all things which are written in the book of the Law, to do them.’ From this it follows that no one is being justified with God by virtue of the Law: ‘For the just shall live out of faith; but the man that does those things (required by the Law) shall live on account of them‘ (vv. 10-12).

In view of this, it would naturally be asked, How does it come about that the Jews, who were placed under the Law, which none of them has kept, have escaped from the curse of the Law?

The answer is, ‘Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us.’ This statement manifestly applies solely to Israel, for the curse of the Law was never pronounced against the Gentiles. Hence Paul uses in verse 3:13 the pronoun ‘us’. The contrast between Jews and Gentiles is again clearly marked by verse 14, which goes on to say that Christ was made a curse for the Jews in order that the blessing of Abraham might come not only on them, but also on the Gentiles in Christ Jesus.

The contrast between the curse of the Law, pronounced upon those who were under the Law, and the blessing of Abraham coming to the Gentile believers in Christ, is very instructive. An additional consequence of Christ’s bearing of the curse of the Law is then set forth, namely, the we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The promise was made to Abraham and to his seed long before the Law was given. From this it follows that the promise cannot be nullified by the Law, which was given 430 years after. If then the Law was not given for the purpose of adding anything to the promise, or of taking anything from it, why was it given?

It was added for the sake of transgressions, that is in order that the repeated transgressions of the Law by every Israelite, might reveal the presence and nature of sin in the flesh, and show the futility of attempting to secure justification out of Law-works. Moreover, it was given, not as a permanent institution, but only ‘until the Seed should come to whom the promise was made’ (3:19).

This statement shows that the period of the Law was strictly limited in time, as it was limited also in scope to the children of Israel. Its era did not begin until 430 years after God had begun to deal with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants; and it ceased when the promised Seed died under the Law. The curse of the Law was exhausted when Christ was made a curse by hanging on a tree (Deut. 21:23).

Whatever God’s purposes were with the Law, they were all accomplished when the promised Seed died on the Cross.

Since that event even the Jew is no longer under Law, for by no amount of law-keeping can he now secure the promised blessings of the promised land. The old covenant is entirely ended (2 Cor. 3:7-11; Heb. 7:13). The words on the Cross, ‘It is finished’ (in the original it is the single word ‘accomplished’) included the purpose of the Law, which thereupon came to an end.

The temporary character of the Law as a Divine institution is further set forth, with great clearness, in verses 23-25.

‘Before faith came,’ says the Apostle, ‘we [Jews] were kept [or guarded] under Law, having been shut up to the faith which was about to be revealed. For which purpose the Law has been our tutor up to Christ in order that we might be justified by faith. But faith having come, we are no longer under a tutor.’

By noting the tenses of the verbs, as given in the above renderings, the sense will be readily and clearly apprehended. It is very clear indeed that these statements apply only to Israelites.

After speaking in the first person of the Jews, the Apostle, addressing the Gentile Galatians, says by way of contrast:

‘For you are all the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek.’

The contrast between the ‘we’ of verses 24 and 25 and the ‘you’ of verse 26, is very significant.

Galatians 4

Some of the statements in Galatians 4 are broad enough to embrace both Jews and Gentiles, for both were, before conversion, in bondage to the elements of the world. But the special bondage of the Jew – the yoke of the Law and the penalty of its curse – is also specifically mentioned. As the heir is ‘under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father; even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem those that were under the Law, that we might receive the status of sons. But because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba Father.’” (4:2-6)

The defective reading of verse 6 in the Authorised Version ‘And because you are sons,’ instead of ‘But,’ as it is in the original, hides the contrast between the case of the believing Israelite and that of the believing Gentile. The former needed to be redeemed from under the Law (the guardian) before he could receive the freedom of a son, while for the latter there was no such need. The bondage of the Gentiles was a different kind of bondage. Not knowing God at all, thy were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods (4:8). But the point we wish to emphasise is that they were not under Law at any time, and this point is very clearly presented in the passage we have been examining.

The Believer’s State Is Not One Of Lawlessness

In emphasizing the important truth that the believer is not under the Law, because, if a Jew he was delivered from the yoke of the Law by the death of Christ, and if a Gentile he was never under the Law at all, must not obscure the important fact that the state of the believer is not one of lawlessness – far from it.

What is spoken of in Romans 7 as ‘the Law’ is the Law given to the Israelites through Moses. That Law was by no means a complete statement of God’s requirements, though it was quite sufficient for the purpose of revealing the presence of sin in the flesh, for demonstrating the utter corruption of human nature, and for making manifest the exceeding sinfulness of sin. The teachings of Jesus Christ showed that the full requirements of God’s holiness and righteousness are far above those of the Law of Moses.

‘You have heard that it was said by (or to) them of old, You shall not kill … But I say to you, Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause, etc.‘ (Matt. 5:21-48).

The believer of this dispensation is not living under the Law of Moses. That law was given for the regulation of the conduct of men in the flesh. The believer is ‘not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.’ (Rom. 8:9). He is not, therefore, operating in the sphere in which the Law of Moses was effective.

The child of God, though not under the Law of Moses, is ‘not without Law to God, but in-law to Christ’ (ennomous Christou, 1 Cor. 9:21). He owns the risen Christ as His Lord, and judges that his entire life in the body is to be lived no longer unto himself, but unto Him who died for him and rose again (2 Cor. 5:15).

Being in the Spirit he is to be governed by ‘the law of the Spirit‘ (Rom. 8:2). Being in Christ he is to ‘fulfil the law of Christ’ (Gal. 6:2).

This is a condition very different from that of the Israelite under the Law of Moses, and on a much higher plane. The life of the child of God is not a life hedged about by constraints and prohibitions, but a life of liberty in which he is free to follow all the leadings of the Spirit, and all the inclinations of the new nature which the Spirit imparts to those whom He quickens.

It is a life of freedom – not freedom to sin, but freedom not to sin.

He who practices sin is the slave of sin; only the free man can refuse obedience to the demands of sin, and yield himself to God as one who is alive from the dead. The Word of God abounds in directions addressed to the children of God, by which their walk, while yet in this body, is to be guided and controlled.

These directions are found in the commandments of Christ, and in the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, whom the risen Lord empowered to be the channel for the revelation of His special communications to and concerning the Church. And these directions are illustrated by all the holy Scriptures, the things which happened to the Israelites having been written, not for our imitation, but for our admonition (1 Cor. 10:11).

The believer has been called into liberty; and he is exhorted to stand fast in the liberty for which Christ has made him free (Gal. 5:1). Yet he is not to use his liberty so as to furnish occasions for gratifying the desires of his old nature (Gal. 5:13).

Having been brought, through the resurrection of Christ, into the sphere of the Spirit, the believer is commanded to remain there; that is, to be occupied with and interested in the things of the Spirit. While so engaged he cannot at the same time be fulfilling the desires of the flesh.

‘This I say then, walk in [or by] the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the desires of the flesh’ (Gal. 5:16). ‘If you be led of the Spirit you are not under the Law’ (Gal. 5:18).

Ephesians, which especially reveals the position of believers as quickened together with Christ, raised up (i.e. ascended) together with Him, and seated together in the heavenly places in Christ, abounds in practical directions for the believer’s guidance in all his earthly relations. We…call attention to them in order to guard against the supposition that, because the believer of this dispensation is not under the Law of Moses, he is therefore in a state of lawlessness.

The main points, then, of the teaching we have been examining are these:

• That the sufferings of Christ were incurred for the sins of His people, that is to say, the sins of those whom God justifies upon the principle of faith.

• That the death of Christ delivers the believing sinner, whether Jew or Gentile, from the servitude of sin.

• That the death of Christ also brought the age of the Law to an end, and delivered all converted Israelites from the yoke of the Law.

• That the resurrection of Christ brings all believers into the sphere of a new humanity, where there is a new life, whose Source is the risen Christ, which life is imparted by the Spirit of God to the believer while the later is yet in the mortal body.

• That believers, though not under the Law of Moses, are governed by the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, and are required to ‘fulfil the law of Christ.’

Messianic Good News, The Christian’s Relationship to the Mosaic Law by Philip Mauro

Its like watching a soap-opera, or else I’ve entered a time warp which has whisked me back to the 1960’s.

Nine Arrested Protesting Lieberman’s Healthcare Stance

Nine protesters were arrested Thursday in a demonstration at the office of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) to demand that he pledge to stop accepting from the health insurance industry.

Lieberman, who last week said he would join a GOP filibuster of any health care bill with a government-run public option, has accepted about $1.5 million from health professionals and insurance agencies since 2003, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Twenty protesters, including four students from the University of Connecticut, marched into the senator’s office in the morning and demanded to speak with him. Aides denied their request, offering constituents a closed-door meeting with two legislative aides, which was rejected.

Nine protesters then staged a sit-in, saying they would not leave the office until they could have a discussion with the senator in person.

Lieberman did not arrive, though he was in the building, preparing to chair a Homeland Security Committee hearing on business formation and financial crime.

“We’re waiting to see if the senator for Aetna is ready to be the senator for the people,” explained one protester, Kai, who wouldn’t give his last name. Aetna has spent over two million dollars on lobbying in 2009, and has donated $65,000 to Lieberman’s campaign committee.

Within 10 minutes of the protesters’ arrival, Capitol police were on the scene. They dragged away nine protesters, including two of Lieberman’s Connecticut constituents, as Senate staffers watched from the lobby and office hallways. (source)

Hundreds Of Tea Party Activists Storm Capitol

At noon, NBC News reported police estimated that there were 3,000 to 3,500 protesters. Matthew Yglesias has some pictures.

Rep. Michele Bachmman (R-Minn.) has told supporters to try to scare her colleagues into voting against health care reform at a protest Thursday, Politico reports.  Meanwhile, rallies in favor of the public option are being organized in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta. (source)

Does this mean all Christian ministers who are “thieves, crooks and liars” will be sent there? AHA! (Sorry, it just popped into my head…)

Tulsa World

WAKITA — This tiny town near the Oklahoma-Kansas state line north of Enid may soon own the country’s only all-Christian prison, with Christian administrators, employees, counselors and programs.

The idea is backed by Wakita’s leaders, has some support from state officials, and, its founders believe, is able to pass constitutional muster.

“If Chicken Little doesn’t come to town, we’ll be open in 16 months,” said Bill Robinson, the founder of Corrections Concepts Inc., a Dallas nonprofit prison ministry that is spearheading the project.

Mayor Kelly George said officials of this town of 380 were fully behind the project and have done everything they need to make it happen.

A 150-acre site on the edge Wakita has been selected, and an agreement has been reached with Corrections Concepts Inc. to manage the 600-bed prison if and when it is built.

Robinson said that if the Corrections Department does not commit to using the prison, the ministry will seek inmates from other states.

This is a good idea, a concept that hasn’t been done yet,” Mohler said.

Robinson, himself an ex-con and prison minister, said he had been working for years on the idea of an all-Christian prison, and he had invested $1.3 million so far on construction plans and other expenses.

He said a lot of prisons have faith-based or Christian units, but he knows of none with an all-Christian staff.

“The staff, being all born-again believers, will see this as a mission,” he said.

“They don’t have to go to church, or Bible study, but they have to participate in the curriculum, which is Christ-centered,” Robinson said.

He possesses legal opinions that say that as a religious organization, the prison will be able to hire only people of like faith, he said.

If constitutional challenges arise, he said, the American Center for Law and Justice, a major Christian law firm, (Founded by Pat Robertson in 1990) has agreed to represent the ministry for free.

This short but important message comes from one of my favorite websites, Messianic Good News. It’s important because there still continues to be many within the body of Christ who don’t understand this truth. I know, because of letters received from readers here.

May I share one of the greatest joys which has come from having this blog? Almost a year after starting it, a reader left a comment–a lengthy one at that, filled with obvious joy after reading something put together and posted, which was similar to this. While I won’t go into all of it, suffice it to say the person had been struggling with questions concerning the Church, believers, modern-day unbelieving Israel, and the Hebrew Roots teachings. The reader said the post had confirmed what the Spirit of God had been showing them in the Word.

I recall praying, telling the Lord if this blog never accomplished one more thing then that one person receiving confirmation and freedom, I considered this blog worthwhile. Don’t know why, but that came back to me tonight…

The latest misconception spreading within the ‘Messianic’ and ‘Hebrew Root’ movements is that Gentile Christians are being grafted into an ethnically defined, and predominantly unbelieving, ‘Israel’ at the present time – rather than historically, into the faithful remnant described in Romans chapter eleven. YHVH spoke of Israel as an olive tree whose branches would be cut off and thrown into the fire (Jeremiah 11:16). In Romans eleven, Paul used the imagery of Jeremiah’s prophecy to describe the reconstituted Israel under the New Covenant, on the criterion of faith in Messiah. Two processes took place concurrently:

• Firstly, those Jews who rejected the Messiah (the Prophet like Moses) were cut off from Israel and ceased to be part of that nation. (The same were ‘in danger of being burnt’ unless they repented and were grafted in again.)

• Secondly, Gentile believers were being joined in with the faithful remnant, and became part of Israel.

As under the Old Covenant, the Lord’s faithful are instructed to keep themselves separate – for the same reason as given under the Law, namely to avoid the contaminating influence of the unbeliever.

‘Do not be yoked together with unbelievers … For what fellowship is there between light and darkness, and what harmony between Christ and the Devil?’ (2 Cor. 6:14).

For a Christian to be yoked together with unconverted Jews is no less sinful than for a Jew under the Old Covenant to join himself with Moab. Nor is the contamination that enters the Camp of the Righteous through such an unholy union any less destructive!

Ironically, Paul warned Gentile believers that they were ‘grafted in’ on account of their faith in Messiah, but could just as readily lose their privileged position and be cut off again. Those who unbind themselves from the body of Messiah to stand in solidarity with unbelievers are clearly victims of such an apostasy.

Those of us moved by the love of God to labour for the salvation of the apostle Paul’s ‘ brothers after the flesh,’ must preserve our integrity and put forward a faithful witness of the hope that stems from our New Covenant faith. Those who think they can achieve Jewish salvation by participating in the religious observances of the Talmudic faith simply add credibility to that system, and can never – by the flattery of imitation – provoke anyone to jealousy. Only the new life by the Spirit of God, which manifests itself most profoundly through simple obedience, self-sacrifice, and by its fruits (Gal. 5:22), will produce such a result.

Kevin Daly – What were Gentile believers grafted into?

Now here’s a scary pairing up..

Michele “scare them! get in their faces and let them see the whites of your eyes’ Bachmann, teamed up with Randall “I also thought it would be kind of funny, since it’s Halloween, to picture them burning in hell” Terry.

The following is submitted by Randall Terry, Director, Insurrecta Nex:

What: Pro-life advocates will preach, lobby, and perform skits outside the Cannon Office Building.  One skit will be Nancy Pelosi beating a “tax payer slave.”  Another will be Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in chains in hell.

Who: Mr. Randall Terry and other pro-life advocates.

When: Thursday, November 5, from 8:30 to 10:00 AM

Where: Corner of 1st St. SE, and C St. SE, outside Cannon building, near the Capitol South Metro Station

Pro-life advocates will preach, lobby, and perform skits outside the Cannon Office Building at the corner of 1st and C SE near the Capitol South Metro Station on Thursday, November 5, from 8:30 to 10:00 AM.  One skit will be Nancy Pelosi beating a “tax payer slave.”  Another will be Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in chains in hell.  “Pelosi” and “Reid” costume wearers will be in rags and chains, guarded by “demons” and “ghouls.”

From there they will proceed to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s rally at the capitol. link

These type of strong-arm ignorant tactics never work to change anyone’s mind about anything. If you’d like to read of a situation in which information and education can have much better results, see Wickle’s post,  Information v. Abortion

See this fellow here in the photo? Well meet a “Geep”. A hybrid between a Goat and a Sheep.

These type of hybrids are called chimeras: after the mythological monster with a lion’s head, goat’s body and serpent’s tail.

This creature, part goat and sheep came to mind this evening as once again I read an article which spoke of “Conservative” Christians.  Folks, I have to say it again–there is no such thing in the Kingdom of God as a conservative or liberal Christian.  God see’s all people as either saved and abiding in Christ, or lost.  There are no “Geeps” in the Kingdom of God.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” Matthew 25:31-34

If we know this as true, why do continue to accept and/or allow others to divide the body of Christ by such worldly tags as Conservative and Liberal; And why do we continue to use those tags ourselves? Those abiding in Christ are not conservative (or liberal) Christians, they’re just Christians. period.

As I asked under the article mentioned:

When are we going to stop allowing political groups and journalists to redefine Christians as either conservative or liberal? There is no such thing….in my bible.

I don’t know about you, but I’m no “Geep”…some hybrid that is only part Christian, and the other part “Liberal” or Conservative”.

As the author of the excellent article, Simply Christian, wrote:

It goes without saying, that a person could read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, follow everything in it intended for men of this age, and he would never be anything else than SIMPLY A CHRISTIAN. No one ever became anything else by following the Bible and Jesus.

Follow the Word of God as it stands, not after it has been filtered through the creeds and doctrines of men, then let that make of you what it will. It will make of you what it made of others in the book of Acts. Those who continued in the apostles’ doctrine (Acts 2:42) were believers, disciples, saints, Christians; it made a group of them the church of God or the church of Christ, and that is all the apostles’ doctrine will ever make of anyone.

It takes something added to the Bible’s definition of “Christian” to be what is known today as a “Conservative” or “Liberal” Christian folks. The author mentions,

Follow(ing) the Word of God as it stands, not after it has been filtered through the creeds and doctrines of men..

The same can be said for following Christ and God’s word as it stands, not after its been filtered through politics or political ideology.

“One body, One Spirit, One hope, One Lord, One faith, One baptism, and One God” (Eph. 4)

When I was a young girl, I had an albino friend.

Annie’s hair was as light and wispy as cotton candy. Her eyes as pink as Valentine Sweet-Tarts. At church, whenever we sang that song about Jesus washing me whiter than snow, I thought of her.

Annie’s skin was as white as a fresh piece of typing paper. There wasn’t a blemish on her anywhere. Annie reflected light like an angel that’s come straight from the presence of God. We went our separate ways after we ended up at different high schools. I haven’t thought of Annie in years until I caught a “Dateline” special about the slaughter of albinos taking place in Tanzania.

“Dateline’s” Aaron Lewis reported that Leticia Bahati, a 9-year-old albino girl watched as human poachers attacked her 14-year-old sister, Eunice. “Euni tried to run away,” Leticia said. “But she fell to the floor because they had hacked her in the neck.”

These human-hunters then cut off Eunice’s legs and left her to bleed to death, like so many others.

News reports say at least 53 people with albinism have met similar fates since 2007 in this east African nation.

The lack of prosecution for such heinous acts has created an atmosphere of great fear for Tanzania’s albino population – about 170,000 people. Authorities have arrested more than 90 people, including four police officers, for their part in such killings, but until recently, Tanzania’s leaders have turned a blind eye to the brutal slayings.

In September, Tanzania’s high court sentenced three men to hang for the slaying of a 13-year-old albino boy, killed for the same reason as Eunice – for his body parts.

The leg of an albino child can fetch a thousand dollars or better. A great temptation for the poverty-stricken, especially when you add to the mix that the reason body parts of the albinos are in such high demand is because witch doctors insist that it can bring good luck, specifically great riches. And that belief seems to be spreading. Twelve albinos in Brundi have been killed in the past year.

Not all those attacked die; many are just left maimed for life.

Peter Ash is an albino and founder of the Canadian-based human rights organization Under the Same Sun, which is seeking to put an end to this gruesome genocide. Following a recent trip to Tanzania, Ash said, “The body of a 2-day-old baby with albinism was exhumed from a grave dug the day after its birth. This tiny infant was found without arms or legs. There are repeated accounts of throats slit, blood drained – and sometimes drunk on the spot by the killers. Victims have no one to trust and nowhere to turn because evidence shows that in many cases, relatives or close friends of the victims are directly involved in the murders.”

That was the case for Eunice Bahait, whose parents were arrested days after her murder for allegedly aiding the human poachers for a cut of the profits.

Here in America, few of us have ever experienced the kind of poverty that causes a parent to cannibalize their own child.

Yet we are not above practicing our own form of Voodoo Christianity.

One only has to look at the proliferation of preachers and evangelists touting a cash-and-Cadillac gospel and the thousands flocking to hear a message that distorts Jeremiah 29:11 and John 10:10 as God’s promise of “your rich life now.”

Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer both routinely assure their followers that God wants to prosper people. Their books sell in the multimillions.

The Inspiration Network, based in Charlotte, N.C., took over where Jim Bakker’s PTL left off. Its CEO, David Cerullo, is currently building a $4 million lakefront home in western South Carolina. It’s not like he needs a new home. Cerullo already owns a 12,000-square-foot home in North Carolina.

So just where’s he getting all that money?

A portion of it’s coming in $58 increments, known as seed-faith money.

“If you can’t trust God for $58, you’ll never be debt-free,” says Mike Murdock. Murdock is just one of the many pitchmen featured on the Inspiration Network.

Act now. In Jesus name!

“Tomorrow, somebody’s gonna drive a Mercedes.”

It could be you. If only you’ll have enough faith.

“My goal is for 300 people to hear the wisdom that God gives my heart for them to become millionaires for the sake of the kingdom of God.”

Georgia’s own Creflo Dollar is getting filthy rich, promising others that God is going to make them richer, if only they practice the Voodoo Christianity common to Word of Faith theology: Send in your money. Pray the big prayer. Expect God to do miracles. Chiefly, a car with a big chrome grill or a McMansion in a gated community.

The aptly named Dollar is only one of several prosperity gospel leaders who’ve been under Senate investigation for fraud. Others include Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, Eddie Long and Paula White.

It appears that Voodoo Theology is on the rise not only in Africa but right here in America.

Cutting the limbs off albino children and weaving the hair of an albino victim into fishing nets in hopes for a bigger catch, a greater profit and increased wealth are hardly the same as a person on a fixed-income sending in $100 of seed-faith money in hopes that it will incur favor with the Almighty. However, the theology behind the two actions is ultimately the same.

It’s voodoo – a belief that we can manipulate God into making us richer if only we come up with the right incantation and sacrifice.

Karen Spears Zacharias is the author of the forthcoming “Will Jesus Buy Me a Doublewide? ‘Cause I Need More Room for My Plasma TV.”

Source

Very good post at Discerning the World – Discernment for Africa

It is very sad to see people who call themselves Christians being so ignorant of the Scripture and then land up in all these “problem” situations like Toronto and Lakeland.

Here in South Africa we have similar “problem” ministries and people doing the rounds. The most famous currently is Angus Buchan with his Shalom ministries and Mighty Men Conferences. He is currently “spreading his wings” internationally so you might hear of him shortly also in your country.

As I am leading a few house church groups, I have been praying for wisdom on how to warn people of these false teachers/prophets and ministries and what to lookout for. Apart from checking their doctrine, I have been led to investigate something I call “their methods of operation”.

I believe God has shown me something regarding their methods and I want to share it with you. (more here)