Biblical Shunning or Apostate Church?

by John McGlone
Feb 12, 2024

What is the shunning process according to the Bible? I have believed since 2015 that failure by the leadership of local churches to correct errors within the body leads to a progression to apathy generally and individually. This apathy often will then grossly morph into general and individual apostasy. We see that in large churches and movements like the Methodists and Salvation Army that started so well to end in miserable apostate conditions.

What if we come before the Lord, and people we have served, taught, prayed for, discipled, loved, and had fellowship with are castaway by Jesus Christ on that final day? What if the souls that we were given responsibility over, are turned over to eternal torment in God’s justice called hell? What if we feared what men thought of us, more than we feared what God taught us by the Holy Spirit? The fear of man is a snare, but the fear of God is wisdom. Prov 29:25

Luke 12:4-5 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

STEP ONE: DEALING WITH THE OFFENDER/S AND OFFENSES AMONGST US
Matt 18:15-17
15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
a. alone
b. with a witness in this second step it is important to not reveal any of the problems of the situation to the second or third witnesses that they may judge the situation between the parties without bias or partiality. The person that seeks the witness to reveal sins, may in fact be revealed as a false accuser.
c. before the church (some teach this means elders/pastors only, I believe this to be a serious error)

STEP TWO: ACTIONS OF THE LEADERSHIP AND THE MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL BODY
a. to teach every member of the church, youngest to oldest this Matt 18 process so that sinful; behaviors, doctrines(ideas) are removed from the fellowship of the saints over the course of time. This will eliminate the tendency of some members to gossip, slander, and backbite as the exposure, correction and solving of problems amongst ourselves helps to purify the local body.
b. to monitor these practices to ensure they are in order and above all to love one another.
c. to periodically check on the divisive brother to see if he’s changed his mind and behaviors which would lead them to be welcomed back into the body after he’s made his apologies/restitutions then he would be restored.

Titus 3:9-11
But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. 10 A man that is an heretick (some translations divisive) after the first and second admonition reject; 11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

This passage begs the question, “Is it divisive to then address bad doctrines or behaviors within the members that may lead to divisions? No, because the truth as taught by the Holy Ghost from the Holy Bible is in authority amongst all of us. For example, Hell and it’s real existence by the teachings of Jesus multiple times in the NT would never be called foolish strivings. In fact, doctrines are salvational not only for ourselves but those that hear us.

1 Tim 4:16
16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

I suppose the doctrine the Apostle Paul is speaking of is generally the letter he wrote. We could at least call it the Gospel. IF that is the case then the warning of God’s justice and hell are an important part of that presentation.

HOW DO WE EXECUTE THIS DIFFICULT PROCESS?

Galatians 6:1 – Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

Ezekiel 33:8-9 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

2 Tim 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

STEP THREE: PUTTING THE SINNER OUT OF FELLOWSHIP.
Once sin among a member is discovered and processed biblically according to Matt 18, what’s next? The Bible is clear to put out or shun that person from the fellowship. I am not saying that we can not keep a relationship with them IF they are willing. But, that relationship is understood as a saint and an errant brother who needs to repent.

1 Cor 5:9-13
I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, IF ANY MAN IS CALLED A BROTHER (emphasis mine) be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

James 5:19-20
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

1 Cor 5:4-8
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together (assembling of the saints), and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

BENEFITS TO FOLLOWING GOD’S INSTRUCTION ON DEALING WITH SINNERS IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
In spiritually rejecting the willful sinner in your midst, you are purging the leaven/sin from within the local body. This is painful, but what are the affects on the individual and the body of Christ as a whole?

1. it may bring forth good fruit IF the transgressor repents and returns to the Lord Jesus and good doctrine/behaviors.

2. The biblical judicial exercise within the local church when exercised properly will cause the body to fear God. It will also cause the saints to obey Jesus’ commandments. Holiness unto the Lord!

3. Those that are lukewarm will either repent properly and be converted or they will depart themselves being pruned by the Holy Ghost. Better this than for Jesus to say depart from Me, ye cursed…

John 15:5-6
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Rev 3: 16
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Matt 25:41
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

4. Lastly, for those that are unbelievers amongst us, it will instill the Fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom leading unto salvation. However, it may cause them to depart as well thus cleansing the local church. Or they may depart for a season, returning when the Lord has convinced them to repent by the instruction of the Holy Ghost and those seeds we’ve planted and watered amongst them. I won’t list the five verses these ideas in this paragraph are based upon. Do you know where they are dear reader?

I would sadly estimate that nearly all visible churches in America fail to implement proper judicial and biblical corrections for it’s members. It is the responsibility, therefore greater judgment by God, of the elders, pastors, teachers, and deacons to administrate the local assembly of believers. What are some of the reasons for this terrible failure? a. Our culture and people are offended at any correction, even if it’s from the Bible. b. Our nation has fallen for the false idea that truth is relative, therefore what is good for this person may be okay for them even if the Bible condemns it. c. The church leaders refuse to teach that we are to live holy and obey Jesus and the Gospel. d. A false system of evangelism of ‘invite the sinner’ into the church or ask Jesus into your heart. e. A false idea that we are not to ‘judge’ which is disproven by many verses in the Bible. 1 Cor 6:2-5 f. A false idea that Christians sin in thought, word, and deed daily.

I believe that many who are believing this lie propagated by Augustine, Calvin, and the ‘churches’ through the ages have not sought holiness in Christ, thought, word, and deed daily. I believe the confusion is that people consider temptations to be sin. We are all tempted in many things daily, our afflictions are great, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Phil 4:13, 1 Cor 10:13
Jesus was tempted in all points, yet without sin. Heb 4:15 He is our example, and whom we should model our thinking, and behaviors upon. 1 John 2:3-6 John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost from the womb of his mother Elizabeth. See my blog post Doctrines of Temptations for more of God’s Word on this vital subject.

Prov 17:15 He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.



This model of evangelism in most churches is in direct contradiction to what we see in the book of Acts the blueprint for the church. All of the saints should have times of prayer individually and corporately, fasting, seeking the Holy Ghost, preparing, and going out into the world to preach or witness the Gospel to connect with our communities. We should: 1. bring them in if they are already born again and not attending fellowship (the spirits must be tested) 2. bring them in, if they are sincerely humble and seeking the truth of Jesus in a deeper way. (should go to immediate personal counsel with the leadership) 3. if they are choosing to hear another day then ask for a personal follow up over coffee. 4. If they mock and scorn then leave them to their wiles, tell them to repent or they will perish. Then pray that God would soften their hearts in the future. Thoughts of what happened with the Apostle Paul on Mars Hill come to mind in these scenarios.


#Shunning, #Shun, #Apostacy #ApostateChurch

Does the Speed of the Sun Change?

The Bible commands us to test all things. I was challenged by my good friend Adam Bishop to explain how on a Flat Earth Cosmology the sun and moon would stay the same speed as they approached the outer latitudes when progressing to winter solstice due to the extended distances they would have to travel. He asserted that we know they stay the same speed, it’s observable and measurable. Well, I was certainly challenged and sent me back to the cosmology drawing board so to speak. I was a bit discouraged. I have pondered and studied many things on cosmology for over three years, I never heard of nor considered this argument/challenge to the flat earth accepted projection. I picked myself up and began to research it out. I think you will be as surprised as I was delighted to find good reasonable evidence and arguments to uphold this cosmology.

Though this video does not deal with the seasonal changes of the sun’s speed, it highlights the daily changes in speed measured every 10 minutes and mathematically determined that the sun’s speed at apparent noon or zenith is over twice the speed than at at sunrise or sunset. This proves without a doubt the sun is not 93 million miles away as the Copernican/Kepler models falsely assert.

Back to the seasonal speeds that must change in order for the AzEq projection of the shape of the earth to be true.

The analemma is a term in astronomy used to describe the plot of the different positions of the Sun or the moon on the sky recorded at the same time of day and from the same location, each day through the calendar year or month. You can see a solar example in the picture above. The sun travels through it’s analemma annually bouncing between the Tropic of Cancer through the Equator, then on to the Tropic of Capricorn as it travels to our winter solstice. Then it returns on it’s circuit to our summer solstice. Remarkably, the moon moves through this circuit monthly, This then makes perfect sense when you look at what God hath said in Psalms 19.
The analemma is a term in astronomy used to describe the plot of the different positions of the Sun or the moon on the sky recorded at the same time of day and from the same location, each day through the calendar year or month. You can see a solar example in the picture above. The sun travels through it’s analemma annually bouncing between the Tropic of Cancer through the Equator, then on to the Tropic of Capricorn as it travels to our winter solstice. Then it returns on it’s circuit to our summer solstice. Remarkably, the moon moves through this circuit monthly, This then makes perfect sense when you look at what God hath said in Psalms 19.
Psa 19:1-6 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

Okay, using the analemma of the sun as a litmus test for varying speeds of the sun on the flat, motionless, earth we find that helio-astronomy states that the sun moves faster in the winter due the to supposed ‘fact’ the earth is in ellipse orbit. Rejecting that idea as the premise, we now find this phenomenon of winter acceleration of sun & moon addresses the AzEqDist model southerly latitude speed argument very nicely.

image

Pike’s Peak, CO

This analemma photo is a composite of 365 images of the Sun, made every day at 3 p.m. in Colorado. The shape, resembling the figure 8, comes from This analemma photo is a composite of 365 images of the Sun, made every day at 3 p.m. in Colorado. The shape, resembling the figure 8, comes from the presupposed ‘fact’, that Earth’s supposed orbit is an ellipse, and therefore Earth’s speed is not constant. Close to the Sun (in winter) it moves faster. These are simply presuppositions to the Heliocentric view of Kepler and Copernicus. It is amazing how any number of ideas can ‘explain’ these movements of the heavenly bodies. Why not just believe the Bible!

Psalm 104:5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

From the FE Azimuthal Equidistant projection which is a standard that most of the FE community has accepted as true, the question that Adam asked above was a very pointed and challenging one. We must show simply how our understandings work out in reality in light of his question. In the photo below you will notice how the longitudinal lines diverge from each other as the lines move away from the pole toward the edge of the chart.

image

longitude lines [from the pole] diverge as they progress to the edge. For sun to travel 24 hours in this locality they must speed up to account for extra distance.

As a community, we must address why and how the sun/moon will race more quickly as it progresses to winter solstice and then slows to our summer solstice. In my estimation the heavenly bodies consist and move by the power of God, that is my how explanation of God throttling up and down His creation. The why remains mysterious besides the obvious need for it to do so that we can have the circuits of the sun to make sense in reality.

As a community, we must address why and how the sun/moon will race more quickly as it progresses to winter solstice and then slows to our summer solstice. In my estimation the heavenly bodies consist and move by the power of God, that is my how explanation of God throttling up and down His creation. The why remains mysterious besides the obvious need for it to do so that we can have the circuits of the sun to make sense in reality.

Col 1:15-17 [Jesus Christ] Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. [set together, exhibit]

These ideas also tend to beg questions about time and how is it determined. We know that at the equator, the sun travels at 1000 nautical mph over 15° of longitude. If FE is your premise, then sun must slow in the N. latitudes for the summer solstice to about
777 nmph[nautical miles per hour] over 15° of longitude which in reality causes more questions, what gives?

LONGITUDINAL CONVERGENCE & DIVERGENCE FROM THE EQUATOR
On a spherical reference surface of the earth such as a globe, lines of longitude are not parallel (as opposed to lines of latitude), rather they converge toward the poles. The ground distance of a degree of longitude is at its greatest about 60 nm at the equator and decreases to 0 at the poles. At 40° latitude, one degree of longitude is about 46.l nm , and at 60° latitude, it spans a distance of around 30.1 nm. The longitudinal convergence at the Tropic of Cancer 23.5°N is 51.8 nm. Using that number we can determine that 51.8 nm X 15° longitude will give us the hourly transit rate of the sun at northerly summer solstice = 777 nmph.
On a flat Azimuthal Equidistant projection, the lines of longitude converge to the pole from the equator, [same as sphere] and diverge [grow apart], from the equator to the edge. Basically, at each Tropic line we will add or subtract 8.2 nm to the longitude convergence/divergence respectively. So the calculation for the Tropic of Capricorn is as follows. The longitudinal divergence at the Tropic of Capricorn 23.5°S is 68.2 nm. Using that number we can determine that 68.2 nm X 15° longitude will give us the hourly transit rate of the sun at winter solstice = 1023 nmph. Circumference of the Tropic of Cancer based on the above calculations are 18,648 nm, the Tropic of Capricorn is 24,552 nm.

So, for the FE Azimuthal Equidistant projection to be valid the sun’s transit at the Tropic of Capricorn needs to reflect the extensive distance that is added by a flat earth cosmology. The difference we calculated based on the previous para is 24,552 – 18,648 nm = 5904 nm. This means that the speed of the sun’s transit in a 24 hours period will have to increase in reality to match the additional distance that it has to travel as it attains winter solstice. I believe that is why we get extensive summer daylight in the summer and very shortened in the winter according to our ‘northerly’ perspective. Likewise, though for different reasons those that live in the outer latitudes have extensive daylight in their ‘summer’ yet it is our winter. Keep in mind according to the FE viewpoint the sun is localized and diminishes out of sight by distance over the plane of the earth’s face.

POINTS TO PROVE OR CHALLENGE
1. a cartographer can examine the AzEqD projection, compare countries like NZ, and Aus with known surveyed breadth measurements to show the longitudinal divergence is creating a distortion with reality or reflects reality.

Globe model nomenclature

2. Actual time frames of sun transits both inner and outer latitudes during solstices at the Tropics lines respectively ignoring the bias’ of summer/daylight savings time.

3. Some FE models suggest the sun/moon are changing elevations as they transit to the southern hemisphere. This elevation differences should be proven with geometry and theodolite measurements of same at each Tropic line at appropriate solstices.

QUESTION AND ANSWER SECTIONS there are from FB friends thanks for your testing of the spirits and ideas in this blog, God bless you.

Mark Opiola Q?
Great article! One thing I would like to add which I didn’t see covered in the article is the sun’s elevation. If the sun speeds up yet provides am equal length of sunlight to the southern region it would seem that while the sun speeds up it also rises in elevation. What are your thoughts?

John McGlone A:
I think that the elevation of the sun must be higher in the southern hemisphere which would be the reason of their extended sunlight hours during their ‘summer’. [Dec 22 the day is 14H 34M] The sun would spiral down getting closer to the earth in the Northerlies and slow down during their winter our summer….the model I have seen that explains this spiraling gets it backwards. The sun must be farther away in the southerlies in order to give more daylight to explain their extended days. Does this makes sense?.

Mark Opiola:
That makes complete sense and what I’ve been thinking too. Have you seen the video of the person using a glass paperweight over a flat earth map and shining the flashlight? That’s another compelling model. The atmosphere then could direct the light either north or south. Just a thought. There’s still so much we don’t know. Have you heard about Croww777 lunar wave phenomenon? It is interesting. He thinks it happens at a certain time on the equinoxes. He also discovered that the equinoxes don’t match up exactly to the calendar dates. The last equinox was March 20, but the actual equinox, equal day and night, was more like March 17.

Frank Zieglar Q:
Your article is confusing – to me at least. You state that the sun goes from the Tropic of Cancer to the Equatorial back to the Tropic of Cancer. What about the Tropic of Capricorn?

You also state that your friend challenged you on the issue of the sun stays the same speed and that it’s been proven, but you then later state that the heliocentric model the sun is faster in winter because the earth is closer to the sun.

So is the sun staying the same speed or is it faster in one season? Your article states both.

In the comments here you state that you believe the sun is closer to the earth in one season and higher in another season but I’m confused about which you think is which. Doesn’t the analemma prove that the sun is higher when it’s around the north and the Tropic of Cancer? The analemma also shows a small circuit during this time period as well. That’s how the analemma looks to me – High with small circuit in July.

The circuit of the sun above the FE to my understanding is this…

During the northern summer around the Tropic of Cancer the sun is moving at its slowest speed, it greatest height, and it’s smallest circuit. This accounts for long hot summer days in the north during this time of year. The sun is moving slow causing longer daylight hours and lots of heat. If the sun was at its lowest point then it would not be livable conditions. The sun being at its highest point makes it bearable and makes more sense when considering the shape of a dome structure. The center is higher. When the sun reaches its northern most point this is called the summer solstice – usually around June 21 I think. From this point it starts moving southward and starts heading towards the fall season.

As the sun crosses over the equator this is called the Equinox. Usually around September 21. There is a phenomena where everyone can look due east and due west to see the sunrise and sunset. It’s a trick of perspective in my opinion.

The sun continues its path southward moving us into the northern winter. When the sun reaches the Tropic of Capricorn then it’s moving at its fastest speed, lowest height, and largest circuit. The fast movement makes for short daylight hours in the north and less heat for the earth. When it reaches it southernmost point at the Tropic of Capricorn, called the winter solstice, usually around December 21. It then starts moving back towards the north, moving us towards the northern spring.

It crosses the equator again with another Equinox around March 21. Continuing until it reaches its northernmost point around the Tropic of Cancer and starts the cycle again.

The sun MUST move faster is the south as it has to cover a larger area within the same 24hour period. It’s like the teeth on a bicycle gear. When the gear makes one revolution the outer teeth actual move at a greater speed than the inner teeth do. Even though they both make the same exact one revolution.

John McGlone A:
Hey Frank sorry for the confusion yes it should be Tropic of Capricorn not cancer in the article I will fix that as soon as I’m able to get to it on my PC. You make a good point about the Dome constraints meeting the spiral must be higher in the northern latitudes because of the shape of the Dome but that’s presuming that the Dome is x amount High and the sun is not significantly lower in that Dome than we think. I think you missed the point that I was trying to explain with my spiral idea being higher in the southern latitudes. I agree that the Sun must move faster in the southern latitudes because of the distance it has to cover on the Fe model. But that doesn’t address the extended days in the southern latitudes that they experience just like we do in the northern latitudes During the summer. So if you could help me out and explain what your idea of what the sun is doing that causes the extended daylight in the southern latitudes while the sun is traveling faster. You think that the local Sun being closer makes for a longer day? I would think it makes for a shorter day because the footprint of the solar rays are smaller. If the elevation of the sun is higher in the southern latitudes then the footprint of the sun is much larger explaining the longer daylight even though the sun is traveling more quickly through the longitudes. Again thanks for pointing out the confusion God bless you

Frank Zieglar

I have never heard about the south having long daylight hours during their summers, but it would have to be because of the dome itself.

I understand what you’re saying that if the height was higher around the Tropic of Capricorn then it could shed more light over a greater area and cause longer day hours. I don’t think this is correct because of a dome shape as I stated before, but also since the sun moves faster then the greater height would also cause less heat. I think less heat is easily explained by the fast speed alone. Also with the analemma it also looks lower with larger circuit as I said.

I’m sure you’ve seen the recent video with the penlight shining into the little dome causing the light to shine around the edges of the dome which would cause the longer daylight hours. This is what I believe is happening. I find it harder and harder to believe that our sun is even physical, but instead a projection/portal/PowerPoint (whatever word you want) from outside the dome by the power of God.

Coming from a biblical perspective there is also another issue. I believe that daylight and sunlight are two different things. God created daylight on the first day. He created the sun and sunlight on the fourth day.

When the sun is not visible like at sunrise, sunset, and weather conditions – you can still see because there is daylight. When the sun is visible you have both sunlight and daylight together. I can see inside my house during the day, but if I turn on a light then it’s brighter. Same concept. I can see in the daylight but when the sun is out then it’s brighter. Like today it was dark and storming but I could still see in the daylight. Then the sun came out and it was brighter.

The sunlight is dictated by the sun whereas the daylight is dictated by God. It may be that the day light does not conform to a circle shape like sunlight should or like a light shining from a flashlight.


Frank Ziegler
The analemma could be opposite though and fit into the way that you’re thinking. In June and July when the looks like the highest point – it could simply be nearer like at noon each day. … In December and January when the sun looks low it could simply be due to the distance causing perspective to make it appear lower on the horizon – like a sunset I haven’t researched it but my question would be this – do the analemma look the same from both the north and south? Or does it flip flop?

Vaccidemic!

By John McGlone July 24, 2019

Matt 24:12-14 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then the end shall come.

This season in our world of delusions of the wicked is growing more and more difficult to bear. The spiritual and natural pressures upon us and between us have never been this great. I could not imagine 18 months ago the things that have transpired to bring down this house of cards we call America. We are under the judgment of God and the worse is yet to come.


I have inserted a pdf document example of a religious exemption letter that you can modify for yourselves. Let us consider some things for which we are responsible for as a people, nation, and the church.

1. Abortion on demand three to four thousand babies daily are murdered by their own parents in the name of sexual liberty, convenience, birth control, health care, and personal choice.

2. Pride runs deep in the fabric of America and homosexual pride parades march open sexual perversions of all sorts, ruining lives, health, and indoctrinating the youth to their own demises through every major city and many small towns as well.

This is sick, perverted, tran-species sadomasochism being displayed before the youth publicly. Are there any limits to the perversions that mankind will heap upon themselves and others? Are children raping angels outside your worldview? Check the Bible for details and how God firebombed Sodom and Gomorrah for such gross behaviors.
Washington, D.C. June 26, 2015 the SCOTUS ruled in Obergefell vs. Rogers in favor of homosexuals and granted them equal civil rights for abominable behaviors.

3. Lukewarm Laodecian church that has no interest in holiness, prayer, fasting, or fishing for men. Since judgment begins in the house of the Lord it would be greatest for us.

4. Our government at every branch is so full of corruption we have no hope for redress or recourse. The communism manifesto has been fully manifested in America from almost a hundred years ago. To the letter almost every part has been fulfilled in our generations. See this excellent .pdf from 1963 when 45 elements of the Communist Agenda were outlined in congress by unanimous consent! This excerpt was from the book, “The Naked Communist” by Cleon Skousen. Just this small part of the book is like looking at prophecy for America fulfilled in a little more than 60 years.

Communist Manifesto Outlined in Congress in 1963


As a professing ‘Christian’ nation, we deserve the Judgment of Jesus! We have propagated perversions beyond imagination. Now the Chinese Communist Party is and has been waging biowarfare, propaganda, and other demoralizing and detrimental activities against our nation and others for at least 20 years maybe more. Some within our ranks have even been so brazen to help them technically and financially. God will judge every; king, president, judge, police chief, mayor, governor, corporate leaders and management, liar, thief, extortioner, murderer, torturer, atheist, etc that has suppressed the Gospel of Jesus and stolen His glory in this world along with their father the devil. This thought should make them tremble but alas they are gods in their own minds and are blind to their own craftiness.



Psalm 2:1-12
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. 10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.




Excellent video from New Zealand regarding vaccine deaths that are unreported on MSM or our governments. Wake Up America!

Dealing with a local board of trustees regarding vaccinating school children in New Zealand:

Mask Wearing is Dangerous to Your Health!

Masks are dangerous in many ways but to brief a few of the important reasons why we should stand against this wicked social control are:

1. Masks trap bacteria and viruses against your face causing rebreathing of the same bioflora increasing your likelihood of getting sick from respiratory infections.
2. Masks fail to filter viruses in either direction which are measured in nanometers verses the pores of the masks which are measured in micrometers. That is 1000% difference in size! So, just exhausting your breath through the mask spreads any viruses you may have. Inhaling through the mask offers no actual protections from viruses in the environment or from others.
3. Masks greatly hinder pulmonary respiration. That is the intake of oxygen and exhaust of CO2. This creates two very serious disorders in the body; a. hypoxia oxygen deprivation in the body. b. hypercapnia poisoning of the body with elevated levels CO2 concentrations in the body.

Ironically, the symptoms created by wearing the mask are almost perfectly parallel to the symptoms of Covid19, isn’t that special?

5400% DEATH RATE INCREASE POST VAX

Cosmology Clues

I wanted to put together some videos/blogs of good resources regarding biblical cosmology. About six months ago Google/Youtube/FB began a campaign to suppress ‘hoax’ or ‘conspiracy’ information with an algorithm which completely eliminates access to these resources for people to think for themselves. When searching for 9/11, Kennedy assassination, chemtrails, moon landings, Nasa lies, flat earth, etc the only information which is now available is that which disproves the supposed hoaxes and conspiracies. Disinformation on the grandest scale the world has ever seen! UPDATE Aug 14, 2021 So many resources are regularly deleted from the internet I can’t keep this list up to speed without holes appearing regularly. Thankfully, many people are very persistent when they believe a truth.

This is the latest excellent flat earth movie which exposes many of the issues I listed above. CAUTION: Blasphemy of Jesus’ Name once and swearing regularly throughout. Because someone believes and promotes Biblical Cosmology does NOT mean they are Christian. Eric Dubay who once believed in Christ has become a Buddhist. He is a leading proponent in the FE movement.

I finally found Brian Mullin’s videos again! Brian is a civil engineer well versed in physics who created a YT channel called, “Balls Out Physics”. It was his video using the earth curvature calculator matrix he had created which was the final straw which broke the camel’s back on cosmology for me. I have embedded his reloaded playlist here for everyone’s research.


The Devil Raises an #ANTIFA Army

July 2, 2019

July 4, 2016

As we are about to celebrate Independence Day, I am reminded of the many forces that are seeking the annihilation of our way of life in America from ANTIFA, illegal immigration, Planned Parenthood, drug cartels, corrupt politicians, the LGBTQP agendas, etc. In my photo above my friend and I are holding up the U.S. flag upside down in accordance with the flag law indicating severe distress for our countrymen. We held this alongside a picture of one of our youngest and most innocent citizens having been murdered through legal infanticide called abortion.

I have wrestled for years with the ideas of self defense vs being harmless as doves when it comes to preaching the Gospel on the streets of America. The civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King, Jr. in the early 60’s epitomized one very important characteristic that, I believe, will give us the victory in today’s crisis. They were passively resistant to the KKK racist, the corrupt government officials, etc. Change in racial hatred in America came through all of us watching black folks young and old alike being beaten, bitten by police dogs, firehosed, etc on our televisions.

Trump Inauguration

How did we get here? Sin, sin, sin has brought the Judgment of God upon our nation. I have preached for only 15 years and my conclusion is that as God raises an army of laborers, the devil has raised an army of his own soldiers as well to respond to the Word of God going forth and power in the Holy Spirit, Hallelujah!

I think we have definitely come to a point in our culture war where it will break out in actual carnal warfare by liberal and conservative forces like; ANTIFA, BLAM, PROUD BOYS, PEDIGO, etc. if Christians remain oblivious to what is tearing at the fabric or our society and families. This ignorance of what is happening right outside our doors is alarming! As we continue to refuse to engage the sin and the sinners all around us it will lead to sinners barging into public meetings, churches, and ultimately our very own homes to physically take what the devils have already spiritually taken in most of us.

Ironically, a few years after establishing the civil rights movement by the law in the early 60’s our country then turned around and established the legal genocide of the most vulnerable of our citizens, that is unborn babies, in the early 70’s with Roe vs. Wade.

As alarmingly is watching Christians respond to these physical, religious, and political threats with brawling, cursing, mace, and other carnal tactics and weaponry. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who then sent His disciples out as sheep among the wolves. Time has not changed this commission for believers to go out. What did we expect would happen to us by lifting up the Name of Jesus Christ and publicly preaching? Of course, we would be despised, cursed, , spit upon, doxxed, stalked, beaten, and even killed. There is no other course for Christians but to abide by the time tested and Biblical mandates to do harm to no man.

Here in the following video are Christians at a PRIDE event in Hamilton, ON, CA. It sure seems they came for a carnal fight the way some of them have dressed in battle gear. Keep in mind it is very difficult to see the instigators in this situation. It looks like mostly they are trying to defend their rights to assemble, speech, property, and the press while the police stand around and allow this to escalate.

Here is another video of the same group which is basically being run all over Toronto fleeing for their lives because ANTIFA/homosexuals are tracking and stalking them all over the city using social medias. This is quite an astonishing and effective weapon/tactic the children of the devil have developed.

This battle that ANTIFA wages by the suppression of our freedoms will never be won by Christians responding with apathy or carnal warfare. In the video below apparently, the two older men who were attacked by these left wing thugs did nothing but try and help a homosexual before they were viciously beaten.

In summary, a few conclusions: 1. We should seek to lay down our lives for Christ, the Gospel, and our fellow man versus seeking carnal warfare that will leave people maimed and murdered on both sides. 2. Our strategy should be to preach the Gospel as we see demonstrated in the Word of God. Use His Word, His tactics, and His will as you go out into a world that hates God and His servants. 3. We should seek to have our government classify ANTIFA for what they are, a domestic terrorists group that is a bully arm of the Democratic political machine, and the LGBTQP movement. 4. If you have any interactions with this dangerous group ensure you are documenting with video/audio then have them criminally charged, then follow up civil lawsuits to ensure their community figures out this will cost the individual.

Deliverance & Healing Empowered

Intro by Br. John McGlone

I have seen some victories in these areas of my ministry. I want to seek the Lord in prayer and fasting to energize by faith these works which will follow. This excellent teaching by Br. Mark Carrier is right on and very encouraging. I look forward to practicing these things.

Mark 16:17-20 KJV

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.


Master, What Will be the Sign of Your Coming? Vol 2

Acts 1:11
Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is
taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

End Times Considered
by John McGlone

Acts 1:11
Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is
taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.


The passage from Acts 1 of Jesus’ Ascension gives us a beautiful clue about Jesus’ return at the end of the age. He will come down the same way He went up to return to the Father in heaven.

Another clue about Jesus’ return is given in the remarkable passage in 2 Thess 1:7-10, which must happen after the seventh trumpet of God sounds.

2 Thess 1:7-10 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Mark 13:3-37
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. 20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. 21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.34 For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

Many things are outlined in these passages from Mark regarding the return of Christ and signs that we will know of Jesus’ coming.

Jesus warns believers not to be deceived, because many will claim to be He, fooling many but it can not be Him, why? Because 2 Thess 1 which I outlined above gives us HOW Jesus will come back from heaven just as He went up in Acts 1. That return will be dramatic with the whole of the heavenly host with Him, riding on white horses as Rev explains. It will be fiery and destructive to all who are not converted before His return.  

Rev 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.

As we see many ideas from Scripture begin to formulate how we can can understand what is to come if we diligently seek the knowledge from God’s Word. This passage from Rev 19 begs the question of where believers are when this happens. I think it is clear, at that time in the future, we are caught up in the air with Him and the armies descending upon the earth.

1 Thess 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.1Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Earthly Kings Possessed by Satan?

Psalm 2:1-5
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?  
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying,  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

Introduction by John McGlone  Nov 22, 2018

    On this thanksgiving day I want to express that I am so thankful for Jesus Christ who saved me from His judgment, my life of sin, so that I may bring Him all the glory He so richly deserves.  I am also thankful for our family, our friends, and even our enemies whom God will use to teach us many things in the years to come.

I have prayed for many years to get a really good historical handle on eschatology which was cogent and could be understood by scholar and layman alike.  I think I have finally stumbled across something which really makes good sense and helps to explain a nagging philosophical problem I had with many descriptions of Satan from the Bible.  These characterizations of the great dragon in Scripture describe earthly kings which transition into the prince of the power of the air, Satan.   I will let the writing speak for itself as it is very well done and very insightful.  This volume by Br. Peter Goodgame is the seventh in the series.  I will warn you that volume one was very dry to me personally and I almost gave up on the read.  In fact, I would recommend you start with volume seven and then head back to the beginning.

by Peter Goodgame

The Seven Kings of Satan

We will now attempt to identify the Seven Kings of Satan as they have appeared throughout history. That they are Satanic is evident by the fact that they are initially presented as the seven heads of the dragon in Revelation 12, who is identified as Satan the “serpent of old” in verse nine. They can also be identified by their antagonistic relationship to the God of Israel because in Revelation 13:2 they are said to have “blasphemous names.” They serve Satan and they oppose God and the people who serve Him.

In Daniel 12:1 there is a passage that may help to explain the time frame that we are dealing with in our search for these seven kings. The passage refers to the “time of distress” associated with the apocalypse and the end of the age. Once again, it is an angel that gives Daniel the message, and he says,

“There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.”

The beginning of nations, as we explained in Part Six, was associated with the Tower of Babel event. It was a separation based on language, but it also involved the handing over of these seventy nations into the hands of the seventy top-ranking fallen angels. This event marked a spiritual transition, and the earth and its nations were given into the spiritual authority of the fallen angels and to Satan their most powerful leader. Daniel was told that the Apocalypse would be the most terrible time of distress from “the beginning of nations” until the end of the Age. In Matthew 24:21 Jesus Himself makes a similar statement,

“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”

The word that is translated as “world” is the Greek word kosmos. In the Gospel of John (12:31-32) after predicting His own death, Jesus explained what the “end of the world” would involve: “Now is the time for judgment on this world (kosmos); now the prince of this world (kosmos) will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” In John 16:11 Jesus looked forward to the effects of His death and explained that “the prince of this kosmos now stands condemned.”

The disciples wondered about the events that would happen at the time of the end and they asked Jesus (Matthew 24:3), “Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age (Aion)?” After His death and resurrection Jesus ascended into heaven, leaving His disciples with encouraging words (Matthew 28:30), “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Aion).” Concerning the nature of this present Aion, or Age, the Apostle Paul refers to Satan as the “God of this Aion” (2 Corinthians 4:4), saying that he is the deceiver that keeps unbelievers from accepting the Gospel.

This current Age is the Age during which the fallen angels (the Kosmokrators), led by Satan their prince, rule over a fallen earth that is inhabited by fallen human beings. It began as a result of the Tower of Babel and it will end with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, who will either reward or punish all human beings and the fallen angels, and cleanse and renovate the earth.

Nimrod

This Age began because of the conquests and rebellious actions of Nimrod, and so it makes perfect sense to conclude that Nimrod should be identified as the very first of Satan’s seven kings. He ruthlessly conquered the known world, he attempted to rebuild the city of Eridu, the pre-flood capital of the god Enki, and he also began to build the Tower of Babel as a means to resist the divine command to spread out and “fill the earth.” He is the first of the seven kings, and he will also be the last to appear when he comes again and rules as the eighth king. The Antichrist is the “first and the last” to rule over this particular fallen Age, but Jesus Christ is the “First and the Last” of all Creation, and the Ruler of all Ages to come.

The first of Satan’s seven kings is the most important to identify, but thankfully he is also the easiest to identify. We will continue identifying the other six kings, but with them the facts are not always so clear and one or two of the names may be based on conjecture and logical speculation. Our final list will be complete but it may not be 100% accurate, because much more scholarship on this subject can and should be done.

 

 

 

 

Pharaoh of Egypt

The second king is most likely either the king of Egypt that attempted to kill all male Hebrew children born at the time of the birth of Moses, or perhaps rather the Pharaoh who resisted Moses at the time of the Exodus who was drowned in the Red Sea. An Egyptian identity for the second king makes sense because it was in the land of Egypt that Satan was able to perfect his own religion and create his most lasting empire, and it was in Egypt where the body of Nimrod, known to the Egyptians as Osiris, was laid to rest.

Biblical scholars have explored the idea that the Ten Plagues that forced Pharaoh to release the Hebrews were structured as Divine repudiations of the ten primary Egyptian gods, with the final plague of the death of the first-born aimed against the cult of Osiris, the cult most-closely associated with the Egyptian monarchy itself. This possibility is supported by the fact that Osiris is repeatedly identified as the “first-born son of Geb” throughout the Egyptian Pyramid Texts. In Egyptian myth the god Geb was understood to represent the earth, which is odd because in every other pagan culture the earth is worshiped in feminine form as the Mother Goddess. In Plutarch’s retelling of the legend of Isis and Osiris Plutarch identifies Geb as Kronos, who was in turn understood by classical scholars to be the Greek form of the Mesopotamian god Enki, whose name meant “Lord of the Earth.”

The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (c.90-30 BC) gives an account of pillars that were found in Arabia that were erected as memorials to Isis and Osiris. He writes that the pillar of Osiris contained the following inscription (which also provides evidence that Osiris was the legendary conqueror Nimrod):

“My father is Kronos, the youngest of all the gods.
I am Osiris the king, who led my army all over the earth
to the uninhabited districts of India and those that lie to the North,
to the source of the river Ister, yea, everywhere, even to the Ocean.
I am the eldest son of Kronos. 
Child of the noble and beautiful egg, I was born an offspring congenital with day.
No place is there in the whole world, whereinto I have not been,
conferring on all the benefits whereof I have been the inventor.” [1]

It is very ironic then, that it was from Egypt that the small and insignificant tribe of the twelve sons of Jacob was able to emerge as the Nation of Israel, symbolized in Revelation as the Woman who gave birth to the first-born Son of the Creator of the universe, through whom the world has been redeemed.


Sennacherib of Assyria

The third Satanic king on our list, who must certainly be included somewhere, is King Sennacherib of Assyria. The story of his campaign against King Hezekiah and against Jerusalem is given in 2 Kings 18-19, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 36-37. It is an amazing story of the effectiveness of prayer and of the mercy, justice and power of God. When King Hezekiah resisted Sennacherib’s demands Sennacherib responded through his messengers with ridicule and blasphemy against the God of Israel. King Hezekiah responded to Sennacherib’s insults by going to the Temple to pray, and after hearing Hezekiah’s prayers God responded through the prophet Isaiah. The story unfolds in Isaiah 37:

“Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,’ this is the word the LORD has spoken against him:
‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises and mocks you. The Daughter of Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee. Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! By your messengers you have heaped insults on the Lord. And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its pines. I have reached its remotest heights, the finest of its forests…’
But I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me. Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came…’
Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!’
Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies. So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.”

King Sennacherib returned to Ninevah where he went to the temple of the god Nisroch to find out what had gone wrong. While he was worshiping there he was murdered in cold blood by two of his own sons. The possibility that Sennacherib was one of Satan’s seven kings is supported by Isaiah’s description of him in chapter fourteen:

“On the day the LORD gives you relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
‘How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended! The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression. All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing. Even the pine trees and the cedars of Lebanon exult over you and say, “Now that you have been laid low, no woodsman comes to cut us down.” 
The grave below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones—all those who were kings over the nations. They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.”
All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 

But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:3-15)

Biblical scholars agree that this passage refers to Sennacherib who conquered and ruled Babylon. This conclusion is supported by the statement of Sennacherib in Isaiah 37 in which he boasts of plundering the forests of Lebanon, which connects with the taunts against Sennacherib in Isaiah 14 from those very same forests. However the most provocative portion of Isaiah 14 is where the text transitions seamlessly from a description of the human king to a description of a figure that can only be Satan, or Lucifer, as some texts say. This transition only makes sense once it is understood that Satan himself became manifested on earth through Sennacherib. In other words, Sennacherib was possessed by Satan and should be viewed as one of the seven kings of Satan.


Ithobaal II of Tyre

The fourth king of Satan is the King of Tyre, the powerful Phoenician city-state that dominated trade in the Mediterranean. This king, who was most likely Ithobaal II, was accused of pride and blasphemy by the prophet Ezekiel:

“The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘In the pride of your heart you say, “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.” But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god…
Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘Because you think you are wise, as wise as a god, I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations; they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom and pierce your shining splendor…
Will you then say, “I am a god,” in the presence of those who kill you? You will be but a man, not a god, in the hands of those who slay you. You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners. I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD.’
‘…This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God… You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. 
By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.'” (Ezekiel 28:1-19)

This passage is very similar to Isaiah’s description of Sennacherib in that it also contains a description of a human king that transitions into a description of Satan, who was the perfectly-created guardian angel of the Garden of Eden, who fell from his exalted position because of his pride. Like the case of Sennacherib, these references imply that Ithobaal II, the King of Tyre, was possessed and controlled by Satan.

Tyre’s relationship with Israel was friendly under King Hiram during the reign of Solomon, but after that it degenerated quickly. The prophet Amos accused Tyre of taking Israelites as slaves and selling them to neighboring kingdoms, and of breaking their “covenant of brotherhood” (Amos 1:9-10). The relationship finally reached its lowest point during the time of Ezekiel who predicted God’s judgment upon Tyre (Ezekiel 26-28), which was fulfilled by the conquests of Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great. Ithobaal II was eventually executed by Nebuchadnezzar after being captured and brought to Babylon.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

The fifth of Satan’s seven kings can only be King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. His career was predicted in Daniel 11:21-35, where he is described as a contemptible and vile person, scheming and deceitful, psychotic and possibly insane, who would focus his rage against the Jews, against God, and against Jerusalem and the holy temple.

Antiochus obtained his throne in Syria by conspiring against the rightful heir and by flattering powerful allies. After he took power he waged war against Ptolemy VI of Egypt, and after striking a treaty with Ptolemy he brought his army into Palestine. He received word that the Jews were rejoicing because of false reports of his death, so he attacked Jerusalem, killing 40,000 and capturing another 40,000 as slaves. He reinstalled his puppet Menelaus as the Jewish high priest who continued Antiochus’ plan to Hellenize the Jews. After another unsuccessful campaign into Egypt Antiochus sent 22,000 troops into Jerusalem to aid Menelaus and to eradicate traditional Jewish worship. His forces attacked Jerusalem on the Sabbath and massacred many worshipers. Antiochus then entered the Temple and consecrated it to Jupiter (Zeus), setting up an idol and sacrificing a pig on the altar. He passed a law that outlawed the Jewish religion, and he killed and tortured the violators that were caught.

The career of Antiochus is typical of Satan’s kings. He was one of the greatest blasphemers against the God of Israel, and he minted coins that pictured himself with the inscription “Antiochus the Great, God Manifest.” He committed the greatest outrage possible against the Lord when he violated His sanctuary and erected a pagan idol within, followed by the sacrifice of an unclean beast on the altar. These acts were an “abomination” against the Lord that will be matched by the Antichrist when he sets up the “abomination of desolation” predicted by Jesus (Matthew 24:15), Paul (2 Thessalonians 2), and Revelation 13. Daniel’s description of Antiochus is similar to those given by Isaiah and Ezekiel for Sennacherib and Ithobaal II, because once again we find a passage that transitions from descriptions of the king into descriptions of another figure. In the case of Daniel, the descriptions of Antiochus lead directly into prophecies of the end-times Antichrist, beginning with Daniel 11:36.

The end came for Antiochus after his retinue was ambushed while plundering the temple of a goddess in Persia. Some accounts say that he was violently slain, while others say he died of a stomach ailment while in retreat. Given the trend followed by these kings it seems more likely that he died violently. In any case Antiochus must certainly be counted as one of Satan’s seven kings, and he completes our list of the first five that were predicted in Revelation 17:10 to “have fallen” at the time that the vision of Revelation was received.

Nero Caesar

The sixth was a king that ruled at the very same time that John’s vision was received. To identify this king we must enter the scholarly debate on when exactly the book of Revelation was written. The modern consensus is that it was written near the end of the first century around 95 AD, but an older tradition holds that it was written around 64-68 AD during the Roman reign of the infamous Nero Caesar. The reasons for accepting such an early date for the writing of Revelation are numerous:

– The Church Father Clement of Alexandria asserted that all revelation ceased under Nero’s reign.
– The Muratorian canon (c. 170 AD) has John completing Revelation before Paul had written to seven different churches (Paul finished these writings in 67-68 AD).
– The Church Father Tertullian placed John’s banishment to Patmos at the same time as Peter and Paul’s martyrdom (67-68 AD).
– The Church Father Epiphanius (315-403 AD) twice stated that Revelation was written under Nero.
– The Syriac version of Revelation (6th century AD) begins with the heading, “written in Patmos, whither John was sent by Nero Caesar.”
– The Byzantine scholar Arethas, from the 9th century wrote, “When the Evangelist received these oracles, the destruction in which the Jews were involved was not yet inflicted by the Romans [70 AD].” [2]

The early date for the writing of Revelation is used by some scholars to support the absurd Preterist interpretation of Bible prophecy. An early date for the book of Revelation may support Preterist arguments, but it hardly proves them, and it can work just as well with literal and futurist interpretations of Revelation.

When we examine the life of Nero we find all of the elements necessary to include him on the list of Satan’s seven kings, and we uncover a tale of sex, violence, scandal and murder, that far exceeds anything an HBO script-writer could imagine.

Nero was born in 37 AD. His father was a wealthy Roman citizen and his mother, Agrippina, was the sister of the Emperor Caligula. Nero’s father died when he was three and at this time, out of a very reasonable fear of his sister, Caligula confiscated their wealth and banished Nero and Agrippina to a tiny island. After Caligula died and Claudius became Emperor of Rome Nero and his mother were freed and Agrippina quickly married another wealthy Roman, who died shortly thereafter, leaving another fortune to Agrippina. After Emperor Claudius executed his wife for scolding him in public he fell under the spell of Agrippina, whom he married and made Empress of Rome in 48 AD, which he lived (or rather died) to regret.

After becoming Empress, Agrippina manipulated Claudius into making Nero his legal heir, against the claims of his own son Britannicus. Nero’s position as heir to the throne was solidified when he married Octavia, the Emperor’s daughter (Nero’s legal sister). From this point the days of Claudius were numbered, and he died by assassination in 54 AD, from poisoning, which made Nero the Emperor of Rome.

As a young man Nero was tutored by the homosexual philosopher Seneca, who was actually one of the more rational Roman thinkers of his day. In the first few years of Nero’s reign it was Seneca who actually controlled the affairs of the Empire and he did an adequate job, despite the fact that he became a hated enemy of Agrippina. This time, however, the game was up for Agrippina, and Nero had his own mother executed in 59 AD. However, the stress in dealing with Nero became too much for Seneca, who retired as Nero’s advisor in 62 AD. From that point on the affairs of the Empire steadily degenerated. Nero went through a string of male and female lovers and focused on pursuing his entertainment career, imagining himself to be a great singer, poet and actor.

In 64 AD Nero moved forward on a plan to rebuild a section of the old city of Rome, and to rename it Neronia in honor of himself. A fire was set to aid in the demolition and to remove the unwanted occupants, but this fire soon raged out of control, destroying three and damaging seven of Rome’s fourteen districts. The fire was then blamed on the community of Christians that lived in Rome, and Nero found it convenient to vent his rage on the young sect that he passionately hated. The Roman historian Tacitus was a young eyewitness and he later recorded what happened in Book XV of his Annals,

    “Therefore, to stop the rumor [that he had set Rome on fire], he [Emperor Nero] falsely charged with guilt, and punished with the most fearful tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who were [generally] hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of that name, was put to death as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea, in the reign of Tiberius, but the pernicious superstition – repressed for a time, broke out yet again, not only through Judea, – where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also, whither all things horrible and disgraceful flow from all quarters, as to a common receptacle, and where they are encouraged. Accordingly first those were arrested who confessed they were Christians; next on their information, a vast multitude were convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the city, as of “hating the human race.”
In their very deaths they were made the subjects of sport: for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts, and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights. Nero offered his own garden players for the spectacle, and exhibited a Circensian game, indiscriminately mingling with the common people in the dress of a charioteer, or else standing in his chariot. For this cause a feeling of compassion arose towards the sufferers, though guilty and deserving of exemplary capital punishment, because they seemed not to be cut off for the public good, but were victims of the ferocity of one man.”

Nero’s reign was unique simply for the extent of his persecution of Christians. In 67 AD he executed Peter, and he even went so far as to execute Paul, a Roman citizen. Politically, Nero’s prestige was quickly expended. In 65 AD he faced down a political conspiracy that included his former mentor Seneca, and by 68 AD Nero faced a revolt that came from his generals in the provinces and from the Roman Senate. On June 9, after being abandoned by his guards and his palace attendants, Nero retreated from the soldiers that had been sent to arrest him and he fled to his room where he committed suicide.

Nero exhibited all of the traits and characteristics of a Satanically-possessed individual. He was arrogant and prideful, as well as paranoid and psychotic, and his rage, frustration, and cruelty was directed at God and the people of God. His actions focused on short-term goals and were ultimately destructive, both for himself and for Rome. Nero’s suicidal fate was basically the same as that suffered by Pharaoh of Egypt, who brought himself into the parted Red Sea, and the same as the final king on our list who we turn to next.

Adolf Hitler

After the persecution under Emperor Nero Christianity steadily gained power in Rome, despite scattered persecution and antagonism from various Emperors. Eventually Christianity became the official religion of Rome under Constantine in the fourth century, and the faith spread from its home in the Near East to become the dominant religion in Europe, Africa, and eventually throughout the world. Since that time Christianity has been the most powerful spiritual force on the planet, and during that time, up until the twentieth century, a significant threat to that power was never manifested in the life of a single man.

The seventh and final king is explained in Revelation as the king who “has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while.” He was a king that would appear sometime in the future, and then his authority would last for only a short time. He would be the precursor of the Antichrist himself, and he would exhibit the very same traits as previous Satanic kings, such as pride, rage, paranoia, cruelty, and a passionate hatred of God and the people of God.

This predicted figure came to power in Germany in the 1930s and he ruled over a short-lived Empire the like of which had not been seen in Europe for almost two thousand years. Here is how one biographer introduces Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich:

“Why did a civilised nation of the twentieth century abruptly revert to barbarism? How could a shabby ex-dropout, so manifestly third-rate in all matters of the intellect, have achieved such unparalleled power? Why did the Germans come to venerate Hitler as a god? Why do he and his associates, Himmler, Goering, and Goebbels, still exert a mystique that is so conspicuously absent when we study Mussolini, Ciano and Starace, or Stalin, Molotov and Beria? Why does one feel that the Third Reich stood for a radically different kind of civilisation? Most fascinating of all, what drove Hitler, what motivated him, what went on in his mind that resulted in consequences of such magnitude?” [3]

According to this biographer, the answer to what drove Hitler can be found by examining Hitler’s relationship with the occult and his involvement in the dark arts of sorcery and spirit-possession. The author is qualified to explore this relationship because he is the late Gerald Suster, a former disciple of Golden Dawn adept Israel Regardie, who was himself the personal disciple and secretary of Aleister Crowley.

Suster’s biography is entitled Hitler: Black Magician and it documents Hitler’s involvement with  groups and individuals who used pagan rituals to contact the spirit world. One of Hitler’s closest friends was a man by the name of Dietrich Eckart and he is a primary figure (according to Suster, Peter Levenda and Trevor Ravenscroft) involved in grooming Hitler for his Satanic role. Eckart’s influence over Hitler is proven by Hitler’s dedication that appears at the very end of Mein Kampf:

“And I want also to reckon among [Nazi heroes] that man, who, as one of the best, by words and by thoughts and finally by deeds, dedicated his life to the awakening of his, of our nation: Dietrich Eckart.”

Dietrich Eckart was a popular German author, poet, and editor of an influential newspaper. He was well connected with the financial world and he was a high-level initiate in the occult world. One of the greatest influences upon his life was the Gnostic mystic Helena Blavatsky, whose anti-Christian and anti-Semitic teachings came to permeate the Third Reich, as Levenda explains:

“It should be remembered that Blavatsky’s works—notably Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine—appear to be the result of prodigious scholarship and were extremely convincing in their day. The rationale behind many later Nazi projects can be traced back…to ideas first popularized by Blavatsky. A caste system of races, the importance of ancient alphabets (notably the runes), the superiority of the Aryans (a white race with its origins in the Himalayas), an “initiated” version of of astrology and astronomy, the cosmic truths coded within pagan myths … all of these and more can be found both in Blavatsky and in the Nazi Party itself, specifically in the ideology of its Dark Creature, the SS. It was, after all, Blavatsky who pointed out the supreme occult significance of the swastika.” [4]

Eckart died in 1923, but for the three years previous to his death he  was “Hitler’s constant companion and the man who helped propel him into  the public spotlight.”[5] On his death bed Eckart penned the following words to a friend, which go far to explain the spiritual source of Hitler’s brief success:

“Follow Hitler! He will dance, but it is I who have called the tune. I have initiated him into the ‘Secret Doctrine,’ opened his centers in vision and given him the means to communicate with the Powers. Do not mourn for me: I shall have influenced history more than any other German.” [6]

Identifying Adolf Hitler as the seventh manifestation of the seven-headed dragon of the Apocalypse should not be viewed as questionable or controversial whatsoever. Hitler certainly exhibited the personal characteristics of a Satanically driven and possessed individual, and his passionate hatred of the Jews is very well documented. Unfortunately, the Christian Church in Germany was too timid and too deceived to challenge Hitler directly, but there were many individual Christians who did, such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who paid for his dedication to Christ with his life. Despite the fact that the organized Church in Germany worked with the Nazi Party, Hitler’s ultimate goal was to destroy Christianity. Suster offers the following quotes from Hitler to that effect:

“The religions are all alike, no matter what they call themselves. They have no future – certainly none for the Germans… Whether it is the Old Testament or the New it’s all the same old Jewish swindle… One is either a German or a Christian. You cannot be both… We need free men who feel and know that God is in themselves… The Ten Commandments have lost their validity… Our peasants have not forgotten their true religion. It still lives… The peasant will be told what the Church has destroyed for him: the whole secret knowledge of nature, of the divine, the shapeless, the daemonic… We shall wash off the Christian veneer and bring out a religion peculiar to our race…through the peasantry we shall really be able to destroy Christianity because there is in them a true religion rooted in nature and blood.” [7]

The First Seal of the Apocalypse

In the book of Revelation the breaking of the first Seal of the seven-sealed Scroll brings forth a figure that many Bible scholars have identified as the Antichrist. However, in the book Red Moon Rising – the Rapture and the Timeline of the Apocalypse the conclusion is reached that this figure is better understood as symbolizing the brief career of Satan’s seventh king—Adolf Hitler, rather than the eighth king who will “come up out of the Abyss”:

“I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.” (Revelation 6:1-2)

This figure wears a crown, as do the seven kings of Satan in Revelation 12:3, he holds a weapon, and his primary purpose is that of conquest. The possibility that this figure represents Hitler is reinforced by what comes with the opening of the second Seal, which can easily be viewed as referring to World War II:

Excerpt from the blog Red Moon Rising.

Sodomy – A Crime for Homosexuals Only?

Introduction by John McGlone

I offer these thoughts based on the following article which I found and copied, but unfortunately I didn’t copy the source.  I find it to be very informative and provoking.  Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God for sexual immorality.

2 Pet 2:6 “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;”

Something God has been putting on my heart for quite a few years now is how does this play out for the heterosexual Christian couple?   Are we allowed to participate in anal or oral intercourse?  Is this not just as filthy as what the homosexuals do? There are a variety of responses to this of course, everything from we can do oral but not anal, or to everything goes because as long as it is inside the covenant of marriage.  Some will say that God speaking of strange flesh means non heterosexual.  So, as you examine this great article I would ask for you to seek the Holy Spirit to convince you what is pure before the God you worship.  If we play into the ideas that a little bit of this sexual leaven is okay, how is that not hypocritical before God?  Even from a natural standpoint fellatio, cunnilingus, and anilingus are not healthy as the natural bacterias that reside in those areas are not compatible in the mouth and visa versa.  For example, Ecoli forms a mutualistic relationship with its host organism. … In fact, Ecoli is actually an essential organism to the human body. However, there are a few that cause food poisoning and cause serious infections. But the most dangerous is O157:H7, which can be life threatening.

Jude 1:7 “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” 

 

Sodomy
by Unknown Source

Anal or oral intercourse between human beings, or any sexual
relations between a human being and an animal, the act of which may be punishable as a criminal offense.

The word sodomy acquired different meanings over time. Under the Common Law,
sodomy consisted of anal intercourse.Traditionally courts and statutes referred to it as “crime against nature” or as copulation
“against the order of nature.” In the United States, the term
 eventually encompassed oral sex as well as anal sex. The crime of
sodomy was classified as a felony.

Because homosexual activity involves anal and oral sex, gay men were the primary target of sodomy laws. Culturally and historically, homosexual activity was seen as unnatural
or perverse. The term sodomy refers to the homosexual activities of men in the story of the city of Sodom in the Bible. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their residents’immorality became a central part of Western attitudes toward forms of nonprocreative
sexual activity and same-sexrelations.

Beginning with Illinois in 1961, state legislatures reexamined their sodomy statutes. Twentyseven states repealed these laws, usually as a part of a general revision of the criminal code and with the recognition that heterosexuals engage in oral and anal sex. In addition, state
courts in 10 states applied state constitutional provisions to invalidate sodomy laws. As of early 2003, eight states had laws that barred
heterosexual and homosexual sodomy. Three other states barred
sodomy between homosexuals.

In Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186, 106 S. Ct. 2841, 92 L. Ed. 2d 140 (1986), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Georgiasodomy statute. Michael Hardwick was arrested and charged with sodomy for
engaging in oral sex with a consenting male adult in his home. A
police officer was let into Hardwick’s home to serve a warrant and saw the sexual act. Although the state prosecutor declined to prosecute the case, Hardwick brought suit in federal court asking that the
statute be declared unconstitutional.

On a 5-4 vote, the Court upheld the law. Writing for the majority,
 Justice Byron R.White rejected the argument that previous decisions such as the Court’s rulings on Abortion and contraception had created a right of privacy that extended to homosexual sodomy. Instead, the Court drew a sharp distinction between the previous cases,
which involved “family,marriage, or procreation,” and homosexual
 activity.

The Court also rejected the argument that there is a fundamental
 right to engage in homosexual activity. Prohibitions against sodomy were in the laws of most states since the nation’s founding. To the
argument that homosexual activity should be protected
when it occurs in the privacy of a home, White stated that “otherwise illegal conduct is not always immunized whenever it occurs in the home.” Because the claim in the case involved only homosexual sodomy, the Court expressed no opinion about the constitutionality of the statute as applied to acts of heterosexual sodomy.

The Bowers decision was severly criticized. Justice lewis powellwho voted with the majority, later stated that he hadmade a mistake in voting to affirm the law. In July 2003 the Supreme Court reversed itself on the issue of sodomy.
In Lawrencev.Texas539 U.S. ___, 123 S. Ct. 2472, 156 L. Ed.
2d 508, in a 6 -3 decision, the Court invalidated a Texas anti homosexual sodomy law by invoking the constitutional rights to
privacy.

Sodomy
n. anal copulation by a man inserting his penis in the anus either of
another man or a woman. If accomplished by force,without consent, or with someone incapable of consent, sodomy is a felony in all states in the same way that rape is.Homosexual (male to male) sodomy
between consenting adults has also been found a felony, but
increasingly is either decriminalized or seldom prosecuted. Sodomy with a consenting adult female is virtually never prosecuted even in
those states in which it remains on the books as a criminal offense. However, there have been a few cases, including one in Indiana, in
which a nowestranged wife insisted that a husband be charged with
 sodomy for sexual acts while they were living together. Traditionally sodomy was called “the crime against nature.” Sodomy does not
 include oral copulation or sexual acts with animals
(bestiality).  (See: rapebestiality) 1

footnotes:
1.  http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/sodomy

 

 

Rejoicing Over the Death of the Wicked?

intro by John McGlone
body of work by Rey Reynoso
http://biblearchive.com/blog/

In the military that is a generally accepted saying of, “Kill ’em all, Let God sort them out!”  Now, on the face of it, this seems a very crude and base statement.  But, the reality for military members is that is and was our purpose to protect and defend, which means to kill people.  As Christians are we to rejoice in the death of the wicked as this statement seems to allude to?

After some (long) time of hunting, the American special forces have successfully found and killed Osama Bin Laden, fulfilling the mission that was implemented under the command of President Bush. As President Obama echoed the words of said president, the American resolve remained united, and an enemy was stopped. And with the preparation for the announcement came a wave of rejoicing: “Ding Dong, Osama’s dead” and “Obama got Osama” and “Thank God, Osama’s dead!”

This is not the only death that revealed people rejoicing. Adolf Hitler. Saddam Hussein. Pol Pot. As life goes on and more enemies are killed people will rejoice.

With the recent death of Billy Graham, many who opposed him and things he taught and did seemed to rejoice that he was dead and in hell.  This should never be, we will give an account for every word we’ve spoken, written, taught, etc.  We should be slow to speak and quick to listen.

James 1:19 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

In all this, an ethical question arises: should a Christian rejoice in the death of an enemy?

by Rey Reynoso
In this article I will argue that not only is it fine for a Christian to rejoice, but also it should be done—though not done in the gruesome way that I have seen it being done.

I think it would also be helpful if the reader references my examination of an imprecatory Psalm (that is, when the Psalmist prays for the destruction of his enemies) and the post on Christian and Curses and my post on the image of God.

This article will be divided into four major sections: (1) Where Rejoicing is Wrong; (2) Where Rejoicing is Right; (3) Where Theology Meets Practice;  and (4) Conclusion. The first three major sections will each have a summarizing point to help the skimmers but I strongly encourage reading through them and the cited verses.

Where Rejoicing Is Wrong.

It must be frankly admitted that there is a reason why Christians struggle with this. We do have explicit passages that speak into this matter of rejoicing over the fall of an enemy. Proverbs 24:17-18 says:

“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; or the Lord will see and be displeased and turn His anger away from him.”

And the passage echoes other passages. Job, for instance, sees himself as righteous because he hasn’t rejoiced at the death of his enemies (Job 31:29). Or when we see the wicked doing it, we automatically know it isn’t right (Judges 16:25; 2Sa 16:5-6; Psalm 35:13-15; 42:10;  Micah 7:8).

Indeed, the Proverbs go on to be careful with gloating at all over disaster (Proverbs 17:5) and call for the righteous to care for their enemies—to clothe them and feed them (Prov 25:21) something our Lord Himself says (Lev 19:17–18; Matt 5:44) and which Paul repeats (Rom 12:14).

This whole idea of not rejoicing for the wicked is evidenced when God says (Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11)

“As surely as I live,” declares the Lord God, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, oh house of Israel?”

God would rather the people repent. Peter echoes this idea when he looks back and sees that God’s forbearance is the only reason people haven’t been wiped out (2 Peter 3:9)

Section 1 Summarizing Point: Obviously we see that rejoicing over the death of “my” personal enemy is wrong. It seems to indicate that the personal tramping on an individual’s enemy is not something that is applauded. We see that although God judges the wicked, he’s not happy about it but rather patient, affording time so that they may repent.

 

Where Rejoicing Is Right.

Now there are also plenty of passages which are overlooked. For example, Proverbs 11:10 says

When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; they shout for joy when the wicked die

The Proverb seems to be working with the antithesis of what happens when the wicked are in charge. When they’re in charge the righteous groan and are oppressed (Prov 11:11; 28:12; 29:2,11 )

Indeed, this idea isn’t foreign to the rest of Scripture either.  For example we have in Psalm 58:10 this idea of the people corporately rejoicing in the death of their enemies

The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

This bathing their feet in blood (battlefield imagery) happens elsewhere in the Psalms in case you’re wondering (Psalm 68:23). And lest we get ideas that this is something that merely happens and isn’t to be applauded, we have Psalm 91:8 making it an expectation, a final shutting up of the wicked (Psalm 107:42) . All of Psalm 52 seems to be an expectation for the righteous to witness the destruction of the wicked.

In Deuteronomy 32:43 we hear this clarion call to corporately rejoice:

Rejoice, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.

Indeed, Jeremiah prays for it (Jer 11:20; 20:12).

We find the early church citing Psalm 2 as part of their corporate prayers after Peter and John were beaten (Acts 4:23-30) and they request that the Lord stretches out his hand to heal, perform signs and wonders in the name of God’s servant Jesus. This is interesting, because in Psalm 2, the Lord God is laughing at the enemies of his anointed one (Psalm 2:4) because they stand there daring to revolt. When the early Church prays for God to perform wonders, it is recalling the wonders done before Pharaoh: powerful signs that prove that God, the creator of heaven and earth, is in charge (check Exodus 1 – 15 for the original story).

Upon the destruction of Babylon the Great, we see a call for the people of God, heaven itself, to rejoice over her destruction (Rev 18:20):

Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has pronounced judgment  against her on your behalf!

This is a call that is taken up elsewhere in the apocalypse (Rev 12:12 ) and obeyed in the Rev 19:1-4 in heaven rejoicing over the destruction of their enemy. It’s not the first time that there is singing in heaven as we see in Rev 15:3 the people singing the song of Moses.

Which immediately recalls two songs from the day of Moses. The song of Moses from Deuteronomy 32 where we have clauses of God defeating Israel’s enemies, and the Song of Moses and the Israelites from Exodus 15 where Moses and the people sing and rejoice because the Lord has destroyed their enemies. It wouldn’t be the last time where the people of Israel rejoice over the death of their enemies (Esther 8:15;  2 Kings 11:20 ).

Section 2 summarizing point: We can either conclude that there is a contradiction, a contradiction, or a contradistinction: that the joy in these passages is distinctly different from the joy in the previous section. I think that the verses here reflect that, since it isn’t an individual rejoicing against his or her personal offender, but an individual joining the corporate rejoicing against their corporate enemy. Rejoicing in this sense is apparently justified and expected. They also reflect that although God is not willing that the wicked perish, he does have the wicked perish and he expects his people to be happy about his activity.

The Wicked and Reality: Where Theology Meets Practice

I think we Protestants suffer from a very deistic view of reality, something that I applaud the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics for properly addressing. Reality, say the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics, is not a two-tier house where you have This Physical Realm and then, the second floor with That Spiritual Realm. Reality is more like one floor where the spiritual and the physical co-exist. Now, they take this to a whole ‘nuther realm by having prayer for the dead and praying to God through icons—which all is wrong—but they make a good point. A point that the Psalter repeatedly makes: justice is not merely the purview of That Spiritual Realm. The Justice of God definitively begins here, in This Physical Realm because it is all (yes, all) God’s reality.

So you’ll have Paul looking at sinful humans acting in accordance with their lusts and saying that the wrath of God is (currently) evident (Romans 1). Or you’ll have Paul warning believers to obey their governing bodybecause it is God’s instrument and it properly carries the sword of wrath against injustice (Romans 13).

And when you have judgment poured out against Israel via the Assyrians or the Babylonians, we find that God is speaking saying that this is his judgment—a foreign people attacking the Israelites like a wielded axe. These foreigners are an instrument in his hand for wrath. So you’ll have the entire book of Hosea speaking about the righteous surviving God’s wrath not so much in some future spiritual realm but right then, holding on to the Lord’s salvation.

The idea of God’s justice is something that results not only in Angels chanting, or people rejoicing, but the very physical creation yearns for it (Romans 8) and rejoices when it happens. So you’ll see a great pairing of Psalms, with one calling for the Lord to stamp down the wicked (Psalm 94), the Psalmist depending on the Lord to do it, and then (Psalm 95 and 96) the mountains and oceans rejoicing when it does happen.

Of course, a point that I made in a previous post still stands: that when imprecation is leveled against the Psalmists’ enemies, it is almost always coupled with self-examination. The reason is that justice is a thematic thread throughout the Psalter—and all of Scripture. There is a constant expectation for the balancing of scales; but when it happens in the Now, there is rejoicing: something that the section up above reflected quite concisely.

You’ll see God saying things like Ezekiel 18:32 where he doesn’t rejoice in the death of anyone—and yet he still has people die and be punished because he judges the earth (Psalm 58:11). We hear Lamentations 3:33 where he doesn’t willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of Men and we have the entire book of Job where God was willing to bring affliction to a child of men.

The problem then becomes one of applying theology to our practical situation.

Some Christians take Section 1 Passages and ignore Section 2 Passages, or worse, relegate Section 2passages to some later day. They forget that the call in the book of Proverbs, is not one so much of law (which we Christians tend to gravitate toward—check out my article on the Pearl Method) but one for wisdom.

This is why you have apparently contradictory Proverbs back to back (Prov 26:4-5) and seemingly contradictory Proverbs separated by space (Prov 11:10; 24:17). It calls for some serious wisdom on when to implement one over the other; and quite frankly it is sometimes just impossible. The nature of wisdom literature is to paint two extremes so as to reflect on the differences. It is either Lady Wisdom or Harlot Foolishness. It is either Life or it is death.

So when you read Proverbs 21:15

When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.

It’s not a command, nor is it something that will definitely happen, but it paints a picture of the evildoers position against justice being done.

And when you read Proverbs 24:19-20

Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked; for there will be no future for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out

It might be read as a promise, but it should properly refer to the activity of the wise man in relation to the wave of wickedness.

Summarizing Point: Putting our theology to practice consists of a Biblical robustness that necessarily reaches beyond mere proof-texting. We can’t merely go with the romanticized internal feelings of something not feeling right, or with the rationalistic mentality of something looking like what evil people do. We need to examine a large swath of passages and see how they correlate and a wide variety of circumstances thus allowing God to say what God wishes to be said. God is supreme, and He is judge, and the Kingdoms of the World, when they do right, do right according to His will and should be applauded for that. When they do wrong, even if it is in accordance to his plans, they always are blamed because they willingly did wrong.

 

Concluding Points on the Death of the Wicked And Our Reaction

So we have passages that speak of individuals not rejoicing over the death of their personal enemies and passages speaking of corporate rejoicing over the death of their corporate enemies. We have an understanding that God judges in the future, but that we see his judgment and justice sometimes right now in the present—and that rejoicing is expected in these situations. But at this point we have to make some mental ties while avoiding extremes.

  1. One extreme is to become holier than God. Since the sinner has been punished, we should weep and pray for his soul or some such thing. It is appointed for man to die—and if his life is cut off via judgment of his instrument. It is in this world that God has cut the man off to introduce him to judgment. End of opportunity for repentance. A decision has been made. If it happens in the house of God with certain sins, suggests John, what makes us think that the God who even numbers the hairs on heads doesn’t act this way in reality? All of Scripture tells us he does (re-read the book of Daniel for instance). Trying to be holier than God is ultimately idolatrous. God judged, we must agree that He has done right, and we should be happy about that.
  2. Another extreme is to become holier than other believers in not-rejoicing. Christians are told to weep with the mourners and rejoice with the rejoicers but it also tells us to be careful when we do either. If there is a legitimate time for mourning, it is actually wrong to look at fellow tear-shedders as doing something morally wrong.  Christians should be incredibly leery of merely finding a proof-text to justify judgment of fellow believers when there is a very deep theological grid-work underlying all of it.
  3. And yet another extreme is to revel in rejoicing. We’re believers who have been called to live where we are (1 Cor 7) but that doesn’t mean that we are to be carried away in the actions and activity of the world around us. John tells us that the World System is antithetical to the Christian even while Paul tells us that the World’s Systems have been established by God. To do (horrid) things like raising a decapitated head of one’s enemies is just really missing the point of both the image of God and God’s own justice.

All of this tells me that when the enemy of the People is judged by God, cut off, and justice is served: the Lord has done right; the people should rejoice. Just like the Song of Moses rejoices in the cutting off of enemies, there is a rejoicing that should go hand in hand with justice being served. It is not to be avoided merely on the grounds that the Wicked also rejoice in wrongdoing—that just means that they have perverted something that is proper and right.

It might be a sticker situation deciding Who Are The Wicked and Who Aren’t The Wicked but that goes beyond the boundaries of it being okay or not to rejoice. I think that Hitler was obviously “The Wicked” even if the people being killed were sinners. I think that Stalin was obviously “The Wicked” even if the people being killed were unrighteous. In each of those cases, the unrighteous become “The Innocent” that can rightly bring a charge against “The Wicked” and demand a balancing of the scales. In both cases, I think it is right for the people to rejoice over the death of the wicked, but not in some horridly gruesome way (like banners with decapitated heads).

Justice, which belongs to God, triumphed and we should rejoice in that. It happened in time, right now, and that is a foretaste of a future balancing of scales where the God of heaven surely does right and every mouth is shut. We shouldn’t look down on fellow Christians that are rejoicing, but we also shouldn’t become bloodthirsty in our rejoicing.

We should, I think, act wisely in even this and realize that a robust theological foundation is much broader and all-encompassing than a mere proof-text or a blanket statement. One day, we will definitely rejoice when every knee bows, by hook or by crook, to the seated and reigning King—but in the present we can rejoice when we get a foretaste of a government that functions correctly.

Now, what about Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden: should we rejoice that justice has been served against these men? Yes, I think we should. We shouldn’t be morbidly happy about it, but we should say and believe that a government has properly used it’s God-given sword and be happy about that. We shouldn’t be morbidly happy with gruesome depictions of the dead, but we should stand with those who mourned and say “Yes, God’s arm can be seen in this bit of justice.”