God is..?

The only way to God is Jesus Christ. --> "God is a tyrant! Why would he force his morals onto us?"

God gives us the freedom to choose. --> "God is uncaring! Why would he let us make bad decisions?"

Do you understand yet?

Simple Commands...

Why is it so hard for people - in particular, myself - to follow simple commands from God? The convictions He's put into my heart are very simple, yet I still manage to consistently go against them, to the point I'm back at the same transitional point I was at back in July, and a frame of mind only slightly better than what I was delivered from. But the good thing here is, I'm at least now aware of it, and properly know to avoid it. In the past, I would have just gone further into it, not having any kind of working solution in mind. Believing that God existed, but somehow not trusting in Him, and instead relying on my own solutions that never worked. Now I have true faith that God will help me through the things I face, guiding and protecting.

(I originally posted this on The Blackest Light)

Alcoholism

I don't go to bars, but I've come to see that bars are one of the most toxic environments for a person. Because while it's not always the case, people who frequent bars are often people who tend to claim a belief in God, but make no effort to stop, or even to slow, the sin they're committing. They tend to embrace it. The overall environment is very toxic, because it creates the implication that alcoholism is okay, even for believers.

A controversial issue in the world is gay marriage. People can pinpoint a number of verses, from the creation of man and woman in Genesis, to Jesus mentioning it again during His ministry, to the fact that sex with the same gender was punishable by death under the Mosaic law to which we are no longer bound for salvation, thus we no longer punish sin with death.

But bearing all those verses in mind, are you aware that there is equal evidence in the Bible that alcoholism is a sin that will send you to Hell? In fact, I'd go so far as to say there's more evidence for alcoholism. Here are a few verses:

1 Corinthians 6:10

. . . nor thieves, nor coveters, not drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Isaiah 5:11

Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!

Ephesians 5:18

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Proverbs 20:1

Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler, and whoever staggers because of them is not wise. 

Galatians 5:21

Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

And then on top of that, there are the effects of alcohol, which include things like drunk driving which leads to murder, bar fights, and even abuse of family members, and more - all things which the Bible CLEARLY forbids. Alcohol itself isn't forbidden, as evidenced by the fact that Jesus and the disciples had wine at the last supper, but they did not get drunk off of it. Drunkenness / alcoholism is a clearly-defined sin, from which God commands us to abstain. There are many, many ways to overcome an alcohol addiction. And you don't need alcohol to "escape" from your problems. There are better ways. Why not find some of them?

God bless you all, and guide you according to His perfect will. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Appreciation

I feel moved to make this. I just want to say that if you're out there trying to spread the word, and you're not seeming to get results, and you're feeling down, don't. You never know what kind of impact you're going to have. I myself have been feeling like that for awhile. And I can only trust that God is using me in some way. However, a lot of people have helped me along in my faith journey, and most of them don't know it. I want to thank some of them here - as many as I can think, given how tired I am right now. I don't write this to "glorify" them, but rather as encouragement for them and all those who have been feeling like I've been.

- http://shieldoffaith62.blogspot.com - I've emailed you before. That one single post you wrote [HERE for anyone interested!] made me reconsider so many things that were wrong in my life. I never explained most of them to you. A few of them have been mentioned here, in various posts. I don't know if you still read this blog, but if you do, I just want to say that the impact of that post was even greater than I probably let on at the time. Also, I have a few more CDs that I've since decided to get rid of. Right now I don't feel like putting out the money for postage to have them recycled, but they will be disposed of eventually and I don't listen to them anymore. Hopefully this will be the last batch!

- Demon Hunter - It was awesome having Christian metal to listen to. Like most things, it wasn't enough to fully hold back my ignorance at the time, but it was always there, in my subconscious and in my CD collection. (I still like your music, but recently gave both CDs to someone, just to be nice, you understand - let's pray for that person; I think they could use it, just like I did.) And your music helped around the time I was starting to recover. I don't want to go into specifics, but I'll say that your music helped me be more resolved with God's will at a time when I really didn't want to face facts.

- Mortal Treason - I know almost nothing about your music, to be honest. I don't really listen to it anymore. It's nothing personal, and now that I'm writing this, maybe I'll check it out again sometime. You guys were my introduction to the really heavy Christian stuff. I mentioned the idea of such Christian music to a friend, and you guys were the band he recommended. He sent me one song ("Khampa Nomads", I think it's called?) and that was just awesome to me, and it was the only Mortal Treason song I ever listened to (I should really give you guys another chance, wow) but even that one song managed to have an impact.

- Becoming the Archetype - similar to Mortal Treason. I only ever listened to a couple songs by you guys, but it still had an impact. "End of the Age" was stunning to me. I deluded myself a lot back then and said that I was still a Christian when I really clearly wasn't, and "End of the Age" really spoke to me in a way that almost no other music could. 

- Antestor - If I'm not mistaken, you guys were the first unblack metal band I ever heard. The very idea of that had such an impact, I can't even explain it. The first song I listened to was "Betrayed". I was really depressed at the time, so of course that song spoke to me a lot. The lines "But if the Christians that I've seen / represent the true God of Heaven / then it's not a place that I want to be" actually made me stop and think a few times about the kind of person I was being. I also really liked the song "Mitt hjerte". That song was absolutely stunning to me.

- Elgibbor - Your album "War" spoke to me a lot. I really like the music on that album. I have to listen to that again soon. All of it coming from a former satanist yet. That last part may sound a bit silly now, but it was really meaningful to me. I also have that (out-of-print) long-sleeve shirt from Metal Helm for "War", with the flames on the sleeves, and that guy riding a horse on the front. That shirt is seriously awesome, and somehow made me feel a lot better about things.

- Emperador - You guys are crazy. My introduction to you guys was a live video on YouTube where you played "Gloria en la oscuridad". That was terrifying. I'd heard all kinds of extreme music, but nothing like that. The guitar intro was absolutely infernal; Pastor Vampire's shrieks were genuinely off-putting; and Pastora Rosa Negra's vocals were creepy. I loved it! And then I found out that you guys started a metal church? That idea was so awesome to me. That was just amazing, the idea of fellowship with a metal theme. I did more research on Iglesia Caverna, and I was just so inspired. I won't say where I live, but I don't live near you, but even though I can't visit Iglesia Caverna right now, know that it has had an impact on me regardless.

- Dani - I don't know your full name, but I know you're a member of Iglesia Caverna. I've talked to you before - only a few times, but still - and found that beneficial, too. It's hard to explain what our conversations have done for me, but they had a positive impact nonetheless.

- Divine Symphony - Your album "The History" has this distinctly "liturgical" feel to it, and I really appreciate that. It's like the music at my church - except, you know, with symphonic unblack metal thrown in. Anyway, it all started with "Frustrered Dreams", and looking back, it's actually a rather silly place to begin. Because it starts back when I was practicing meditation, and I used to use music a lot. Other bands had these long, extended interludes that were conducive to meditation. I tried a few times with the short interlude in "Frustrered Dreams", but generally failed to achieve anything. See: the song was primarily about God, not occultism, so naturally it didn't yield the results I expected when I tried to meditate to it! It's a silly thing to say now, but back then, that one simple little thing, had a huge impact on how I perceived meditation. The song made me rethink it a lot, and made me want to put more importance on God in my life. But it didn't even stop there. "Reform" is a great song, too. Those clean vocals were amazing. Now, "Unfinished Era". That song is definitely worth mentioning here. That has made me think so much, I can't even describe it here. Overall, that song has just made me think a lot about things. I could point out the specific line, "Lies and false promises deceive God's people and make them do things that God hasn't asked them to do". I was doing a lot of things back then that God wasn't asking me to do, for a number of reasons. That one line made me reconsider some of the things I was doing.

O Majestic Winter - I've talked to one of you personally before. I loved the weird, raw style you guys did on "Defiling the Serpent's Temple". Your faith/conviction came through really clearly on that album and it spoke to me.

Comunidad Pantokrator - Another metal church! I've spoken to one or two of you before (under a different name, like almost everyone here). I also saw a YouTube video about you and found it really inspiring. Again, even though I'm not in a position to go visit you right now, know that you have still helped me.

Edit:  I also want to thank this one company. I don't know the name of the company, but they make these daily calendars with Bible trivia questions on them. I get a daily calendar for Christmas every year, and given all that had taken place over the past few months in 2014, I certainly welcomed receiving that one instead of the ones I got previous years that tended to have rather vulgar messages (which last year I specifically asked not to get, hence the Bible trivia one instead.) I thought it would be rather easy since I knew the traditional Bible stories (Noah, Jonah, etc) and had been reading the Gospels fairly extensively, along with a few psalms and a bit of Revelation. But I realized pretty quickly that I knew almost nothing on this calendar. And the questions are taken from the KJV (note: the KJV, like all English translations, still isn't a 100% perfect translation, but hey, it's really close) so it's not like they're taking these questions from some really weird text, just canonical scripture. Finally around... April, I think? I decided to I needed to know more of the Bible. I decided read the Bible from beginning to end. I usually read a chapter a day, which isn't much, but it's more than I was reading before! Right now I'm up to 1 Kings. You know, I've heard skeptics say that if you read God's word in its entirety, you'll allegedly doubt your faith. On the contrary, I've learned more about God - truths which admittedly some people don't like to admit, such as that God has indeed gotten angry at people before, and has struck people down before. Of course, to the best of my knowledge, this doesn't happen today, since forgiveness now comes through faith (which leads to repentance) through Jesus, not OT law, but it has happened in the past. Of course it all may not seem like it makes sense if you cherry pick out-of-context verses as skeptics like to do, but in the wider context of scripture it does indeed make sense. Also, since reading the Bible more, I've learned about how there are translation errors in modern translations (see "like all English translations" link above) which is where most skeptics derive these alleged "contradictions", which didn't actually exist in older Hebrew translations. A lot to happen as a result of a daily calendar!

Here are other bands/people I want to thank, for the impact you've had:
Nephesh, Winter's Dawn, Wintersoul, Herr Darkpriest (Verdelger, Ancient Uncreated Incarnation), Doctor D (Armageddon Holocaust, Bealiah), Unblack Star, Diamoth, Requiem Eternam, Flock of Crows, Nattesorg (Demodus Rotundus, Frostnoise), Azmaveth (the band from Puerto Rico), Betheos Abshalom, Forgotten Sorrow, Reobote, Edificador, the people from White Funeral (and Antivenom and Lunar Invasion), Hazeroth, Boanerges (Poland), Surmount Darkness, Holy Blood, Blood Covenant, Destroyer of Lie, Dying Blaze, Hawthorn, HB, Timōrātus, God Enthroned, Slechtvalk, Kissing the Crown of Thorns, Hazael (band from Brazil), Dustt, Santuario (band from Costa Rica), Sorrowstorm, Christageddon, Comunidade Golgota, Mental Destruction, Blackhouse, Veni Domine, Nocturnal Freeze, K Megiddo (Torches in the Void, Thy Fiery Haze), La Chambre Ardente, Tsidkenu (band from Mexico), Broken Flesh, Obliteration (band from USA), Disencumbrance, Truth Remains, Nehyam, Soteria, Arch of Thorns, my pastor, my one teacher from back in school (I don't want to name people I know personally so I have to be vague; I was the kid who laughed at all your jokes), Belzidum, Orationem, Palvonta, Kirche Gothika, Flyleaf, KJ-52, Falling Up, William McDowell, Cold Embrace (band from India), Neohadth, Worshiper (Brazil) ...

There are even more I could put, too. All of the above (and more) have had an impact on me somehow. Most of these people probably don't even know I exist. Most of them aren't famous, and so I'm sure some of you understand the struggle I've been facing lately. So this post has two purposes. To thank those who have helped me, and to encourage others who feel their impact isn't important. It is.

God bless and guide you (including readers) according to His perfect will! In Jesus' name. Amen.

Callings

I feel like a big problem among Christians today is a misunderstanding about our calling.

Romans 14 explains this pretty well.

It seems to me that people have a tendency to take what they are individually called to do, and base the actions of all Christians on them. For example, and I really don't want to give an example, but for example, one person in the unblack metal scene recently left the scene because that person has come to believe that unblack metal (and all metal) is evil. They proceeded to tell other Christians to leave the scene as well, or they would go to Hell.

There is no Biblical evidence that any genre of music is inherently evil. I can understand how metal could become a snare to some people, but it's not a snare to everyone. For me, the unblack scene is one of the most godly things I could be participating in. Unblack metal actually brought me closer to God. I eventually actually left behind all of the pagan/occult/satanic music I used to like, and turned to music that worshiped God instead. When certain things happened in my life, unblack metal led me to question a lot of the occult things I was practicing. When I wanted to listen to dark music, unblack metal was always an option, and there was often some band whose music had a dark enough sound to satisfy me. That's the purpose of evangelism - to call out to people, just as the scene is doing. Unblack metal is a wonderful tool to spread the word to people. I, and many others in the scene, have been led into a right place with God through this.

And on the other hand, you do, indeed, have some people who were misled by the darkness of the overall black metal scene, the stuff I left behind, and were ensnared by it, instead of turning further to the God-glorifying music in the unblack scene.

So the issue isn't that this genre is inherently evil, the issue is that people aren't putting God first in issues like this. And I keep talking about metal, but it's not just about metal - it's about ALL things in life.

If you listen to unblack metal, and find it becoming a snare to you, pray to God about it, and don't be afraid to listen to what He has to say. If you feel unblack metal is becoming a snare to somebody else, don't be afraid to bring it up. Just don't assume that it's universally a sin when there's no Biblical evidence for it. This is how it is for everything in life. Whatever is going on, put God first. Avoid sin as the Bible clearly describes it. And for everything else, pray to God about it.

It's not just a problem with others, either. It can be a problem with you, yourself. We as individual people disagree on a lot of things, and interpret scripture in different ways. The problem comes in when those differing viewpoints aren't based on God's word, or on God's individual plans for us, but instead are based on our own desires, and what we want to believe, rather than what we are instructed to believe. It's important to have an unbiased, scriptural view of things, and not be guided by what you individually are being misled to want by the devil and his demons.

For example, I once believed in reincarnation. The Bible says that man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, which created a conflict with my beliefs at the time. In that case, you couldn't have just passed it off as me "having a different interpretation of scripture", because I was ignoring scripture. Nowadays, I've learned to reject reincarnation. It's no longer a snare to me, and I now understand the truth of that verse. Now, I also used to practice what you could call "sorcery", but Hebrews 9:27 says nothing about that. However, Deuteronomy 18:10 to 11 does, and so does Revelation 22:15. Of course, I've left behind "sorcery" as well. So it's important to be sure your beliefs are backed by scripture.

The best way to resolve that is to think of it this way:
Do you believe what you do because of the Bible, or in spite of it?

Can you back up your views with scripture, or does it contradict your claims?

God bless you all and guide you according to His perfect will! In Jesus' name. Amen.

Homosexuality

http://adam4d.com/dont-hate/

Simple. This puts the whole situation into perspective perfectly.

Obligatory note, I haven't read every single thing this guy's ever posted, but I've read a lot of it and liked it!

Mormonism

http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/book-of-mormon-1.htm

Simple.

Also, as I always point out when I put links, I know nothing about the site above. I only posted it for that one specific page. I don't know if the overall website is reliable.

Something Personal

Still doubt the reality of what I talk about on here?

There's something about me that I've only ever told a couple family members. I just feel like sharing it here because I was reminded of it today.

Now, ever since I was young, probably like 12 years old or so, there's been an inverted pentagram embedded into my right hand. Now, I did not put it there. It just appeared there. 12 years old is around the time I had just barely started getting into dark stuff.

Throughout all my years of practicing occultism, this pentagram was there, as a natural part of my hand print. But see, it was never a full pentagram - those have five lines, but this one only had four. The horizontal line in the middle was missing.

It was very indicative of what was going on in my life at that point. I was listening to satanic music, practicing all kinds of stuff that the Bible outright forbid... Of course, I never thought any of that was wrong, so I never made the connection. I knew it was an evil symbol, but I never realized the significance of it appearing on my hand. I thought it was just an odd coincidence.

Then around late 2013 (when I was 19) is when I started getting away from that stuff. Not a lot, just a little bit. Over the course of the next year, as I've explained before, I completely dropped all occult stuff in my life. I had some tough decisions to make, but I decided to stick with God. He'd gotten me through so much by that point, and everything else in my life was just failing me more and more; the only logical decision was to follow Him, or at least lean on Him to guide me. So I had to face the reality that the Bible spoke against a lot of what I had come to believe up until that point. And those were points where God was telling me what the truth was, but I didn't want to accept it. But I trusted in God, and over time, in my reflections on life, in my research, etc etc God guided me to the truth, and helped me to accept it, and realize how my old beliefs were, indeed, lies. I left behind all of the evil I once embraced in my life, and finally replaced it entirely with God.

So at some point in early-mid 2015, I remembered the pentagram on my hand. I decided to look at it again, and something new was there.

There was a line cutting clean through the pentagram.

It wasn't the line that was missing from the pentagram. Rather, there's a thick, obvious line cutting across and through the very middle of it, like the lines in those red "no" signs.

Just thinking about that makes me stop for a second. It's not like it was a random symbol; it was a very accurate one given what was going on at that point. And when I asked God for help, when I decided to trust Him, when I finally understood what Jesus' sacrifice really meant and accepted that, He blotted it out. I have such a hard time forgiving myself for things. And I still struggle with my imperfections. (Which reminds me of [[this]]. I like this comic a lot.) But this line, actually crossing out the symbol on my hand, is just so powerful to me. Whenever I struggle with my past or mess up somehow, I think of this. It reminds me of where I used to be, and how bad things were then, and where God's gotten me now - to such a better place. A couple times, I've talked about my past with people, and it's just surreal. It feels like I'm talking about a different person completely. My life's not just suddenly "great" now, but the lack of evil forces intruding into my life and the addition of God's love is certainly a plus, to say the least!

This symbol is such a great visual reminder to me of God's greatness. Of all the wonderful things God's done in my life the past two years. It's so humbling. It's His way of saying to me, "It's okay now. That's gone from your life. It's not a part of you anymore."

Amen.

PS, funny how God can even take an inverted pentagram and make it work for His glory. And hey, since it's common knowledge now that the inverted cross is actually a Christian symbol, the devil's running a little short on symbols here!

PPS, did you know you probably have a cross on your hand print? Extend your hand so your middle finger is facing directly away from your face. On your palm, there is a straight line going up, toward your middle finger. Around the middle of your palm, there is a line going perpendicular to that one. Both lines form a cross.

Update 2020: Here are pictures.

Judaism / devil

Messianic Judaism - basically it's (intended to be?) what the church was around the time of Jesus. Judaism, but modified by Jesus and His instruction to us. Acknowledging Jesus as the prophesied messiah, but holding Old Testament custom a lot more closely than is taught by Christianity.

I'd still need to do more research on the topic overall before I felt right saying too much about it, but there is one problem I've noticed.

It appears there's some questionable discussion taking place regarding the devil, some taking the "normal" Jewish teaching that he doesn't work as Christianity teaches. That the devil supposedly isn't a fallen angel, but instead one that just does as God instructs him to do. However, it's crucially important to keep in mind that this is not true.

I say "crucially" important for a reason. First of all, Jesus, the prophesied messiah, specifically referred to the devil as falling from Heaven:

And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Second, and most important, the book of Revelation talks about the devil as an enemy of God who will be punished:

And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.


These are two sources that are crucially important to keep in mind. Remember what is written in Revelation:

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,

and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.





I'm not writing this just for one group, not by any stretch - it's just something I noticed in certain discussions. I'm writing this for everybody. The important thing to keep in mind above all else is to follow God, prayerfully learning and following His commands as closely as we can. And some will interpret certain things differently, but this is a case where I felt like it was important to speak up about it. There's a line where interpretations step outside of sound doctrine, and denying what Jesus said, and what the book of Revelation says, is crossing it. 

God bless and guide you all according to His perfect will. In Jesus' name. Amen. 

Bible Contradictions Refuted

People have all kinds of verses that they claim are "contradictions" in the Bible. They're not. The people who make these claims don't look into them at all and take things out of context, and in turn, think such things as that the Bible allegedly claims insects have four legs. Most of these alleged contradictions can be debunked with a single Google search, but why bother going to all that trouble? I have a blog, and let's save some people the trouble here.

I'm hoping to make a bigger post out of this, but let's just get started.

1. Two different accounts of the origin of the saying "Is Saul among the prophets?" are given in 1 Samuel.

Truth: Later in the Saul story we read that David fleeing from Saul arrived at the prophet Samuel. Saul persecuting David also came there and again came into spiritual ecstasy. By that it seems that David being on the run from Saul was able to escape from him. In this occasion again we read: “Therefore they say: Is Saul among the prophets?” The usual translation, however, is not correct. An imperfect is used in the Hebrew: “Therefore they said: Is Saul among the prophets?” The meaning is not that this saying started here as a common one. Again the people were surprised and repeated the already fixed expression. [Source]

2. Abraham broke the law by marrying Sarah

Truth: The law hadn't been given yet. There was no law forbidding him from marrying Sarah. She was "the daughter of [his] father but not the daughter of [his] mother", so by our standards he shouldn't have married her, but the law hadn't been given yet. He couldn't be held accountable for it, because there was no law yet forbidding it.

3. Jesus wants us to hate our families because of Luke 14:26

Truth: Translation issues. Just like with 1 Samuel. Jesus does not want us to "hate" our families. What it means is that we must put Jesus first, even to the point that it may appear as though we hate them. Matthew 10:37 explains it much more clearly. Jesus commands us to love others, and this is no exception. It's the 2nd greatest commandment, but the 1st greatest commandment is to love God.

4. Numbers 11:20 contradicts Numbers 11:33

Truth: Translation issues once again. Let's get some context going quick. Israel was getting greedy about food. God was giving them food, but they wanted other things and weren't happy with what God was giving them. In Numbers 11:20, it's said that God will give them meat for a month, but in Numbers 11:33, God is said to send a plague while they were still eating it. What this actually means, according to the older Hebrew, is that the plague was sent before the meat was cut off from the people. That is, they ate for a month, weren't done eating it yet, and thus were still eating it at the time that the plague was first sent.

5. 1 Samuel 31:4-6 and 2 Samuel 1:1-10 contradict each other

Truth: The verses in the first passage describe what actually took place. The account given in the 2nd passage about Saul's death is a story fabricated by a random person. Read carefully how 2 Samuel talks about this situation. Among other clues, notice that it never mentions these events transpiring where Saul asked a random Amalekite to kill him. It simply says he relayed the story, not that it actually happened beforehand; the text treats the man's account as words from his mouth, not as an actual historical account of what happened to Saul, as the first passage does. It's really obvious, but something that people don't take the time to examine at all - they see what first appears to be a contradiction, so they make assumptions about it instead of taking things in context. This is the case with tons of alleged issues people have with the Bible - they take random verses that may seem unappealing or contradictory at first glance, but never bother to investigate it at all. It's the same as if someone in ancient Israel had read a prophecy about Jesus suffering, and one about His kingdom never ending. The two only make sense when you take Jesus' entire life, and everything written about Him into consideration; He suffered, and rose from the dead, and now His kingdom never ends. If you take the two separately, of course they won't make sense. To really drive home the point of how counterproductive and unreliable it is to take random verses out of context, read this Bible verse.




These are just a few. I hope to add more later. In the meantime, this website seems to be a good resource if you have further questions. Edit 2019: And this page!

May God bless you all and guide you according to His perfect will. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Hillsong Church and Bethel Church

Hillsong Church and Bethel Church both don't teach God's actual word. They may teach parts of it, but then distort it with all of the other nonsense they do and say. It's pretty common knowledge that both of these false "churches" should be avoided at all costs, but clearly there are still a lot who don't know, too! I'm not going to make an extremely long post about this. I'll just give a couple quick examples of what's wrong with them. Let's start with Hillsong.

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=33079

I know nothing about that site, but it gives a pretty good example here!

"Pray[ing] for an impartation" isn't something God wants us to do. It doesn't help that on top of everything else, it's an impartation of Joyce Meyer's teachings, a few of which I've heard, and... don't like very much! (Here's a random link about that.) But that's not the point. Anyway, let's say you were talking about sound doctrine instead of random lies. You might instead pray that someone can be opened to the truth, to receive it - praying for God to do something for someone. It may sound similar to what Caine was doing, but it's not the same. At all. Oh, and you don't have to lay your hands on something in order to pray about it, either.

Oh, and you don't "catch" truth, either. You learn it.

Another thing about Hillsong is that they apparently teach speaking in tongues. What the Bible means by "tongues" is "languages". Languages that are already established. What Hillsong mean by "tongues" is speaking in nonexistent languages that appear to actually be gibberish. That's demonic, too. I used to speak in a tongue. That wasn't a gift from the Holy Spirit; it was the lies of demons. A trick, meant to confuse me. In my case, it was used to affirm other spiritual lies I had come to accept at the time. It was never once used to serve God, or glorify Him at all. Nowadays, I refuse to ever speak that tongue again. I refuse to even share examples of it, because it's demonic. I'm not sure how to get this across anymore clearly. It's directly demon-influenced, and Hillsong are promoting it in their so-called ministry.

..............................................

Now for Bethel. Let's just go with one quick example for them. Did you know that, according to them, Jesus asked someone else for forgiveness one time? It's even someone at Bethel church!

Your tone of voice and nonsense rationale don't fool me!



I'm sure there are others like these two, but they stand out the most, and they're full of false teaching, occultism, and direct slander against God. These may be "churches" by definition, but they're not churches of God. They may claim they are, but they're not. This stuff is crucial to understand. False teachings abound in this world. I once fell for similar teachings, and now it's important to show others the truth regarding these lies. In fact, there are many, many more things wrong with Bethel and Hillsong than I mentioned here, but I just wanted to give a couple examples. In fact, the examples here already show how severely misguided the people at those churches are; further examples aren't even needed. But you can look up more examples if you want. They're not hard to find!

May God bless and guide you all according to His perfect will. In Jesus' name. Amen. 

Skeptical About the Period of Darkness at the Crucifixion?

http://daybydaywithjesus.com/three-hour-period-of-darkness-at-the-crucifixion/

^ Read that. I try to be cautious with unfamiliar websites, but this one page has a lot of useful information on it.

Christian Education (not written by me)

A sermon that I got permission to share most of on this blog. I didn't write it, I just obtained permission to share it here. 

The sermon begins with a reading of Psalm 78:1-8, you can read it [here].

Today we celebrate the beginning of a new school year, and a new Sunday School year here at [redacted], because both are very important in the lives of our children.

In the first 200 years of our nation's history, education in this country was explicitly Christian, and it produced amazing results. In the era of the Founding Fathers, where all education was Christian education, there was widespread literacy. Our nation rose to greatness because it was founded on the principles in the Word of God. The curriculum was God-centered. Unfortunately, the rise of the modern education system has replaced Christianity in our schools with humanism and secularism.

In 1963, Madelyn Murray-O'Hare succeeded in taking prayer and Bible reading out of our schools. Since then, the curriculum in our public schools has become human-centered -- based on the belief that the human being -- not God -- is the highest entity in existence and everything is built around it. In addition, the Bible has become nothing more than just another piece of ancient literature.

 In 1887, A.A. Hodge, professor at Princeton University and one of America's greatest theologians, said that a public education system, divorced from Biblical Christianity, will become the most atheistic, anti-Christian, and nihilistic system this world has ever seen. It's hard to argue that the separation of church and state as it appeals to the educational system today has made Hodge's 130 year-old statement true.

Add to that, the proliferation of immoral language, sex and violence on TV and in the movies and video games has destroyed all moral absolutes, and all standards of good and evil taught in God's holy word. The traditional family, Sunday worship, and morality are fast becoming things of the past.

Add to that the fact that today's society has become so characterized by self-gratification, self-centeredness and self-absorption. We are preoccupied with promoting ourselves to ourselves. The newest word in our language is "selfies", and through the internet we are constantly engaged in self-promotion, self-labeling, and self-advertisement. Yet the Bible is full of admonitions to do for others more than we do for ourselves.

Thus, from our American beginnings as a Christian nation, founded upon Christian principles, led by men and women of faith, we have become one of the least Christian countries in the world. Truth be told -- Islam is rapidly becoming the primary religion of the U.S. and many other countries.

If all this doesn't disturb you in some way -- it should! But lest we throw up our hands and give up -- all is not lost. The greatest challenge facing the church in our generation is the need for Christian Education. In the past, as I mentioned earlier, all education was Christian Education. Today, it is the sole responsibility of Christians -- specifically Christian parents, families and the church. Education is the foundation for a good and full life, setting the individual on a path to personal fulfillment, economic security and societal contribution. For many centuries it had been considered that education in general and academia in particular were responsible for the moral and social development of students and for bringing together diverse groups for the common good. Today, the key that unlocks the door to building a better world is Christian Education -- an education grounded in Holy Scripture.

If our church is to face this greatest challenge, we must recognize the importance of Christian Education. Teaching is powerful! Teaching can be greatly used to build God's kingdom. Jesus himself spent more time teaching than anything else.

What does this all mean for us? It means that we begin anew today -- as parents and all who are responsible for raising children, and as a congregation.

A man by the name of Bruce Wilkinson has said, "From the birth of your child onward, you as a parent are a craftsman for God. In your hands is the soul of the next generation."

[...]

We must also lead by example. Instructing children from the Bible is good, but living what we teach is even better. We can teach children how important it is to obey God, but they will know what we really believe by how we conduct ourselves. Children are watching every move -- good and bad -- whether ti be the example set by their parents, or the standards set by others such as teachers, pastors, coaches, professional athletes, politicians and Hollywood stars. It has been said, "Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls upon them makes an impression." The truth is, everyone today is crafting the next generation. What values do we want to instill in our children today who will become tomorrow's adults? What messages do our actions portray to our children. Someone once said, "Don't worry that children never listen to you. Worry that they're always watching you."

As parents, and as Christians, we must all walk by faith, and God must be at the forefront of our lives if he is to have any meaning in the lives of our children. If we settle for less than God's best, our children are sure to follow in our footsteps.

The good news for us this morning is that the more we know Jesus, the more we will want to be more and more like him by becoming the men and women he wants us to be. The same is true for our children.

[...]

A great deal of responsibility has been placed on our shoulders. Children grow up quickly, and we only have a short window of opportunity to influence a child's character. One statistic says that nearly "three-quarters of all people who have consciously, intentionally and personally chosen to follow Jesus Christ did so before their 18th birthday." We need to devote as much time and attention as we can to young people while they are still young and moldable.

And so we are here today, not just to celebrate, but to commit ourselves to the Christian Education of our children -- of these precious ones who are here in our midst. The Psalmist has stated that God's commands are to be taught to our children and grandchildren, and that if we are diligent in teaching them to walk in this way, then they will receive a great blessing and inherit God's best.

The question for us this morning is: What are we going to do? What spiritual legacy are we going to pass on to today's children? Many years ago, Rosa Parks said, "It is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and hopefully, we shall overcome." We need to be sure to raise the next generation to know God if we want to see the kingdom of God advance and overcome the escalating sin of our country. We need to be sure to raise the next generation to know God if we want to see our children thrive in a post-Christian society and begin to reclaim our nation's spiritual heritage. We must all take up the challenge of Christian Education and be intentional about raising our children with strong Christian values -- not just parents and Sunday School teachers. History has proven that it only takes three generations for a family, or a nation, to slip away from God entirely. We are now on that brink. The bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old enough he will not depart from it." (Prov. 22:6)

My deepest prayer for this church today and for Christian Education is that we may all come to know Jesus and to be known by him; that we might all engage in the practice of hearing his voice and following him and in the process become like him; that we may all be counted among his own and enjoy the life he has made possible for us -- life that is abundant and eternal. May God bless us and our children. Amen.

Untitled

I haven't heard as many complaints lately about churches avoiding certain passages in the Bible because they're unpleasant or whatever, but I'm sure those complaints are still out there. Last time I addressed this, I pointed out the time my church talked about that passage with Elisha and the bears.

Since I decided to start reading the Bible more, I've found plenty of verses that I guess some unbelievers claim Christians don't read, but I've read them, and plan to read more. Anyway, here's one of the scripture readings from my church's service today. I never thought it was that common in Biblical times to personify things like "wisdom", but I guess they did, at least when teaching people in books like Proverbs; I haven't read much of that book, but I know they do this several times in it.

Proverbs 1:20-33

Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city she speaks: "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster." 

Kind of harshly-worded, but it is in the Bible, and I'm always glad when my church isn't afraid to read passages like this that aren't just outwardly pleasant to hear. I've heard several complaints over the years about churches that try to water down the message, and I'm glad there are some that haven't started doing that yet.

God bless you all and guide you according to His perfect will! In Jesus' name. Amen.

Bronies

Well, I've been in the fandom for just about a year now. I'm aware that some readers (if this blog has regular readers?) may have reservations about watching TV, or something. I've come to chalk this up to Romans 14, where watching TV may be something you personally are not called to do, but I've prayed about this several times, and the way things have worked out this past year, it just appears quite clearly to me that this is something God's okay with me watching. I was skeptical at first because MLP is a TV show of course, and most TV shows are full of nonsense that just makes me sick. Also for other, somewhat irrelevant reasons that aren't worth going into here. The point is, let's just say, I was happily proven wrong about them. With nearly all episodes of MLP, I can truly, truly just sit back and enjoy them.

So, given the typical subject matter of this blog, I've just been thinking about making a post for bronies, specifically, who may be interested in learning more about Christianity, or living a more Biblical / Christ-centered lifestyle. I don't want this to read like I'm forcing it, a tone I guess I might be guilty of taking on sometimes. This is just meant to be like an informational resource. This isn't the first post I've made about MLP, but this is the first one meant solely for bronies.

Throughout this, I'll be using links to a site called BibleHub. The pages may look wordy, but each page is really just one verse, written in different translations. It's useful to have a simple translation at hand so everyone can understand the verse, but it's also good to have several translations available to get the full message.

1) Tulpas. A lot of bronies have them. Tulpas are effectively imaginary friends that are given, as closely as possible, "independence" to do what they want. There are people who would just outright say tulpas are wrong for various reasons, but I'm not really inclined to say that. I don't think at all that an imaginary friend of any kind is inherently wrong. The only advice I really want to give here is, be careful. Imaginary friends, especially ones meant to operate on their own without you (consciously) controlling them, are a very easy way for demonic spirits to work in your life. And I'm not just reciting this; I'm speaking from direct experience. Before I became a brony, I had ... something like a tulpa. And I unfortunately fell for a lot of lies I was told through this over the years. This is something I really want to stress, only because it's really important. I, personally, say enjoy your imaginary friends or tulpas. But I just strongly ask that you keep reality in check when "interacting" with them. If you can't? I think it would be easier to just try and give it up. Pray to God! He'll hear your prayers, and guide you to truths you can only imagine. I won't have a tulpa again. I won't take a chance like that. But if you can keep reality in check throughout, there should be no issue! 

2) Keep God in focus. Simple. MLP is clearly something God has declared acceptable in our lives. Personally, God has used the show as a tool to help me in my life several times. As a source of artistic inspiration, as something fun/happy to cheer me up when the rest of the world was dragging me down, as a fandom where I sometimes, just sometimes, actually feel like I belong for once ... and as other things as well. But the main thing to keep in mind is to worship the Creator, and not the created. The show's done some great things in my life / our lives, but the point is that it's a thing, in the world; something to appreciate, but not worship. God should have our devotion.

3) R34. Not a "huge" thing in the fandom, but it's ... it's there, let's be honest with ourselves. Now, the obvious thing that those who don't read the Bible very often are probably expecting is a slap on the wrist from a pushy fundie. Don't be mistaken; "lust" is clearly a sin ([1] [2] [3] [4]) but I just wanted to point out that the situation isn't really quite what some may think it is. Some may be misled, especially by internet trolls (fun fact: God dislikes trolling!), to think that R34 is only "wrong" because it's not about "real" humans. Some may be misled to think that being "normal", conforming to society, is what God is asking of them when these discussions come up. That's not the case at all. What we're attracted to hardly matters in God's eyes. Lust toward a human stranger, or lust toward your pony waifu is the same; lust. What matters to God is what is in our hearts, when we face temptation of any kind. How we respond to the temptation, rather than what the temptation itself is. The devil likes to put all kinds of ideas into our heads; God equips us to deal with these ideas, no matter if the temptation is something "normal people" face, or if it's something only a few end up facing. Whatever you're facing in this department, take it up with God. Take everything up with God! Ask for His guidance. You'd be surprised how much help God can be in your life ... (You'll probably slip up, but God is willing to forgive! It's not a license to just do whatever you want, but it's the highest-quality safety net possible, in case you do.) ... And believe me. Life is absolutely better, the less sin you permit into your life.

4) Waifus. Eh, pretty much a mix of everything I've said above. As long as you can keep reality in check, and avoid lust. But some people tend to get hostile in discussions about waifus. I don't know how common that really is in the brony fandom, but it at least happens in other places. Keep in mind that God calls us to love one another.

Update 2016:
5) I wanted to include a general warning not to practice astral projection. It's very understandable to want to go to Equestria, I do too, believe me, but as someone who used to astrally project, I strongly, strongly urge you not to actually attempt it yourself. It's a legitimate spiritual danger. "Astral projection" is advertised as one's spirit "ascending" to some "higher plane". In actuality, that's not true. All astral projection does is open your spirit to evil forces who want to mislead you with visions, under the guise of some kind of "higher wisdom". You do not obtain wisdom or ascend to anything by astrally projecting. You do not. But going back to MLP, keep in mind that Equestria is fictional. And even if it weren't, astral projection would not be the proper way to go there. But Equestria is fictional. Just keep what I said in mind.



That's everything that God is really guiding me to write about right now. If more comes up later, I'll add it. If you have any questions about anything, you can ... well, pray to God directly, for one thing. But you can also email me at imperialkodnarok [AT] gmail [DOT] com although God's answers will of course be more reliable than mine! I pray this post helps you. 

God bless you all and guide you all according to His perfect will! In Jesus' name. Amen. 

By the way, are you skeptical about Jesus? Check out the link! There's some information to consider.

Whitewashed Tombs

There are people who may criticize some of the music I like to listen to. Being a Christian, some people may expect me to listen to the music you see on store shelves; an artist wearing a nice suit or dress on the album cover, smiling; the music consisting of a very soft, relaxed style or a "powerful", but restrained, emotional style. Some people, as it were, may criticize my choice to listen to Christian music like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hFRkxzwdiQ

But how bad, really, is this music?

Back in the day, I probably would have avoided music like this because it was too noisy for my tastes. Back then, I listened to some music with satanic lyrics, but I justified it by seeking out music that was performed by talented people. The music had an inner wickedness to it, but it sounded cool, so I, mistakenly, wasn't very concerned.

But what was probably even worse was a lot of the music I liked that didn't have satanic lyrics. I liked to listen to a lot of atmospheric black metal. Even today, I can appreciate music with atmosphere... I can even appreciate the same style of music when made for the right reasons, but the issue wasn't the style that was being played. The issue was the inner darkness to it. It wasn't obvious at all, at the time. A lot of the music I'm talking about had nature samples, or nice-sounding pianos and relaxing keyboards. Songs often had extended periods of relaxing ambiance, or reverberated guitar riffs that painted large nature scenes. The lyrics largely spoke of the grandeur of nature, or of space, or whatever. For a good portion of the time, no questionable symbols were to be found; no satanism in the lyrics; everything seemed fine. But it still had an inner darkness to it that I didn't recognize until much later on.

My suspicions were verified when I began to realize just how many of these projects, sounding beautiful at first glance, having nice space or forest photos for album art, and talking about innocent nature subjects, consisted of people who wore pentagrams, or also played in very dark satanic projects. Or at the very least, also played in projects that just seemed very, very questionable somehow.

The idea of the "whitewashed tombs" came to mind a few months ago.

That phrase typically refers to people who appear nice or righteous on the outside, but are very dark and wicked in their hearts. For instance, those televangelists who talk about "sowing faith seeds" by giving money to them. An action which, may I add, is EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN IN SCRIPTURE. But at the same time, it definitely applies to the kind of music I used to like.

The music I used to like sounded nice with the artistic keyboards, and looked nice with the beautiful photography, and seemed different from the typical "satanic" music in the scene, but was still satanic at heart. I wonder how many are deceived by things like that.

I pray that they see this post and take it to heart. That idea is why I'm writing this post.

But on a side-note, I often think of unblack metal as the exact opposite. The song I linked at the beginning of this post sounds extremely dark. It looks extremely dark. But it isn't dark. Music like that is powerful to me, it has the same impact on me as traditional hymns have for others. It's made for God, and the noise and ear-piercing shrieking serves as a reminder to me of God's strength and the good He's done for me. I personally chalk this up to Romans 14; some of you may feel that such music is still wrong to listen to, even if it's made with the intent of praising God. I do not want to convince you otherwise, if God is truly telling you to believe that.

But no matter how you feel about Christian black metal, just be aware that in the rest of society, not all "dark" or "evil" things take on a dark/ugly appearance, and not all are marked with pentagrams.

May God bless and guide you all according to His perfect will. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Lyrics 16 - "Tenebrae"

I don't remember when I wrote these. On Maundy Thursday one year. These were for a funeral doom project called "Tenebrae" that I never properly started. They're all short, so I'm just going to post the whole thing here.

________________________________ 

Through my sins and iniquity
I'm guilty of the shame
That was brought upon this world
But they spat on Jesus' name

________________________________ 

For the forgiveness of sins, He died
He suffered on the cross so that we wouldn't have to
All we have to do is accept it and its light
And we will be saved
"Believe in God, believe also in Me."
"Do the will of my Father."
Judgment will come, but because of Christ, mercy can be bestowed on us. We can be forgiven. And join He who lives forever.

________________________________

A man came to save this Earth
They wanted Him crucified
So they hung Him on a cross
This world's best friend has finally died

The One who loved them the most
They left, to remain misled
So they hung Him on a cross
This world's best friend is finally dead

He wanted to protect them
We wanted to stay in the wrong
No more He's a stumbling block
Your best friend is finally gone.

________________________________ 

Do not forget that it is not over. There is still a world out there that needs saving. The same force that put the Son of God on a cross is still out there, attempting to crucify us every day. Go in peace, win in strength, and have faith in God.

Lyrics 15

A couple words on this page are pretty hard to read. I wrote over a lot of words in this and some of the handwriting is just really bad.

In the dark castle of esotericism
A few peek out the window, and see the blood moon
The blood moon calls out for its creatures
Dark-winged beings encircle it, waiting for the people below
But they won't be answering it tonight
Tonight, their hearts are needed elsewhere
The spell books are burned, wizards' incantation falls flat
The magic won't take any more tonight

Beings of Truth come into the dream
And empty the river, and silence the scream
Crushing the symbols written on the door
The liar moon won't take any more

They stuck to our psyche, left us all alone...
I'm not taking you away, I'm guiding you back home

The visions and dreams of those of the false
Those who light fires and worship the elements
Scented dreams by the book of spells
Those unaware of the way that they lead
Stuck in time, and stuck by the visions
See how, the path you took led to pain
Gentleness waits beyond the wrath of the fire
There's something greater beyond

Light of the Pure, the love you had sought
The compassion in which you were brought
To give it all up, to begin the path out
In the Son shine brighter, no moon here, without

It's 2015

When talking about being "progressive", people like to use the phrase "it's 2015". That makes no sense, because time moving forward doesn't inherently necessitate progression. Surely you've heard about the studies done with McDonald's food! That stuff sure isn't changing when you leave it sitting on a countertop for five months.

Besides, others seeking "progression" in society were probably saying similar things back in the 1400s, a time most reading this probably know nearly nothing about because it was already so long ago.

But it also doesn't make sense for a different reason. Now, "slut shaming" is a phrase that exists now. The idea is that according to society, men can have sex as often as they want, but women should not. The Bible addresses this issue by pointing out both genders should abstain until marriage. Some people, however, seek to have this reversed; rather than both genders abstaining, both genders would be allowed to have sex frequently without consequence. The Bible says there are consequences because it's sin, and science says there are consequences because of STDs, but hey, at least there won't be a stigma anymore and it won't be totally embarrassing. So the idea here is that "slut shaming" should stop since "it's 2015". 

People also say this when talking about homosexual relations. We could debate all day about whether the Bible condones same-sex marriage or not, even though it's pretty strongly implied that it doesn't, but one thing the Bible makes undeniably clear is that no matter their marital status, people of the same gender should not have sexual relations. Some people then turn around and say, "It's 2015! They should be allowed to do that if they want."

Now, a quick note here, keep in mind that all of us are sinners, not just the aforementioned groups. God also commands us to love our neighbors and not be unrighteously angry. So do NOT hate a homosexual person or a "slut"; pray for them and show mercy.

But back to the topic at hand; the fact that the Gregorian calendar says it is 2015. In such discussions, sometimes people will also point out that we're "not cavemen". The implication of course is that cavemen are more primitive and we've moved on beyond that. I think we're all aware of the difference between cavemen and today's society. Or are we?

The thinking behind these statements is that since "it's 2015", we shouldn't restrict our moral code to what's in a single text. Sure, that makes sense, unless the text is true. I haven't plugged this post in awhile, so: [Skeptical About Jesus?] There are also constant scientific discoveries being made that the mainstream media doesn't talk about; I'm not about to go track those down, but you can look them up if that'd interest you. But I personally don't use science to defend anything.

The guidance of the Holy Spirit guides us to a more civilized state; I used to get in fistfights with other people. I don't do that anymore. I used to curse like a sailor (as the expression goes). I don't do that anymore; still a word comes out once in awhile, but I've pretty much stopped. I used to hate most of the world and tell people to "go to Hell". I don't do that anymore, either.

So my behavior used to be quite primitive. It's also more "primitive" to seek the right to have sex with multiple people, or people of the same gender, or anything other than what God ordains. On one hand, people will complain that by saying this, I'm "repressing their natural desires". While on the other hand, they'll say that "it's 2015 and [I] need to stop living in the dark ages".

Well, for one thing, I stopped living in the "dark ages" when I stopped fighting people because they did things I didn't like, which pretty much characterized the dark ages in mainstream memory. But that's beside the point. The two aforementioned statements are contradictory. "Progression" in society wouldn't necessitate un-Biblical freedom with regard to sex; it'd necessitate a more reserved and controlled take on it.

It's 2015; we're not cavemen!

Possible Warning?

Well, not a warning for everyone, but apparently for some people.

Now, "spirit guides", as most understand them to be these days, are usually actual spirits, but certainly not the kind of spirits you want "guiding" you. They are, in fact, demonic/negative/evil spirits looking to deceive you.

Back when I used to communicate with spirit guides, there was always one with which I communicated more than any others. I really don't want to go into it for a number of reasons, but the basic point I want to make here is, this evil spirit appeared to me in visions in the form of a blue, female dragon. Now, I'm not talking about Saphira from the Eragon movies, though they do look fairly similar. I'm talking about a spirit.

Even when I used to listen to and communicate with this spirit, I noticed something strange in my conversations with others. It appears I was not the only susceptible one who had met this spirit.

A friend of mine dreamed of having his own pet dragon. He believed in things... similar to what I did, though not exactly the same. And when I described some of my visions to him (thinking I could trust him to handle the information objectively; I was unfortunately incorrect), he was surprised by my description of this spirit with which I'd communicated so closely. In his wishes for a dragon, he wanted one that looked exactly like what I saw in those visions.

Still another person with similar beliefs... Well, I always wanted to meet such people! And I sure did... Anyway, some time later, I met another person with similar beliefs to mine, which I am still keeping intentionally vague, but when I described this spirit, he claimed that he too had met it. Not just any "blue dragon", but this specific one.

I'm aware that some would have seen this as validation, and for a short while I did too, but I'd already read an article from "A Walk Through the Kingdom" (I HIGHLY recommend it! Read it [HERE]) which made me really reconsider a lot of the experiences I'd had. And the very next day, when I was going for a walk and typically would have had this spirit accompany me, I instead told it to just leave me.

So this is very odd. I don't know how common it is for people to encounter this spirit, but apparently it's more common than one might think. If you're someone who has encountered it, I strongly urge you to COMMAND it to leave you immediately, in the name of JESUS CHRIST! (It's not original, but it's true, as the internet would put it!) This spirit, like most demons that try to hide the fact that they're demons, may appear friendly. It may appear beautiful. But if you are dealing with this spirit, it is nothing more than a liar sent out by the devil.

And in fact, if you are dealing with anything like "spirit guides" or anything of the sort, they too are liars sent by the devil. I urge you to command them to leave you, as well, in Jesus' name! Jesus is the only way to God the Father, and God is the only one who is good. Take it from someone who's been in a similar place to where you are now. These spirits may seem beneficial to you now, but they're not, and life is so, so much better without them. The only spirit you need in your life is the Holy Spirit, from God Himself, which gives you truth, instead of lies.

God bless you all and guide you all according to His perfect will.

PRAY for protection! Faith makes them back away [quick note on that], but let God shut the door on them.

In Jesus' name. Amen. 

Like a Penis

Now THERE'S a headline to get a few people curious, haha... Wow Nocturnal, you're a Christian but you posted the word "penis" on your blog? Now what could be the meaning of this? 

Well, now, everyone, let's all sit down and talk a little.

I hope that introduction was as cringe-worthy for you to read, as it was for me to write. Something straight out of a 90's classroom VHS tape.

But enough of this 90's classroom VHS shenanigans.

I've been seeing headlines for the past couple days about a female runner who had her period while she was running in a marathon, or something. The idea was to raise awareness about "period shaming", something both conservatives and liberals seem to agree doesn't actually exist in most of the countries that have a free enough press that they'll publish things about this.

Now, going off-topic for a second, don't think for a second that I'm unaware of that "religion is like a penis" saying. The saying goes that "it's okay to have one, it's okay to be proud of it" (interesting fact: pride is a sin) "but it's not okay to whip it out in public" etc etc.

Now, that makes no sense at all, because if Christians didn't "whip out their" beliefs in public, all the charitable work that God instructs us to do, wouldn't be done, and all of the people who were saved because they heard the word, received it, and went to Heaven, would not be there. (Believe!) Meanwhile, instead, whipping out your genitals in public in a place where people clearly do not want to see them is a lewd sign of perversion. And while a Christian shares their beliefs out of caring for others' well-being, exposing yourself does NOTHING to help anyone!

But the point here is the hypocrisy. The aforementioned flawed saying about religion being "like a penis" is widespread on the internet.

Yet there are people defending this woman for imposing her well-meaning beliefs by having period blood run down her leg.

So religion is "like a penis" ... but period blood isn't?

The Dresser. Hear!

There's a dresser in my bedroom. It's wooden (and it seems to be real wood) and the handles are made in some fancy design. I don't know what they're made of, but they're painted/colored gold. (It's not real gold.) I didn't purchase this dresser. My family's had it since I was young - perhaps even before my lifetime.

Where did this dresser come from?

It came from the people who made it, no?

But how do I know it was made by someone? How do I know the dresser didn't just appear one day by itself? I won't believe that it was actually made by a sentient being unless I see it with my own eyes.

We could ask my family. I don't know how old the dresser is, but someone in my family most likely remembers where they purchased it. Where did it come from, though? From where did that store get the dresser? From a distributor, most likely. Unless they made it by hand. But there are several materials here (for example, the drawers themselves aren't made of wood on the inside - they're made of something else) so it most likely isn't handmade - they most likely got the dresser from a distributor.

Which distributor was this?

We could probably, much to the inconvenience of the people at that store, if it's even still open, go through their papers from years ago and figure out which distributors they were dealing with at the time.

But that doesn't prove that the dresser was made by someone.

You say, "But it's clearly written on this paper in their books that it was sent out from this distributor, and it came from this factory! Stupid Christian, what more proof do you need?"

But I don't care what's written in a book - I want proof that this dresser was made by somebody. We could go to the original factory where the dresser was allegedly made - if it's still there - and inspect the place. We could, much to the inconvenience of the people trying to work there, check out all of the machinery they use to make their products.

You say, "Well, we've seen the factory, and the machinery within it. We even saw the machines make a dresser similar to the one you have. The dresser clearly originated from this factory. Stupid Christian, what more proof do you need?"

But I don't care about that. Sure, there's the possibility that the dresser came from this factory, but there's no proof that it did.

You say, "Look at the dresser itself! Look at all the details in it. You can clearly see that this didn't just appear by chance. There's so much evidence here that this dresser was designed by somebody. Look at all of the precise edges on it, look at the decoration around the edges at the top, look at the fancy design on the drawer handles, look at the drawer sizes - they all match! Do you think that's just a coincidence? Look at the smooth surface of the top of the dresser, look at the beautiful designs cut into the bottom of the dresser, did they get there by random chance? Look at the pieces and how they're all so carefully assembled. If you think this dresser wasn't clearly made by someone, I don't know what to even say anymore. Christian, what more proof could you possibly need?"

Do you understand yet?

Lyrics 14

Written in 2015. The "OGD" in the song, is the "Organization and Guidance Department" - big wigs in the corrupt, self-serving, anti-Christian, bloodthirsty government of North Korea.

Jesus can be seen in North Korea
He walks downtown with his friends
Their money, combined, buys them a small meal
They eat it in a house

He blesses the meal, and they eat
They finish up, and Jesus stands bravely
They hear a knock at the door, from the authorities
Because a disciple forgot, and left his Bible outside

Forever is a long, long time
You can't last, you can't last
Forever is a long, long time
Repent! Repent!

The OGD thinks their reign will last forever
Never taking the time to see
The teachings that they ban tell of them
And their sad fate on Judgment Day

Forever is a long, long time
You can't last, you can't last
Forever is a long, long time
Repent! Repent!

When a Christian breaks the religious laws of Korea
Punishment is dealt
The Christian is punished for a day
But the OGD is punished forever

Prison camps will fade and break
The Christian persons will be saved
Their punishment will cease when God takes them
But the OGD's will have only begun

Forever is a long, long time
Here you'll last, here you'll last
Forever is a long, long time
Repent! Repent!

Lyrics 13

Probably some of the darkest lyrics I've ever written. Darkest in the sense of being unpleasant, that is. From late 2014, well after I quit the occult stuff. Clearly, I was kinda frustrated when I wrote these. A different perspective on occultism than what some other black metal musicians describe.

Frosted, bereft, and hollow dimensions
Awaken in malevolent action in a portal of vomit
Spiritually piercing cries resound from polluted chasms
Eerie faces and glowing malignance permeate sickly hopelessness
Emitting nonsense words in dimensions of nightmarish fantasy
Old, dusty, empty screams echo from abysses of false sunlight

Painted as beauty, deathly poison spews from hollow orchestras
Mouthpieces of mindless hatred attempt to consume a flock
That will defeat them all! 

Fires spread from hateful mouths, vomiting lies of blasphemy
Raising stars and horns of their own adversary
Donning bullet belts and axes to wage war
On the hand which extends out to them! 

Frosted, bereft, and hollow dimensions
Awaken in malevolent action in a portal of vomit
Spiritually piercing cries resound from polluted chasms
In nightmarish fantasy! 

Altering reality subjectively, creating lies through astral feces
An air of occult death hovers over metal
Don all the inverted crosses and medieval weaponry you like
Describe the gore you wish on us
You are lost in the lies of demons

Astral portals of vomit and empty death poison the souls of those who seek them, mentally disturbing and physically sickening their propagators;
Sadness, puking, hating, dying

In an attempt to consume a flock that will defeat them all.

Room to Improve (Unblack) Part 2

With all glory to God, I just remembered one more thing I wanted to add to the first "Room to Improve" post. And remember, these two posts are directed to the unblack scene specifically, so this may not apply to everyone.

I feel we should stop lumping certain secular projects into the scope of unblack metal. This isn't about the people, but bearing in mind that "unblack" is an ideology, and not an actual genre of music, we should stop associating certain bands with unblack metal music. Gaoth Anair isn't a Christian project. Taur Nar Fuin isn't a Christian project. Wapenveld isn't a Christian project. I won't actually tell you to stop listening to such bands, and this isn't meant at all to be a diss to anyone -- although from past experiences I've extensively gone into here before, I do personally recommend you limit your exposure to secular music -- but it's just a matter of associating the music with unblack.

Also, there's just something off about bands that were specifically signed to E.E.E. for any period of time; there's an inner darkness that I just feel. E.E.E. was, apparently, never meant to be a "Christian" label, though they did release a couple Christian bands' albums over the years. One album; eh, whatever. Even Elgibbor and Requiem Eternam each had an album released by them, and those two bands are awesome, and still Christian today. But there are a lot of "Christian" bands that were signed to that label for a longer period of time, that turned out to be from various false converts who fell away, and there's a lot of darkness in their music. Again, not that I think at all that we should just throw people aside or something, quite the contrary, I've had a very friendly conversation once with one of the guys who runs that label when I was fixing data for him on Metal Archives, and for all I know, he might even be reading this right now. I invited him to some time ago; I don't know if he's still reading the blog today. Does this blog actually have regular "readers" in the first place? With how sporadic views are, I'm not sure if it actually has any or not.

I would like to repeat, yet again, that I'm not writing this out of hard feelings for any secular artist. This is very important. We're meant to follow Jesus, who did not come into the world to condemn, but to save, so when we discuss things like this, it should be out of devotion to God, and love for others. I'm NOT saying we need to kick anyone out of some special unblack metal club. I'm not saying we're all going to a party somewhere, and just not inviting certain people because they won't make for fun company, or something. (Many people are invited, they just decline the invitations.) I'm saying the scene just needs to make this one distinction, between what's Christian music, and what isn't. We're specifically called not to be conformed to the world, and to distinguish God's will, and the unblack metal scene is a great way for those of us who like extreme music, and for those of us who were once in darkness, and for those who are still learning to leave the darkness today, to still fulfill this verse in Romans. In this regard only should we stop associating some music with the scene.

This is partially why I like the South American unblack scene so much. Many of the bands there are very outspoken in their extreme sound and lyrics, but it's out of true devotion to God, and there's such a sense of community there, and those two things are ideally what I think (based on the Bible) God wants out of the entire unblack scene. There are churches in South America based on Christian metal. For those who don't have that, we still have the scene online; we can still talk to each other and listen to music that lacks the darkness many of us once felt so deeply while worshiping our Creator.

If you're truly someone who can listen to darker music and not be affected by it, go ahead, I suppose, though I do warn you, I used to think the same thing and I ended up in a very bad place as a result; I wouldn't take chances. Ever. But what I'm saying is that we have a responsibility to care for this scene we have here, for and through God's glory and grace, and as such, the scene needs to make this distinction. I, personally, don't listen to bands that have since fallen away - I can't stand the darkness I always feel in that music. Again, not out of disrespect, but out of spiritual need. I listen to some bands whose members began in darkness, but righteousness was sown in their hearts and they now serve God with their music instead (Malakh, Elgibbor, Edificador, and many more). Thus, I won't listen to a band that fell away, where darkness was planted, but just hadn't grown yet. This scene has yielded so much good for so many people... So many who were into that very darkness, making music about it even, have come to God and have been saved through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross because of the invitation this scene extended to them. Let's continue it now, let's keep making the scene even better for God's glory and purposes, and, if God will allow it, do these things for a long, long time to come. Amen.

Message

Why does this blog get sporadic amounts of views? This blog could go a week, and get maybe 5 views, but in a single day recently, it got over 100. Why does that happen?

Anyway, I just wanted to point out a concern I had. I went to a certain doom metal band's page on Metal Archives recently, and they were listed as having Christian lyrical themes. Which I found to be strange, considering the side project I knew one of the band members had, but whatever. A glance at the lyrics revealed lyrics with Biblical symbolism, and discussion of certain Biblical events, which is fairly common in doom metal as I understand, but anyone who's actually familiarized themselves with the relevant passages would see that this clearly wasn't a Christian band. (Their souls should be in our prayers)

So I corrected the "lyrical themes" section.

I often used to think that most people had already familiarized themselves with scripture, and just didn't listen to it, but it's becoming increasingly clear lately that this isn't the case at all. A lot of people actually don't know... much of anything about the Bible. They have all these complaints about, for example, things the church does, never realizing they're actually often the same complaints God Himself has about the activities of the church. Not that pointing this out does a lot (though it's still worth doing).

But it really hit me when I read that band's lyrics. I won't say the name of the band, or write down any of the lyrics here, but were these lyrics, that clearly contradicted the Bible, really being mistaken for Christianity?

We've really got to get on the ball with this. Before this, I had no idea the situation was actually this bad. You could argue that it might have only been the person who added the word "Christianity" there, and everyone else just skipped over it, or something, but even one person is still too much when we're talking about eternal life and the word of the very Creator of the universe.

Keep this in mind. God bless you all according to His perfect will. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Lyrics 12

More lyrics from the notebook. Not the greatest, but the message is still relevant:

The church is becoming increasingly accustomed to appealing to modern beliefs for the sake of appearing intelligent to the non-believers. Respectable to preserve social relevance of Christ's name, but the means by which it is done are not; compromising beliefs in favor of following the deceptive shepherd of science. Many believers now say the world came to be through evolution (Genesis 1), sexual abominations are justifiable (Leviticus 18), various rules on marriage (Matthew 19:1-12), or that work on the Sabbath is forbidden today (Luke 10:1-5)

The way to bring a respectable reputation to our beliefs is to stick to our guns, and not blindly adhere to what humanity simply says is true, but to wisely adhere to what the Maker, existing before the beginning of the world, has said is true. 

This is written at the bottom of the page: John 12:35-36, John 12:41-43

Lyrics 11

More lyrics from the notebook. A few words were changed. It was/is written for a folk metal kind of tune. So yes, this was definitely influenced by Holy Blood. It's worth noting, in case there were confusion, that in the third verse, God isn't talking to the new Jerusalem, the city talked about in Revelation 21, but rather the earthly one. While Jerusalem is name-dropped here, this whole song applies to most of the world, not just one city.

Following traditions of
The scribes and pharisees
You stone the prophets, keep tradition
Your children you mislead

Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
For the wrong side you fight
Your house is left to you desolate
So saith Jesus Christ, saying

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not

Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not"

The modern age, so turn the page
What do we see today?
A planet of misguided souls
All being led astray

The prophets of today all look,
And read the word of God
And wonder as the look around
At all the land beyond

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not

Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not"

And one day when the world shall end
And old things pass away
New Heaven and new Earth come and
Lead no one else astray

And all the souls who kept the faith
Will come and gladly sing
As God comforts His children
Taking them all under wing, saying

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not

Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not."

Lyrics 10

More lyrics from the notebook. I'd really like to make this into an actual song someday. 

We can't look forward to the future when the present is so messed up
How can we look forward to the future when we won't stand up in the present?
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
But we gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!

And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our FAITH INTO CHRIST!

We gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)

And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our faith into Christ!

We live in a world where heathendom reigns
Injustice disguised as "more of the same"
They worship all things except what is true
Forgetting that God can make things new
Forgetting all the ties that Judgment Day will sever
PROPHECIES CAN'T GO UNFULFILLED FOREVER
So worship your things, people, the end is near!
All waiting for the sound you will hear
Lust and the greed of these past ages
Fulfilling prophecies written on the pages
Money and survival come under scrutiny
The adversary controls man's imaginary economy
Hypnotism calls vain worship today,
Of all the things that God will take away
Lies and deceit pull a veil over you
Past centuries spent following evil's tune
God gave you life, without so much as a thanks
All media turns as corrupt as the banks
Illuminati swimming through our minds like sharks
HOW MUCH LONGER UNTIL WE HAVE TO TAKE THE MARK?

We can't look forward to the future when the present is so messed up
How can we look forward to the future when we won't stand up in the present?
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
But we gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!

And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our FAITH INTO CHRIST!

We gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)

And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our faith into Christ!

Turn your deceit, it's all in vain
You can't stop God, He forever reigns
When chaos erupts, and the end comes forth
While you still have a breath, cry to the Lord!
Nothing to worship, the end is here!
Gone are the past things you once held dear
Money is nothing, economies gone
All that is left before you is God
Borders are nothing, and heathendom ends
Everything on Earth shall break and bend
All of the evil the adversary planned
Smote in an instant by God's holy hand
Judgment comes forth, what is your light
At the end of the tunnel, fire or respite?
When the sky opens up, consider what's beyond
It was never this world to which we belonged
Before the fire and the chaos that's to come
Before the end is finally upon us
Prophecies, Judgment, the end of these nations
CAN REPENTANCE FROM THIS GENERATION?

We can't look forward to the future when the present is so messed up
How can we look forward to the future when we won't stand up in the present?
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
But we gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!

And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our FAITH INTO CHRIST!

We gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)

And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our faith into Christ!