The following passages from Ezekiel 22 are from the NASB translation, in their entirety.
All I did was change the word "Israel" to "the United States". Nothing else was changed.
Just something to think about.
6 “Behold, the rulers of the United States, each according to his power, have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood. 7 They have treated father and mother lightly within you. The alien they have oppressed in your midst; the fatherless and the widow they have wronged in you. 8 You have despised My holy things and profaned My sabbaths. 9 Slanderous men have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood, and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have committed acts of lewdness. 10 In you they have uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; in you they have humbled her who was unclean in her menstrual impurity. 11 One has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. And another in you has humbled his sister, his father’s daughter. 12 In you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by oppression, and you have forgotten Me,” declares the Lord God.
13 “Behold, then, I smite My hand at your dishonest gain which you have acquired and at the bloodshed which is among you. 14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken and will act. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and I will disperse you through the lands, and I will consume your uncleanness from you. 16 You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am the Lord.”
17 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18“Son of man, the house of the United States has become dross to Me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are the dross of silver.
20 As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath and I will lay you there and melt you. 21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out My wrath on you.’”
23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. 26 Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. 28 Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Monday, October 17, 2016
1/3 of the World
The statistic was brought to my attention again that "nearly 1/3" of the world is Christian. Some people, I fear, may be content with this number. But there are two problems with this.
The first problem is that, as far as I know, we don't know if this 1/3 is all Christians. Many, many people claim to be, but choose to believe in lies / heresies that go directly against God's word, or twist God's word to fit some personal agenda of theirs, or live carelessly / unrepentantly sin and make no attempt to grow or seek God.
The second problem is what that number implies: nearly 2/3 of the world is not Christian. And when I say "not Christian", don't be confused. I'm not saying that "nearly 2/3 of the world has a different opinion than me" - I don't care if people agree with my opinions, I've explained innumerable times on here, and elsewhere, how Christianity is factual - I'm saying that 2/3 of the world is not saved. 2/3 of the people on this planet right now will end up in Hell the way things are right now.
While it's certainly encouraging that 1/3 of the world is (presumably) saved, and that is a large number, twice that number is not saved. That's troubling. I'm not sure what exactly to do yet, but we have to do more. I'm aware that we won't be able to help everybody, but we have to do more. Definitely pray about this. Ask God what you can do. I definitely will. I know this blog doesn't bring in a lot of traffic, but for whoever reads this, I really wanted to bring these numbers to your attention.
May God bless and guide you all according to His perfect will! In Jesus name. Amen.
The first problem is that, as far as I know, we don't know if this 1/3 is all Christians. Many, many people claim to be, but choose to believe in lies / heresies that go directly against God's word, or twist God's word to fit some personal agenda of theirs, or live carelessly / unrepentantly sin and make no attempt to grow or seek God.
The second problem is what that number implies: nearly 2/3 of the world is not Christian. And when I say "not Christian", don't be confused. I'm not saying that "nearly 2/3 of the world has a different opinion than me" - I don't care if people agree with my opinions, I've explained innumerable times on here, and elsewhere, how Christianity is factual - I'm saying that 2/3 of the world is not saved. 2/3 of the people on this planet right now will end up in Hell the way things are right now.
While it's certainly encouraging that 1/3 of the world is (presumably) saved, and that is a large number, twice that number is not saved. That's troubling. I'm not sure what exactly to do yet, but we have to do more. I'm aware that we won't be able to help everybody, but we have to do more. Definitely pray about this. Ask God what you can do. I definitely will. I know this blog doesn't bring in a lot of traffic, but for whoever reads this, I really wanted to bring these numbers to your attention.
May God bless and guide you all according to His perfect will! In Jesus name. Amen.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Fairness
But the house of Israel says, 'The Lord's way isn't fair.' Is it My ways
that are unfair, house of Israel? Instead, isn't it your ways that are
unfair?" - Ezekiel 18:29
People can't decide how God should judge.
Some people think that God just shouldn't judge at all - everybody should be allowed into Heaven no matter what they believe or do in their lives. Al-Qaeda? Heaven. ISIS? Heaven. Greedy corporate executives? Heaven. Corrupt politicians? Heaven. Serial rapists? Heaven. No forgiveness or repentance necessary; they think God should just ignore everything people do anyway.
Some people think that God should judge in a way that's similar to how the legal system judges - that God's judgment should depend on their actions. If people commit "small" sins like lying or something without turning away / repentance (things that generally aren't punishable by human law), they still shouldn't be punished at all for them. They're going against God's clearly-defined and clearly-explained rules, but if they're just "small" things, then God shouldn't judge them at all for it. If people "try", then they should go to Heaven, no matter what. That if they openly reject God, and continually sin, as long as they don't do anything that's really really bad (according to their local culture/values) and still give a few dollars to people outside of stores, etc, then God should still let them into Heaven. But if somebody commits a "really bad" sin like murdering an innocent person, etc (things that generally are punishable by human law), then God should send them to Hell by default. It doesn't matter if they genuinely repent, seek forgiveness, do good things later on in their lives ... They maintain that those people should still go to Hell forever.
There are other things as well, but it all boils down to the idea that the way God judges according to the Bible is unfair.
However, the way God judges us is fair. God explains to us what He wants of us in the Bible. Although our society is in a pretty rough spot right now and people disagree on a lot of things, the basic principles remain the same. We need to believe - in God, and in Jesus. We need to accept Jesus as the atoning sacrifice in our lives, our Lord and Savior. And it's not some impossible thing God wants of us here - God has written the law on our hearts, God has created a world that in itself, is evidence of Him, God regularly sends people out into the world to share His word with others. Look - you're reading this post right now. You somehow ended up on an entire blog about Christianity. An entire blog about theology, spirituality, apologetics ... inspired by God. There is tons of proof of His word that can be found with a simple Google search. People who refuse to listen after everything God does, have no excuse. God does punish sin, but in His fairness, understands when a wicked person truly repents, when they truly turn away from what they did. God looks at the situation objectively. God knows what's in their hearts; a human government, or a human legal system, can't look at things as clearly as God does, and so people are just coldly given a prison sentence they have to serve, whether they truly deserve it or not. With God, our sins are forgiven through Jesus. Thus, God does judge fairly. If God sends someone to Hell, He has a very good reason to do so; He doesn't want anybody to die. God is merciful. And on the other hand, God reproves/"punishes"/corrects those He loves - because that's how we, stubborn people that we are, learn. God reproves/corrects us so that we can become better people, learning the ways of righteousness and turning away from sin.
God is fair.
May God bless and guide you all, according to His perfect will. In Jesus name! Amen.
People can't decide how God should judge.
Some people think that God just shouldn't judge at all - everybody should be allowed into Heaven no matter what they believe or do in their lives. Al-Qaeda? Heaven. ISIS? Heaven. Greedy corporate executives? Heaven. Corrupt politicians? Heaven. Serial rapists? Heaven. No forgiveness or repentance necessary; they think God should just ignore everything people do anyway.
Some people think that God should judge in a way that's similar to how the legal system judges - that God's judgment should depend on their actions. If people commit "small" sins like lying or something without turning away / repentance (things that generally aren't punishable by human law), they still shouldn't be punished at all for them. They're going against God's clearly-defined and clearly-explained rules, but if they're just "small" things, then God shouldn't judge them at all for it. If people "try", then they should go to Heaven, no matter what. That if they openly reject God, and continually sin, as long as they don't do anything that's really really bad (according to their local culture/values) and still give a few dollars to people outside of stores, etc, then God should still let them into Heaven. But if somebody commits a "really bad" sin like murdering an innocent person, etc (things that generally are punishable by human law), then God should send them to Hell by default. It doesn't matter if they genuinely repent, seek forgiveness, do good things later on in their lives ... They maintain that those people should still go to Hell forever.
There are other things as well, but it all boils down to the idea that the way God judges according to the Bible is unfair.
However, the way God judges us is fair. God explains to us what He wants of us in the Bible. Although our society is in a pretty rough spot right now and people disagree on a lot of things, the basic principles remain the same. We need to believe - in God, and in Jesus. We need to accept Jesus as the atoning sacrifice in our lives, our Lord and Savior. And it's not some impossible thing God wants of us here - God has written the law on our hearts, God has created a world that in itself, is evidence of Him, God regularly sends people out into the world to share His word with others. Look - you're reading this post right now. You somehow ended up on an entire blog about Christianity. An entire blog about theology, spirituality, apologetics ... inspired by God. There is tons of proof of His word that can be found with a simple Google search. People who refuse to listen after everything God does, have no excuse. God does punish sin, but in His fairness, understands when a wicked person truly repents, when they truly turn away from what they did. God looks at the situation objectively. God knows what's in their hearts; a human government, or a human legal system, can't look at things as clearly as God does, and so people are just coldly given a prison sentence they have to serve, whether they truly deserve it or not. With God, our sins are forgiven through Jesus. Thus, God does judge fairly. If God sends someone to Hell, He has a very good reason to do so; He doesn't want anybody to die. God is merciful. And on the other hand, God reproves/"punishes"/corrects those He loves - because that's how we, stubborn people that we are, learn. God reproves/corrects us so that we can become better people, learning the ways of righteousness and turning away from sin.
God is fair.
May God bless and guide you all, according to His perfect will. In Jesus name! Amen.
Monday, October 3, 2016
More Lyrics
Here are some more lyrics I wrote. Like the other ones, I hope to use them in songs someday, but if not, here they are:
Picture them standing a short distance away from you.
Picture them coming closer.
Picture them with weapons.
Picture them with swords and clubs.
Picture them baring their teeth at you.
Picture them staring into your soul.
Now picture God standing next to you.
Now picture God putting His foot directly in front of you.
Picture all of their weapons suddenly vanishing.
Picture them backing up in fear.
Picture them running away.
Picture the safety you feel in that moment.
Now picture this: God's not gonna walk away when they leave.
God's gonna stay with you.
I wrote this for those who get caught up in worldly stress - such as myself:
You cling so strongly
To the stress that keeps you alive
You're afraid to die
Arms clung to Earth, eyes look up high
Send a prayer, let go
Surrender to the grace of Christ
Earth's games seem so small
Given back the rest of your life
I can't remember if I shared the rest of these here already or not.
1)
So many people will end up in Hell.
So many who would rather live wicked
Than even attempt to change, to improve.
And for what?
Hate than love
Murder than cure
Steal than give
Covet than rejoice
Die than live
So many people will end up in Hell.
_______________________________
2)
The resurrection of Jesus
Was not borrowed from mythology
It is a historical fact
Known from the time it happened
The historicity of the resurrection
Shows its reliability
The Jews of the time are evidence
Of the truth it holds
There was no empty tomb
In the story of Osiris
Yet for the Jews there was one
That they could see themselves
The word was preached to all
Who saw it all firsthand
While others outside Israel
Mocked the resurrection! [1]
A Pharisee converted
Though so much he learned
Would he not have known
If the parallels were so obvious?
A tomb the women saw
Martyrs dying for this truth
It makes no sense to suggest
This was based on mythology
If it were all false
The Israelites would have known
The Gospel would not have survived
In the city where it all took place
The resurrection is founded
Upon historical events and facts
Jesus Christ was resurrected
To pay for our sins! [2]
Even the Jewish authorities
Who sought to bring Christ down
Passed it off as sorcery
But told of the truth of His miracles! [3]
^ I have various notes sprinkled through these lyrics, here they are:
[1] " 'For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.' When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, 'We want to hear you again on this subject.' " - Acts 17:31-32
[2]
http://www.hypotyposeis.org/synoptic-problem/2006/09/external-evidence-ephraem-syrus.html
http://www.hypotyposeis.org/synoptic-problem/2004/11/external-evidence-irenaeus.html
[3] "On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu (of Nazareth) and the herald went before him for forty days saying (Yeshu of Nazareth) is going forth to be stoned in that he hath practiced sorcery and beguiled and led astray Israel. Let everyone knowing aught in his defense come and plead for him. But they found naught in his defense and hanged him on the eve of Passover" (Babylonia Sanhedrin 43a). - "Eve of Passover."
___________________________________
3)
Reject false doctrine
The Bible is the only source of spiritual wisdom
Build up your treasure in Heaven
And tear down all false teachings
They would mislead us
Through paths that would confuse with nonsense
Nonsense that is contrary to reality
Confusing the mind by distorting its inherent perception
The law is written on our hearts
The world itself is evidence of God's truth
The very fabric of the universe is written by God
Mankind has no excuse left
Measure your experiences by God's standards
And see the tricks demons plan
Where can you find the answers
For the questions they put in your head?
In Holy Scripture!
And it never seems obvious
When you ask for so long
And it never seems so correct
Until you take that first step
God's truth is a pathway
Stepping on it shows you what you had not previously seen
Following God's truth means ignoring the other path
Jesus Christ is God's truth
Thus Jesus Christ is the only way, truth, and life
Thus no one can go to the Father except through Jesus
Reject the lies all other forces will feed you
No being deserves your prayers but God
None of them are worthy but God
Tear down their lies
Let none of their sick mind games infect you
Reject false doctrine
The Bible is the only source of spiritual wisdom
And it never seems obvious
When you ask for so long
And it never seems so correct
Until you take that first step
4)
Where is my joy, my peace?
Why am I worrying so much?
And why do I still fear
Though I have God's holy touch?
I know who tries to take it
I know which wolf attacks
You can prowl for awhile
And your sins will be paid back
You tried to take my peace
You held it back
Now you're held back
You tried to take my peace
You held it back
Now you're held back
I tried to find a working cure
But falsities abound
How many more will suffer
With all the lies around?
Even if my choice was right
And with those two succeed
How many more will suffer
How many will you mislead?
You tried to hide the cure
You held it back
Now you're held back
You tried to hide the cure
You held it back
Now you're held back
You can try to mislead us
But Revelations shows
How with a few you may succeed
But will fail when you're thrown
Into the eternal fire
And no longer can attack
How many will look down on you
And nevermore look back?
You tried to take salvation
You held it back
Now you're held back
You tried to take salvation
You held it back
Now you're held back
5) I wrote this... September-October 2014. I used to be... just full of hatred, and my worldview was obviously very distorted by the things I used to believe and practice. I wrote this one day, some time after I left behind all the occult stuff, when I went for a walk and ... really saw the world clearly for the first time... in years, if not the first time ever. Very personal.
I still felt a bit choked up when I read this again. Two years later.
Today after so many years
I looked at the world, and I saw it clear...
Today, I looked at the woods
The darkness once felt may be gone for good...
Today, the veil over my eyes
Was lifted as I looked toward the skies...
Today, the darkness of shade
Isn't so dark anymore when God's presence pervades...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
Jesus is Lord and I saw it today...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
The darkness, the hidden, will all fall away...
Today people were walking again
All around me and I didn't hate them...
Today it didn't feel wrong
The hostility at the humans was gone...
Today the realms of the mind
Were finally something I could leave behind...
Today I felt what they described
I felt compassion for the people nearby...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
Jesus is Lord and I saw it today...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
The darkness, the hidden, will all fall away...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
God and the Holy Spirit lighting my way...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
Jesus is Lord and I saw it today...
Today I saw what I missed then
God's hand can make the evil break and bend...
Today it all fled behind...
The world is much clearer than what's in your mind...
If you believe, please spread the word
The blessings you've known and you've seen
If for no other reason than what you saw
Evangelize for those who were like me...
Picture them standing a short distance away from you.
Picture them coming closer.
Picture them with weapons.
Picture them with swords and clubs.
Picture them baring their teeth at you.
Picture them staring into your soul.
Now picture God standing next to you.
Now picture God putting His foot directly in front of you.
Picture all of their weapons suddenly vanishing.
Picture them backing up in fear.
Picture them running away.
Picture the safety you feel in that moment.
Now picture this: God's not gonna walk away when they leave.
God's gonna stay with you.
I wrote this for those who get caught up in worldly stress - such as myself:
You cling so strongly
To the stress that keeps you alive
You're afraid to die
Arms clung to Earth, eyes look up high
Send a prayer, let go
Surrender to the grace of Christ
Earth's games seem so small
Given back the rest of your life
I can't remember if I shared the rest of these here already or not.
1)
So many people will end up in Hell.
So many who would rather live wicked
Than even attempt to change, to improve.
And for what?
Hate than love
Murder than cure
Steal than give
Covet than rejoice
Die than live
So many people will end up in Hell.
_______________________________
2)
The resurrection of Jesus
Was not borrowed from mythology
It is a historical fact
Known from the time it happened
The historicity of the resurrection
Shows its reliability
The Jews of the time are evidence
Of the truth it holds
There was no empty tomb
In the story of Osiris
Yet for the Jews there was one
That they could see themselves
The word was preached to all
Who saw it all firsthand
While others outside Israel
Mocked the resurrection! [1]
A Pharisee converted
Though so much he learned
Would he not have known
If the parallels were so obvious?
A tomb the women saw
Martyrs dying for this truth
It makes no sense to suggest
This was based on mythology
If it were all false
The Israelites would have known
The Gospel would not have survived
In the city where it all took place
The resurrection is founded
Upon historical events and facts
Jesus Christ was resurrected
To pay for our sins! [2]
Even the Jewish authorities
Who sought to bring Christ down
Passed it off as sorcery
But told of the truth of His miracles! [3]
^ I have various notes sprinkled through these lyrics, here they are:
[1] " 'For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.' When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, 'We want to hear you again on this subject.' " - Acts 17:31-32
[2]
http://www.hypotyposeis.org/synoptic-problem/2006/09/external-evidence-ephraem-syrus.html
http://www.hypotyposeis.org/synoptic-problem/2004/11/external-evidence-irenaeus.html
[3] "On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu (of Nazareth) and the herald went before him for forty days saying (Yeshu of Nazareth) is going forth to be stoned in that he hath practiced sorcery and beguiled and led astray Israel. Let everyone knowing aught in his defense come and plead for him. But they found naught in his defense and hanged him on the eve of Passover" (Babylonia Sanhedrin 43a). - "Eve of Passover."
___________________________________
3)
Reject false doctrine
The Bible is the only source of spiritual wisdom
Build up your treasure in Heaven
And tear down all false teachings
They would mislead us
Through paths that would confuse with nonsense
Nonsense that is contrary to reality
Confusing the mind by distorting its inherent perception
The law is written on our hearts
The world itself is evidence of God's truth
The very fabric of the universe is written by God
Mankind has no excuse left
Measure your experiences by God's standards
And see the tricks demons plan
Where can you find the answers
For the questions they put in your head?
In Holy Scripture!
And it never seems obvious
When you ask for so long
And it never seems so correct
Until you take that first step
God's truth is a pathway
Stepping on it shows you what you had not previously seen
Following God's truth means ignoring the other path
Jesus Christ is God's truth
Thus Jesus Christ is the only way, truth, and life
Thus no one can go to the Father except through Jesus
Reject the lies all other forces will feed you
No being deserves your prayers but God
None of them are worthy but God
Tear down their lies
Let none of their sick mind games infect you
Reject false doctrine
The Bible is the only source of spiritual wisdom
And it never seems obvious
When you ask for so long
And it never seems so correct
Until you take that first step
4)
Where is my joy, my peace?
Why am I worrying so much?
And why do I still fear
Though I have God's holy touch?
I know who tries to take it
I know which wolf attacks
You can prowl for awhile
And your sins will be paid back
You tried to take my peace
You held it back
Now you're held back
You tried to take my peace
You held it back
Now you're held back
I tried to find a working cure
But falsities abound
How many more will suffer
With all the lies around?
Even if my choice was right
And with those two succeed
How many more will suffer
How many will you mislead?
You tried to hide the cure
You held it back
Now you're held back
You tried to hide the cure
You held it back
Now you're held back
You can try to mislead us
But Revelations shows
How with a few you may succeed
But will fail when you're thrown
Into the eternal fire
And no longer can attack
How many will look down on you
And nevermore look back?
You tried to take salvation
You held it back
Now you're held back
You tried to take salvation
You held it back
Now you're held back
5) I wrote this... September-October 2014. I used to be... just full of hatred, and my worldview was obviously very distorted by the things I used to believe and practice. I wrote this one day, some time after I left behind all the occult stuff, when I went for a walk and ... really saw the world clearly for the first time... in years, if not the first time ever. Very personal.
I still felt a bit choked up when I read this again. Two years later.
Today after so many years
I looked at the world, and I saw it clear...
Today, I looked at the woods
The darkness once felt may be gone for good...
Today, the veil over my eyes
Was lifted as I looked toward the skies...
Today, the darkness of shade
Isn't so dark anymore when God's presence pervades...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
Jesus is Lord and I saw it today...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
The darkness, the hidden, will all fall away...
Today people were walking again
All around me and I didn't hate them...
Today it didn't feel wrong
The hostility at the humans was gone...
Today the realms of the mind
Were finally something I could leave behind...
Today I felt what they described
I felt compassion for the people nearby...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
Jesus is Lord and I saw it today...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
The darkness, the hidden, will all fall away...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
God and the Holy Spirit lighting my way...
I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved
Jesus is Lord and I saw it today...
Today I saw what I missed then
God's hand can make the evil break and bend...
Today it all fled behind...
The world is much clearer than what's in your mind...
If you believe, please spread the word
The blessings you've known and you've seen
If for no other reason than what you saw
Evangelize for those who were like me...
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