Tyrants know that tyranny is not generally popular. Nobody wants an elitist snob ruling over them. Hence tyrants must resort to indoctrination. People who are indoctrinated will tolerate what they would not tolerate before their minds were indoctrinated.
Are our children being indoctrinated? Is that why we are losing more and more of our constitutional freedoms and large segments of our population don’t seem to mind? Is that why China and Russia are raising soldiers who will win wars and we are raising gay pride flags that will make us look like fools?
Why are more and more American men and women no longer joining the military? Why don’t we have pride in our history and a wholesome love for our country?
Statistics reveal trends and certain trends are alarming. Eighty percent of our kids who were raised in church no longer attend church or live a consistently Christian life. The number one reason they have repeatedly given, “The church’s values are not our values.”
That’s no surprise. A good Bible-believing church has not changed its biblically based values but the public schools in America, and some so-called “Christian” schools, have.
As our society and public schools become increasingly more corrupt and anti-God those who attend anti-God schools will find they are increasingly uncomfortable with their church’s values. Parents have raised their kids on the best of diets, brought them to the best of doctors, and then turned them over to the TV and the public school.
I am not condemning all public-school teachers. There are some godly teachers who have a unique calling to work in the public school. However, they are fighting a battle they can’t possibly win. And they are deceiving parents who say, “Mrs. Jones is a good Christian woman and she teaches at the public school. It must be OK.” It’s not. Mrs. Jones does not write the curriculum and she is surrounded by a multitude of teachers who have been indoctrinated in state teachers’ colleges.
Joe Biden is a firm believer in “transgender rights” and recently condemned “conversion therapy,” yet he and his supporters think “Drag Queen Story Hours” in the local public library are harmless. Fortunately, an increasing number of parents are protesting. They don’t want their boys and girls groomed for the gay lifestyle.
Yeonmi Park, a young woman who defected from North Korea, told a Fox News reporter that she is worried freedoms are being lost in America amid what she describes as “the left-wing indoctrination in K-12 schools.”
“This is exactly the dictator’s handbook,” Park said. “It’s Hitler’s youth. Mao’s youth and Kim Il-Sung’s youth. They always go for young children because they have not lived their life long enough to have critical thinking skills. Their brains are very plastic, very malleable, and easy to absorb information and believe it and they are innocent. And big killers who want to seize power from the people, they always mobilize the youth.”
Yes, kids are young and innocent. But what excuse can adult parents give for surrendering their kids to the devil?
Matt. 24:31: “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” 1 Thess. 4:16-17: “…with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.”
Matt. 24:36: “But [peri de] of that day and hour knoweth no man…” 1 Thess. 5:1-2: “But [peri de] of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you…”
Matt. 24:39: “And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” 1 Thess. 5:3: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them…and they shall not escape.”
There is still much unfulfilled prophecy revealed in the Bible. The Bible is indeed “profitable” in all things, including its prophetic teachings. It is God’s Divinely revealed truth about the end times. I pray that the material in this presentation may encourage the saints and be used in alarming and winning the lost, “for the time is at hand” (Rev. 1:3).
. “For God so loved the world (kosmos), that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). If there is any doubt what “world” means, verse 17 is emphatic in the use of kosmos in close succession: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Kosmos is powerfully used in another scripture that also shows that it cannot be limited to the Roman world of the first century: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (kosmos) (1 John 2:2).
Big Words in Bible Prophecy Matthew 24:21 speaks about the horrors of the Great Tribulation. Verse 22 says, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh (sarx) be saved.” Does this mean “no flesh in Jerusalem”? I doubt it. Sarx is a big word: “Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight”(Rom. 3:20). Does this mean that “no flesh in Jerusalem will be justified by keeping the law, but everyone else will”? First Corinthians 1:29 is similar: “That no flesh should glory in his presence.” Does this mean that no one living in Jerusalem in AD 70 should glory in God’s presence but everyone else should?
This generation”—Which One?
In Matthew 24:15-21, the Lord Jesus speaks about great trouble for Israel. Jesus speaks about great tribulation and suffering exceeding anything that has been or will ever be (vs. 21). The Lord is revealing how bad things will really get. But He doesn’t stop with that. “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (vs. 22).
Preterists believe that in AD 70 God was acting in judgment against Israel. But there is much more taught in the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24. Satan’s future attempt to completely destroy God’s ancient covenant people will fail. Luke 21:24 reads: “…and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, UNTIL the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” The Lord is revealing three things of great importance: (1) Jerusalem’s fall is of a limited duration. It is not final, nor is it complete. (2) There is a period of time when Gentiles will overrun the city and rule over the city and its population. (3) There will be a later time when this situation will be reversed.
In Luke 21:25-26, Jesus talks about celestial and cosmic disruptions that are completely unsettling. Verses 27-28 states: “And THEN shall they SEE [it is visible, not invisible] the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And WHEN these things BEGIN to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your REDEMPTION draweth nigh.” Notice it’s “redemption” not destruction and doom.
Verses 27 and 28 remind us of the rapidity with which all of these signs occur. This explains Matthew 24:34: “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” The generation that sees the signs signaling the return of the Lord will endure through it all to see the Lord. When the signs appear, prophetic events will proceed very quickly. There is a stated nearness of the signs to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 4–5 and the Olivet Discourse In 1 Thessalonians 4:15 the Apostle states: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord.” “Lord” is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. There are several Scriptures in which Paul uses the phrase found above to indicate words and thoughts spoken by Jesus (1 Cor. 7:10-11, 25; 9:14; 11:23-25). We have good reason to believe this is what happened in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11. In other words, the words and thoughts of Jesus in Matthew 24 and other parallel passages appear in 1 Thessalonians 4
Preterism On Trial—Part II Larry Spargimino...April 25, 2022
In Part I of this series I shared some of the basic ideas about preterism, and why the view that prophecy has already been fulfilled doesn’t stand up under close scrutiny. In Part II, I want to look closely at some of the scriptures to which preterists appeal. Do they support preterism? I don’t believe so. Let the reader be the judge.
Revelation 1:7—God’s Judgment on Israel in AD 70? “Behold, he cometh with clouds,” Revelation 1:7 says, “and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” “Every eye” and “all kindreds” sound like a big group of people worldwide. The word “kindreds” is a translation of phule, meaning “tribes.” Preterists would say it is a reference to the twelve tribes, but in this text there is no reference to the “twelve tribes.” Rather it is “all tribes.” The same term is used in Rev. 5:9; 7:9; 11:9 and 13:7. It’s a very broad word that defies limitation to Israel, and even the ancient Roman Empire.
Preterists see the reference to “clouds” as a clincher for their case. They say it is a reference to the Divine “Cloud Rider,” a designation for God who has come in judgment upon nations in the historical past. Isaiah 19:1 reads, “Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.” Preterists argue that this happened when the Assyrian king Esarhaddon conquered Egypt in 671 BC and was God’s instrument of judgment upon Egyptian idolatry, as Rome was God’s instrument of judgment on Israel in AD 70.
Preterists have a certain creative flair for novel ideas that are not immediately apparent, but I think they have missed some essentials from the text of the Bible. In Isaiah 19, the Lord is pictured as riding ON the clouds, whereas in Revelation 1:7, the Lord comes WITH clouds. In this Scripture we see a textual parallel with Daniel 7:13: “… and, behold, one like the Son of man came WITH the clouds of heaven.” Verse 14 bristles with kingdom glory and says “his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Dare we even limit God’s dominion to the Roman world?
Matthew 24:14: Witness to Everyone in Jerusalem, and Then the End? “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world (oikumene) for a witness unto all nations (ethnos); and then shall the end come” (Matt. 24:14). Supposedly, “the end” in this verse is the end of the Jewish sacrificial system that occurred with the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70. The Gospel witness “in all the world” means “all the Roman world.”
Oikumene does have a range of meanings. Luke 2:1 tells us that “there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world (oikumene) should be taxed.” Obviously, this decree did not affect all the people on planet Earth. But oikumene is used in Acts 17:31 in the phrase God “will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.” This does not mean God will only judge the Roman world of antiquity. The same words can have different meanings, as in the phrase “let the dead bury their dead” (Luke 9:60). Context and meaning helps the reader decide.
Preterits, however, like to give a word the meaning that best suits their system rather than considering context and meaning. This is a real problem with preterism. It’s a case of the tail wagging the dog. For example, Romans 1:8 states: “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (kosmos). “World,” of course, means the Roman world. However, in a different context the same word “kosmos” cannot be limited to the Roman world.
PJMedia (a conservative news, opinion, and commentary collaborative blog that has set out to challenge mainstream media with a network of citizen-journalists) reports that nearly one in five California residents is poor; that California has one of the highest poverty rates in the country. The state’s generous welfare spending has not only failed to decrease poverty, but it actually seems to have made it worse. Californians are in for another surprise: permanent water rationing is coming to California. According to the California Policy Center, AB 1668 will impose a mandatory limit on water consumption of 55 gallons per person per day. Homeowners will be forced to install retrofit gadgets costing thousands to comply. So, why is California openings its doors to illegals, gang members, and convicted criminals when it can’t even provide for its own law-abiding people
“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,” we read in Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Therefore the hearts of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Don’t miss the words “fully set.” Let’s look at some hearts that are “fully set to do evil.”
Fox News reported on January 17, 2018, that an illegal immigrant began his murder trial for the 2014 killings of two Northern California sheriff’s deputies. The illegal immigrant shouted at the judge and police with a profanity-laced rant, calling a partner of one of the slain officers a “coward.” The prosecutor was recounting the events that led to the death of Sacramento sheriff’s deputy Danny Oliver outside a Sacramento motel in October 2014, and described how Oliver’s partner, Deputy Scott Brown, was able to retreat from the heavy exchange of gunfire. Then, Luis Enrique Monroy Baracamontes, 37, the alleged killer, interrupted the court when he grinned and called Brown a “coward.” Baracamontes began to shout and scream, “I wish I had killed more of the mother- – -s” Then he said, “I will break out soon and I will kill more, kill whoever gets in front of me. There’s no need of a f- – – trial.” In typical liberal fashion, his public defenders tried to enter a plea of not guilty by insanity, and argued that it is unlikely their client will receive a fair trial due to the anti-immigrant sentiment encouraged by President Trump’s hardline stance on immigration.
Sanctuary leaders don’t agree with the law, so they fail to enforce it and protect the people they are sworn to protect. Matthew 24:12 describes what we are seeing: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” The word iniquity is a translation of the word a-nomos—meaning “lawlessness.” “And because lawlessness shall abound the love of man shall wax cold.”
PJMedia (a conservative news, opinion, and commentary collaborative blog that has set out to challenge mainstream media with a network of citizen-journalists) reports that nearly one in five California residents is poor; that California has one of the highest poverty rates in the country. The state’s generous welfare spending has not only failed to decrease poverty, but it actually seems to have made it worse. Californians are in for another surprise: permanent water rationing is coming to California. According to the California Policy Center, AB 1668 will impose a mandatory limit on water consumption of 55 gallons per person per day. Homeowners will be forced to install retrofit gadgets costing thousands to comply. So, why is California openings its doors to illegals, gang members, and convicted criminals when it can’t even provide for its own law-abiding people?
It’s time for fence-straddlers to get off the fence and come down on the right side. The continual violation of biblical standards of s*xual morality, decency, and wholesome living cannot continue much longer without there being dire consequences for everyone. Gay bath houses, marijuana, public nudity, transgenderism, and a host of other whacko ideas will bring disaster. Do we really want God to wash his hands of our sinful folly and abandon us to our own destructive tendencies? Divine abandonment will be individually and nationally devastating. Living according to biblical standards always produces blessing. While European cities were reeling under the weight of the plague, the Jewish physician Balavignus instituted a clean-up movement in the Jewish community by studying, and applying, the health standards of levitical law. The casualty rate dropped in the Jewish community but devastated other areas. There was such an obvious contrast in the health of the two groups, that many outside the Jewish community claimed that the Jews were poisoning them!
This growing proliferation of tent cities and an inundation of human fecal matter is creating a situation that looks more and more like what Jesus described in His end-time discourse. In Matthew 24:7 Jesus said, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and PESTILENCES.” The word “pestilence” is in the plural, suggesting a number of diseases and illnesses created by these unhealthy conditions produced by sanctuary policies. Though many mock biblical standards, the Bible gives explicit instructions regarding health and sanitation. Deuteronomy 23:9–14, in summary, indicates that human excrement needs to be buried outside the city. People need to relieve themselves outside the camp, bring a spade, dig a hole with the spade, and cover the excrement. This is one of the reason that the Israelites were told that they would enjoy a measure of freedom from the diseases that ravaged the camp of the Egyptians. “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God … I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians” (Exod. 15:26).
We need to remember that California is an incubator state. What’s in California will, in a couple of years, be common practice in your neck of the woods. That’s why we have to be alert to the issues that are raised by the concept of sanctuary cities and sanctuary states. A sanctuary city is a city where illegal aliens, criminals, and gang members can find sanctuary from federal deportation laws. Pro-sanctuary leaders want to reduce the fear of deportation and possible family breakup among people who are in the country illegally. They believe that such people will be more willing to report crimes, use health and social services, and enroll their children in school. Municipal policies in sanctuary areas include prohibiting police and city employees from questioning people about their immigration status, and refusing requests by federal immigration authorities to detain people.
Sanctuary governments and leaders are lawbreakers. They not only refuse to cooperate with federal law, but actually perpetrate criminal activity. The murder of Kate Steinle on July 1, 2015, made illegal immigration a front-burner issue in the 2016 presidential election. While walking with her father and a friend in the Embarcadero district of San Francisco, Steinle was fatally shot by an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times. Jose Inez Garcia Zarate, who initially claimed that he fired at a sea lion with a gun he claims to have found, was only convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was acquitted of all murder and manslaughter charges. President Trump described the verdict as “disgraceful!” Libertarian policies, fueled and energized by political correctness, have allowed evil to multiply with impunity.
Bible prophecy headline news Larry Spargimino November 8, 2021
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Bible prophecy headline news “Death In The City” In Lamentations we read: “How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow … all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies” (Lam. 1:1–2). The prophet Jeremiah was mourning the destruction of Jerusalem. He had witnessed the destruction of the city and its temple by Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian armies. Though Jeremiah predicted this would happen, it was, nevertheless, something that caused him great sorrow.
There is another city—actually many other cities—for which we must weep and mourn. They have become sanctuary cities. Their destroyers are radical left-wingers who have turned their cities into garbage heaps of disease and death. In a report by Kira Davis posted on redstate.com, we read:
San Francisco is swiftly moving from one of America’s most beautiful cities to one of America’s most troubled cities. The city struggles with crime and the consequences of illegal immigration after declaring themselves a “sanctuary city.” The transit authorities (BART) recently announced they would stop providing video evidence of violent attacks on public transportation so as not to “bias” citizens against certain ethnic groups.
Most recently, San Francisco has joined Los Angeles and San Diego as three of the major cities that have caused Governor Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency due to a Hepatitis A epidemic currently brewing in each location.
The outbreak can be directly tied to the homeless problem in California, which is only exacerbated by a constant flow of liberal policies that make removing homeless encampments difficult and even allow for the homeless to set up camp in places like the front lawn of Los Angeles City Hall and other public parks.
Citing the ubiquity of human waste, software engineer Jenn Wong has mapped the city’s most “poop-ridden neighborhoods.” Her project, called Human Wasteland, is a pretty exhaustive listing of reports made by emergency 311 calls (yes, there is a 311 fecal alert emergency number) from 2008 to 20015.
European cities were devastated in the mid to late fourteenth century. Although the Bubonic Plague—“the black death”—was spread by fleas on black rats, the rats frequented garbage heaps, such as are appearing in tent cities along bike trails and in parks. The living conditions in both urban and rural communities, along with the lack of proper sanitation, weakened the population and contributed to the casualties. It was common practice for people to use chamber pots which were emptied into open sewers that typically fed into streams and rivers. Historians have noted that displaced people—vagabonds and rootless youths in Medieval towns and cities, i.e., “the homeless”—contributed to the unhealthy conditions. Local and state officials that are encouraging sanctuary status are bringing upon the people they serve a horrific plague of monstrous proportions. Open borders are allowing people to come into the country from faraway places, bringing disease and contagion with them. “Rocket Man” in North Korea can save his missiles and warheads and avoid a war with the United States. The proponents of sanctuary cities and states will soon bring their own form of disaster on America!
The purposes of sanitation is to provide a healthy living environment for everyone, to protect natural resources, such as surface water and groundwater, and to provide safety, security and dignity for people who live together in towns and cities. A growing number of people in California, and elsewhere, are health conscious. They work out, eat right, watch their weight, and try to maintain good health and vigor. Unfortunately, their elected leaders—yes, they’ve put them in office—are working against them.
. Preterism does not do justice to the dramatic nature of the establishment of the Kingdom of God and the subsequent changes that follow. Despite the preterist claims that the Kingdom has been realized and that we are now in it, a person who knows and understands their Bible will reject those claims. In the absence of the King, there can be no Kingdom.
It is the return of Christ to earth that brings about the destruction of the kingdom of man and brings about a new order of things. The Kingdom in its glory will not be established until Christ returns. Hence His return is pre-millennial (Dan. 2:34–35). The Kingdom is not established by a gradual process of infiltration and permeation, but by a sudden and devastating blow. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war”(see Rev. 19:11–21). Preterists seem to have missed the glory of the Kingdom Age. “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa. 2:4; 11:6–9; see also Jer. 31:35–37; Ezek. 36:25–32).
III. Preterism has a tendency to minimize the reality of Satanic conflict in the present hour and how it fits the prophetic picture. Revelation 13 delineates future events that line up with this present day. There is an emerging one-world government (vs. 7), an ever increasing effort to centralize all religious expression (vs. 12), and a one-world economy (vs. 17). COVID-19 has promoted the idea of a cashless society because cash is “dirty,” and plastic is safer. Reasonable efforts to close the American borders are ridiculed. The legalization of homosexual marriage, transgenderism, and the collapse of the traditional family is now on fast-forward. We are slipping into national insanity. Those who protest against the destruction of traditional roles are now seen as being on the “lunatic fringe.”
Bible prophecy, as understood from a futurist perspective, gives us great insight into the present times. It reminds us that things are not falling apart but falling into place. Bible prophecy reveals the plan of God and demands our surrender to the God who knows “the end from the beginning,” according to Isaiah 46:10, “and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.”
One of the sad effects of postmodernism, evolutionary historiography, and the godless innovations of man-centered theology, is that it removes the glory and majesty of God. Man becomes a substitute deity. The watering-down of Bible prophecy is one of the casualties of this sad state of affairs. It’s time to let the prophets of old speak. Only when that happens is there hope for true worship and a hell-busting revival. We need to thank God for Bible prophecy, not deny that it even exists.
Larry Spargimino Dr. Larry Spargimino is co-host of the SWRC broadcast and joined the ministry in 1998. Larry researches and writes books and articles for the ministry, assists on tours, and helps answer listeners' theological questions when they call the ministry. Larry holds a doctorate from Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and pastors a local church.
Since the destruction of Jerusalem occurred in a.d. 70, preterists have to date the writing of the book of Revelation as pre-a.d. 70, maybe a.d. 66 or a.d. 67. An early date for the book is absolutely necessary for the preterist viewpoint to be valid. Most scholars, however, hold to a much later date for the writing of the book of Revelation, like around a.d. 90. If preterists are wrong here, their whole view collapses. If futurists are wrong and if the book of Revelation was written pre-a.d. 70, futurism does not really lose much. The dating of the book of Revelation is not critical to futurism, but it is to preterism.
I attended a debate between Dr. Mark Hitchcock who argued for the late date and Hank Hanegraaff, “The Bible Answer Man,” who argued for the early date. He believes that the book of Revelation was written during the reign of Emperor Nero (a.d. 37–68), and is the Antichrist of the book of Revelation. The debate occurred at the annual Pre-Tribulatio Study Group Meeting, Dallas, Texas, on December 10, 2007. Several videos of the debate can be accessed on the Internet. Dr. Hitchcock had written his Ph.D. dissertation on the dating of the book of Revelation and made a number of irrefutable points. Dr. Hitchcock told me that he had sent Mr. Hanegraaff a copy of his dissertation several months earlier, but Mr. Hanegraaff, evidently, had not read the dissertation. Here are some of the dangers that I see in the preterist system.
I. Preterism totally ignores how technology has now put the most destructive and frightening prophecies well within reach of the human race. For centuries Christian commentators have had to spiritualize many of the prophecies of the book of Revelation. There was no way that the horrors described in the book of Revelation could literally come to pass. That is no longer true.
Several years ago Richard Abanes wrote End-Time Visions, a book in which he totally discounts the destructive potential of modern warfare and the precarious position of the human race at the present hour. Abanes argues that “there is no significant trend upward … in the number of wars, or their severity or magnitude.”
There is no way this statement can be justified. In recent years, there has been the widespread proliferation of nuclear weapons. My daughter was in the Air Force and stationed at an ICBM base in Montana. One of those missiles could hit a target the size of a birdhouse on the other side of the world with the equivalent of several million tons of TNT.
Added to this is the fact that though many undeveloped nations do not possess the technology to make and deliver a nuclear warhead, they can, nevertheless, make and deliver bioweapons, the effects of which would also lead to the deaths of millions. Toxins can be sprayed from small aircraft. Such weapons have an appeal to terrorist nations because bioweapons have a delayed action. A lag period, or incubation period—sometimes several hours or even several days—must elapse between the time the victim is exposed to the infectious agent and the actual time symptoms begin to show themselves.
On May 12, 1951, newspapers around the world reported the following: “The explosive equivalent of several million tons of TNT was released here today on the tiny atoll of Eniwetok as scientists of the Atomic Energy Commission detonated the world’s first thermonuclear device—the H-Bomb.”
Technology has changed so many aspects of our lives. In Revelation 11:7–9 we read of the death of the two witnesses. “Their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord also was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies. …” Modern technology makes that possible, just as it is now possible to view Olympic athletes in Beijing on American TV.
Preterism On Trial – Part I...Larry Spargimino...March 15, 2022
What would you think if someone told you that all prophecy has been fulfilled? Moreover, what if that person argues that the Bible does not speak about the future, nor does it even speak about what is happening in today’s world.
You might agree. If you do, you are a preterits. If not, you are a futurist. Preterists believe that the future events so labeled by futurists are really past events. They have all been fulfilled. What Is Preterism? There are two kinds of preterists. Full preterists believe that all so-called future events, even the return of Jesus Christ, have already happened. How could you miss it? Partial preterists do believe in a literal, bodily physical return of Jesus Christ, but everything else—the Antichrist, the Great Tribulation, God’s promises to Israel, the Gog-Magog War—have all been completely fulfilled. Barcode technology and the RFID chip have nothing to do with prophecy and should not be viewed as having anything to do with “the Mark of the Beast.”
Preterism has become very popular for two reasons. First, it helps to justify replacement theology. Israel is like every other nation of the world. It has no special future in the plan of God. Lots of nation became sovereign states in the 1940s—Israel did, but so did Pakistan and others. Preterits don’t believe that May 14, 1948, has anything to do with the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
The second reason why preterism has become popular is because of what preterists often call “last days madness.” Wild predictions, a lack of good biblical exegesis, and plenty of sensationalism have caused a push-back against prophecy. Let’s face it, how many times can you write about “final signs” when it is clear that they are not final. “Final” means “final.” When you are at the airport and you hear, “This is the final call for flight ABC,” you don’t expect any more calls.
Preterit “Time Texts” Everyone has a text. The preterists have “time texts.” Revelation 1:1 reads: “The revelation of Jesus Christ … to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass.” Preterits take this to mean, “in a very short time, not thousands of years in the future.”
Another time text is Matthew 24:34, “Verily, I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Jesus uttered these words in the first century a.d. The generation on earth when Jesus spoke these words shall not pass until everything in the Olivet Discourse occurs, namely, in the first century a.d.
The preterits understanding of these time texts are problematic—for preterits. I think they are so eager to disprove the existence of prophecy that they pounce on these texts like a hungry fox pouncing on a rabbit.
Preterits generally see “the end” as occurring in a.d. 70 when the Romans destroyed the Jewish temple and slaughtered multitudes of Jews. It was, no doubt, a terrible time, but certainly does not fit Tribulation scriptures unless they are spiritualized. It’s on this basis that full preterits also spiritualize the Second Coming.
Since the destruction of Jerusalem occurred in a.d. 70, preterits have to date the writing of the book of Revelation as pre-a.d. 70, maybe a.d. 66 or a.d. 67. An early date for the book is absolutely necessary for the preterit viewpoint to be valid. Most scholars, however, hold to a much later date for the writing of the book of Revelation, like around a.d. 90. If preterits are wrong here, their whole view collapses. If futurists are wrong and if the book of Revelation was written pre-a.d. 70, futurism does not really lose much. The dating of the book of Revelation is not critical to futurism, but it is to preterism.
Physicians worldwide have been using the Nobel-prize winning drug successfully in treating COVID-19.”
While more than 10,000 physicians and medical scientists have signed the “Rome Declaration” in protest, many of these individuals have experienced “career threats, character assassination, censorship of scientific papers and research, social media accounts blocked, online search results manipulated, clinical trials and patient observations banned, and their professional history and accomplishments minimized in both academic and mainstream media.” We must not ignore the fact that Dr. Robert Malone, architect of the mRNA vaccine participated in the “Rome Declaration” (globalcovidsummit.org).
This is just the beginning of the final epic struggle between good and evil. Jesus was very much to the point when he said, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).
In the introduction to his book, Hitler’s Cross, Erwin Lutzer says he wanted to study how Hitler had captured the Christian church:
“I knew that 95 percent of the people in Germany were either Protestant or Catholic. Now I wanted to know why the Christians in Germany did not condemn Hitler with one single unified and courageous voice. I wondered why millions willingly took Hitler’s Hakenkreuz (hooked or broken cross) and superimposed on it the cross of our crucified Redeemer. Only later would I understand the extent to which this confusion of crosses beguiledthe German church and invited the judgment of God” (p. 12).
At the end of the age it is vital that true Christ-followers stand for truth in the power of God. Yes, God inhabits the praises of His people (Ps. 22:3), and the words of the prophet Jeremiah are still true: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jer. 29:11).
On May 18, 2020, when President Trump said, “I’m taking it, hydroxychloroquine. Right now, yeah, a couple of weeks ago I started taking it, because I think it’s good. I’ve heard a lot of good stories,” he was immediately attacked and maligned. Why? Because having a cheap, available medication that will prevent the death of millions of people is NOT what people need to be told. If people availed themselves of such medication the crisis would be over. All opportunities for the government to do what it could not normally do would suddenly evaporate.
Without a pandemic that’s killing millions of people no on will be willing to surrender their individual liberties. This is why there is the current censorship of materials that disagrees with Dr. Fauci. We can’t have people contradicting the claim that millions more will die. The testimony of credentialed medical experts who support Life-saving meds such as HCQ and Ivermectin must be censored.
Censorship of Materials That Have Anti-Vax Content On September 29, 2021 Drudge Report blazed the words, “YOUTUBE BANS ALL ‘ANTI-VAX CONTENT.’” This is censorship. The current crisis that the world is experiencing is not about the virus. It is about control. Is Dr. Fauci’s guiding principle “do no harm” or is it just the opposite? This is not ridiculous question. Why is the testimony of so many medical experts who are warning us about the vaccines, being censored, trampled and being ignored? Why are people being taken off a transplant list for not wanting to take a shot that could very well have harmful effects?
Dr. Peter McCullough, who has had many peer-reviewed publications published in top-tier medical journals, warns that the world is “in the middle of a major biological catastrophe.” At an address he gave at the annual fundraiser of the non-profit Michigan for Vaccine Choice, McCullough charged that fraudulent public health officials are pushing experimental “gene-transfer” COVID-19 vaccines that produce the “loaded weapon” of a toxic spike protein.
Emphasizing the importance of safety in medicine, McCullough said it’s “beyond astonishing” that “there has been an injection of a substance into half of Americans’ bodies and there’s yet to be a report to America on safety.” He pointed out that was not the case in 1976 when the government shut down the Swine Flu vaccination campaign after the emergence of 25 deaths and 550 cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The debate over whether or not they were caused by the vaccine didn’t matter. What mattered was the unexplained deaths that occurred after vaccination. McCullough told his audience, “If you feel tension right now and you feel some emotional distress, and if you feel as if things aren’t going right…I think your perceptions are correct.”
McCullough accused Biden’s top coronavirus adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, of “committing fraud” by declaring there is “no evidence” to support the effectiveness of Ivermectin in treating COVID-19. “Ivermectin is supported by over 60 studies, over 30 clinical trials,” McCullough said. It may be the truth but Baylor University Medical Center fired McCullough in February. Texas A&M College of Medicine, Texas Christian University and University of North Texas Health And Science Center School of Medicine have cut ties with him, accusing him of spreading misinformation. (WND, 10/7/21).
In the continuing struggle between truth and falsehood, truth is persistent and rises from many quarters. The globalcovidsummit.org reports that “Yale epidemiologist Harvey Risch continues to express dismay over the way hyrdroxychloroquine has been maligned for political reasons by a pliant media establishment.” COVID-19 can be successfully treated. The Global Covid Summit reports, “Biochemist Martenson: You have nothing to lose with Ivermectin.” Martenson said, “Those who disparage Ivermectin as mere ‘horse dewormer’ probably aren’t doctors.
Censorship, Intimidation and the Apollyon President Larry Spargimino...November 17, 2021
“… but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon” (Rev.9:11)
In the past tyrannical governments have not only banned religious messages, but also novels, poems and short stories, along with paintings and other visual art forms that were deemed “anti-government.”
On May 10, 1933 university students in 34 university towns across Germany burned over 25,000 books. The works of Jewish authors like Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud went up in flames, alongside works of black-listed American authors such as Ernest Hemingway and Helen Keller. As the ravenous flames lit up the night sky, 40,000 students and adults gave the Nazi salute. This marked the intellectual impoverishment and decline of a great nation and a great people who had contributed immensely to humanity. Is the current wave of censorship against medical and scientific experts who oppose the vaccines a harbinger of the rise of The Antichrist?
Meet The Bully and His Slick Protégé The Biden vaccine mandate brought grief to freedom-loving Americans by forcing them to make a tragic choice: take a vaccine that a growing number of medical experts condemn, or face: (1) loss of employment, (2) a dishonorable discharge from the military, (3) get rejected for an organ transplant that you need to stay alive, (4) experience a thousand other things that evil minds have planned for resisters.
The Epoch Times (10/7/21) reports that a Colorado hospital has rejected a woman for a kidney transplant after she refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Leilani Lutali received a letter on September 28 informing her that the transplant team at the University of Colorado Hospital decided to designate her “inactive” on the waiting list for transplants.
Neither Lutali, nor her donor, Jaimee Fougner are willing to be vaccinated. Fougner said, “Here I am, willing to be a direct donor to her. It does not affect any other patient on the transplant list. How can I sit here and allow them to murder my friend when I’ve got a perfectly good kidney and can save her life?”
The current censorship in America is a startling reminder of the power of Big Tech over our lives. Censorship affects the news people hear and see, the education their kids receive, and censorship determines the outcome elections. Voters form their opinions of candidates based on what is fed them through the media. Media distortions and lies are currently destroying America far more effectively than any invasion by a hostile nation. President Biden and his heavy-handed leadership will stop at nothing until America is a wasteland of boarded-up businesses and teenagers in need of psychiatric care. The Real Dr. Fauci After delivering a lecture via livestream at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, Dr. Fauci was asked a question: “How should we approach the value of individual freedom within the context of this global pandemic?” It’s significant how Fauci responded. First, he criticized Fox News and other conservative media outlets. Then he slammed the idea of individual freedom, framing vaccination as one’s highest moral responsibility toward our neighbor. Then Fauci revealed what he really thinks: “I think each of us, particularly in the context of a pandemic that’s killing millions of people, you have got to look at it and say, ‘There comes a time when you do have to give up what you consider your individual right of making your own decision for the greater good of society’” (theblaze.com)
What’s the bottom line in Fauci’s statement? Because we have a pandemic “that is killing millions of people.” Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff under the Obama Administration, gave Fauci’s dirty little secret away when Emanuel said, “Never pass up a good crisis. It’s your opportunity to do what you could not normally do.”
So if I borrow your ox or I borrow anything from you, not just an animal, and while I'm using it becomes injured or dies, I need to get you a new one. This is just how to be a good neighbor.
You borrow something from a neighbor and it breaks while you're using it. You make it right. Verse 8 15.
If the owner was with it, he shall not make a good. If it was hired, it came for its higher.
So in other words, say, say I borrow a chainsaw from you, but you're with me in the backyard and you can see that I'm not misusing your chainsaw.
I'm being diligent with it and it just breaks in normal use, then I'm not liable because obviously that was going to happen whether it was you or me using it.
And you're not entitled to a free new chainsaw again, if the same thing happens, if I'm renting something from you and it gets damaged, that's just part of the rental business. There's going to be loss. I'm not liable. That's it for this week.
And so, as I said, we've got kind of a strange collection of different laws. We're going to have one more week in the Book of the Covenant.
And so what I want to ask is just, again, to be open to anything that God might be saying to you tonight, to think on a little bit more.
Maybe there's a relationship where you've said some things you shouldn't say.
And tonight's a reminder that you need to continue to work at speaking words of life and blessing and trying to make restitution there. Maybe there's a reminder tonight to assume the best about people and to take a believer at their word, unless there's external evidence to the contrary. Maybe there's a reminder. That unity and the reputation of Jesus in his church are important, and maybe there's a reminder that, hey, we have a responsibility to think through how our actions affect other people, not just ourselves, that every single person is an image bearer.
They are made by God, they're sacred and they're special.
So with that, let's pray.
Father, thank you so much for the opportunity to be together this evening. And Lord, we do ask that you would just protect the health of your church of the men, women and children who make up this church father, that you would preserve our ability to meet together as your church. And father, we pray and thank you that you have the ability and the desire to meet every need we have. Father, I just lift up right now to you.
Any person in this room feeling anxious, any person feeling stressed by the external situation of the world around us. Father, would you shift our eyes back to heaven and back to you? Because we know that when we're overwhelmed by anxiety from what's going on around us, it's because we've taken our eyes off you and we're looking all around us instead of looking upwards. So, Father, fix our eyes on you.
We ask for peace in the name of Jesus and father, fill us afresh with your love for one another, Lord, maybe, maybe not turn inward to be focused on ourselves right now. But Lord, would you stir loving us to care and love for one another, to check on one another, to care about one another in a greater way, to speak blessing to one another. And Father, thank you that you do speak faithfully through your word and that you are here with us.
You never leave us. You never forsake us. You're with us to the end of the age. We love you so much, Jesus. In your precious name we pray. Amen.
And so the world puts the church in an impossible situation where if we don't actually try to act like Jesus, we're being hypocrites. But if we tell each other in the church to act like Jesus, then we're being judgmental.
And just so you know, the biblical standard is that we are within the church among believers to judge each other in a good way, that we call each other up to actually act like Christians.
Christians are to call other Christians to act like Christians. We don't call non Christians to act like Christians. But again, we can only judge based on what we can see on the outside.
You know, we can say, hey, I saw you before church beating that guy up outside the church.
And I think that was not really Christian behavior for you to do that because you saw something external, external.
But believers are not called to judge the unseen issues of the heart. We don't know a person's motivations. We don't know a person's intentions. Only God sees that stuff. And in this example, there's no way for the one guy to know if his neighbor is lying.
He might suspect he is, but he doesn't know. In the same way, there are many situations in our relationships where something happens and we suspect that we know what's going on, we're like, no, I know what they were thinking.
Trust me. I know. I know. But but we don't know. We don't know. And we can't know. And in those instances, God says, take them at their word, take them at their word, believe the best and leave it to me. If there's justice that needs to be done, God will take care of it. So write this down. When there's no external evidence, believers are to take each other at their word and release the rest to God, release the rest to God.
This is a timely word as well in the age of of social media and texting and instant messaging.
Sure, we've all been in that situation where you get an instant message and you just ascribe a tone to the message by the only one who does it, where you read a message and then you read it with a specific tone and you're like, why are they being so rude?
And you realize there's like 10 different ways you could have read that. You know, you tell us something, I need you to take care of this. And they're like, fine.
And you're like, fine, fine. What is fine mean? And they're really just like, yeah, fine.
Oh, OK. I will judge the unseen motivations of the heart.
But when there's no external evidence where to take each other at our word and just leave the rest to God, do you know that there's never a downside to believing the best about people? It's never a downside to believing the best about people, plenty of downside to believing the worst about people. You have to keep repeatedly pulling your foot out of your own mouth verse 8 /12.
But if in fact it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. If the animal is stolen because the man was careless and he didn't protect the animal, then he is liable for its loss if it is torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring in his evidence and he shall not make good what was torn. So if the animal is killed by a wild animal, the neighbor is to actually bring the carcass as evidence.
And that's to be the end of the matter because it wasn't anybody's fault. But the neighbor can't be like having a toothpick, you know, and he's picking meat out of his teeth and he says, yes, too bad your cow was taken by a wild animal, probably, probably a velociraptor.
There's nothing left.
He has to actually present the evidence, you know, and there can't be knife marks on the evidence where the ribs can't be that type of situation.
Verse 8 fourteen. And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor and it becomes injured or died, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make good.
My number one concern is what's right in the eyes of the Lord Verse 8 10, if a man delivers to his neighbor, a donkey and ox, a sheep or any animal to keep and it dies is hurt or driven away, no one's seeing it underline, no one seeing it, then an oath of the Lord shall be made between them both that he has not put his hand into his neighbor's goods, and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good.
So if I'm going away and I say, Hey, can you watch this animal of mine? Can you watch this this little sheep of mine, little fluffy over here.
And when I come back here, like, yeah, too bad Fluffy died of natural causes while you're away or, you know, I come back fluffiest, missing a leg and they say, yeah, just got injured out there in the wild or fluffy is gone. And you say, yeah, Fluffy ran away and nobody saw it happen.
We're both to go before the judges and you're going to swear an oath before the Lord, I'm going to swear an oath before the Lord to tell the truth.
And so if I do that, though, and I say, yes, the Lord sees me, I take an oath before the Lord, I did not eat Fluffy.
I do that when all there is to go on is my word. God says, listen, you got to believers and all there is to go on is their word. You're to take them at their word and you leave the rest to God. And I like this because, again, it's placing faith in the reality that God sees and God knows everything.
Remember what our brother Paul told the Galatians believers?
It's on your outline. He said, do not be deceived. God is not mocked for whatever a man sows that he will also reap. In other words, in a situation like this, God's not going to let justice be mocked.
He says, you take an oath before me and you lie. Don't think you're getting ahead. I'm going to make sure that what goes around comes around
And the same is true in the church today for the sake of unity in the church, when all you have to go on in a situation is the word of another believer, you're to take them at their word and leave the rest to God.
And there's a lesson here. For those of us with certain personality types. And be open to hearing this, because I'm including myself in this group, for those of us with certain personality types, perhaps like me. Your natural tendency is to assume the worst. Your natural tendency is to believe the worst and you fight against that, there's a word for people like you and me in this in the church among believers or to take people at their word. Actually, believe them and trust, hey, if that's not the truth, that that's for God to take care of, that's for God to take care of.
Because perhaps like me, sometimes you think, Lord, Lord, I know only you can see and only you can judge the heart. But I'm here, Lourdes, so you can take a break, I'll I'll I'll take care of this one, I will discern the motives of their heart. I will look into the unseen things and I will judge.
Well, now, here's the principle. Believers in the Bible are called to judge the fruits of other believers within the church.
We are called to judge the external observable actions or the lack thereof, not so that we can be snippy with one another, but so that we can call each other up together to represent Jesus. Well, every time I share this, I say this. This is the great, great, impossible scenario that the world gives to the church. The world says to the church, oh, the church is full of hypocrites. And so we say, well, we're actually going to do what the Bible says.
And the Bible says we are actually to call each other out on our hypocrisy so that we represent Jesus.
Well, then the world says that's so judgmental. How could you do that?
And so the world puts the church in an impossible situation where if we don't actually try to act like Jesus, we're being hypocrites. But if we tell each other in the church to act like Jesus, then we're being judgmental.
The truth is, we're not even close to done if there's still the opportunity in the future to go back and try again. Were to go back and try again, keep planting those good seeds, keep speaking those words of life and keep trying to make it right, takes a long time for some fields to grow.
Again, it takes a lot of work, but if the options available, we got to keep at it. Would you write this down? Biblical restitution has no expiration date. It has no expiration date. Verse 8 seven, if a man delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep and it is stolen out of the man's house, if the thief is found, he shall pay double. Not only were there no prisons in Israel at this time, there were no banks, no banks.
So if you had to take a trip somewhere you had anything valuable in your house for security's sake, you would simply go and leave it with your neighbors, say, hey, can you watch this for me while I'm away? This was something neighbors did for each other all the time. And as we've already established, if the thief is caught and the goods are recoverable, the thief has to pay back double.
However, Verse 8 if the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the judges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor's goods for any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his.
The cause of both parties shall come before the judges and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.
If the neighbor who's watching the stuff says, yeah, it's a real shame while you were away, you know, somebody stole your stuff. And the thief is not caught. Then the neighbor who was storing the stuff is to be brought before the judges, along with the neighbor whose stuff was stolen. And the judges are going to grill them both to figure out whether there really was theft or whether the neighbor actually stole the stuff.
Yeah, it's too bad somebody stole your stuff from my house, but they didn't take any of your stuff.
No, it's the strangest thing you see in our context. The idea is that if there's a disagreement.
Between a brother and a brother, a sister, a sister, a sister and a brother in the church, that cannot be resolved, this is what's actually supposed to happen.
The parties that are involved in that dispute are to go before the elders of the church and the elders of the church are to act as judges.
Do you know that even in the New Testament, the Bible specifically tells us that believers are not to sue each other in court because it's bad for the reputation of Jesus?
Paul tells believer's he says it is disgraceful, even the idea that two believers would have to go in front of a non-believer to have the nonbelievers settle their dispute. He says it's disgraceful for the reputation of Jesus in the church. We're supposed to settle our issues within the church, with the elders functioning as the equivalent of Israel's judges back in the day because the reputation of Jesus and his church matters. Jesus said the defining mark of the church was to be our love for one another.
And it's not a good look when, in front of nonbelievers, you're in court arguing and suing each other.
It's the absolute opposite of love for one another.
But again, this system can only work and this can only happen in a church if believers are more concerned about being right with God than they are about their legal rights.
Because there may be a situation where you're legally entitled to something, but it's not right in the eyes of God. And so this system only works when you have believers in a church who say, my number one concern is doing this right in the eyes of the Lord. My number one concern is not my legal rights. My number one concern is not getting mine.
And this all takes my mind to an epistle in the New Testament. In which James compares something very specific to a fire. The tongue and I put it on your outline, he writes, See how great a forest, a little fire Kindles and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity just unrighteousness.
The tongue is so set among our members. So it's placed in our body so that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature and is set on fire by hell for every kind of beast and bird of reptile and creature of the sea is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. With it, we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude or made in the likeness of God out of the same mouth. Proceed blessing and cursing my brethren. These things ought not to be so. And so I'm just going to make an analogy here to make some practical application. I believe the Old Testament principle of restitution still applies to us today.
I believe that God still expects us to do everything we can to make things right with those we have wronged.
We're not supposed to simply say, well, God's forgiven me. And so you have to as well. I don't have to pay you the rent I owe because Jesus has paid it all. You see, if you're part of the church, then you represent Jesus.
And back here in the Book of the Covenant, the Lord said you're responsible for the way you handle fire and for any damage you cause with it.
In the same way we are responsible for the way that we handle our tongues, we are responsible for any damage we caused by being careless with our words.
When we're guilty of that, we have a responsibility to make it right. If we've slandered someone, we need to go to those we spoke to and apologize to them for speaking that way.
Were to say, I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have spoken about that person that way. They didn't deserve to have me talk about them like that.
And when we've spoken wrongly or harshly to someone were to apologize and seek forgiveness, not only that, but were to make restitution.
How do we do that with our words? Well, when we've burned someone's field, so to speak, it needs to be replanted. And when it comes to our words, that means we need to plant the right words into that person's life, if that's an option, we need to speak encouragement, appreciation, affirmation, blessing. We need to build them up again. And here's the key. This is a relational key in marriage, parenting and deep friendship.
The thing about biblical restitution is that it had no time limit. If it took you the rest of your life to make restitution, then it took you the rest of your life. If it took you the rest of your life and you still wouldn't be able to get close to paying it off, then that's what it was.
So if we have the option where to keep trying to make restitution, if you've been careless with your words and wounded your spouse or your child, they may reject you and they may give you a cold response when you first try to speak with them.
They may continue to respond like that for a long time as you work toward restitution. But listen, if you have a field. You're not going to just throw a few seeds and then stand there and go. I guess it's not working. I tried. You're not going to throw some seeds, pour some water and go. I mean, well, if the sea doesn't want to grow, what am I supposed to do? Where I'm going with this is what we love to do, is we love to sometimes try and make restitution with our words, and then when it doesn't work right away, we say, well, I tried their fault now and everything I could do, I'm done.
Now, I'm not describing a situation where they're caught and then claimed to be remorseful because in God's law, remorse is expressed by making confession before you get caught or exposed.
And we're talking about a full confession, by the way. Not like the man who mailed a check to the CIA for two thousand dollars with a note that read. I've mailed you this check because I cannot sleep at night. My conscience is bothering me. I've defrauded the Canadian government and ripped off the Canadian people for 20 years. Please find enclosed a check for two thousand dollars. I want to make things right. And if I still can't sleep, I'll send the rest.
We're not talking about that.
We're talking about a full confession and repentance in this scenario. So to summarize, in the law of Moses, there are three levels to making restitution for theft.
If you steal something and it cannot be recovered, you're going to end up paying back four or five times what you stole.
If you steal something and it is fully recoverable, you're going to pay back double what you stole. If you steal something but confess and repent, you're going to pay back what you stole plus 20 percent. It's a good system. Verse five. If a man causes a field or a vineyard to be grazed and lets lose his animal and it feeds in another man's field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.
We're continuing with this theme of restitution. If I let my animal graze in your field and eat your crops, I'm to make restitution to you from the best of my fields.
Not the leftovers, but the best.
And so the goal was that there was not to be any scenario in which stealing something from someone left the thief better off.
They weren't to be scenarios where you stole something worth a thousand dollars, sold it for five hundred dollars, got caught and got fined a hundred dollars.
There wasn't to be any scenario in which criminal activity benefited the perpetrator. The goal of the law was to make the thief realize that it wasn't worth it. Crazy concept, right?
Verse 8 six. If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that stacked grain standing grain or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. So as they do today, actually still in some types of farming, they would use fire to clear Bush or a field or dead old crops. It was the quickest way to clear a field and if that was done carelessly, the fire could spread to an adjoining field that belonged to somebody else.
And so similar to verse five, the idea is that if that happened, you'd have to make restitution again from the best of your field, or if you didn't have enough, you'd have to buy premium stuff from somebody else and use that.
As I was thinking about this, you play this out in today's culture, the principles behind this.
Here's what it would mean if somebody started a forest fire by being careless, they would be legally bound to seed and replant the entire area.
That ended up burning down because it's all crown land or it's owned by a logging company and so belongs to somebody.
And yes, they would be doing that for the rest of their lives.
But I'll tell you one thing, we wouldn't have careless forest fires ever again.
So we have a fire and maybe risk spending the rest of our lives planting seeds. I'm actually good. It's not that big of a deal was to get a hot dog from 7-Eleven.
So you were responsible to not be careless with fire because it's dangerous. And so the way we think is what's my comfort level with this? God's law was teaching his people to think, how could this potentially affect those around me, is teaching them to think a different way. We're so individualistic in the West.
You'd actually be able to drive past a field in your town, look out and see them hard at work, earning the money to pay you back for what they stole from you two to four times over? I think that would be fantastic.
We wouldn't see the rampant petty theft that is so prevalent in our society today would solve the problem real fast.
Now, keep this little detail in mind, too. If your daughter or son got into trouble, your family would be expected to settle the matter regardless of how old your son or daughter is. If they couldn't pay the restitution, the victims of the crime were coming to mom and dad. They're coming to the rest of the family. If there's a legal settlement that needs to be handled, the family is responsible if the son or daughter flees and just hightails it out of there.
So let me ask you, what sort of impact do you think that reality would have on parenting? Do you think that maybe it would have made parents care a little bit more, that they they don't raise a brat?
That they raise children who would become positive members of society as opposed to ruining the entire families lives in the future would be very, very different if every set of parents was actually liable legally, financially for their children's actions.
You're not going to raise a brat in that scenario. You'd be like, listen, I got plans to go to Hawaii when I retire and I'm not spending that money on your stupidity.
You see, in Israeli culture, you didn't get to say that's not my problem.
There was individual responsibility and then there was community responsibility.
You were responsible as an individual, but you were also responsible as a community because you were both individually and collectively accountable to God, because you had made the covenant with him, remember, as an individual and as a collective. So write this down. Israeli society assign responsibility to the individual and the community because their covenant with God was both individual and collective.
It's the same as we have in the church. We are individually responsible to God, but as a church, as a collective as well, we are responsible to God. We're responsible to live our individual lives in a way that honors God and we're responsible to run the church in a way that honors God.
And we see this heart throughout the Book of the Covenant, but we also see it reflected in Jesus's parable of the Good Samaritan, don't we? Who are the bad guys in that parable? It's the guys who walked past the injured man and said, it's not my problem, it's got nothing to do with me. Who's the hero in the parable? It's the Samaritan who did what was right because he understood that his commitment to God made him also responsible to have a commitment to his community.
And again, our equivalent community is the church.
It's the body of believers. We're not supposed to see a brother or sister in the church suffering and say, oh, man, sucks to be them right now.
Glad that's not my problem. Our individual commitment to Jesus comes along with a commitment to his church. So write this down.
I know it's another quick fill in, but it's important the believers community commitment is to his or her church. We have a community commitment to one another as the church.
And then it's worth noting, I'm not going to read it. But I did put it on your outlines. It's worth noting that Numbers five explains what would happen in a third scenario involving theft.
You see if someone committed theft but was then troubled by their conscience.
And they're like, oh, man, I shouldn't have done that. And they want to make things right.
They were to confess and then they were to make it right by giving back to the person what was stolen or the equivalent plus 20 percent.
The reality is that God would be merciful to not reveal his will to you if he knows that you're not actually going to do it because you would be responsible and now you'd be in the sin of disobeying the Lord. When Jesus was ministering on the earth, there came this moment in his ministry when he switched to teaching in parables instead of teaching directly. He started teaching in parables, allegories, analogies, stories. And Jesus actually told his disciples, he said, The reason I'm doing this is because there are people in the crowd, like most of the Jewish religious leaders.
And Jesus is saying, I'm standing right in front of them. They're hearing my teaching and they're rejecting all of it. They're just saying, no, no, no. And what Jesus was saying is every time they reject me. They're heaping judgment on themselves because they're going to stand before my father one day and they're going to have to answer for all this revelation they received. And then rejected. And Jesus said, so I'm going to switch to teaching in parables so that those who don't want to understand will not be able to understand and those who want to understand will be able to understand.
Jesus is actually being merciful to those who were rejecting them, rejecting him because he's not piling on them. Greater responsibility for more and more revelation.
The principle is that with greater revelation comes greater responsibility.
And so if we want a greater revelation of Jesus.
We have to be ready to respond to a greater revelation of Jesus, and I would challenge all of us with that very real question. If you're praying for a deeper knowledge of God, you're praying for a greater revelation of God, are you ready to respond to it if he gives it to you?
Or are you going to say, well, I'll weigh and decide what I want to do with that? We would be wise to remember that this is God we're talking about, this is God and God will not always say, yeah, I'll just I'll just let you decide. I'll share my revelation with you and then you can sit there and decide, hmm, it's a little bit insulting to God.
And so a lot of the time when we say God, give me greater revelation and we don't get it, it's because we haven't actually made up our mind already. No matter what it is. Lord, I'm in. I'm going to obey.
I'm going to follow you wherever it leads. Let's continue. It says he. The thief should make full restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold.
The idea is as a slave for his theft.
And I'd have you underline that word restitution there, because as we've already talked about in previous weeks, slavery looked very different. BJ walked us through that a few weeks ago, continuing into verse four.
If the theft is certainly found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall restore double.
Now, I had you underline the word restitution because that's the key concept here. This is one of the major tools that allowed Israeli society to function without prisons.
Can you imagine how great it would be, though, if we had this penalty for theft in our culture today?
If you steal a truck, sell it to a chop shop and get caught. Guess what? You owe the truck's owner for trucks, for trucks. If the truck is recovered and that's still whole, you owe him two trucks. Can't afford to buy them two trucks or four trucks. Guess you're going to have to sell yourself into slavery till you work off that debt you incurred by being a thief. Oh, you're going to sell yourself into slavery with the plan of being a bad slave in a lazy slave while the owner is allowed to beat you to get you in line.
This would be a great, great system because instead of thieves getting endless probation.
I want to do that. Verse 8, too, if the thief was found breaking in and he is struck so that he dies, there should be no guilt for his bloodshed. If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. So if you break into a guy's house at night, it's dark.
He can't see you and he defends his home and his family and he kills you. It is what it is. You made the choice to break into his home at night.
He's allowed to defend his home. He doesn't have to get your identity very different from our Canadian laws, where if someone broke into your home at night, I think you actually have to have a small conversation.
You have to ask them who they are. Do they have any history of mental trauma that could explain their current behavior? And then actually the police laws here are hilarious.
And I'm friends with a lot of police officers. And if you noticed. But the law is there's a law of escalation, where you're allowed to escalate to one degree.
So if a person breaks into your home and they don't have a weapon, you can escalate one degree. That's not to a knife. That would be two degrees.
You can go to a bat of some kind if they don't have a bat and if they have a bat, you can go up to a knife. If they have a knife, then you can go up to a gun. But it's Canada's. You actually have to ask them to hold on a minute while you put in your code, get your gun run 20 feet away the mandatory distance, put your code in your ammo safe, take the ammo out, load the gun, take the ammo, lock off of the gun and then come back to them.
So things are a little bit different here. But that's a practical point. You're learning at church tonight. Someone breaks into your house, you have a knife. They don't have anything you need to say. Hold on. Give me a minute. I need to go find a bat. Just stay where you are. I'll be back in a minute, because in Canada, our greatest concern is generally the criminal. Heaven forbid that we mistreat the criminal who's breaking into somebody's home under God's laws.
He's like, you're breaking into somebody's home at night. He doesn't know why you're there. He doesn't know if you have a weapon. He doesn't know if you're coming to kill his family. The guy's allowed to take care of business.
But interestingly enough, if the homeowner catches you breaking in and it's daytime, there's daylight and you're fully visible, he's not allowed to kill you. Why? Because he can see who you are.
And in that scenario, the idea is that he's going to be able to go to the judge's report, the issue, and they're going to deal with it because the thief's identity is going to be known and the taking of a life is not necessary.
And there's an interesting principle revealed just under the surface here with greater light, with greater illumination, with greater revelation comes greater responsibility.
Would you write this down and we'll talk about it some more? It's not the exact same line from Spider-Man, but it's close.
With greater revelation comes greater responsibility.
With greater revelation comes greater responsibility. And let me tell you how this principle applies to the Christian life.
When we say, God, I want to know your will. Lord, show me what to do in this situation. Show me what your will is in this relationship or or in my career, we are asking God to give us greater revelation. But were he to do that, were he to give us that greater revelation, we would also have greater responsibility and the responsibility we would have as believers is to obey him. And this is why we have to predetermine that we're going to obey God.
If we want to hear from God. We have to predetermine that, we're going to respond to greater revelation if we're asking God to give us greater revelation, if our attitude is Lord, show me your will and then I'll let you know if I want to do it.
Everybody else can deal with themselves. It's the attitude we see everywhere. Every time you go to a park or a public place, and you find people who just left their trash somewhere just out in the open.
It's because they're thinking it's not my problem, somebody else can deal with it. I got what I needed out of the deal, not having to put my trash away. And to that attitude, God would say in his law, yeah, but it is your problem because you're part of the community. And if you want the benefits of being part of the community, you have to also embrace the responsibilities of being part of the community. And then God would say, now, stop being a self-centered jerk and go pick up your trash.
Paraphrasing, of course. So write this down. God's laws require his people to live with consideration toward their community. God's laws require his people to live with consideration toward their community.
And again, remember, in our context, the community is the church. It's the church. Verse 35.
If one man's ox hurts another's so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it and the dead ox.
They shall also divide. Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in times past and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox and the dead animal shall be his own. Relatively self-explanatory if you look over it again in the Chapter 22.
If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and for sheep.
For a sheep.
Now, because this would have been one of the easiest crimes to commit because you could literally eat the evidence, God assigns the significant deterrent of exponential restitution, four fold or five fold restitution, and that is a good idea.
You steal one and it can't be recovered. You owe for back.
You owe five back. I like this a lot, you know, fourfold restitution, let's do some Bible trivia is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.
When Jesus decides to dine at the house of any guesses, and he guesses Zacchaeus, a little man named Zacchaeus, perhaps to recall the story, Jesus's ministry is thriving.
Everywhere he goes, crowds are gathering.
And there's this man of small stature who's unable to see through or see over the crowd.
But not only that, the crowd doesn't want him to see. They hate his guts because he's a corrupt tax collector. He's employed by the Roman occupiers and he's overcharging everybody on their taxes.
He's defrauding his own people to line his pockets.
And so they're not really big fans. Eventually, Zacchaeus climbs a tree to get a look at Jesus, and then the most incredible thing happens. Jesus looks straight at Zacchaeus and he says, Come down here, Zacchaeus coming to hang out at your house today. We're going to have dinner together. And the people are shocked that Jesus would do this. They're saying this guy can't be for real. He must not know how awful this Zacchaeus guy is. But Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus both into his home and into his heart.
It's implied and so transformed is Zacchaeus by his encounter with Jesus that in Luke eight, it's on your outlines. He says, Look, Lord, I give half of my gifts to the poor. And if I've taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore.
And then you see it four fold. I restore four fold.
You see, what Zacchaeus is doing is he's showing true repentance by repaying people back fourfold. He's acknowledging that under the law, he's stolen from people. He's saying, I recognize that I'm a thief. And so I have to make it right by restoring four fold.
And that's part of what genuine repentance does. So we're going to talk about this.
More genuine repentance says if there's any way I can make restitution for the ways that I've wronged people, I'm going to do that.
Some of you, the wheels might be turning already, and you might be thinking about the bribe that Judas Iscariot received from the Jewish authorities to betray Jesus to them, to remember what that bribe was, 30 pieces of silver, the price of the life of a slave.
And what did Jesus say when he was on the earth? He said to his disciples, I am among you as the one who serves. Jesus took on the identity of a servant, a born servant. When he was on the earth, he came to the earth as a servant.
And how unjust was it when Jesus's life was only valued at thirty pieces of silver?
You see, there's a picture being painted here because, yes, God really would go all the way back to the Book of the Covenant in the Book of Exodus and stick this little reference in there to connect all the way forward to the Gospels.
That's just how God put the Bible together. And that's really the prophetic explanation of the connection there.
But for a more practical explanation, let me just read something to you from the new American commentary by Douglas K. Stewart. It's the shortest explanation I could find because I knew some of you would say I still don't get why a slave has a different value to another person. So I'll just read it to you because I couldn't say it quicker than this.
A servant who was gored by a bull was presumably doing what his master told him to do by command. Typically, a servant told to work with or around a bull did not have the same freedom of independent decision making that someone else might have. And thus the servants master had to share some of the responsibility for the servants death with the owner of the bull that did the Goring.
This means that the owner of the bull was not as guilty in such a case as if the bulls simply gored someone who happened to be walking along near its property.
The law in this case then provided a severe penalty 30 shekels of silver and the loss of the bull to its owner, but did not assume that the owner alone was fully responsible for the death of the servant.
Naturally, the judges would have been free to impose the death penalty if it were decided that, for example, the Bulls owner had intentionally let a Göring bull loose against someone's servant who was, say, simply delivering a message to the bulls owner from his employer. That would be a case of murder and that would make the status of the servant irrelevant. So just to settle that Bible issue for everybody, let's keep moving.
Verse 8 33. And if a man opens a pit or if a man digs a pit, perhaps to collect rainwater and does not cover it and an ox or donkey falls in it, the owner of the pit shall make it good. He shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.
You say, I love God's ways because there's individual freedom, but there's also individual responsibility.
You see, in our culture, what we do is we'll say, well, let's just pass a bylaw against digging pits or mandate that you cannot dig a pit deeper than eighty one point three inches. It's very, very simple. But in God's culture, there's individual freedom, but there's individual responsibility. Nobody gets to play games and say, well, technically, there's not a law against digging pits.
There's this overriding principle of no, just care about people around. You use common sense. You can't just create a hazard like a pit and then leave it out in the open, endangering all the animals and people in your community. You have a responsibility to think about how your actions will affect the lives of those you are sharing life with.
They didn't play games back then. There was there was no lawyers or trickery in the court system to get people out on technicalities.
So different is this type of thinking from the attitude of many today who think, well, as long as I get what I need out of this, then I'm good.
And they would really be no way for the owner to know that the ox was randomly going to lose its cool and do this. If somebody died because of this, it would be a tragedy, but it wouldn't be the owners fault because the owner then wouldn't be liable, however.
But now we know that the ox is a man killer, so the ox has to be put down. And the reason they weren't allowed to to eat the meat of the ox is because the loss of human life was to be considered a tragedy.
And when there's a tragedy, the end is not to be a giant barbecue. And so for all intents and purposes, after killing a person, the animal was to be considered cursed, cursed.
Now, just because I seem to have some sort of quota of offensive things that I need to say in every message, I have to point out that this law makes it absolutely clear that God does not consider animals to be anywhere close to as valuable as people, because God doesn't say, guys, remember, the ox was just being an ox.
The ox was just doing what comes naturally.
You humans have to learn to share the earth with the animals. The ox had a right to go with that person.
No. God says people are sacred to me, and if there's an animal in your village or town that is a danger to people, that animal has to be put down because people are infinitely more important than animals.
It's OK to love animals, but it's not OK to be confused about what the Bible teaches. People are sacred because only people are made in the image of God. Animals are not made in the image of God. You feel the tension, people are like, how do I get up, do I throw something at him? What do I do? But if you disagree, please, I mean, feel free to send your angry emails to B.J. Verse 8 Verse 8 /29.
But if the extended in other words, if the Oxford was inclined to thrust with its horn in times past.
So so if this was known to do this in the past and he had Gord's some people before, but probably not fatally, and it has been made known to his owner, his owner knew this was the case and he the owner has not kept it confined so that it has killed a man or woman. The OK shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. Totally different scenario.
Now we've got an ox that has been known to be dangerous in the past, and instead of keeping the animal in the enclosure, the owner just continues to let it roam free, knowingly endangering the surrounding population.
In that case, the owner is responsible if the ox kills someone because it was a completely foreseeable and avoidable tragedy and ultimately it was an inevitable tragedy. Verse 8 30, if there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him. The difference in this situation is the owner of the Ox could, instead of receiving the death penalty, come to a financial settlement with the victim's family.
And I suggest this possibility is presented because it's not fully premeditated murder. Additionally, the person most likely to be gored by the ox would be someone who's working in the field, which means they're likely a breadwinner for their family or they're a slave earning money for their family.
And so if the family chose, they could opt to receive financial compensation instead of the ox's owner receiving the death penalty. Because if he got the death penalty, the victim's family now has no income at all.
But if they come to a financial settlement, the family's taken care of Verse 8 31, whether it is a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgement, it shall be done to him. If the Ox Gore's a male or female servant, he shall give to their master 30 shekels of silver and the ox shall be stoned.
Now, now, why is there a different value, a different consequence ascribed to the servant who is killed?
Why is an innocent servant only worth 30 pieces of silver when they unjustly lose their life?
Building a Godly Society (Part 3) Part two not available?
Date:11/8/20Series: Exodus
Passage: Exodus 21:28-22:1....Speaker: Jeff Thompson
Through the Book of the Covenant, God continues to reveal His character and values, including principles like restitution and community responsibility.
We're going through the Book of the Covenant, a collection of civil laws given by God to his people, Israel, to guide them in building a society that reflected God's character and values. And if we were going to title this whole message series in the Book of the Covenant, something different. We could have called it Ethics of the Kingdom, because that's what this is. It is the ethics of the Kingdom of God and how kingdom citizens are to think.
And as kingdom citizens, we are called to reflect the ethics of our Heavenly Father in the way that we treat each other and relate to our community.
In fact, keep in mind as we go through this, the church really is God's society on the earth. Today, the church is called to reflect the character and values of God to the world.
And so as we read through these laws, we need to look past Israel's context a few thousand years ago and look for the ethics, look for the values behind these laws so that we can live in greater alignment with God's values and in so doing, more accurately reflect this character to the world around us.
Now, it's kind of an odd message in the sense that there's no big mega story. We're just going through these different laws explaining them. And I just want to encourage you that every time we open the word of God, God is moving. He's moving just as we're gathered here in his name. He's doing something in us. Even if we don't realize it, he's building up our faith.
He's storing away scriptures for a future time when you're going to need it. He's changing the way that we think.
And so what I want to ask you is if the Holy Spirit illuminates something specific to you and says you need to take note of this, you need to think about this more, I'm talking to you about this. Make a note of that, because that is what God is trying to draw your attention to. We believe is always that the Holy Spirit can minister to every person here individually, as long as you're open to hearing from the Lord tonight.
And so with that, let's jump in that exodus 21 28, super applicable to our everyday lives. If an ox gore is a man or woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall be acquitted. That means exempt from punishment. So back in the day, Israel's context, it wouldn't be normal for an ox to just randomly charge and try and kill someone.
And they would really be no way for the owner to know that the ox was randomly going to lose its cool and do this. If somebody died because of this, it would be a tragedy, but it wouldn't be the owners fault because the owner then wouldn't be liable, however.
What it would have been good to just enjoy a little more destruction. Every Christian has the same testimony. Why did it take me so long? Why am I so stupid? I should have started doing it sooner. May the Lord give us the grace to humbly live under his authority in every area of our lives.
Why?
So that we may be blessed in every area of our lives.
With that, let's pray with you bow your head and close your eyes. Father, thank you so much for the wisdom of your word. Thank you. That you light the way for life. And Father, I ask right now for each of us that you would humble us under your word, but most of all humble us before you because you are God. You are not a life coach offering a suggestion for us to consider. You're the way, the truth and the life you are truth incarnate. And so, father, help us to hang on every word you say and to give it that type of gravity, to give you the honor in the way we listen, in the way we obey that you are.
Do father make us wise by listening to you and obeying you that we might be blessed in every area of life?
I pray right now in the name of Jesus, that that any of us who are not aligned with your will in any area of life. We'll hear clearly from your Holy Spirit right now. We ask that you would illuminate that area to us, that we might repent and walk in agreement with you, Lord. That's what we want. That's what we desire. And so we invite your work in our lives. We welcome it at this moment. Amen
I'm not telling you to do that. What I'm trying to do is highlight the fact that God's commands.
Have always been and always are based on what is best for individuals, families and societies over the long haul. Do you realize this God doesn't look at a child and say, my number one concern is this child's happiness at this specific moment in their life? Somehow God looks at children, he says, my goal is that that person will finish their life in the best possible place with me and with others. That's the goal.
The end is the goal. God parents. And we should, with the end in mind, not the moment.
And so it would be very, very foolish for us to look at our society's current parenting paradigms and say these are the best, these are the most enlightened because our society does not parent or tell us to parent with the long term consequences in mind. It doesn't. It flat out ignores the information. It ignores it.
Yeah, but what's important is that they're happy right now. Right now. I could go into a whole sidebar here, you know, this is the devil's favorite pitch, right? Momentary present happiness for long term consequences and disaster. That's the pitch, right.
Pleasure now. Yeah, but what about later? Don't think about that. Don't think about that. That's the pitch he made to Jesus and the temptation to sidestep it all right now. Don't worry about the long term consequences, you know, like me getting to rule the earth forever and people being damned forever. Just worry about right now. That's the devil's pitch all the time. God says that. That's not how I parent. That's not how you're to build a society.
That's not how you run your family. That's not how you're to treat each other. You're to think long term about what is best, because guess what? That's what love actually is. Love wants what is best for the other person. Love wants what is best for our children.
Love does not want what will make them happy. Right now it wants something even better. It wants what is best.
And that's how our Heavenly Father parents us, by the way.
And that's why I'm going to wrap up with this twice in the Book of Proverbs. Solomon makes this observation. There's a way that seems right to a man. But it' the way of death. There's a way that seems right to a man, but it's a way of death. God's ways are not always easy. Sometimes they are very, very difficult, sometimes they're very hard to obey. But the longer you walk with the Lord, the more clearly you will see that God's ways always lead to life.
And not only that, but usually through the pain of experience, you'll discover that disregarding God's ways and his word leads to death. It leads to destruction in every area of life.
There's no law better than God's. There's no sociologist, no psychologist, no legal professional or politician that has a better or more Life-Giving plan for you and your family than God.
The Lord has seen the end before the beginning even began, the Lord hasn't done a few case studies.
He knows the human heart better than we know ourselves. And that is why it is such a blessing to live your life under the authority of Jesus. And what a joy it is when the light bulb finally turns on and you begin to realize that God's ways are always best and that's because the light is on, you actually start obeying him in faith before it even makes sense, before you can see how it's going to work out because you finally recognize the pattern.
Hey, wait a minute. Every time I trust the Lord. The end result is life. Every time you obey the Lord, I'm glad I did. You'll never meet the Christian who says, Oh, you know what? You know what I wish?
I wish I just stayed disobedient a little bit longer in this area of my life before I started obeying the Lord.
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IndoctrinationLarry Spargimino
June 20, 2022
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Tyrants know that tyranny is not generally popular. Nobody wants an elitist snob ruling over them. Hence tyrants must resort to indoctrination. People who are indoctrinated will tolerate what they would not tolerate before their minds were indoctrinated.
Are our children being indoctrinated? Is that why we are losing more and more of our constitutional freedoms and large segments of our population don’t seem to mind? Is that why China and Russia are raising soldiers who will win wars and we are raising gay pride flags that will make us look like fools?
Why are more and more American men and women no longer joining the military? Why don’t we have pride in our history and a wholesome love for our country?
Statistics reveal trends and certain trends are alarming. Eighty percent of our kids who were raised in church no longer attend church or live a consistently Christian life. The number one reason they have repeatedly given, “The church’s values are not our values.”
That’s no surprise. A good Bible-believing church has not changed its biblically based values but the public schools in America, and some so-called “Christian” schools, have.
As our society and public schools become increasingly more corrupt and anti-God those who attend anti-God schools will find they are increasingly uncomfortable with their church’s values. Parents have raised their kids on the best of diets, brought them to the best of doctors, and then turned them over to the TV and the public school.
I am not condemning all public-school teachers. There are some godly teachers who have a unique calling to work in the public school. However, they are fighting a battle they can’t possibly win. And they are deceiving parents who say, “Mrs. Jones is a good Christian woman and she teaches at the public school. It must be OK.” It’s not. Mrs. Jones does not write the curriculum and she is surrounded by a multitude of teachers who have been indoctrinated in state teachers’ colleges.
Joe Biden is a firm believer in “transgender rights” and recently condemned “conversion therapy,” yet he and his supporters think “Drag Queen Story Hours” in the local public library are harmless. Fortunately, an increasing number of parents are protesting. They don’t want their boys and girls groomed for the gay lifestyle.
Yeonmi Park, a young woman who defected from North Korea, told a Fox News reporter that she is worried freedoms are being lost in America amid what she describes as “the left-wing indoctrination in K-12 schools.”
“This is exactly the dictator’s handbook,” Park said. “It’s Hitler’s youth. Mao’s youth and Kim Il-Sung’s youth. They always go for young children because they have not lived their life long enough to have critical thinking skills. Their brains are very plastic, very malleable, and easy to absorb information and believe it and they are innocent. And big killers who want to seize power from the people, they always mobilize the youth.”
Yes, kids are young and innocent. But what excuse can adult parents give for surrendering their kids to the devil?