UNSURVIVABLE - The Real Danger of Global Nuclear War - World War 3

Thoughts on Memorial Day and War

The Last Memorial Day

by Rev. Paul J. Bern

This weekend we are all celebrating the 2016 Memorial Day holiday. Unlike Veterans Day in November, which celebrates the end of World War One, Memorial Day celebrates those who gave their all during World War Two. This got me to thinking about what the name would be for the day that commemorates all who will be killed in World War Three. One possibility would be “Destruction Day”, the “Doomsday Grand Memorial” could be another. This, of course, is assuming there will be anyone around to name this hypothetical holiday at all. One thing is certain – the 3^rd world war, and it appears there is going to be one as I write this, will be a nuclear conflict with casualties in the hundreds of millions, or even billions, of people. This war, which will actually be two wars to be fought in rapid succession, is foretold in the Bible in Revelation chapter six, verse 8: “I looked, and before me was a pale horse! It's rider was named 'death', and Hades followed close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.”

 

Then a second war is prophesied to take place after that, as the Bible recounts just three chapters later: “The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from one of the horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, 'Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates'. And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.” [Revelation 9: 13-16, NIV] Neither of these wars has occurred as of this writing, but they can both be found in the Old Testament as well as the new. The first war in Revelation chapter six can be found in Psalm 83, and the later one can be found in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 (I encourage everyone reading this to read those three chapters; it takes less than 10 minutes combined, and it will give everyone a better perspective of what I'm writing about). There are currently 7.4 billion people living on the face of the earth, so if the Revelation Six war kills one fourth of humankind, that would come to 1.85 billion people. The second war in Revelation nine will kill fully one third of the people who are lucky enough to survive the first war, or an additional 1.85 billion more (I think it's more than a coincidence that the two figures for the two wars are exactly the same). So it is safe to say that these two wars combined will kill half of humankind, and possibly even more.

Will a 'memorial day' be created for these wars too? The meme for that last one in particular, the one that kills a third of mankind, could be “the war where we went insane”. Another possibility could be “The War That Made No Sense”. My country, the USA, has been at war in Iraq twice in the last 26 years for oil, a substance that should have been rendered obsolete as far as fuels are concerned after the Arab oil embargo of 1973. And yet, here we are in 2016 still using gasoline for a fuel while we asphyxiate our planet – and ourselves – one tankful at a time. Had America switched to, say, cleaner-burning natural gas back in the 1970's when we should have, our air would be proportionately cleaner and the planet that much better off as well. That's exactly why the American incursions in Iraq should never have occurred in the first place! Moreover, had the American military not gone in there then, we wouldn't be having the difficulties with Middle Eastern terrorism that we have been having since September of 2001!!

Albert Einstein once famously said, “I don't know what kind of weapons World War Three will be fought with, but if there's a fourth world war it will be fought with sticks and stones”. Einstein probably didn't realize at the time what a prophetic statement that truly was. With humankind possessing enough nuclear weapons to fry the entire planet hundreds of times over (something Albert Einstein probably never imagined considering that he died in 1955), a nuclear war would render nearly every living thing extinct, especially ourselves. I see no point in World War Three being fought for oil and other natural resources when, once victory is obtained, there is no one left to sell all that oil to! This is completely insane! The US military-industrial complex must stop in the name of God immediately! There are 7.4 billion lives at stake, and mine is one of them! End the insanity! Stop this madness of war for profit or we, the American people, will be compelled to force you to stop!! Moreover, if the US government had done its job by legislating an accelerated national program to replace fossil fuels back in the 1970's when the handwriting against fossil fuels first appeared on the proverbial wall, we would all be driving electric cars now and there would be few gas stations left, with all of them having gone the way of Route 66.

Let's not have to come up with yet another day of commemoration for all those who gave their lives in yet another pointless war. This has gone far enough, too far in my humble opinion. Moreover, Memorial Day commemorates only the soldiers who gave their lives, while ignoring all the untold hundreds of millions of innocent civilians who died in the crossfire. This is not to detract from the extreme importance we attach to those we commemorate this weekend – far from it! May God bless and remain with our fighting men and women, but all I'm saying is, let's make sure we don't ever have to set aside still another holiday like this one. We have Veterans Day and Memorial Day, plus the annual Confederate holiday here in Georgia where I live. Although I personally do not celebrate Confederate Memorial Day because I grew up in Cincinnati (just across the Mason-Dixon line), I respect those who do even if I don't think the same way as my Southern brothers and sisters do). But my point is, three Memorial Days are more than enough. Please, everyone, let's not ever have to create yet another holiday to honor the dead from yet another war. To quote Rodney King, “Why can't we all just get along?” Better still, to quote Jesus Christ, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called 'sons of the living God'” (Matthew 5: 9).

Anything Is Possible: Wives Submit to Your Husbands

Anything Is Possible: Wives Submit to Your Husbands:        When I am asked my views on marriage, feminism and the roles husbands and wives should take I often say "My views aren't pop...

This week's Bible study will be the first half of Galatians chapter two

Eagerly Helping The Poor

[Galatians 2, verses 1-10]

Taking up where we left off in last week's lesson, we find the apostle Paul continuing his recounting of his journey to Jerusalem to meet Peter as documented in the book of Galatians, and before that as documented by the apostle Luke in Acts chapters 17-21. As we continue reading, it becomes apparent that Paul is actually writing in that context. He then uses this as his point of reference as Paul continues his letter, beginning with the first verse of chapter two.

“Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and set before them the Gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose when some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the Gospel might remain in you.” (Galatians 2, verses 1-5, NIV)

Barnabas is a man whose name shows up repeatedly in the written history of the early Church. His name translated into English literally means “son of encouragement”. Barnabas was obviously a man who was a very positive thinker with an upbeat personality – something the world in general, and the modern church in particular, needs a lot more of. Let me tell you all quite frankly that this approach to everyday living is something that I try to practice on a daily basis, and I would similarly encourage each of you to do the same if you're not already doing so. It is also very clear that there must have been a whole lot of Gentiles in Jerusalem, which was the capital of Judaism back then, much the same as it is today. Also, Paul's reference to “the Gospel I preach among the Gentiles” goes back to the book of Acts, when Paul became exasperated with his fellow Jews, who would not listen to him, and who would not accept Christ as Lord, Savior, and as the Son of God. “Your blood be on your own heads!”, Paul wrote. “I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles”. [Acts 18: 6] In so doing, he left the established church of his peers, becoming a Jewish man who had accepted Christ as the Messiah for Jews and Gentiles equally.

And what did Paul mean when he wrote, “... not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised ...”? He is referring to the ancient Jewish custom of cutting of the foreskin of a man's private parts that dates back to at least the time of Moses, and probably even before that. It was intended as an outward sign of one's allegiance to the Jewish nation, the modern Israel of today. This was well over 1,000 years before the ministry of baptism that was first preached by John the Baptist, the man who baptized Jesus in the Jordan river (you can read all about this in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter four). As such, baptism should be considered to be the modern-day equivalent of circumcision – a suitable substitute. But it is what Paul writes next that is the most revealing; “This matter arose when some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves”. Having experienced something similar to this myself, I think I know exactly what Paul meant.

A long time ago I belonged to a church like that. I would have left sooner than I did, but I was the keyboard player in the band and felt obligated to stay, which in retrospect was a mistake on my part. This was a church that was affiliated with a movement known as “Messianic Christianity”, an offshoot of Messianic Judaism, which is the belief within the global Jewish community that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah, and that he was and is in fact the Son of God. I can't help but admire these people, who have seen the Truth for what it is, and Jesus for who He is, in spite of a lifetime of their being taught to the contrary. Like Paul and the other apostles, they have overcome the traditions of the past in order to embrace their eternities in Christ, a most noteworthy trait. On the other hand, the problem with Messianic Christianity as I see it is their insistence on practicing both Jewish and Christian customs together, in the mistaken belief that it is necessary to do both in order to please God. During the holidays they observe both Christmas and Hanukkah, and in the Spring they celebrate both Easter and Passover, and so on. The problem with this belief system is that it isn't true (see Acts 15: 1-21), even though Messianic Christians will use considerable Scripture to 'prove' that they are right. Jesus said, “I have not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it” (see Matt. 5: 17), meaning that by His being here among us, the Old Testament is a done deal, replaced by the New Testament. In the Old Testament, animal sacrifice is required, with the shedding of its blood being an offering of contrition and atonement for the sins of the people. But in the New Testament, the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross is the new atonement for our sins. The precious blood of Jesus has already been shed for us all. It is a replacement for the old, and Christ was the embodiment of that replacement.

This, I am sure, is part of what the apostle Paul was referring to when he commented on people in the early church who wanted to “make us slaves”. If one must adhere to an inherently false teaching in order to allegedly obtain eternal salvation, then that most certainly qualifies as mental, emotional and spiritual slavery. However, I also strongly suspect that Paul, in addition to his documented opposition to Messianic Christianity, was writing about the Old Testament teaching – still in use today, much to the discredit of those teaching it – that one must “tithe” 10% of their income in order to be true Christians. Never mind that Jesus Christ himself has already paid the ultimate tithe as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. Churches continue to twist and distort this outdated teaching, which is no longer relevant to modern Christianity for reasons that I have already written about, and those who are knowingly spreading false doctrines will be unable to escape God's wrath when their – and His – time comes. Having said that, let's now continue our study, starting at verse six.

“As for those who seem to be important – whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance – those men added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.” (Galatians 2, verses 6-10, NIV)

I find it encouraging and uplifting that Paul was very Christ-like when it came to dealing with how people look or how they dress. Paul writes, “... whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance ...”. I have been in far too many churches where the congregation is dressed like models in a fashion show! Moreover, the overwhelming majority of churches here in the US only cater to one class of people – those who can afford, or who can be induced, to “tithe” 10% of their income! I don't know about you, but I am a disabled retiree living on a fixed income, and a rather meager one at that. If I were to “tithe” 10% of my income each month, I would run out of grocery or medicine money before the end of the month. But even more basic than this is the fact that churches on Sunday morning are still the most segregated places in America. Talk about judging others by their “external appearance”!

On the other hand, the church I attend is mostly African American whereas I am Caucasian. I play the keyboards at church, so try and picture yourself walking into a mostly-black church with a black pastor and seeing some unknown white guy playing the keyboards. At first I would probably seem rather unusual – or maybe like a scene from “The Blues Brothers” – especially to first-time visitors regardless of race or nationality. But once the music starts and Christ is made welcome there, the difference in external appearances becomes meaningless, as well it should. But more than that, I make a statement without saying a word – all I have to do in that regard is to walk in and sit down. By making a silent but public stand for church integration, my greatest wish is for others of all races and nationalities to follow my example, and so to follow Christ as the rest of us do. The ugly truth is that the ancestors of every African-American citizen of the US are a very traumatized bunch of people because of slavery. It is up to white people to try and make amends if we can. After all, it's the white race that started all this.

There is one last thing the apostle Paul wrote that I wish to comment on, when he stated, “ All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do”. Remember what Jesus taught us in the four Gospels, that “it is better to give than it is to receive”, combined with another quote from Christ, “The poor you will always have, but you will not always have me”, a clear reference to His ascension into heaven 40 days after Christ's resurrection. Well, if we're always going to have the poor, then I see this as being charged with the dual responsibility of helping the poor while using our lives to emulate Christ Jesus. When I was at the peak of my previous career in computer technology, I had no compunction at all about lending a helping hand wherever it was needed – whether it was financial aid to those in need, or as a musician in church – which is just another way I can give. Fast forward 15 years later, and I find myself impoverished for the most part, living on a pension that is a fraction of what I was accustomed to earning. Yet I always seem to have just enough, and I am convinced that this would not be the case had I shirked my responsibility years earlier by not giving to those in need. Remember, Paul said we should be “eager” to help those in need, as Christ said, which is that “God loves a cheerful giver”. So let's be someone God can love to the utmost by being cheerful givers! If anyone has any doubts whatsoever about whether God really does love them, then all they have to do is become cheerful givers – and God will do the rest. We don't have to give all the time. God doesn't expect us to, and those who teach otherwise are trying to use you like an ATM. Get away from those people! It is the quality and not the quantity of our giving that pleases God the most, just as Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. We can go to church every single day if we want to, but if we do not act mercifully and compassionately towards others who are less fortunate than ourselves, our faith becomes meaningless and our Christianity comes up as being bogus when put to the test. Let's not go there, people. Let's become happier people by focusing on giving instead of seeing how much we can get for ourselves. Let's become cheerful givers and please God to the utmost. The rewards are out of this world!

Jesus, the nitty-gritty, grungy, grimey Son of God

The Positive Side of Human Error

An email from God? That's right.

The Positive Side of Error

Human Error And What It Can Teach Us

by Rev. Paul J. Bern

It has been my observation that people take a great deal of pride and personal satisfaction, not to mention their professional identity, in their educations and professional training. The existence of the Internet constantly reminds us that knowledge is power, but more importantly that knowledge is instantly available. Some self-righteous – even belligerent – individuals take this fact to its outer extreme by going through life with the attitude that unlimited Web access equals unlimited personal power and knowledge. This philosophy of no limitations is the seed from which human failure sprouts, having failed to recognize that human intelligence has its limits despite a wealth of available knowledge. King Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, “The Lord catches the wise in their craftiness”, and the prophet Isaiah wrote, “The intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate”, and, “God had chosen the foolish things of the world, and the simple, to confound the wise”. So much for human intelligence. 

 

The fact of the matter is that we do not learn anywhere near as much from formal education as we do from our own mistakes. For example, I will use the household cleaner known commercially as “Formula 409”. How did the inventor come up with this name? He had to make 408 different formulas that didn't work in order to come up with one that did. That means he/she had to make 408 mistakes in order to come up with the winning formula that we know today. Life experiences work exactly the same way. We learn and adapt from our experiences as we go along in life because that is how the human brain is wired. Our brains learn from constant modification based on our surroundings, our environment and the sum of our experiences. On the other hand, being right can also have its benefits. As pleasures go, it is, after all, a second-order one at best. Unlike many of life's other delights – chocolate, the great outdoors, movies, books – it doesn't enjoy any mainline access to our biochemistry: to our appetites, our adrenal glands, our sex drive, our emotions. And yet, the thrill of being right is undeniable, universal, and (perhaps most oddly) almost entirely undiscriminating. Nor does subject matter; we can be just as pleased about correctly identifying the model year of a vintage Corvette, or correctly identifying the sexual orientation of our co-worker. Stranger still, we're perfectly capable of deriving satisfaction from being right about disagreeable things: the downturn in the stock market, say, or the demise of a friend's relationship.

Like most delectable experiences, rightness isn't ours to enjoy all the time. As the apostle John wrote, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and his Word has no place in our lives.” (1^st John chapter 1, verses 8-10, NIV) Clearly, humankind is prone to error because we're made that way. The time-worn phrase, “Nobody's perfect”, continues to be a gross understatement, and it always will. I think the biggest reason we enjoy being right is because it happens so relatively infrequently. Because when we're not, we're the one who loses the bet. And sometimes, too, we suffer grave doubts about the correct answer or course of action – an anxiety that, itself, reflects our desire to be right.

On the whole, though, and notwithstanding these lapses and qualms, our indiscriminate enjoyment of being right is matched by an almost equally indiscriminate and sometimes irrational feeling that we are right. At times, this feeling spills into the foreground, such as when we argue, evangelize, or make predictions. Often, though, it is just psychological backdrop. Most of us go through life assuming that we are basically right, basically all the time, about basically everything: about our political and intellectual convictions, our religious and moral beliefs, our assessment of other people, our memories, our grasp of facts. As absurd as it sounds when we stop to think about it, our steady state seems to be one of unconsciously assuming that we are very close to infallible. Most of us navigate day-to-day life fairly well, after all, which suggests that we are routinely right about a great many things. And sometimes we are not just routinely right but spectacularly right: right about the orbit of the planets (mathematically derived long before the technology existed to track them); right about the healing properties of aspirin (known since at least 3000 BC); right to track down that woman who smiled at you in the cafe (now your wife of 20 years). Taken together, these moments of rightness represent both the high-water marks of human endeavor and the source of countless small joys. They affirm our sense of being smart, competent, trustworthy, and in tune with our environment. More important, they keep us alive.

Individually and collectively, our very existence depends on our ability to reach accurate conclusions about the world around us. In short, the experience of being right is imperative for our survival, gratifying for our ego, and, overall, one of life's cheapest and keenest satisfactions. Yet even that can be an illusion (or a delusion, take your pick) as the apostle James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote: “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.” (James chapter 1, verses 9-11, NIV) But the ministry of Christ was aimed towards those who were willing to acknowledge their imperfections, just as Jesus said: “I have not called the righteous, but sinners to repentance”. As a minister myself, I am glad when I'm right, but more interested in how we as a culture think about error, what the Word of God says about it, and how we as individuals cope when our convictions collapse out from under us. If we relish being right and regard it as our natural state, then our feelings about being wrong are the exact opposite. For one thing, we tend to view it as rare and bizarre – an inexplicable aberration in the normal order of things. For another, it leaves us feeling idiotic and ashamed. Like the term paper returned to us covered in red ink, being wrong makes us cringe and slouch down in our seats; it makes our heart sink and our resentment rise. At best we regard it as a nuisance, at worst a nightmare, but in either case – and quite unlike the gleeful little rush of being right – we experience our errors as deflating and embarrassing. And it gets worse. In our collective imagination, error is associated not just with shame and stupidity but also with ignorance, lazyness, psychopathology, and moral degeneracy. It is the common view of oneself that our errors are evidence of our gravest social, intellectual, and moral failings.

Of all the things we are wrong about, this view of human error might well top the list. It is our mega-mistake: We are wrong about what it means to be wrong. Far from being a sign of intellectual inferiority, the capacity to err is crucial to human cognition. Far from being a moral flaw, it is inextricable from some of our most humane and honorable qualities: empathy, optimism, imagination, conviction and courage. And far from being a mark of indifference or intolerance, wrongness is a vital part of how we learn and change. Thanks to error, we can revise our understanding of ourselves and amend our ideas about the world. For those who refuse to acknowledge their errors, King Solomon wrote about people like them in the Book of Proverbs, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death”. (Proverbs 14: 12) People who insist on going their own way end up getting consumed by it. The lucky survivors wind up in jails, mental hospitals, rehab, or any combination thereof. Given this centrality to both our intellectual and emotional development, error shouldn't be an embarrassment, and cannot be an aberration. On the contrary, as Benjamin Franklin once observed, "the history of the errors of mankind, all things considered, is more valuable and interesting than that of their discoveries." I believe the healthiest and most productive attitude we can have about sin and error is that however disorienting, difficult or humbling our mistakes might be, it is ultimately wrongness, not rightness, that can teach us who we are. And in the end, it is that recognition of our own sinful, mistake-prone nature that ultimately leads us to the sole solution – Jesus Christ. Ask Him into your hearts today. Jesus came that we might have life, and have it to the full. Go ahead, just do it.

This week's Bible study will be the 2nd half of Galatians chapter one

Being the Best Possible Witness For Christ

[Ephesians 1, verses 13-24]

This week we'll be finishing up the first chapter of Galatians. There is some very weighty stuff in here, which is why I divided this chapter into two parts. The apostle Paul is continuing his train of thought regarding preaching the true Gospel, and his criticism of those who had strayed from the Way (as it was known back then), who were evidently preaching the Gospel with their own ulterior motives, which were usually financial. To use 21^st century vernacular, these people were teaching sensationalist messages that warped and twisted the true Gospel for the primary purpose of maximizing the collection of tithes and offerings. The proverbial money changers had reentered the Temple, having not learned their lesson when Christ threw them out the first time (see Mark 11: 15-18). Unfortunately these types of “churches” (Religion Inc., as I call them) continue to proliferate even to this day, much to the discredit of Christianity overall. I find myself dismayed that there are not more Christians like me, people who are unafraid to stand up for truth and against false doctrines, who are willing to make a stand against the corruption and lawlessness that currently exists in the main-stream church. On that note, lets take up where we left off last week beginning at verse 13.

“For you have heard of my previous way of life in Jerusalem, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were Apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.” (Galatians 1, verses 13-17, NIV)

The “previous life in Jerusalem” that Paul mentions here has to do with his organized persecution of Christians in the first century up to the point of his conversion on the road to Damascus (see Acts chapter 9). For info on this topic, I need to mention a few verses from the book of Acts in the New Testament. Prior to his conversion, Paul – who up until his conversion was known as 'Saul' – actively persecuted Christians. It is documented in Chapter 7 of the book of Acts that Paul was not only present, but took an active part in the execution of St. Stephen. Stephen's capture is written in chapter 6 beginning at verse 8, but for now I will focus on his execution because that is where Paul is documented to have been present. I will begin in chapter 7, verse 54, and I quote:

“When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 'Look', he said, 'I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God'. At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit'. Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them'. When he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.” (Acts 7, verses 54-60, NIV)

Remember at the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus taught us to “love our enemies” (Matthew 5: 43-48)? Stephen followed this commandment to the letter when he openly and audibly forgave those who were in the process of killing him. It is one of the finest examples of maintaining our Christian integrity even unto death that I know of, not counting the supreme sacrifice of Christ himself. I highly recommend reading the story of St. Stephen in chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Acts, it is most inspiring! But for now, you no doubt noted Saul's (later Paul's) presence at this historically documented event in early Church history.

Paul continues to make his point with the Galatian church by contrasting his own higher calling with that of Stephen without mentioning him by name. The likely reason for this is that he didn't need to – St. Stephen at that point was and remains one the most well-known martyrs and most beloved saints of all Christianity. Paul acknowledges his guilt before the entire church, but then explains his redemption and call to the ministry when he wrote, “God, who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me that I might preach him among the Gentiles.” One must understand the gravity of the apostle Paul's statement here regarding his preaching among the Gentiles, or non-Jews. He has already documented his zeal for Judaism, and for the persecution of the early Church. In those days it is much the same as today, with the majority of Jewish people having nothing to do with any non-Jews, and clearly Paul was no different prior to his conversion. So it is noteworthy that he was called to preach to the Gentiles, a people that he normally would have nothing to do with (racial, religious, and sectarian prejudice existed in abundance in those days, an issue that mankind continues to deal with to this day). And yet, as he wrote, once his calling was clear and sure, he began his ministry – and his apostleship – without hesitation, something I wish more of us would do each day for the betterment of His kingdom. Like the apostle Paul, we too are called as Christians by the grace of God to be ministers of Christ. That doesn't mean we all have to be pastors, or teachers, ushers or musicians. It also doesn't mean we all have to speak in tongues, as one certain denomination – who I will decline to name – continues to erroneously teach. But we are all servants, just as Christ taught, “Let he who wants to be the greatest among you become the greatest servant”. Let's now continue at verse 18.

“Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles – only James, the Lord's brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: 'The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy'. And they praised God because of me.” (Galatians 1, verses 18-24, NIV)

Evidently some of the 'profitable churches' that I mentioned in the beginning of today's study were claiming that the apostle Paul had been to places where he actually had not – namely, theirs. I can think of no other reason he would make the statement he made in verse 19, that he had never met any of the other apostles, living or otherwise. But what strikes me the most in this last part of chapter one is Paul's description of the reputation he had built over time, which he sums up as he writes, “God, who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me that I might preach him among the Gentiles”. No longer is Paul the traditional Jew Saul, he has quite literally been “born again”. The is exactly what Jesus was teaching Nicodemus (John's gospel, chapter three) when he said we must “be born again of the water and of the Spirit” [John 3:6-7]. I'm not going to discuss the different definitions of baptism taught by the denominational churches of today. I can only write that this is what the Bible says, and it is beneficial for all who believe to claim their dual baptism in Christ for the strengthening of our faith. Like Paul, we must live our lives as if we had been set apart from birth, as all Christians have. We need to live our lives so that others “will praise God because of me”. We are to be different from the rest of the world and all its foolishness, we remain separate from it, and we as Christians will thrive on that. And that's always a good thing. Next week, we'll move on to chapter two.

An Email From God. Seriously.

What If God Sent an Email To Organized Religion?

by Rev. Paul J. Bern

Given the state of affairs of organized religion throughout the world, and particularly here in the US with Johnny-come-lately “Christian” presidential candidates such as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, I can't help but wonder what God must be thinking about all this. As you likely recall, Mitt Romney stated during his 2012 presidential bid that, if elected president, his first act as chief executive would be to launch an airstrike on Iran. Keep in mind that this is the same guy who is opposed to abortion and who calls himself “pro-life”. He fights for the rights of the unborn, but if you're already alive and living in Iran, you're toast. That doesn't seem quite right to me. On the other hand, if you live in Syria, where the government is slaughtering the governed, you're on your own. Yet in Iraq, where there is plenty of oil, we occupied that country while killing over 100,000 Iraqi civilians, over half of whom were women and children. But that war was supposed to be different because we toppled a terrible dictator. Never mind that that same dictator, none other than Saddam Hussein himself, was a former CIA collaborator and “asset”. So much for loyalty among allies. Yes, that's what our country has been doing in the Middle East since Gulf War 1 back in 1990-91. And it is the American military-industrial-incarceration complex that has been doing this same thing throughout the globe since the end of World War Two.

Meanwhile here at home, one person in five depends on food stamps to eat due to unemployment or inability to earn a living wage. People can't afford to get sick or hurt in an accident because if they do, the medical bills they are about to incur will bankrupt them. Twenty four million Americans can't find a job – but since they can't afford to go back to school and get retrained because of the staggering cost of America's for-profit higher education system, they remain stuck in their situation with no relief in sight. As I wrote in my first book, “The Middle and Working Class Manifesto”, our country has more than enough money to pay for lifetime medical care and higher education for every single American who wants either or both. All they have to do is call off all the wars and bring our troops home. As I explained in that same book, if the US government took all the money that is spent in just one day on the wars/occupations in the Middle East and Afghanistan and put it all into an interest-bearing bank account, there would be ample funding for 4-year college educations for every school kid in America from pre-K through high school, including tuition, books, housing, food and transportation. Yeah, just one day's war expenditures would do that. Besides, there is sufficient legal precedent doing this very thing in the form of the GI Bill that was passed by Congress after the end of World War 2. If they could reeducate us then, they can do it now. All that Congress has to do is make the G.I. Bill available to everyone.

But what do we have instead? Overseas military adventures purely for the sake of economic domination by the US against any country regardless of cost. This is not just unsustainable, it is sheer madness. Our government has been taken over by a bunch of sociopaths. They operate from behind the scenes bent on world conquest at any cost, and they are an integral part of the so-called “new world order”. Unless they are stopped they will take the world over the brink of the abyss of World War 3. Yet these people are, by and large, religious conservatives of one church denomination or another. Their counterparts in the Muslim world are similarly conservative religious fundamentalists. Only their names for God are different. Yet, as far as I am concerned, there is only one true God who is undoubtedly far greater than the sum of all the world's different religious faiths combined. If this very same almighty God, who is “The Great I Am” and who sacrificed his only Son so that we may all have eternal life, sent us an email about all this mess down here on earth, I think it would be worded something like this:

“My children, I appeal to you all to return to what you call the New Testament, the chronicles of the life of my only Son and the instructions he left behind. I offer this directly to the peoples of earth, without intermediary, cleric, or agent of any kind. Circumstances have compelled me to sever all ties, contracts and assignments with my representatives on this planet. You see, I have been completely dissatisfied with their performance of their duties for some time. Children get molested in some churches, adultery runs rampant in others, while still others have turned their churches into businesses and have enriched themselves with material possessions beyond all reason. You pastors and evangelists who drive around in cars with six-figure price tags while flying around in your own jets, you know who you are. There's nothing wrong with having a nice car and a comfortable house, but a good bit of that other money should have been used to feed the poor and house the homeless. But the rape of Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan, crimes committed in my name by the USA, not counting the additional war plans they have made, has forced my hand. The perversion of my will displayed by these despicable acts, and so many others, has left me no choice. I hereby fire my earthly representatives, they no longer speak for me.”

“Humankind, however, remains in my affections and you always will. We need to start again with the New Testament (not to discount or devalue the old) and work towards better days. But it would be remiss of me not to explain why I have taken such drastic measures. To put it bluntly, war displeases me. Five thousand years of war among the humans over the right way to pronounce my name has exhausted my patience. I will no longer be responsible for any murders committed under color of my authority. I much prefer that you who claim to believe in me should put some legs on your faith. It's good when you fast and pray, but it's far better to go and find someone in need and doing whatever you can to help him or her.”

“Someone who goes to church every Sunday but does nothing more during the week is a Christian in name only in my eyes. Someone who donates for a good cause to charity, who volunteers their free time without expectation of compensation or who is a role model for the fatherless, that person will find favor with me. Those who visit the sick, the elderly and the prisoner, and someone who is a defender of the widow, the orphan, the homeless, the mentally ill, and other vulnerable individuals, it is they who are truly following in my Son's footsteps. I created you with a divine Spirit in my image. But you persist in bastardizing that Spirit and ruining my image when those who don't agree with you about whether or not it is permitted to draw my face find themselves bombed back to the stone age! Until you prove you can worship the divine Spirit I put in all of you, and desist from the mayhem and slaughter that you love more than me, I shall summarily reject and disallow all claims to my providence.”

“You have banded yourselves into tribes, nations and races and the results have not been pleasing to my eye. I take some responsibility for this distressing development; I should not have given you an earth so large. But had I started with a smaller Eden, you would have corrupted and polluted it until it became uninhabitable many thousands of years ago. You have proven yourselves incapable of understanding the panoply of laws and wisdom I laid down for you, when I set you upon the earth. I have been mistranslated by your spirit guides and abused by your leaders. Perhaps I was too complex. Let us try to simplify. Respect my creation and all the inhabitants thereof. Any so-called religious leader who tells you otherwise is a false prophet and does not represent me, my brethren or any part of my Kingdom which is soon to come.”

“Those of you who find comfort in organized religion may feel free to continue to do so. I understand – I created you as vessels for love and love rejoices in the presence of others. Keep your churches, mosques and synagogues, but cease your bickering. And remember, when you engage in bloodletting, you commit blasphemy. I realize that in severing my ties with so many of the sects, denominations and "holy men" that you rely upon for moral guidance, I have created confusion where there was once certainty in your souls. But that cannot be helped. Your certainties were almost certainly wrong and most certainly misapplied.”

“But do not despair, my children, for I have not abandoned you. There is a little piece of me inside all of you, a fail-safe guide to good and evil, a moral compass that never leaves you, a true voice you can hear amid the storms of fire that drive you mad with hatred and confusion. It is called your conscience and it always points towards my Son; follow it and you will be walking in my Light, ignore it and you'll be lost in the darkness cast by your own shadow. So here is my 'new' first commandment to you: I have given you a conscience. Use it.”

“Sort that out to my satisfaction and maybe in another decade or so we can talk about the dietary laws.”

Illuminati 2017: Predictions!! We must reach mass awareness! WATCH NOW!!!

America is sick with greed, and I'm just plain sick and tired of it!!

Bible study this week is the first half of Galatians chapter one

Paul Speaks Out Against False Teachers

[Galatians 1, verses 1-12]

Let's now continue on to the book of Galatians in our studies of the apostle Paul. Not many letters have had such a great impact on the western world as the letter of Paul to the church at Galatia. Indeed, this letter became the cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation. It has also been called the “Magna Carta of Christianity,” and this is truly an accurate description. On the other hand, Romans is generally regarded as the greatest of Paul’s letters, and the Roman church became one of the major centers of Christendom. It is therefore not surprising to find that both these great letters are quite similar to each other in regard to their content. However, their occasion and purpose are quite different. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the audiences to which these letters were written, their purpose, and the historical circumstances which prompted them to be written. As we begin, we find the apostle Paul giving one of the many churches he founded a warm greeting, but then his tone abruptly changes as he begins his message.

“Paul, an apostle – sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead – and all the brothers with me, to the churches in Galatia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever, amen. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than what was preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so I now say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1, verses 1-9, NIV)

As was the case in my previously studied letters from Paul to the Roman and Corinthian churches, so it is here. The apostle Paul's famously flowing and lavish greetings to each of the churches he founded is how he consistently starts his letters to all these churches. Notice that he uses the opportunity to remind the churches at Galatia of the faith which unites them all, that of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and of His conquest of death itself. I find his reference to “the present evil age” rather interesting, in light of the fact that we live in a far more dangerous world now than the one Paul lived in when he wrote those words. He lived in and during the height of the Roman Empire, and Rome ruled over its subjects with an iron fist. Step out of line and they squash you like a bug. Now, where have we heard that before? Oh yeah, it's what happens in modern times to Occupy Wall St. demonstrators and protesters when they encounter law enforcement in the streets. It's also what happens when corporate, governmental or military whistle-blowers expose criminal activity within their organizations, and oftentimes when they expose stupidity, incompetence, abuse of power and conflicts of interest. True Christians should aspire to be like like any of the above individuals, because true Christians are unafraid to stand up to evil and corruption regardless of cost!

Paul then immediately changes gears, so to speak, in verse six when he insists on knowing how and why they decided to change their interpretation of the Gospel from its original meaning. “Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the Gospel of Christ”, he wrote. He does not go into details about what he meant by that, so whatever it was it surely wasn't good. Paul holds back nothing in his judgment of those who were apparently changing certain things within the message of Christ that changed the contest or meaning of the Scripture being read. Anybody who knowingly changes the meaning or interpretation of God's word is calling God a liar, and we all know what happens to people who do that. Unfortunately, there are still people today who make a very comfortable living doing exactly that. They simply do not understand the gravity of what they are doing, nor the level of sin in their lives resulting from their actions. Their condemnation will take them completely by surprise.

It's critical to understand here that the Bible is the written word of God. It was not written by any one author, nor by several authors, particularly in light of the fact that the Bible from a historical vantage point covers about 4,000 years of human history. The Bible is so much more than merely a perennial best-seller, and there is a very good reason for that. The Bible tells the story of the salvation of Christ, which is a gift from God that is beyond compare. We do not receive this salvation because we earned it by being good persons, we receive it by God's grace, which is defined as unmerited favor, like a gift. The best example of this would be the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who loved us so much that He offered himself up as a living sacrifice for all our sins. So it should be with us, giving ourselves up as living sacrifices for our Savior. Let's read how Paul ties this into his message to the Galatian church:

“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know, brothers, that the Gospel I preached is not something man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1, verses 10-12, NIV)

In these three verses the apostle Paul sums up his comparison of the message of Christ to all the other impure versions of the gospel that were being disseminated in the Galatian churches. All the variations of the gospel being “preached” and “taught” were completely bogus. The one true Gospel is the one imparted to the 12 apostles first, then to Paul, and then outwardly to all who sincerely believe. From that time up until now, by “revelation from Jesus Christ”, it is these very words that we are reading. As the apostle John wrote in his gospel, the reason those who believe in God love Him as much as they do is because “God loved us first”. God loved us from long before we were born. Let's all make sure we reciprocate that love by emulating Christ, but also by adhering to the Word just as it is written. If we fail to do this, our faith and beliefs become compromised at best and polluted at worst, which will bring our very salvation into question in God's sight. Let's not make that mistake, but let us 'stay the course' towards our eternity with Jesus. And next week, God willing, I'll be back to go over the rest of Galatians chapter one.

Watch out that no one deceives you

Bogus Doomsday's, False Prophecies,

and the Real Returning of Christ

by Rev. Paul J. Bern

Over the last several years I have seen a lot of blog postings and also viewed a number of video's regarding Biblical end times prophecies, doomsday reports such as the impending start of World War Three, as well as predictions about catastrophes such as monstrous killer earthquakes and the planet Nibiru and so on. For example, just this past week I saw a video on You-tube titled, “Nibiru enters earth's orbit”. Undoubtedly the majority of you have already heard of this wayward planet, also called “Planet X”, or more recently “Planet 9”. Although it is factual that the presence of a large planet has been detected on the outer rim of the known solar system, NASA estimates this planet to be somewhere between Neptune and Pluto, or well over two and a quarter billion miles away. Moreover, this hypothetical new planet is estimated to be roughly two thirds the size of Jupiter, or approximately 60,000 miles in diameter. If this 9^th planet were to enter the earth's orbit, or be as close to earth as the earth is from the sun, it would be clearly visible in the sky, even during daytime. Enough said about Nibiru.

A California pastor and radio host named Harold Camping made what turned out to be a series of false prophecies dating back to the 1980's, the most recent (before his “retirement”) being that the “rapture of the church” would occur on Saturday May 21, 2011 at exactly 6PM. “Rev.” Camping and others like him have brought judgment down on themselves and their congregations (except for those individuals who left) by uttering prophecies that have turned out to be without substance. Such predictions give non-Christians one more reason to discount the Bible. In another example, many secularists dismiss the Bible because they assume that it teaches the world is only 6,000 years old. In reality, the Bible never makes such a claim about the Earth’s age. Instead, some well meaning Christians have misused the genealogies in the Bible to attempt to ascertain the date of creation. Second, predictions about the end of the world always lead some people to make foolish decisions. Just as every teacher knows how unproductive and unfocused students are the week before school lets out, God knows how tempted we would be to neglect the responsibilities he has entrusted to us if we knew the date we would be “raptured” into heaven. That is why God refuses to show us his calendar and instead instructs us to focus on our assignments. But the most harmful consequence of false predictions is that it discourages people from making the necessary preparation for the real event when it actually occurs. But some will be tempted to join the chorus of cynics whom the Bible predicts will mockingly say, “Where is the promise of Christ’s coming?” (2 Peter 3:3-4). Let's not forget that it was Jesus himself who said to his apostles that no one knows when he is coming back to the earth, not even himself, but only his heavenly Father. Let's pause and look up what He said about that. “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. 'Tell us', they said, 'when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?' Jesus answered, 'Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come, claiming, 'I am the Christ', and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” [Matthew chapter 24, verses 3-8, NIV]

I'm sure you noticed the very first sentence of Christ's response, “Watch out that no one deceives you”. At this point it is easy to see that Jesus was talking about the times in which we are currently living. The increased number of earthquakes that have been recorded over the last decade or more are in the news almost on a daily basis. When it comes to famines, humankind has them in spades, starting with a 2014 United Nations report saying that 50,000 children per day, ages 5 and under, die from starvation globally. But these things, our Lord said, are just the beginning. There will be a lot of “false Christs” who will deceive an awful lot of people. Jesus wasn't only talking about people claiming to be Jesus Christ in the flesh, he was talking about entire churches or even denominations. 'Ours is the true way', one church might say, and yet another different from the first may say the same thing. Jesus was talking about divisions within the body of believers, as well as phony con artists operating without.

At this point, I really should add some additional background to add more clarity to this week's message. I'm going to mention three things here – the Great Tribulation, the coming of the Antichrist, and the “rapture” of the church. Whatever anyone has read or heard elsewhere, get ready to enjoy hearing and be warned about the truth about the world's future as the Bible tells it. Most everybody knows about the 7-year Great Tribulation that is prophesied elsewhere in the Bible, mainly in the books of Daniel and Revelation, and which were written many hundreds of years apart. This 7-year period will be the final seven years leading up to the return of Jesus Christ, who will proceed to rule the world from its new capital in Jerusalem for 1,000 years. The main argument revolves around the timing of this 7-year period. Some say it hasn't started yet, others insist we 're already in it. There are many details I could delve into regarding this matter, but it all boils down to what Jesus told his apostles: “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father”. [Matthew 24: 32-36, NIV] Based on that last sentence, if anyone tells you orally, in writing, or on a You Tube video the exact date of Christ's return, you can be certain they are lying, and that's the nicest way I can put it. Many Biblical scholars and pastors, unfortunately, take the phrase, “this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened” and try to add something that isn't there. You probably know that the nation of Israel as founded on May 14, 1948. You likely also know that a 'generation' in the Bible was considered to be 40 years when it was originally written. For all you long-time Christians like myself, it was widely prophesied on the then-relatively-new Christian TV stations that Jesus would return one generation later on May 14, 1988. Much to the discredit of main stream Christianity, we all know what happened back then, and one of the purposes of this week's posting is to try and prevent this from happening a second time during these last days.

What am I talking about here? If 40 years isn't what Jesus meant, many Christians are saying, and the average life expectancy here in the 'end times' is a little over 70 for men, then 1948 plus 70 years equals 2018. Aha!! So that's when our Lord will return! Got it, now let's get ready! Wait, wait – stop. With slightly less than two years to go until this date, I can tell you without reservation that, like 1988, May 14, 2018 will most likely come and go without any major incidents. “No one knows the day or the hour”. Isn't that what the Lord said? Not even himself, He stated. Now let's look at this from another angle. If May 14^th, 2018 is the day of Christ's return, and since the Great Tribulation is of 7 years duration, then the 'tribulation' should have started back in the Spring of 2011, and the Antichrist should have come to power sometime last summer or so. Clearly, since none of these has occurred, those other “predictions” won't come true either. So, now let me move on to the second topic, and that is the coming of the Antichrist, who will come upon the world scene according to the prophet Daniel (see Daniel chapter 12 in the Old Testament), as well as the book of Revelation chapter 13. As before, without having you all plunge headfirst into the murky pool of end times prophecy, let me make a generalization or two. In the first place, World War Three and the Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39 in the Old Testament are one and the same. Moreover, the Antichrist will not come to power until just after this war's conclusion. While I would be quick to agree that the stage for WW3 is currently being set, we aren't there just yet – but, continue to watch events unfold in the Middle East very closely, because that's where it's going to start. It will not be until the conclusion of that war that the Antichrist will come to power to enforce his own brand of peace, and that is when the countdown to the final 3.5 years will commence before Christ's return. The final event before our Savior's return in this context is the Battle of Armageddon, which is not the same as the God-Magog war of Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. So, to dispel another myth or false teaching (take your pick), World War Three and Armageddon are two different battles set approximately seven years apart.

The final end-times issue I want to discuss is the so-called “rapture” of the church (I'm using quotes because the word 'rapture' isn't in the Bible). The “rapture” of the church is the abrupt taking away of Christ's Church, allegedly at the beginning of the 7-year tribulation prophesied in the Bible. Many modern pastors and nearly all TV evangelists are teaching this as being factual. Only our heavenly Father knows for sure, just as Jesus said above. A generation or two ago, few mainline Protestant churches discussed the second coming of Jesus Christ. Fifty years later, however, televangelists, network television programs, movies and books like the "Left Behind" series — which has sold more than 60 million copies — have succeeded in placing the return of Jesus Christ in the public consciousness. A 2004 Newsweek poll revealed that 55 percent of Americans believe in the “rapture”, the snatching away of all Christians prior to the end of the world and the return of Jesus Christ. Speaking as a Web pastor who preaches often about Bible prophecy, I am grateful for the general awareness people have of the promised return of Jesus Christ. My hunch is that the date God ultimately has chosen is one that will not be plastered on billboards around the country. Make no mistake about it, Jesus is coming back some day. Over 1,800 verses in the Old Testament and 300 verses in the New Testament prophesy of the Lord’s return. But I sometimes find some modern interpretations of Scripture leaving something to be desired, and the teaching about the “rapture” is one of them. To find out the truth, all we have to do is read a little farther in Matthew's gospel beyond where we were when we started. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and be put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Because of the increase in wickedness, the love of many will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” [Matthew 24: 9-14, NIV] 

 

Now let's go back to the Book of Revelation for some similar scripture: “The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given the power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast – all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. He who has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patience and endurance on the part of the saints.” [Revelation chapter 13, verses 5-10, NIV]

After reading through these two carefully chosen passages of Scripture, there should be no remaining doubt in the mind of every reader that there will be no 'get out of jail free' card for any of us. If you're watching a preacher on TV, or at the church you attend, and you find yourself hearing about a “pre-tribulation rapture”, stop watching that preacher or find a better church in your area, because I just proved with the two passages above that there is no “rapture”. I let the Bible do the talking for me, this isn't just my opinion. The rapture is a false teaching!! Of course, there will be many people who will cite 1^st Thessalonians chapter 4 (“behold, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed”). Problem is, that chapter isn't talking about the second coming of Christ, the apostle Paul was writing about what happens when we die. Go back and read First Thessalonians chapter four, verses 13-18, and chapter five, verses 1-6 in any Bible version you want, and you'll see what I mean. Those verses are about what happens when we die! The church will not escape the brutal rule of the Antichrist or the horrors of World War Three. We're going to be right in the middle of it, and many of us could even get killed. Moreover, this will be happening on a global scale, meaning the United States will not escape what's coming upon the whole world – the real Tribulation yet to come. I don't think we'll have much longer to wait. Prepare yourselves accordingly.