Author: Andy

What’s In Store for 2024

Please. Let me start with… do I seem like a prophet to you? Assuredly, I have no claim to any ability to predict the future. Sorry. So why the “promising title”?

What I can see is the present, today, December 31, 2023 and wow! I’m a bit overwhelmed at the moment.

If I may remind you, I am supposed to be semi-retired. Before you ask how that’s working out for me, lemmetellya – not so much. Of course for the next few months I’ll be helping my wife in her business. This year I might be doing more than just answering the phones. Time will tell. Beyond that…

I’ve been asked to help a friend build his shopping cart platform – Netzcart With that I’m beginning to think “hooboy! what have I gotten myself into?”

Look, it is a great shopping cart system – take it from someone who fought with Volusion for seven years. After finally talking the boss into considering finding a new platform and wading through dozens of cart systems, I finally found Netzcart. Other than the fact it was the only one I found that could do what I wanted, I was able to talk directly with the owner – Avner Netz (yes, that IS his real name!) The project was aborted due to some miscommunications causing the boss to question Avner’s integrity. I rather think the boss lost a bit if confidence in me as well but there were other issues at hand too. In any case, the boss decided to stay with the hated Volusion and I eventually parted ways with them.

It wasn’t until recently I got curious and checked – they’ve now gone with Shopify – ugh. Okay, look, Shopify didn’t get to the be the top shopping cart by being awful. They are not – BUT there are a couple of “gotchas” one must watch out for, like how much the price goes up once you hit certain milestones. In other words, like so many others, you get penalized for being successful.

The other one that glares at me – one you might not notice at all is they are geared to b2b operations. For instance: Netzcart offers this cool order page so a customer who knows the item numbers can simply pop them in to place an order – that can be a real time-saver, especially for those golden regular customers.

Not to mention, Netzcart is VERY multi-sales channel AND multi-domain friendly. If you want to sell from your own domain, AND Facebook AND ebay AND Google shopping AND Instagram – you can manage them all from Netzcart. Retail and wholesale? No problem. Setting Multiple pricing levels is a breeze. No wonder I liked the platfrom so much.

As good as Netzcart is, Avner is a much better developer than a marketer. So he reached out to me. What I thought would be a simple thing has turned into a major project. Like I said – hooboy.

There are so many things to tweak and so much to learn along the way. You’d think with 30+ years of sales and marketing background I’d have some sort of handle on all this but I constantly feel like I’m losing my grip. My knowledge is scattered among several categories and much of it needs updating. For instance, I’ve done email marketing but changes in methods, tools, and perceptions require lots of updating.

Adding to my personal “woes”,  there was some bone in my head that decided to pop for a couple of new domains. Like I need that. But I kinda liked the ideas so I went for it. One is “Ishoot22.com” because,, well I want to shoot more and these days, shooting .22s makes the most sense.  And I wanted to blog about it so….

Then there’s “indoorplantpro.com”. Oi. What was I thinking! Okay so I’veWintering Peppers been gardening a lot more in the summer. This  fall I decided to “winter” my pepper plants to get a head start on next spring.  They are thriving.  While I’ve always somewhat held up my “brown thumb” as a sort of badge of honor, my recent successes have caused me to rethink. Then I think back to my aforementioned boss. He was always big on indoor plants. At the time I always thought a plant store would be an interesting venture.

Add to all that the nagging thoughts I’ve had about growing my own herbs for cooking. Long ago we had dinner at a friend’s house. They had a custom built home with a magnificent kitchen because the husband loved to cook. He was fantastic at it too. He grew many of his own herbs and picked them fresh from different pots around his kitchen and adjacent deck.

So I’m thinking I’d like to do some of that. Thus the new site. All I can say is, you got it – hooboy! What have I gotten myself into?

Meanwhile I’ve been neglecting things a bit here at TLC. Fact is, I’m not sure where I’m going with all this. Topping it all off is I’ve still got plenty of ideas for writing projects. Where will I find the time? I don’t know. All I ask is stay tuned and stop back from time to time. If there is something you really want an update on – drop a comment below.

Andy

P.S. If anyone is looking at shopping carts, you already know what I’ll say! I’ll be blunt – Netzcart is NOT the “perfect” solution for everyone but it does tick a lot of boxes. Besides it can’t hurt to get a free quote now can it? I’ll do you one better – put “Andy’s Blog” in the coupon field on the quote page linked here and get $500 off.

Update on What’s Happening Around Here (No, I have NOT been Disappeared)

WHEW! It’s been a month and then some. For those of you, who have stopped by to find nothing new or worse… a broken site, lemme tell ya.

It’s all good.

Nobody has come knocking on my door – a distinct advantage of having a blog nobody reads. I’m still alive and kicking, but I have been busy. More on that in a bit.

The past few days have been a challenge after I decided to launch a new website “I Shoot 22“. Whoa there! No need to rush over. You won’t see much at this point. For one reason was – somehow when installing WordPress on that domain, I broke this one. And it has been a bear getting it back. As you can see, everything is now hunky dory.

Before that, I got talking to an old acquaintance, Avner Netz (Yes, that IS is real name!) He is a shopping cart developer and a good one. His cart is very stable – going on 20 years now – and chock full of just about anything anyone might need. But… he’s a developer, not a marketer so  his platform simply hasn’t grown like some others. That’s okay by him, he doesn’t have to be number 1 in the hit parade. All he wants is a few more decent customers and he asked me for some help and I agreed.

So that’s where I’ve been. Soon, I’ll post more about Netzcart (catchy, huh) and so on but for now I just wanted to let you know all is well and I have not been “disappeared”. Mom.

Happy Thanksgiving

This is my favorite holiday, bar none. This seemed a bit strange after I thought about it because this is a day set aside by man rather than God. Then again, so is Christmas. Don’t get me started on that, but it is quite evident Christ was not born in December and much of the “Christmas Story” is entirely baseless. Nor has the body of Christ been instructed to observe the birth of our Lord and Savior. Back to Thanksgiving… why is it my favorite?

Thanksgiving is the most ignored and despised holiday by those who love holiday profits. So much so, they invented “Black Friday” and proceeded to beat the day to death. Now the prophets of profit cannot even wait until the actual day but begin their “Black Friday” deals days, weeks, even months before the day actually arrives. Insert eye roll here. My contrary nature loves the non-commercialism of Thanksgiving. More than that, I love the fact that this is the day when families get together and break bread. What I don’t like is the overachieving display of food that so often adorns tables, side tables, and sometimes side side tables. I’m a simple guy. I’d be happy with turkey with stuffing, potatoes, and rolls. Okay, don’t forget the gravy. And pie. Gotta have a piece of pie. Already I’m stuffed.

Today, of all days, at least some of us take the time to give thanks to God Almighty for all He does for us. While I try to do this every day, I do like the idea of making a particular effort on this one day each year. If nothing else, Thanksgiving almost demands turning our attention to our Creator. It is a quiet demand and too often ignore. Please do heed the call. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

God bless,

Andy

Confessions of a Poll Worker – Go Ahead – Arrest Me

The subject line above is in response to the meme below. My short response? Bite me.

I just came off of a 15 hour election day. I’m not complaining. It is just a fact. It all started in September of last year when I was mouthing off here about doing one’s part. I put my money where my mouth was and, well, now I am officially an election official in my county. Whoopee.

It was not an easy road. My party head hemmed and hawed about being “full up” or whatever.  Eventually he must have put my name in because I got a letter, did some online training, some group real-time in-person training, worked the primary (even though it was moot by the time primary day arrived – we still had to be there!), got more training, and worked Tuesday’s election. Now I’m ready for the brain dump.

First off all, I get paid. I wasn’t expecting that. It is a now a decent amount. They upped the ante for this last election. Previous officials got peanuts comparatively.  We even get “paid” for training. What a joke. In lieu of the whole ten bucks  (apiece) they are supposed to cough up, we get fed instead. Don’t get me wrong, the food is okay, pizza, usually. This last dinner was actually catered so I had a choice between chicken or ribs. It wasn’t great but it was okay. Anyway, I’m not doing this for free but when I signed up, I wasn’t expecting payment, my intent was to be a good citizen.

Now let’s talk about my coworkers. There were five of us working this polling center. Two from each party. Our chief is an Independent. While they try to balance the political leanings in each group, I don’t think it has to be entirely balanced. I’m not sure the law requires both parties be represented specifically.

As I said, our group is as balanced as they come. The other R in our group was new this election, replacing the R from the  primary.  She was a nice person but there was an issue with the facility that prompted her to ask for reassignment. So what about personalities?

Our chief is a dedicated gal, a hard worker and very conscientious. She’s also very helpful and giving. At our dinner she collected all of our plates and took them to the trash. She just does stuff like that.

The two D’s in the group are both women. (In the primary I was the sole male.) Both are black and both are very nice ladies. One is my age and another is a bit older, I think. Both walk with canes and/or walkers.

The other R in the group this time around is another man. It took me a bit but I finally realized I knew him. I worked on his computer a few years ago. He doesn’t live far from me. He’s a good guy also.

As a group we don’t talk politics. We have talked about a few issues around politics such as taxes, allocation of resources, and such. I can tell you that while we may not see eye to eye on all the issues, we are not all that far apart on any of them. One of the D’s is a former corrections officer. She was talking about the bears in her area keeping her from walking like she should so we got talking about her carrying a gun. She was not at all opposed to the idea. Her greatest concern was the prison Glock she had had too many safety features to be useful. Of course I enlightened her about her choices.

Summing  up, while our group was mixed politically, we are all Americans. We were all there to do our jobs and our job was to help citizens vote and to ensure the vote was fair and accurate. Period. In fact, there is not a lot of room at Virginia polls for fraud. Period. At least not at the polling place I worked. Is it possible some polling places in other precincts could be sullied? I’d say it is possible, but not easy.  Let’s talk about that, shall we?

Let me say first, as an election official, I am still a rookie and on the bottom of the pile at that. I worked at each station there so I can speak about such with confidence. Here, really the only real opportunity to nudge an election, voter-wise, is at the first station – the poll book. The poll book, ours is electronic, is what we use to verify the person standing in front of us is who they say they are AND they are duly registered. Ninety-nine percent (99%) fall into this category. Most hand over their photo driver’s license which is scanned into the system. A couple gave us a voter registration card, also scannable. Now I’d say these cards could be faked so there is a potential for abuse there, but it would take a pretty concerted effort. It is also possible for a voter to simply present a utility bill and vote – a far greater prospect for fraud. These can only vote once but, collect enough utility bills from enough registered voters and wholesale fraud could be perpetrated. I see little standing in the way of dead relatives or friends voting.

As I  pointed out in one of our training sessions, much to the chagrin of the Electoral Board member present, our county is really far too small for anyone intent on massive fraud efforts. He said, correctly, that any potential fraud should be addressed. I agree entirely but I think he missed my point. Sure we should be aware and diligent about any fraud BUT I don’t see it as a festering problem in our county. Someone could flip the whole county to one side and it wouldn’t make a difference in a state or national vote count.

The other gaping hole in our voting system is registration Now Virginia does require a Social Security number to register to vote but I’m not convinced there is a foolproof method of validating this. The issue I raised above concerned bad addresses. If someone’s address is different than what our database says, all the voter has to do is sign a form indicating the correct address. I asked if anyone verified the address. Similarly, if election officials (and I mean those who are charged with validating voters at the system level) are not diligent about verifying eligibility or if the gatekeepers are not kept honest, there is room for fraud. Personally, I’m not convinced security is all that tight.

So let’s move on to the topic of the meme below – start arresting  the poll workers and watch how fast they tell you who told them to cheat. Bite me. Granted there are instances, apparently documented ones at that, where poll workers are suspect. In those cases, by all means, hold them accountable and, yes, election fraud is a prosecutable offence. I am all for prosecution to the fullest. That said, most of us work hard on that day and we are diligent. Our job is is ensure those who vote are legally eligible to do so and every legal vote is counted. In our little group, we did our job admirably, if I do say so myself. Not one of us would even think of allowing cheating.

On the other hand, those who’ve been caught doing stuff they shouldn’t need to be dealt with swiftly and surely.  When this hasn’t happened, the blame rests entirely on those charged with enforcing the law – on every level. If I were to observe fraud, I would report it and I would keep reporting it further up the ladder until someone acted. I would further expect those who did act to act not just on the original perpetrators but on every individual who turned a blind eye up the line. We cannot have this.

A final note.  As I said at the beginning, my day was 15 hours on November 7, 2023. I hear other polling places break the job into shifts. We could not even if it were allowed. (I’m not sure if it is.) The bottom line is, more poll workers are needed. I doubt if our little county is the exception. Why not do your part? Too many gripe and whine about elections and election fraud. Of course our elections should be without question but how can this happen when polling places are understaffed or not properly represented? We invite fraud.

Contact your local Registrar. Put your name in to be an election official.  Come on now, pony up.

 

Ar

AI and the Rise of the Deep Fake

Just this morning a friend sent me a link to a disturbing video loaded on TicTok. Good thing too because otherwise I would never have seen it. I don’t do TicTok. What was the video? There someone was passing on a video someone else made about it an experience with Alexa. Yep, that’s right, a friend of a friend of a friend thing. Oi. So what was all the hubbub about?

Apparently, this dude asked Alexa what the outcome of the 2024 election will be. Okay. Stop. Right. There.

First of all, you have some idiot who spends good money on Alexa. Really? My cranberry jelly has more brain power than that. Next, our fool asked this computer program, owned and marketed by a globalist, what the 2024 election would turn out. Why not just call up your favorite psycho psychic? Get real.

Then cranberry jelly for brains asked when WWIII would start. Um, yeah, Alexa can answer that, or can it? (Get it? Can it! AI in a can! HA! I kill me.) As my college calculus professor would say, “Sure, Alexa can answer that! Whatever it says will be wrong, but it can answer the question.” That is about the gist of it. So what did Alexa say?

Well, it predicted the the 2024 election will not take place due to WWIII. Elections will be suspended and the current administration will remain in place by default. (My paraphrase) On to when WWIII will start. Alexa predicted it would start on March 1, 2024 (NOT April 1? Awwwww!) when China invades the US on the West coast and Russia invades on the East coast. Makes perfect sense.

On a side note here, I did some checking and someone else posted Alexa predicted WWIII will begin on November 23, 2023. WHEW! Now I feel better. I was thinking I’d have to wait until March 1, 2024 to see if Alexa was right. But wait! There’s more…

Looking into this confirmed my suspicions. Okay, it’s kinda obvious if you think about it, we ARE about to be bombarded – with more and more AI deep fakes. It’s been happening for some time now, but I don’t think we’ve seen nothin yet. We can expect to be inundated with deep fakes more and more. No doubt the globalists and other controlling types are drooling at the thought of implementing “misinformation legislation” that will make anything but government approved speech punishable by death. I’m sure you can guess what I think is worse.

Look, it doesn’t take much sense to figure out this Alexa thingy is nothing but badly deployed war-mongering hype. It’s Stupid, that’s right, with capital “S”. The last thing we need is to be further regulated by the power-hungry grubbers in our nation’s capitol. What we do need is to be ever vigilant about what we accept as truth. Let me give you a hint here: if someone is predicting the future, they are almost certainly wrong. They can only be correct if they are speaking for God Almighty Himself and I don’t think He has a TicTok account either. Double down on that if they provide a specific date.

A good analyst can sometimes view a certain mishmash of seemingly unrelated events and come up with an insightful perspective on the things happening around us. No doubt this happens far more frequently than we know. Okay. Fine. It’s even possible or even likely someone has or develop an AI engine that can mimic a good analyst or even outperform one. And, yes, it is certainly possible to see patterns and use that vision to somewhat accurately provide some idea of what might happen next, or even down the road. Ask me what I think might happen with Taiwan. No, I’m not some geopolitical genius, but even I can see China salivating over that tiny island. They want it. They already consider it theirs so it’s only a matter of time before they claim their prize.

Do not confuse competent (or in my case semi-competent) analysis with the ability to predict the future. If you do you might find yourself sitting on top of a mountain waiting for Jesus while your stomach keeps asking if it’s dinnertime yet.

And now I’ll return your computer screen to your regular program.

Side note here, the graphic in this post was generated by… AI. Let that sink in.

Should This Site Come Down…

(from my Police State Review Post)

Oh yeah! One more thing, while watching the movie I got this creepy feeling and started wondering when I might become prominent on the radar. While I’m sure if the globalists were paying any attention to me at all, they would certainly not like what I have to say. On the other hand, my blog, my posts, and so forth are quite obscure. As far as radar is concerned, I’m a dust speck. Should there come a time when “the authorities” come knocking on my door, it might be an indication to head for the hills because I am no threat to anyone. For that reason if you come back and see my site down, disabled, or vanished for any period of time, OR I’ve stopped posting altogether without warning, chances are I am either dead or detained.

Added note: funny thing, when I went to post my review, lo and behold this site WAS down! The cause was a technical issue totally unrelated to anything but ya never know!

Police State Movie Review

First things first, I go to long on to TLC and my site is down so I have no idea when this will be posted. UPDATE: The issue seems to be with the PHP version used so y’all can nix any conspiracy theories 🙂

If you read my previous post then you know I bought this movie on DVD. It arrived Tuesday. I didn’t see the notice until Wednesday and we finally watched it on Thursday.

Police State is apparently available on Rumble I embedded it below for your convenience. I say “apparently” because I finally decided to try to stream 2000 Mules. It is listed on Rumble but it comes up with a short message from Dinesh to jump through some hoops first. Since I don’t think I can do that on my television setup, I haven’t tried it yet.

This movie is first rate. It is well produced and well presented. It is also just a bit scary – depending on how easily you are intimidated. All that said, I did not find much revealed I did not already know. This is not because I am all that savvy. Everything – or most everything – stated in the movie is readily available to anyone paying attention.

While they didn’t come right out and say it plainly – they made the case that our nation is already a police state. We a living in an illusion of freedom. Granted, the control is not complete and will not be until we are totally disarmed but the squeeze is on. Am I alarmed? Well, yes. And no. Allow me to elaborate.

Of course I am alarmed. We all should be alarmed. As Dan Bongino stated in the movie “This is not the country I grew up in.” That pretty much says it all. Should we choose to stand by and let it happen, the usurpers will seize control of everything and we well be forced on our knees or in a grave. So why then, do I say “no”, I am not all that alarmed.

For the most part, my trust is in God. I know He is in control and none of this can happen without His permission. As I’ve said before, the one-world (global) government is prophesied and we could be witnessing the fulfillment of these prophesies. I also believe God could stop all this cold. However we need to come to Him and ask Him to deliver us from this evil. I do as much every single day. Apparently, my pleadings alone are not enough so feel free to chime in. Meanwhile I do what I can, when I can, and live my life. I refuse, absolutely refuse, to live my life in fear.

Meanwhile, I’m conversing, more or less, with KrisAnne Hall about constitutional and other issues. She stated:

This is why VOTING & ELECTIONS ARE NOT a suitable (or intended to be) control of elected persons.

We The People MUST:

1. KNOW how government is supposed to and constitutionally designed to work AND

2. Be the constant control over those in government!

We have been taught lies for so long (since 1830) we believe we have no power and have no idea how to exercise the power we have- Know!

Okay so she alludes to the existence of other means to control those we elect into office. Now I take it we can extend said control over those hired to carry out official duties. Okay. Fine. What are they? She points to her Liberty classes. I asked where in those classes is this taught.

Now look, I’m not trying to be difficult but my time on this earth becomes more limited every day. The last thing I need is another squirrel to distract me. Certainly if there are things I can do to exert my God-given authority, I’m all ears. Even better if I can increase such leverage by joining with other citizens. Recently, I saw an interview on Lance Wallnau with the head of an organization called Kinetic Faith. His organization teaches others to utilize such leverage. While I’m keeping this in mind, I haven’t reached out to them. I may not for the same reasons I’m not delving into KrisAnne’s Liberty curriculum.

One of the reasons I’m avoiding this is because I know myself all too well. I have great intentions but I have lousy “executive skills”. In short, I’m an idea man, not a organizational man. Believe me, I’ve tried and tried again. I have failed at running an organization of one. (me). Given some sort of structure, I can do well enough, very well at times, but on my own, well there’s those darn squirrels, not to mention the rabbit holes. Let’s not go there.

The other reason is God has not directed me to do these things. Now, nothing against Him, but I’ve been down similar paths before and, well, I wonder how often I just think I’ve heard from Him rather than actually hearing. Now look, I know of at least one time I really, really did here a voice “from God”. He saved my life by warning me of some idiot driver who was about to swerve into our car. My wife heard Him at the same time. Now was this God Himself or an angel? Was it audible or not? I don’t know to this day. All I know is the warning was clear and a collision was avoided. Other than that one instance, I’ve been forced to listen for the “still small voice” and I’m pretty sure there’s a place in my own mind too eager to make up for His silence. The bottom line is, I’d need some more sure direction, if not a burning bush, in order for me to begin some major endeavor.

Meanwhile I do my best by continuing to write and post.

Oh yeah! One more thing, while watching the movie I got this creepy feeling and started wondering when I might become prominent on the radar. While I’m sure if the globalists were paying any attention to me at all, they would certainly not like what I have to say. On the other hand, my blog, my posts, and so forth are quite obscure. As far as radar is concerned, I’m a dust speck. Should there come a time when “the authorities” come knocking on my door, it might be an indication to head for the hills because I am no threat to anyone. For that reason if you come back and see my site down, disabled, or vanished for any period of time, OR I’ve stopped posting altogether without warning, chances are I am either dead or detained. (Now that I think about it, I’ll post this much as a sticky. You read it here first.)

 

More On the Resurrection of the Dead

In my previous posts on Peter’s first spirit-filled sermon, I remarked on those things Peter stated indicating the dead are not alive now. From this I pointed out the fallacy of today’s common belief that Christians immediately go to heaven after death. Today, I take this further, looking into scriptures pertaining to resurrection and what is commonly referred to as “the Rapture”. While this second term appears nowhere in scripture, there is certainly evidence of the event it refers to. I’ll remind you another term, born again, does not occur in scripture either but few would argue whether it applies to those of us who confess Jesus as Lord and Christ. My goal here is to explore a number of scriptures pertaining to the resurrection and the coming of Christ to see how they could all fit together.

Let’s begin with Paul in Acts 23 where he faces the Jewish leadership of the day, the Sanhedrin.

Acts 23:6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.

8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

The Sadducees were the ruling sect of the Temple in the first century. The other major sect was the Pharisees though they were in the minority. As the passage above states the Sadducees “say there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit”. They did not believe in an afterlife – at all. Nor did they believe in any spiritual beings other the God Almighty. Now to me, even this presents a problem because while they only accepted the first five books of the bible (and rejected the prophecies and the oral teachings), there are significant references to angels in Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers. I’m not sure how they wrangled those scriptures.

So most Jews in the first century either believed in THE resurrection or that once you’re dead, your dead. Period. It looks to me like there wasn’t much room even then for… “well, you go to heaven immediately after you die.”. Huh.

Moving on, Paul was then brought to Felix, the governor of the province…

Acts 24:10 Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself:

…14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:

15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

Notice this last bit – “here shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust”. Those words “shall be” are significant as they mean something will absolutely occur – in the future. This concept of THE resurrection (capitals mine) refers to a singular specific event. When will this event happen? Consider this conversation Lazarus’ sister Martha had with Jesus…

John 11:20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Be sure to check the context of this verse but I assure you, Jesus did not “correct” her assumption of a resurrection occurring on “the last day”.

Also note, it was established as a surety Lazarus was dead, not hanging out in heaven or some such. He was dead. Had Jesus not called him forth, Lazarus would have remained dead until the resurrection, just as Martha stated.

Look, I understand the sentiment. We hate to see our loved ones die. It hurts. We grieve. Many of us will grasp on to any straw to ease our pain. I get that – BUT, our pain doesn’t change the truth. When Jesus died, the ONLY hope for anyone (other than Jesus) was the resurrection of the just and unjust on the last day. The good news is, Jesus’ resurrection changed this. How?

1 Corinthians 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

Now just wait a doggone minute here. What? Paul gives an order of events here. Christ, They that are Christ’s at his coming and THEN “cometh the end”. Doesn’t make sense that the last day would be “at the end”? Granted that word “day” here certainly refers to a period of time not limited to 24 hours. Even so, also during this period is “when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God”.

There is a sequence here and this sequence begins with Christ rising from the dead, followed by those who are Christ’s as his coming. What’s missing? The rising of the unjust, as you will see below.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Now there has been lots of debate on the concept of the Rapture, a term never used in scripture. I’ve seen so much wrangling myself I’ve had my doubts as to whether to expect this event or not. While I’ve concluded that for me, personally, it doesn’t matter either way, I’m convinced this saying is true:

Jesus is coming back twice – once FOR his saints and once WITH his saints. The second return is this “last day” (again referring to a period of time not limited to 24 hours). What convinced me?

Look again at the scriptures above. Paul speaks of the resurrection of the just and unjust. Martha states this happens on the last day. Yet in Corinthians and Thessalonians, Paul marks out a precise group – “they that are Christ’s at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:23) and “the dead in Christ shall rise first:

(verse 17) Then we which are alive and remain”. In case you were absent that day, those of us who confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised him from the dead are justified.

1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

The word “justified” means to be made righteous and thus gives us the right to stand before God Almighty without any sense of sin, guilt, or condemnation. Why? Because our Lord Jesus paid the price with his precious, innocent blood.

Those who are the “unjust” will need to wait for “the end”. My understanding is those “unjust” will not be alone as both the “just and unjust” will rise on the last day, referring to all those who could not or would not confess Jesus as Lord.

For those who have passed on already, these distinctions are mostly moot. Their deal is done. It’s not like they are agonizing in the waiting room for their turn. We who are alive today have the hope of Jesus’ return. If I was smarter about it, this hope would keep me more on my toes as I’d be expecting Jesus to pop up at any moment. It may not hurt to note here that in the Revelation of Jesus Christ and elsewhere some specific markers are indicated before Jesus returns again – one of the biggies being the “the abomination of desolation”

Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 then let them that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains:

17 let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house:

While I expect to be with Jesus when this happens, if I happened to see a report of “the abomination of desolation” on the nightly news, I’d getnervous – real nervous.

Now I extracted out just one tiny part of Jesus entire prophesy in Matthew 24. You might just want to go read the whole thing for, you know, context. The long and the short of it is, Jesus spoke of his coming – his return. Unlike those verses we read from Paul’s epistles, there is a whole lot going on before and after. The key to these prophesies, as I see it, is the distinction between the “just and the unjust”. Besides this key specification, the indication of the “last day” also points to two different periods.

Either way, how can anyone deny the concept of a resurrection and still claim Christ as Lord and Savior? I see no path for such a contradiction to be valid. Nor can I see any way to incorporate the false teaching that believers go directly to heaven when we die. Yes, I’ve seen the passages often pointed to. I’ve studied them. Taken by themselves, with enough twisting and turning, it surely is possible to pound those square pegs into the round holes but the result fails to stand up to scrutiny, even less when the very clear scriptures are taken into account. On the other hand, those few verses, when viewed in the light of other scriptures fit in just fine.

I’ll offer one solid example – one scripture that is often brought up is such debates:

Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.

23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;

So many have pointed to this triumphantly exclaiming “Ah HA! Here is your proof! Read it and weep, heretic!” (Okay, okay, yeah, I dramatized this a bit. 🙂

After all doesn’t verse 23 above state: “having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better”? It does indeed. And sure enough, it says what it says. But what is actually being stated here? Did the apostle state he when he died he was going straight to heaven? No.

First he said “to live is Christ and to die is gain”. Okay, this tells me he has no fear of death. Great. Then he says “For I am in a strait betwixt two”. In other words, given a choice between living and dying, it would be a difficult decision. I totally understand. Now comes this: “having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better”. THERE! Doesn’t he say when he dies he will be with Christ? No. It does not say that.

Now if you put this last part in parenthesis, it not only agrees entirely with the context but it also agrees with the other times Paul spoke of Christ’s return. The two “choices” were between life and death. The third option was the coming of Christ! Once one understands Paul has to be referring to a third option, all difficulties vanish! So… HOW can we know Paul refers to this “third option”? Because this is the only way this passage does NOT contradict other passages. In other words, you can’t have it both ways.

This brings up another potential difficulty from II Thessalonians 2. As I read the King James Version almost exclusively, I need to be constantly diligent in ferreting out the issues posed by the translators. Believe it or not, I’ve examined this passage countless times and it still gives me pause because I naturally tend take those words I read at face value first and afterwards do the mental gymnastics to work out what it really says.

In the case below, the process became far easier simply by comparing the KJV with the WEB (World English Bible). The verse in question is 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

KJV

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

WEB

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, we ask you

2 not to be quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us, saying that the day of Christ had come.

3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction,

4 he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.

In the KJV, the word for “falling away” is the Greek word “apostasia”. According to Strong’s the word can mean apostasy, falling away, forsake, or defection (from truth). Yet the WEB renders this word as “departure”. Furthermore there are two (at least) views of the usage this word here. One agrees with the folks at Strong’s, contending either way, we should take this to mean the world is forsaking God. I’ll grant you, the idea that the world will forsake God is hard to argue against. In fact I will not do so because, well, just look at the world around us. However is this what Paul was referring to in this verse? Not so fast!

Another way of seeing this “departure” is to view it as a literal departure – as in the Rapture. Seen this way, Paul would be describing a sequence of events that also agrees with his other teachings. This also more readily agrees with the previous verses in this passage.

In 2:1 Paul speaks of our “gathering together unto him”, again this certainly suggests the Rapture. Then Paul goes on to say they don’t want the Thessalonians “quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us”. Troubled why? By “saying that the day of Christ had come”. Next he says that is not going to happen “unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction.”.

Now let this roll about in your mind a bit. How much comfort are you finding in the fact that people are turning away from God? When “that man of sin is revealed” will you breathe a sigh of relief? What about the subsequent events? (Don’t forget Jesus warned folks to head for the hills!) If none of these these things make you feel any better then why would the apostle Paul think they would be of comfort to the Thessalonians?

I cannot speak for anyone else but the one comfort I get from all of this is the idea that Jesus will come back before the stuff hits the fan and we will join him! Now I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, IF Jesus and/or our Heavenly Father asked for volunteers to stay behind, I’m pretty sure I’d be raising my hand. I won’t say enthusiastically but, yeah, put me in, coach. That said, let me suggest something to you… what IF, the Rapture is not just for the sake of us believers? What IF God has other purposes in mind? What IF our extraction is exactly what those who are “left behind” really need to see the truth?

My own conclusion is no matter how you view 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the verse does no preclude the Rapture. Jesus and Paul both specifically say THE resurrection will happen on the last day. We also know this resurrection pertains to those who have died. Paul also states the dead in Christ will rise first and the the living. This statement alone should give us pause for thought. If the living in Christ rise in the twinkling of the eye, who or what is left?

The only conclusion I can come to is Jesus, our Messiah, indeed will come back for those of us born again of God’s spirit, those who have accepted him as both Lord and Christ, whether asleep or awake. Then the rest will be dealt with accordingly

Below you’ll find a couple of sources used in my research. I’m listing these for your information and should not be construed as an endorsement. As you should with all such presentations (including mine) search the scriptures to see if these things are so.

Liberty University – The Rapture in 2 Thessalonians 2

Falling Away

Martha, Paul, and Jesus – the Resurrection of the Dead and the Rapture

In my previous posts on Peter’s first spirit-filled sermon, I remarked on those things Peter stated indicating the dead are not alive now. From this I pointed out the fallacy of today’s common belief that Christians immediately go to heaven after death. Today, I take this further, looking into scriptures pertaining to resurrection and what is commonly referred to as “the Rapture”. While this second term appears nowhere in scripture, there is certainly evidence of the event it refers to. I’ll remind you another term, born again, does not occur in scripture either but few would argue whether it applies to those of us who confess Jesus as Lord and Christ. My goal here is to explore a number of scriptures pertaining to the resurrection and the coming of Christ to see how they could all fit together.

Let’s begin with Paul in Acts 23 where he faces the Jewish leadership of the day, the Sanhedrin.

Acts 23:6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees,and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.

8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

The Sadducees were the ruling sect of the Temple in the first century. The other major sect was the Pharisees though they were in the minority. As the passage above states the Sadducees “say there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit”. They did not believe in an afterlife – at all. Nor did they believe in any spiritual beings other the God Almighty. Now to me, even this presents a problem because while they only accepted the first five books of the bible (and rejected the prophecies and the oral teachings), there are significant references to angels in Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers. I’m not sure how they wrangled those scriptures.

So most Jews in the first century either believed in THE resurrection or that once you’re dead, your dead. Period. It looks to me like there wasn’t much room even then for… “well, you go to heaven immediately after you die.”. Huh.

Moving on, Paul was then brought to Felix, the governor of the provence…

Acts 24:10 Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself:

…14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:

15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

Notice this last bit – “here shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust”. Those words “shall be” are significant as they mean something will absolutely occur – in the future. This concept of THE resurrection (capitals mine) refers to a singular specific event. When will this event happen? Consider this conversation Lazarus’ sister Martha had with Jesus…

John 11:20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Be sure to check the context of this verse but I assure you, Jesus did not “correct” her assumption of a resurrection occurring on “the last day”.

Also note, it was established as a surety Lazarus was dead, not hanging out in heaven or some such. He was dead. Had Jesus not called him forth, Lazarus would have remained dead until the resurrection, just as Martha stated.

Look, I understand the sentiment. We hate to see our loved ones die. It hurts. We grieve. Many of us will grasp on to any straw to ease our pain. I get that – BUT, our pain doesn’t change the truth. When Jesus died, the ONLY hope for anyone (other than Jesus) was the resurrection of the just and unjust on the last day. The good news is, Jesus’ resurrection changed this. How?

1 Corinthians 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

Now just wait a doggone minute here. What? Paul gives an order of events here. Christ, They that are Christ’s at his coming and THEN “cometh the end”. Doesn’t make sense that the last day would be “at the end”? Granted that word “day” here certainly refers to a period of time not limited to 24 hours. Even so, also during this period is “when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God”.

There is a sequence here and this sequence begins with Christ rising from the dead, followed by those who are Christ’s as his coming. What’s missing? The rising of the unjust, as you will see below.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Now there has been lots of debate on the concept of the Rapture, a term never used in scripture. I’ve seen so much wrangling myself I’ve had my doubts as to whether to expect this event or not. While I’ve concluded that for me, personally, it doesn’t matter either way, I’m convinced this saying is true:

Jesus is coming back twice – once FOR his saints and once WITH his saints. The second return is this “last day” (again referring to a period of time not limited to 24 hours). What convinced me?

Look again at the scriptures above. Paul speaks of the resurrection of the just and unjust. Martha states this happens on the last day. Yet in Corinthians and Thessalonians, Paul marks out a precise group – “they that are Christ’s at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:23) and “the dead in Christ shall rise first:

(verse 17) Then we which are alive and remain”. In case you were absent that day, those of us who confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised him from the dead are justified.

1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

The word “justified” means to be made righteous and thus gives us the right to stand before God Almighty without any sense of sin, guilt, or condemnation. Why? Because our Lord Jesus paid the price with his precious, innocent blood.

Those who are the “unjust” will need to wait for “the end”. My understanding is those “unjust” will not be alone as both the “just and unjust” will rise on the last day, referring to all those who could not or would not confess Jesus as Lord.

For those who have passed on already, these distinctions are mostly moot. Their deal is done. It’s not like they are agonizing in the waiting room for their turn. We who are alive today have the hope of Jesus’ return. If I was smarter about it, this hope would keep me more on my toes as I’d be expecting Jesus to pop up at any moment. It may not hurt to note here that in the Revelation of Jesus Christ and elsewhere some specific markers are indicated before Jesus returns again – one of the biggies being the “the abomination of desolation”

Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 then let them that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains:

17 let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house:

While I expect to be with Jesus when this happens, if I happened to see a report of “the abomination of desolation” on the nightly news, I’d get nervous – real nervous.

Now I extracted out just one tiny part of Jesus entire prophesy in Matthew 24. You might just want to go read the whole thing for, you know, context. The long and the short of it is, Jesus spoke of his coming – his return. Unlike those verses we read from Paul’s epistles, there is a whole lot going on before and after. The key to these prophesies, as I see it, is the distinction between the “just and the unjust”. Besides this key specification, the indication of the “last day” also points to two different periods.

Either way, how can anyone deny the concept of a resurrection and still claim Christ as Lord and Savior? I see no path for such a contradiction to be valid. Nor can I see any way to incorporate the false teaching that believers go directly to heaven when we die. Yes, I’ve seen the passages often pointed to. I’ve studied them. Taken by themselves, with enough twisting and turning, it surely is possible to pound those square pegs into the round holes but the result fails to stand up to scrutiny, even less when the very clear scriptures are taken into account. On the other hand, those few verses, when viewed in the light of other scriptures fit in just fine.

I’ll offer one solid example – one scripture that is often brought up is such debates:

Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.

23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;

So many have pointed to this triumphantly exclaiming “Ah HA! Here is your proof! Read it and weep, heretic!” (Okay, okay, yeah, I dramatized this a bit. 🙂

After all doesn’t verse 23 above state: “having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better”? It does indeed. And sure enough, it says what it says. But what is actually being stated here? Did the apostle state he when he died he was going straight to heaven? No.

First he said “to live is Christ and to die is gain”. Okay, this tells me he has no fear of death. Great. Then he says “For I am in a strait betwixt two”. In other words, given a choice between living and dying, it would be a difficult decision. I totally understand. Now comes this: “having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better”. THERE! Doesn’t he say when he dies he will be with Christ? No. It does not say that.

Now if you put this last part in parenthesis, it not only agrees entirely with the context but it also agrees with the other times Paul spoke of Christ’s return. The two “choices” were between life and death. The third option was the coming of Christ! Once one understands Paul has to be referring to a third option, all difficulties vanish! So… HOW can we know Paul refers to this “third option”? Because this is the only way this passage does NOT contradict other passages. In other words, you can’t have it both ways.

This brings up another potential difficulty from II Thessalonians 2. As I read the King James Version almost exclusively, I need to be constantly diligent in ferreting out the issues posed by the translators. Believe it or not, I’ve examined this passage countless times and it still gives me pause because I naturally tend take those words I read at face value first and afterwards do the mental gymnastics to work out what it really says.

In the case below, the process became far easier simply by comparing the KJV with the WEB (World English Bible). The verse in question is 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

KJV

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

WEB

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, we ask you

2 not to be quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us, saying that the day of Christ had come.

3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction,

4 he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.

In the KJV, the word for “falling away” is the Greek word “apostasia”. According to Strong’s the word can mean apostasy, falling away, forsake, or defection (from truth). Yet the WEB renders this word as “departure”. Furthermore there are two (at least) views of the usage this word here. One agrees with the folks at Strong’s, contending either way, we should take this to mean the world is forsaking God. I’ll grant you, the idea that the world will forsake God is hard to argue against. In fact I will not do so because, well, just look at the world around us. However is this what Paul was referring to in this verse? Not so fast!

Another way of seeing this “departure” is to view it as a literal departure – as in the Rapture. Seen this way, Paul would be describing a sequence of events that also agrees with his other teachings. This also more readily agrees with the previous verses in this passage.

In 2:1 Paul speaks of our “gathering together unto him”, again this certainly suggests the Rapture. Then Paul goes on to say they don’t want the Thessalonians “quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us”. Troubled why? By “saying that the day of Christ had come”. Next he says that is not going to happen “unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction.”.

Now let this roll about in your mind a bit. How much comfort are you finding in the fact that people are turning away from God? When “that man of sin is revealed” will you breathe a sigh of relief? What about the subsequent events? (Don’t forget Jesus warned folks to head for the hills!) If none of these these things make you feel any better then why would the apostle Paul think they would be of comfort to the Thessalonians?

I cannot speak for anyone else but the one comfort I get from all of this is the idea that Jesus will come back before the stuff hits the fan and we will join him! Now I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, IF Jesus and/or our Heavenly Father asked for volunteers to stay behind, I’m pretty sure I’d be raising my hand. I won’t say enthusiastically but, yeah, put me in, coach. That said, let me suggest something to you… what IF, the Rapture is not just for the sake of us believers? What IF God has other purposes in mind? What IF our extraction is exactly what those who are “left behind” really need to see the truth?

My own conclusion is no matter how you view 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the verse does no preclude the Rapture. Jesus and Paul both specifically say THE resurrection will happen on the last day. We also know this resurrection pertains to those who have died. Paul also states the dead in Christ will rise first and the the living. This statement alone should give us pause for thought. If the living in Christ rise in the twinkling of the eye, who or what is left?

The only conclusion I can come to is Jesus, our Messiah, indeed will come back for those of us born again of God’s spirit, those who have accepted him as both Lord and Christ, whether asleep or awake. Then the rest will be dealt with accordingly.

Note two articles on The Rapture and the Greek word “apostasy” were helpful to me so I’ll link them here.

Liberty University – The Rapture in 2 Thessalonians 2

Falling Away

 

Police State Premiers Tomorrow – Not for ME!

Shocking but true, but here’s the thing. I can wait. That’s the gist of it. I’ve never been one to have to be anywhere “just because”. That said, I surely plan on seeing the movie.

Yesterday I saw an article on The Gateway Pundit further elaboriting on the plight of Joseph Bolanos, an elderly New Yorker was arrested by FBI and had his apartment ransacked for participating in the J6 rally in Washington D.C.. The reports say Mr. Bolanos never entered the Capital Building. Nor has any evidence been presented of him doing anything illegal. No charges were ever brought.

Until I saw the short, 56 second video on The Gateway Pundit, I never knew Joseph Bolanos existed. I had no idea of the raid, his arrest, nor of the stroke he suffered while in their custody that day. Why would I? None of this ever should have happened. There is no excuse. This is not my America. It is yours?

Meanwhile, I’m waiting for more information about the availability of this movie before I decide. While I’d prefer to stream it, our internet is somewhat “iffy”. Some things stream quite well while other things simply suck. Amazon Prime, for all the rah-rah and touting, isn’t worth watching most of the time. I avoid it at all costs and when I do watch it, it’s a crapshoot. On the other hand, I watched the entire series “The Chosen” streamed from Angel Studios with very few issues. Long story short, we may be headed for the theater again, depending on the incremental costs.

Chess, AI, and The End of The World As We Know It

Okay, I tacked that last bit on at the last minute but it kinda fits. This post was spurred by a video by

Levy over at GothamChess (on YouTube) – Chess is Dead. I’ll spare youMate in Two detailing his rant. Entertaining as it was, his premise was based on a variation of a chess opening played by top GM Magnus Carlsen. The variation and the derivatives* of it have spread over the the internet like wildfire.

* FINALLY! I think I’ve stumbled upon a somewhat clear depiction of derivatives. Maybe I’ll post on that in the near future.

The bottom line is Levy’s contention that the sphere of chess knowledge is becoming finite and thus relegated to rote memory. HUH!?

Excuse me while I yawn. Okay, I’m back. Sorry about that. Am I bored? Not really, but the fact of the matter is, I actually anticipated all this decades ago, though I didn’t realize the implications of those thoughts. Let’s back up here while I explain and hopefully clarify all of it.

Years ago I had an idea for a story. It was just an idea and I never developed it. This was back when I worked for a living and wrote now and then. These days I only work when I must and I write now and then. Anyway, the story…

It opened with a chess move. The verbal response was not a move but a statement:

“You’ve lost, Ben.”

“What?” our hero Ben replies, “I only made one move, how can I lose already?”

“I’ve calculated the result. There is now way you can win in this position”

Now you tell me – isn’t this exactly what Levy declares we on the brink of today? No matter what anyone does, the results have already been calculated and therefore there’s no point in playing chess anymore. So, a couple of thoughts here.

First up, this may be well and good for all those top players out there, but for me? No. I’m not about to memorize all 4,353 gadzillion variations (and counting) so I can win by memorizing all the moves. It’s madness. More pointedly, I doubt if I could do that if I wanted to at this stage of my life. I don’t have the desire to push myself to the upper limits and my age suggests I’m not likely to achieve it.

Okay. Fine. Whatever. I’m sure I’m not alone so, while the game may be doomed for those dudes and dudettes who must reach for the top, for a pawn pusher like myself, not so much. Now here’s where things get interesting.

The Artificial Intelligence Aspect

Ben’s opponent was a computer. More accurately it was a machine with an artificial intelligence engine installed. Now I can tell you (because I imagined it) this AI machine’s capabilities reached far beyond merely playing chess. It was incredibly powerful. However, as the story was likely to progress, it did not revolve around the computer and/or its cohorts taking over the world. No, it was simply a computer. But if you think about it… all of this pulls the curtain back on the world of AI.

The “Chess is Dead” theme did not arise because AI has become so advanced that it can now think better than the best Grandmasters. No. Not at all. So why? Levy’s theme arose because these chess engines are supposedly nearing the completion of calculation all possible chess variations. In short, we humans have finally accumulated enough brute force to get that job done. The same principle applies to all AI.

This is something I’ve been saying all along – Artificial Intelligence is more artificial than intelligent. Computers are great at calculating. They can and do crunch numbers with fantastic speed and accuracy but think about this… if you’ve ever watched anything along the lines of “Good Will Hunting”, you’ll see this immediately. (If the movie doesn’t ring a bell, it is about a Boston kid from the wrong side of the tracks who happens to be a math genius able to solve “unsolvable” math problem. ) What’s the big deal? Those problems really do exist and even the most advanced supercomputers have yet to solve them – or at least some of them. Why? Because those problems are less about crunching numbers and more about actual thinking. In other words…

Computers don’t think. Not really. Yes they do “learn”, meaning they compile data and some can draw new conclusions from the data but any computer or really, AI program, can only venture as far as its programming will allow it. In other words, a computer’s ability to “think” is only as good as the skill of the programmer or more likely, programming team. In the end, either you’ll have a program developed by a single (flawed) programming genius or by a (exponentially flawed) committee. Yeah.

The real danger of the AI craze is not that computers will “take over the world” per se but we humans will be deceived into thinking as much. Chew on that for a bit.

Police State – Added To My Must See List

I don’t do this often but I gotta tell you the video below shook me to the bone. I first saw this posted on The Gateway Pundit.

It’s very short I’ll add my comments afterwards.

 

Granted there’s not much information there but I’m going to take things as is. According to this video, the elderly man who was to subject of this raid was simply at the January 6th rally. They specifically state he did NOT enter the capital. So what if he did? What IF he actually went beyond even entering the capital to commit some serious crime. (Note, I am not convinced anyone who entered the capital that day is necessarily suspect of committing any crime – at least one acquittal substantiates this.)

I’ll rephrase -what could this man possibly have done to warrant a swat team busting down the door to his home, bursting in and arresting him at gunpoint. Note by “gunpoint” I’m referring to at least one modern fully automatic machine gun – something us ordinary citizens have to  apply for and pay a special tax on IF we can buy one at all.

In case you were wondering, yes, the question is rhetorical. This is not my America. This is not an action I approve of and as a self-governing citizen of the United States for America, I say such activity needs to stop immediately. This madness cannot be allowed to continue.

Below is the full trailer to the movie Police State. You can see it in some movie theaters now. Soon it will be available for streaming. As my most loyal reader(s?) can affirm, I recently saw the movie “Sound of Freedom” at the theater. It is a good movie and well worth watching but for the time, effort, and cost of seeing it in a theater, streaming is now a better option for me.

I’m adding to to my “MUST SEE” list. I’ll  post a review once I do.

 

First Spirit-Filled Sermon Part 2

In my previous post I set the stage for Peter’s “spirit-filled” sermon. This was not the first time Peter preached. He was, after all, among those sent out by Jesus – specifically once and most likely the second recorded time also with the seventy.

Luke 9:1 He called the twelve (1) together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.

2 He sent them forth to preach the Kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Luke 10:1 Now after these things, the Lord also appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two ahead of him (1) into every city and place, where he was about to come. …

10 But into whatever city you enter, and they don’t receive you, go out into the streets of it and say,

11 ‘Even the dust from your city that clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the Kingdom of God has come near to you.’

While Peter was no stranger to preaching, the scriptures never hint he was prepared for for his words on Pentecost other than what Jesus prophesied.

Luke 12:11 When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, don’t be anxious how or what you will answer, or what you will say;

12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that same hour what you must say.”

While Peter wasn’t “brought there” in this instance and thus not the actual circumstances Jesus prophesied about, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn those words occurred to some in their circle. That said, let us dispense with talking around Peter’s sermon and delve into the meat of what he said. If you consider his words as “speaking by the spirit of God” and therefore true and accurate then those words speak volumes. Here is the entire sermon. I’ll break out some highlights below.

Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:

26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:

27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

First things first, after Peter straightens out the audience by informing them that no, we aren’t drunken, he immediately quotes the prophet Joel.

Acts 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

There are three things in this prophesy that should stand out. First, Joel says God will pour out His spirit. I’ll leave you with those words without comment at this time.

Second is verse 20 “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:” (Italics mine, for emphasis) This indicates a specific period of time. I see this as saying God will pour out His spirit until the “day of the Lord”. This sort of kills the popular traditional teaching that speaking in tongues and other manifestations of the spirit went away when “the bible was completed”. Then there’s verse 21…

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Have you ever asked yourself… saved from what? While I suspect this may not be the end of what we are saved from, one thing that comes to mind is “the wrath to come”.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead— Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Oh, yeah, that. Moving on… Peter next indicts the audience:

Acts 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

Did you notice what Peter called Jesus? He referred to him as “Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God” (Italics mine). Huh. A man. Approved of God – NOT “God”. Peter knew better. He knew who and what Jesus was and is as well as who and what God was and is. Many might want to point out Thomas’ confession recorded in John.

John 20:28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Peter was there. I’m sure he heard it. I am just as certain he took that phrase for what Thomas meant and not some indication that Jesus is God.

In Acts 2:24 above, Peter states unequivocally that God raised him (Jesus) from the dead. Many in today’s trinitarian circles seem to be confused as to who did what, saying Jesus “got up” from the dead. This implies he had no help. Everything in the scriptural record says God, i.e. our Heavenly Father, raised Jesus from the dead. It was a deliberate act by God Almighty. I point this out because I once faced a pastor who looked me in the eye stating, well, Jesus didn’t really die. He backed up his false teachings with printouts from Wikipedia no less. I kid you not.

Peter then refers to David extensively referring to some golden prophesies spoken by him. The Peter boldly states yet another refutation of a now popular doctrine of man – none of us “really” die but rather are instantly transported to heaven (if we are saved). Do let me now state, that in a sense, I do partly agree with this. We don’t really “die” per se but rather simply sleep. This concept is well backed up by scriptures. However the idea of going straight to heaven, well, that is just without foundation.

Here’s what Peter said about David, whom God Himself called “a man after His own heart”.

Acts 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

Oh, so, David didn’t instantly go to heaven? Not if you believe Peter’s words. The same can be said for Moses and Elijah. Yes, Peter and John did see them “talking with Jesus” on the mount. Can you say “vision”? This is not to say it is impossible for any man prior to Jesus to be hanging out in heaven right now. I don’t know. What I do know is, according to Peter, David was dead and buried on the day of Pentecost and is likely still dead and buried, as is “Aunt Sally”, et al. Once again, this passage does not stand alone but it alone is certainly indicative of what we should expect rather than some plethora of platitudes.

Acts 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Peter once again states Jesus was raised up (from the dead) by God and goes on to say Jesus is at the right hand of God. Verse 22 is quite clear so let’s take a close look at verse 33.

Hoo-boy, this looks like a problem, though it is not easily seen without the help of the Greek texts, so I’ll once again consult my interlinear version. There I see the words “the Holy Ghost” is actually the Holy the Spirit (capitalizations added by me). Thus this seems to state the Father shed forth the promise of the Holy the Spirit. Now I’m just realizing this for the first time so bear with me.

If God is Holy and God is Spirit (He is both!) and He is the Giver and thus can be referred to as The Holy The Spirit – what is this in this verse? I was taught that the designation of both articles “the” in this instance always refers to the Giver who is God Almighty, the Father. Well, I do not see how this can be accurate. Oh-oh – what to do now?

What I did was take advantage of the resources available to me. In this case my resources include a software program, Theophilos, (I love this program!), and the Greek texts I have loaded into it. Now my Zondervan Interlinear New Testament says the interlinear text was Nestle’s. Okay great. I have three others loaded into my Theophilos. One of the neat things about this software is “compare mode” where I can look at several versions of the same verse on one screen. I use that a lot. For this job, I included my three Greek texts – something I normally exclude. Guess what? They don’t all agree on the text! Wescott-Hort agrees with Nestle. Two others, Scrivener’s Greek NT (1894) and Stephanus Textus Receptus only show one article “the”. Is this definitive? No, BUT, this discrepancy does indicate my interlinear may not be 100% reliable.

Now keep in mind, NONE of the texts we have today are originals – not the Greek, not the Aramaic (the common language in Israel in Jesus’ time), and not the Latin. We don’t even know what the original language of the New Testament writings were, much less have them in the original.

What all texts agree on is there was one article “the” used in conjunction with holy spirit. Also note in the Greek the words “shed forth” might more accurately be rendered “poured out”. Now if you ask a trinitarian, I’d expect to hear this verse is proof of the “third person of the trinity” as it mentions the Father and “The Holy Ghost” while referring to Jesus (who certainly is “on the right hand of God). Without the second article “the” such an assumption is really a stretch, at best. Even IF one could assume the second article, the statement is awkward. Think about it.

If such a being as the “third person of the trinity” exists, why would our Heavenly Father need to “shed (it) forth”? Rendering the Greek as “poured out” makes it even more difficult. Not to mention the “having received the promise of (the) holy spirit” refers to whom? This phrase refers to Jesus. How much sense does it make that Jesus would need to receive from our Heavenly Father this promise of the unnamed “third person of the trinity”?

On the other hand, Jesus told us our Heavenly Father would endue us with “power from on high” i.e. holy spirit. Peter, standing up with the eleven, manifesting that spirit, informs those present God has just made good on this same promise. No wrangling needed! That said WHAT did I just say? Let’s look at the verse again.

Acts 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

If, instead, you read “holy spirit” in the above verse instead of “the Holy Ghost”, I’m saying the verse makes much more sense. So…

Acts 2:33 [Jesus] Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of holy spirit he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

On to verse 34-36

Acts 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Again Peter quotes scripture – this time Psalm 101:1

This is a passage deserving of a very close look because the Greek does not give justice to the Hebrew when it comes to the words LORD and Lord. In the Hebrew, the word for “LORD” refers to YHWH – the Hebrew Tetragrammaton for the proper name of God. Meanwhile the Hebrew word for “Lord” is adonai meaning “master” or “ruler”. Understanding this, we can also understand David’s psalm should read

YHWH said to my lord (Jesus – David did not know his name) sit thou on my right hand…

Once again, one need not wrangle the scriptures to make sense of them. The meaning is clear. David prophesied that God Almighty would tell the Messiah Jesus to sit at His right hand until HE make his (Jesus’) foes his footstool. In the next verse (36) Peter goes on to state God indeed made Jesus both Lord (master, ruler) and Christ (Messiah).

I have yet to have any trinitarian explain to me exactly why God would need to make Jesus both Lord and Christ if he was already God. Seems like a lot of work for nothing, if you ask me.

Now lets get to the end of Peter’s sermon – Acts 2:37-40

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

Here Peter wraps it all up after his audience asks what they should do now. “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (holy spirit)”.

In verse 41 we are informed about 5,000 souls came to Christ at that time. Do note Peter’s instruction was quite clear here – “repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ”. These instructions came with a promise that they would receive remission of sins and the gift (singular) of holy spirit.

Much wrong teaching can be refuted from this one simple spirit-filled sermon. By comparing this with other passages, such as I Corinthians 15, we can come to a better understanding of what happens when we die. I cannot explain why people have such a problem accepting the idea that death is like sleep and we will wake when Jesus returns. Instead they grasp the false idea that their loved ones immediately find themselves in the presence of God. They twist and wrestle with scriptures to understand this trinity idea. Why? What benefit is there to this? What is so hard about accepting that God Himself, our Heavenly Father is the Giver and He gives us holy spirit? Why wrangle with the misrendered word for spiritual things (pneumaticos in the Greek – rendered “spiritual gifts” in the King James) so as to entirely misread I Corinthians 13?

When Jesus was operating his ministry to his people here on earth, his greatest opposition came from the rulers of the Hebrew faith. How true his assertion concerning doctrines of men!

Mark 7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Some things never change. I cannot say I’ve done so much better myself. I know what it is like to hold my tongue while church leaders spout such doctrines when I know, I KNOW, they are not what the scriptures teach. Even posting here, on this all but entirely obscure website, I wait for the day when one of my posts rubs someone the wrong way and begins attacking me.

I’ve had brothers in Christ, good men, tell me they doubted my salvation because I stand on my belief Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God and not God. I know what it is like fearing my family will be asked to leave a church because we do not accept trinitarianism. Things were bad enough when I challenged the idea that the dead do not immediately go to heaven. The pastor of that church looked me right in the eye and said, “Well, Jesus didn’t really die”. I understand his logic, if Jesus indeed is God, how could he die? And yet the apostle Paul stated:

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

Now wait just a doggone minute! Nowhere in this passage does Paul state Jesus really died! True that, but how could Christ rise from the dead unless he actually was dead? Of course, this is not the only scripture stating that God raised Jesus from the dead. My contention is Jesus had to actually die in order to be raised from the dead. While this concept is not definitive in refuting the trinitarians, one must ask, is it possible for God to die – even if only for three days and three nights? I don’t know the answer and I decline to speculate further because I do not need to answer this question to satisfy my stand. If Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, a man who lived a perfect life, never sinning, and thus was qualified to shed his innocent blood for payment of man’s sins, then his death is perfectly logical.

As you read this passage in Acts, and re-read it I hope, you will find this impromptu spirit-filled sermon given by Peter chock full of truths. For the most part, I consider this one of the least adulterated scriptures in the Bible. In other words, there’s not much in it for us humans to muck up.

It is so rich, I cannot begin to capture all of the treasures revealed in these two posts. While I have pointed to some of the fallacies taught in today’s churches – those traditions of men – that directly contradict what Peter taught here, this passage should be a starting point rather than the end all and be all for those teachings. By all means, ask questions, search the scriptures for yourselves. I am not opposed or afraid of new light shining on those things I’ve come to understand. Are you?

There is a saying, nothing I found exactly like it in scripture though it rings true. “The eye sees what the mind tells it to see.” I’ve personally witnessed, and experienced, this phenomena, as I’m sure you have too. How many times have you faced a puzzle, a riddle, or some problem where the solution evaded you until, all of a sudden, you saw it. Maybe it just came to you or maybe it had to be revealed but once you saw the solution, you could never again unsee it. This same principle is true of scripture.

2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Do you think Paul, after the truth of the risen Messiah was shown to him, could ever go back to hauling believers to jail? Of course not!

Surely some reading these posts will scoff and click away, shaking their heads or maybe their fists. Others may simply get bored quickly and go find something more exciting. These posts are not for them. These posts are for those who are curious, who want to know more about what God has to offer and are not afraid to seek Him out. Either you are ready to begin your journey or you are on the way already. Either way, I urge you to stay on the path. Keep searching. Do not depend on any one man to serve up God’s truth on a platter. Go directly to the source. Ask God for guidance. Search the scriptures. Pray for understanding, for the scales to drop from your eyes.

If I can say these two posts have a primary purpose, I suspect it is a demonstration of how rich just this small part of the whole can be if you just take the time to look. The scriptures are a gold mine of spiritual truths, but it is up to you to learn how to mine them.

May our Heavenly Father bless you and keep in in the precious name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.