Blog Archives

CHRISTIANS MAKING NICE WITH THE ANTICHRIST [Part 2: Ancient Origins]

Though many Christians believe otherwise, the New Testament does not actually refer specifically to any individual as the antichrist but rather to a demonic spirit…

It is a spirit that relentlessly hates and opposes the Lord Jesus as all evil spirits do but does so in a more robust and formidable manner that includes a specific agenda and a well-organized human component.

BETRAYAL AND MURDER

The direct linking of evil spirits with human beings is, of course, nothing new, as the pages of the NT are literally saturated with such linkings though such unions usually involve the human unwilling. It seemed every day of the Lord’s ministry involved His delivering some poor soul from demonic possession or oppression. These people had no ability to free themselves but would if they could which proves a forced union by a higher power. The Lord Jesus showed that He had an even higher power—the highest power—and was determined to fulfill this particular plank of His mission statement for the sake of granting freedom to whosoever believed in Him, demonic spirits be damned.

Conversely, there were also human beings who entered willingly into covenant unions with demonic forces. Of such was the antichrist spirit organization. It combined the invisible “other dimension” bad guys of New Testament lore with visible boots-on-the-ground flesh and blood bad guys doing the bidding of the former. Such people are those who essentially sold their souls due to their abject hatred of the Lord Jesus and all He stood for as well as their ravenous personal lust for worldly power, wealth, and even fame. One wonders at the mindset of such people and their motivation but it is perhaps easier to comprehend once one understands that their illicit covenant union, international agenda, and unbridled lust go back multiple centuries, even likely to the very beginning:

And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. [Genesis 4:8b]

Cain wavered in his focus on God. He was also having a problem with sin in his life. As a result he failed to discern the proper sacrifice unto the Lord. By his wholly incorrect offering which well-illustrated his spiritual cluelessness and indifferent attitude he showed great disrespect to God:

…Cain was a tiller of the ground. So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. [Genesis 4:2-3]

This was a problem due to a particular unfortunate result of his parent’s rebellion:

“Cursed is the ground because of you…” [Genesis 3:17]

When what he gave was not accepted Cain got very angry and his countenance fell (Genesis 4:5). The Lord explained to him that if he did well he would surely be accepted and his countenance would be lifted up. Yet because he had already proven he was not doing well it proved that “sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you” (Genesis 4:7). The Lord told Cain he must do better.

Regarding sin, He told Cain he must no longer give in to it (lose the temptation battle) but that “he must master it.” (Genesis 4:7). Having a good relationship with God demands this. Unrepentant sin and a good heart toward God never go together.

Now, Abel, on the other hand, had already gained mastery over sin. He had won the temptation battle that Cain had yet to win and Adam and Eve had lost. Abel overcame. Thus, he understood what God required and gave the Lord exactly that. It is why his offering was accepted:

Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering… [Genesis 4:4]

Abel pleased the Lord. His countenance was lifted up already and was lifted up even more when the Lord gave him a good report. He was likely smiling from ear to ear! Cain could have easily learned from Abel’s example but was instead quite bitter. One imagines an intensely angry appearance and surly demeanor. There was obviously something else going on in Cain’s life that kept him from relating to God.

It is likely that Cain had issues regarding his self-worth and was unable to live up to his mother’s high expectations which probably caused him to deduce he would never be good enough. It is also possible that probable spoilage made him feel he was already entitled without achieving anything or obeying God. This unfortunate attitude worked havoc with his relationship with God and caused sin. It is why he did not put the required full effort into giving God “the first fruits.” He was likely too focused on self and the slights he felt he suffered. His attitude gave vent to sin and sin was dragging him down. After the Lord’s correction Cain could have given it his all to overcome sin and get right with God but he instead went the other way. You see, based on the name she gave him (possession, acquired, or “gotten one”), Eve had most likely thought Cain would be the promised Messiah per the prophecy of Genesis 3:15.

…and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.” [Genesis 4:1][1]

THE MESSIANIC BLOODLINE

This momentous occasion had obvious consequential overtones. It was the first time a woman gave birth. Did Eve think it could ever happen again? Did she initially consider it a one-time event? She knew she was blessed and that the birth of Cain was a miracle in that it required the Lord’s providential assistance. Of course, all human births are miracles though most are never acknowledged in such a way. Eve also gave birth to the first firstborn son, an event that was somewhat rare but highly honored according to OT writ and one which was perceived as a special blessing and sign from God.

However, as was often the case in the ancient Hebrew historical accounts that became a somewhat regular pattern, the firstborn son himself was sometimes personally undeserving of such an honor in that he did not respect it or even acknowledge it. We see that especially in the life of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, who had so dishonored himself and disrespected spiritual life that God replied: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Romans 9:13). Cain fell into this same category. In fact, he set the precedent.

Cain, of course, was not the Messiah. He would not even be in the bloodline of the Messiah. Ironically therefore, Cain killed the one who was the very next man in the early generational line of the Messiah after Adam. This would be righteous Abel who was an OT type of Christ. His cold-blooded murder, therefore, meant the Messianic line had been cruelly severed right at the beginning which demonstrates the dirty deed of Cain was not simply an act of uncontrolled anger and passion but one involving a demonic agenda.

A tale so sad proves the presence of an ultra-evil one who was not only in the garden previously but was still hanging around playing with Cain’s head not so long afterward. This “serpent” (nâchâsh) apparently deduced quite well what God was up to in that He intended Adam and his descendants (lowly humans!) to rule over this world, which included ruling over him, and he would not have it. The wicked and oh so shrewd night crawler consequently knew he must stop such a plan ASAP.

Once the devil gained dominion over Adam by successfully tempting him to sin all he had to do next was eliminate Abel and there would never be a future Messiah, Savior, and eternal King. The devil would thus maintain his dominion in perpetuity. There would also be no inglorious tossing of the hissing viper into future eternal hellfire. Thus, his success through Cain marked a win-win for his side and an escape from certain eternal judgment…

Therefore, what Cain did was essentially the same thing Judas Iscariot did. Although this man (Judah of Kerioth) was a disciple of the Lord in apparently good standing and one of the twelve (though a diabolos—John 6:70), he broke relationship with the Lord just before the end and was then actually possessed by satan (Luke 22:3, John 13:27).

With betrayal on his mind Judas quickly joined up with the wicked antichrist temple plotters who had formed a covenant with the antichrist spirit in a conspiracy to kill the Lord.

So we see that the Anti-Christ spirit has a very long history…

WEBSITE ADDRESS: rjdawson.com

Posted in Current Events

9 Comments

Tags: Adam and Eve, America, antichrist, Betrayal, Building the Third Temple, Cain and Abel, Doctrines of Demons, Jesus is the Messiah, Judas Iscariot, Lord Jesus, Messianic Line, New Testament, Real Christianity The Nature of the Church, spirit of antichrist, Spiritual Warfare, Temple Mount, The Great Awakening, Unreal Christianity

Tish’a B’Av: The Destruction of the Temple

Jul 24

Posted by RJ Dawson

Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” [Matthew 24:1-2]

As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.” [Mark 13:1-2]

And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.” [Luke 21:5-6]

When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.

“For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” [Luke 19:41-44] [1]

At sunset tonight begins the 9^th day of the Hebrew month of Av. It was on this exact date that both ancient temples of the Jews met their complete destruction.

Because this infamous date falls on the Jewish Sabbath this year, it will be commemorated on Sunday.

The original Temple of Solomon, which began construction circa 966 BC, was completely destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC on the 9^th of Av.

It has now been exactly 2600 years since that date, and is a clear multiple of 13, the Biblical number of rebellion.

A second temple was built 70 years later, completed in 516 BC, though it in no way resembled the magnificent glory of the original. This temple had degraded significantly for five full centuries until the time of Herod the Great.

In approximately 19 BC, Herod began a massive overhaul of the entire temple mount area that was not fully completed until 64 AD.

Regarding the second temple built in 516 BC, it was essentially completely deconstructed and rebuilt by Herod on a far grander scale, taking less than two years to complete. Though it was not referred to as a third temple, this is a mere semantic overreach insisted upon by Herod and the religious leaders of that time and has always been known as the Second Temple.

It lasted less than 90 years.

On this date in 70 AD, on Tish’a B’Av, it was completely destroyed by the Romans, exactly as the Lord Jesus had prophesied.

Posted in Current Events

1 Comment

Tags: Ancient Israel, Building the Third Temple, Hebrew Calendar, Herod's Temple, Jerusalem, Lord Jesus, Roman Empire, Solomon, The Destruction of Jerusalem 70 AD, Tish'a B'Av

Rejecting The Lord’s Sacrificial Death: Why Are Christians Supporting a Third Temple?

Apr 18

Posted by RJ Dawson

And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.

And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words. [Matthew 27:33-43]

This abuse has continued unabated for almost 2000 years. The Lord Jesus made a perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind but a particular camp has rejected His salvation from day one. It had always been their desire to continue with business as usual, which involved an endless succession of sacrificial animals.

Many do not take the time to consider what serious blood-letting this animal sacrifice system entailed. Over the course of 1500 years during the sacrificial system, perhaps millions of animals were killed to seemingly pay for the sins of the Hebrew people. Of course, it is taught that these sacrifices were not the actual payment for sins, yet the sacrifices had become legal necessities. It ceased being a moral question and became a legal requirement.

It is generally taught in Christian circles that the sins of the world were actually “rolled forward” by these sacrifices. It is taught that these sacrifices were “types and shadows” of the real sacrifice.

Regardless, all of these sacrificial victims were living, breathing creatures that were routinely slaughtered for religious purposes. After a while, there was no more feeling for these victims. The killings had become so routine and quotidian, it provoked no further feeling of remorse or meaning. Rather than understanding that these animals were somehow paying the price for human sins, which should have provoked great remorse in the benefactors, hearts grew very cold instead, and as the dead animals piled up toward heaven, the nation of Israel was not in the least bit affected.

Christians also seem totally unaffected. Not only are Christians just as cold-hearted regarding this blood-letting practice, they are also quite confused, and there is good reason for it.

On the one hand the Levites were continually pushing the sacrificial system as mandatory and binding. They had no reservations whatsoever regarding the ongoing process and considered it vital and absolutely indispensible.

On the other hand we have this:

“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle; and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who requires of you this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, they have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.” [Isaiah 1:11-14]

There seems to be a difference of opinion between the priestly and prophetic voices.

The prophets were telling the priests and the nation that God has no pleasure in the routine religious sacrificing of animals, in that it no longer had any meaning. Of course, no one listened but no one ever listens to prophets, at least not for long. It appears that the prophetic voice does not necessarily exist to bring about the proper change of heart but to merely provide a witness.

The Lord Jesus was telling this story often. In fact, His life was this story.

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. [John 1:11]

So many of His parables were on this theme. He came to shed light and right the course of His people and all He got from them as a national entity was shame and rejection. He warned them what would happen as a result, and in 70AD the nation, the city of Jerusalem, and the great glorious temple of which they could never do without were all utterly destroyed. The destruction that Israel had often wished upon all its neighbors had suddenly come upon them. It is estimated that over a million Jews were killed in the battle against Rome which they provoked.

It did not have to be that way.

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!

“For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’” [Matthew 23:37-39]

To the end, He taught and practiced a message of love for all, as did all His real disciples. Those who opposed Him, however, practiced a pure doctrine of hatred toward all but their own tiny group.

What kind of people do this? How far from God can a people be who would continually kill the voice of God, even unto killing the Word of God Himself? The answer is apparently pretty far, as far as distance can be, and the spiritual equivalent of from one end of a continuously expanding universe to the other. There was absolutely no agreement whatsoever with anything the Lord Jesus did by the religious rulers of the nation at that time. Nor was there any acknowledgement or love for Him.

Who were these people? Why did they possess so much hatred? Why did the nation of millions allow themselves to be led by these despicable, cruel, and ruthless leaders?

We know that a great many of those who followed the teachings of Moses and the prophets later believed in the Lord Jesus and saw Him as their Messiah. They gave their lives to Him and obeyed His teachings. Some authorities even believe that more Jews believed than disbelieved. All through the Book of Acts we see this playing out—those who refused to believe in the Lord but sticking with their religion, and those who accepted Him wholeheartedly.

By accepting the Lord they never surrendered their status as Jews or Hebrews. The Lord Jesus was a Jew and claimed to the Samaritan woman at the well that salvation is of the Jews. All the original apostles were Jews or Hebrews, be they Galilean or Judean, as was the entire community of the Lord for the first seven to ten years of its existence.

Therefore this is not a Jewish question. The Jewish people did not kill the Lord, but those who DID claimed to be Jews. Peter said the Jews killed the Lord but he himself was a Jew.

After the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, why did these Jews/Hebrews who joined up with the Lord Jesus have no problem with the fact that there was no longer any temple?

For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. [Hebrews 9:24-26]

Can it be more clear? How about the following?

For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.’”

After saying above, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. [Hebrews 10:1-10]

This obviously means there was no longer any need for the temple and the temple sacrifices.

But guess what? A seeming majority of Christians have somehow come to believe in the necessity of a new temple! Christians are out there preaching that we need to have a new temple and restart the temple sacrifices!

Many Christians have the same mindset as those in the first century who wanted to hasten the Messiah’s arrival by making things happen. Thus, they are in full agreement with non-believing Jews that a new temple must be constructed on the site of the former ones.

They also believe that this must happen because prophecy says it must happen! They even believe that the Lord cannot possibly return until the Third Temple is built!

Now, let me make this as perfectly clear as possible: The Lord Jesus is not in agreement with this as is clearly shown in the previous Scriptural passages. Isaiah and Jeremiah had also prophesied against the entire sacrificial system over 2500 years ago! The author of Hebrews spelled it out perfectly. One must reject a good portion of the New Testament to accept the need for another temple.

Yet, the purveyors of this contrary religious belief will do it anyway. They are doing it anyway. A seeming majority of Christians are fully on board to support the non-believing Jews in building a new temple, and they don’t care a whit if it means starting WWIII in the process!

The New Covenant teaches that the real temple is composed of people, not stone. Christians read these passages all the time but their meaning must continually fly right over their heads. Some other element has entered in which renders ineffective the pure Word of God. This in turn has allowed for a complete contradiction which many Christians have fully accepted with no understanding of why or having the ability to explain it.

Could this be the strong deception the Lord Jesus warned us about?

It is no wonder then that such Christians are often completely confused, and doing things and believing in things that make no sense. They are supporting those who oppose the Lord. They have lost all sense of reference to the events of the first century, or never had any reference to begin with, or have rejected it outright though it has been presented.

For the Lord and His people, there is no need for another temple, because they are the temple.

For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost. [1 Thessalonians 2:14-16] [1]