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REMEMBERING JFK
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on this day 59 years ago at 12:30pm. It was the result of a conspiracy.
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[If you are reading this at the WP Reader, please read at my website. Thank you.]
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I wrote the following on November 22, 2019:
I remember when it happened. As was my routine, I had gone home for lunch. My grade school was within easy walking distance.
It was getting close to the time when I should be heading back. I was sitting right in front of our small black and white television. My mother was a few steps away in the kitchen. Suddenly, whatever I was watching was interrupted. There was a news bulletin. One could almost sense the haphazard effort of the station in relaying the shattering news while trying to maintain professional decorum. A man with a strong and hurried voice began speaking. The president has been shot…
The United States of America changed forever on that fateful day. After 56 years, the majority of Americans know the official story is full of holes. This was proven early on. But a very strange thing happened. Though evil people were having their way, Americans insisted on supporting the official narrative. As more truth leaked out regarding what really happened, and as many knew in their gut something was not quite right, it became one’s patriotic duty to do the very opposite of what should have been done.
This let those in control know they were in good shape. The country was in their hands. They could do whatever they wanted and would not only get away with it but would never even be questioned. Everything changed at that point. Fast, dramatic change ensued. Regarding the country, it was all for the worse. In the space of less than four and a half years our president was murdered in cold blood right out in the open in the bright sunshine in a gruesome display. His brother, who surely would have become president in 1968, was also killed right after securing the Democratic nomination. Martin Luther King was also murdered by a sniper two months earlier. Each one of these cases involved much subterfuge and unanswered questions. Quick verdicts were reached in the official narrative. The vast majority of Americans went along with the official stories though many had private doubts. What happened to the country?
THERE WAS ONCE A REVOLUTION
Throughout the period of the 1760s to mid-1770s patriotic American colonists grew increasingly concerned about the great lessening of personal liberties and the increasing power plays of a distant British government. These people were a relatively small minority. Most American colonists were full-bore Tories who either supported the King and Parliament without question or were too apathetic and ignorant to care one way or the other. By the time independence was declared these three groups comprised roughly the same percentage. Only about a third of Americans were willing to commit themselves fully to the cause of outright revolution to secure their individual liberties which had been under severe attack for several years by those who saw their control weakening and who must strongly reassert its position of rule to overcome any notion of freedom from said rule.
How did only a third manage to overcome the other two-thirds? It is fully understandable that the third of Americans which fully supported the British overlords did so to protect their wealth and social standing. People like this are cowards at heart. They have little or no concern for others, those who make up the majority, who are on the outside looking in and do not share in their upper class stature. Their lives are not about higher ideals and ideas but merely a social position brought on by comparatively greater wealth and the desire to make friends with power—those who would advance them in their careers and protect their higher place in society.
Regarding that other third, the apathetic group, these people are also well-represented in history. They are those who never stay informed, don’t care about truth, will stand for nothing of any real importance, are willingly ignorant, and are basically only along for the ride. They like floating down lazy rivers. They find the whole idea of taking a stand for higher values and ideals ridiculous. They have no understanding for laying good foundations for future generations. They can barely see beyond the end of their nose. The present is what they care about, just like the Tory group, but they don’t care about it enough to make any attempt to excel.
REAL PATRIOTS
Back in the 1960s the generation in charge still held to the false notion, “My country right or wrong.” The most insane occurrences were taking place all around from day to day and it seemed that most would insist on keeping a stiff lip and hard face refusing to question anything. Had they been brainwashed? Why could they not see the evil? Why did they continue to support those in power who were violating the Constitution on a daily basis and doing whatever the hell they wanted to insure that the rich and powerful gained even more wealth and power?
King George III and the British Parliament never came close to the violations inflicted on America less than two centuries later. It has only gotten worse since. We now live in a semi-surveillance state in which our God-given rights and freedoms have been seriously curtailed by the very entity supposedly existing to insure them. Where are the real American patriots? How many are left?
Exactly 56 years ago powerful people conspired in the dark to remove the President of the United States because he refused to go along with an ongoing sinister plan to run roughshod on We the People. They were willing to kill him in broad daylight to achieve their goal.
And they got away with it.
© 2019 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
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I wrote the following on November 22, 2020:
It has been exactly 57 years. An American President was brutally gunned down by an evil element in Dallas, Texas. That evil element gained great power that day. It has only increased in power since.
One can always tell when evil has gained a foothold: Evil unlawful acts not only proliferate but have no remedy. No matter what one may do to overcome the evil nothing works. It may be stopped temporarily. There may even be modest gains against it at times but such minimal losses are often quickly gained back. Exponentially speaking, evil continues on an upward trend.
At last a few bright people figure out that the reason for evil’s upper hand growing greater is because it is being fed. Somehow or another evil has gained access to great funding and support. These few bright people then figure out that evil is gaining this funding and support surreptitiously. In other words, otherwise good people have been deceived into supporting an evil element. Such good people are not so wise because only the unwise allow themselves to be fooled continually.
This is why, in Old Testament parlance, God always sent prophets. The prophetic voice was clean and clear. It was strong and unwavering. It was sent to shine a Light on TRUTH. It was sent to wake people from their spiritual slumber. Through the prophetic Word, the Lord Jesus identifies good and evil. He tears away the cloak of deception. He reveals the evil element behind the curtain.
When the unwise but otherwise good people then understand that which comprises the evil element, they cease supporting it. As its funding and support begins being cut back it no longer has the free ability to wreak havoc as before. In the effort to save itself it uses that much more of the only weapon it possesses: More evil. —More sin, more lies, more cheating, more obfuscation, and more dissembling. By this it only reveals itself all the more.
We are living in the days of a Great Awakening. Pay attention.
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
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In 2021 on this date I posted a compilation of the preceding two posts from 2019 and 2020. Before proceeding with today’s 2022 post I will add a comment I made in the 2020 post:
Yes. Times have changed radically over these last 57 years. Regardless of President Kennedy’s flaws, he was aware of a great evil element and did all he could to successfully fight it. He saw that it threatened great evil for the country. He had limited success against it but was making progress. In the end he was simply overwhelmed by it with too few standing with him. And of course, evil being what it is, the evil element had no reservations about murdering him in cold blood if it came to that. And it did. Everything immediately changed for the worse that day. It was the end of America as we knew it. The American people in large part never caught on, but this is changing.
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” [John 8:44]
2022
As you can see, I established an annual tradition regarding our remembrance of our former President John F. Kennedy beginning in 2019. This will be the fourth year in a row. It was on this day, November 22, 1963, that JFK was murdered in Dallas, Texas. It was 12:30 in the afternoon. Though the day began with a dreary overcast and rain it slowly began to clear up as the morning progressed. By the time the President’s plane landed at Dallas Love Field the day was transformed into bright sunshine. There was much excitement and joy in the atmosphere. Little did the people know that an evil element, unseen to all, had been planning a brutal assassination for what was likely months.
Regardless of the various theories regarding the conspiracy that took the President’s life, the most plausible ones have much in common. There was certainly a secret cabal that had been cobbled together. Each participant had its own reasons and motives. As always, however, as I have often mentioned in these pages, the primary motive for such always boils down to power and wealth. The power and wealth of some very powerful and wealthy individuals, some at the state level, had been threatened. Such people operate largely in secret though their outer façade may be well known. Most people do not understand that there are always primary hidden agendas. That which is presented on the surface is mere cover for what lies beneath. What you see in the major media is mere window dressing designed to obfuscate and lead people off in the wrong direction. It is a deception game.
Remember, the greatest lie the devil always tells is that he doesn’t exist. Remember also that a major part of the Lord’s ministry was exposing the devil and his scurrilous hidden machinations. Evil always operates in the dark because it must. Otherwise its cover is blown. People catch on. Most people, sadly, never catch on and are easily deceived. It explains why the enemy gets away with his ongoing crime spree. We are talking multiple generations here. If you have never considered this side of history—actual history—you have work to do.
A great many authors have written a great many books about the assassination of President Kennedy over the last 59 years since the terrible event occurred. Some have gotten pretty close to the truth. When one reads these books and continues keeping up on the subject as new light comes forth it furthers one’s understanding of how and why it happened.
A CONSPIRACY
It is the same when one reads the accounts of the murder of the Lord Jesus. Of course, the word “conspiracy” and the term “conspiracy theory” have been branded by the perpetrators of such conspiracies as silly and foolish and used only by the screw-loose crowd. But the Lord Jesus was certainly murdered as the result of a conspiracy.
The religious leaders who controlled the synagogues, the Pharisees, wanted Him dead pretty much from day one. They hated everything about Him. This explains who they were working for and were aligned with. Remember, the Lord’s own people in Nazareth, the people who knew Him well and among whom he grew up, tried to kill Him the first day He preached there. (“Welcome home. Good to see you. Wait. What did you say?! It’s off the cliff with you! Let’s get Him!”) There’s a fine how-do-you-do.
Those who controlled the temple complex also came to hate Him once they understood more about Him. The wealthy Sadducees had become hopelessly corrupt by that time. They were closely aligned with the money power and Rome. It took them decades to arrive at such a place. The priesthood was also corrupt. It had become so corrupt that a large element of the Zadok priesthood, over a century before, had pulled up stakes and left Jerusalem entirely. These became the Essenes. They set up shop out in the wilderness by the Dead Sea, wanting nothing to do with the corrupt city or temple.
The deciding blow of the conspiracy against the Lord came when both the Pharisees and Sadducees, ostensibly religious but both great lovers of money, who had already conspired together, also conspired with the Zealot Party, which comprised the terrorist arm of the nation. The Zealots were murderous ideologues who would stop at nothing. They hated and despised Roman authority. They were pledged to throw off the yoke using any violent means possible. Once these people were brought on board the Pharisees and Sadducees were virtually assured of success. They did not realize at the time, however, that they had made a deal with the devil, so to speak, that would come back to bite them later on like an enraged rabid dog. It was primarily the Zealots who eventually caused the destruction of the nation.
How is it then, that these three great powers who conspired together, those that essentially possessed all the wealth and political power of the nation, could end up losing everything less than forty years later? It all came to an end in 70AD. The original city of Jerusalem and the great temple were both reduced to rubble. The entire place was wiped clean. The only structure remaining was the massive Roman Fort Antonia. The Roman emperor Hadrian built an entirely new city only sixty plus years later. Nothing that presently exists of the current city of Jerusalem, other than Fort Antonia, existed at the time of the Lord. It was a total annihilation, just as He had prophesied.
Thus, their great conspiracy ultimately failed. It succeeded in that they did conspire to kill the Lord Jesus and did kill Him, just as did the conspiracy to kill JFK had succeeded. The problem with the former conspiracy was that the Lord Jesus didn’t stay dead.
It could be that America won’t stay dead either.
© 2022 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
YES, THEY REALLY ARE THAT STUPID
I wrote this article over five years ago. Since then, things are now much worse in America. For the majority, the corrective continues to be rejected.
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[If you are reading this at the WP Reader, please read at my website. Thank you.]
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All over the country millions of Christians are going through their usual church routines this morning having not changed one iota for the last five years, or the five years before that, or the fifty years before that. Are they blind? Lazy? Rebellious? Deceived? Hopelessly stuck on tradition? Under powerful authoritative religious rule and control that has robbed them of their spiritual identity? Whatever the case, I posted the following on October 23, 2017:
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The Lord gave us a wake-up call in 1906. What happened then illustrated how powerful the Lord can be when we get it right, even in the face of great opposition.
It was a powerful event. What was just as striking, however, was the usual resistance of the opposing authoritative Christians. The humble organizers, the good guys, those who were merely self-effacing enough to seek and obey the Lord, were hounded from the very beginning and eventually forced into using the most rudimentary building for services.
They began in a house, but the movement grew too big too fast and they couldn’t allocate enough houses fast enough, so they were blessed with a bigger building, though old and run down. It had much in common with the Lord’s actual beginning, something we lose the significance of over time. But there really wasn’t any room anywhere in Bethlehem for the Lord to be born. No residence, no inn, no nothing where people normally live. He ended up with the farm animals, something equivalent to our barns, but a small one. He apparently had no problem with this. He even expected it. He expected this world to treat Him in such a way. He was born anyway, in a place none of us would ever permit our own babies to be born, regardless of circumstances.
The same thing happens with His work. The apostle Paul said no people of higher bearing are chosen, in general, for the Lord’s work, largely because they deem themselves far too important. They are also ultra-pampered. There is no room for a pampered preacher in the Lord’s real work, but we are besought with pampered preachers everywhere you look. In fact, this has become the standard.
Where then, are the real preachers? Where are the real Christians? In general, you will rarely find them in the limelight. William Seymour was a one-eyed black man shunned by much of Christian society yet the Lord worked wonders through him. The apostle Paul has been wrongly relegated after the fact as some sort of high churchman or great theologian. Of course, he was certainly brilliant, but much more so in a spiritual sense. Prior to his own personal Pentecost he used his theological brilliance and high religious standing to do the very opposite of what the Lord had intended for him. How did he get so lost? How did he get so caught up with his own pride? How did he ever get so full of himself?
One might ask about 90% of today’s so-called pastors and preachers and priests and what have you. To show what must be done NOW to correct this is to show what had to happen to Paul—the Lord knocked him down, thoroughly humiliated him, showed him who the boss was, blinded him and made him helpless, and then completely revamped his life. He showed him how he was completely wrong and on the wrong path and had the wrong attitude. He could have just let him go to hell but He knew Paul would respond correctly to the correct stimuli, which in this case involved knocking him on his butt and destroying everything that he had previously held dear.
Paul responded properly. He quickly ascertained that he had been a giant jerk of the worst kind and was thoroughly embarrassed. After a few days his sight returned. He underwent full repentance, giving himself totally to the Lord for whatever purpose no matter how difficult. He went through further humiliation, from a religious view point that is, by immersing himself in water in the Name of Jesus, the name of his new Master and Savior, and he was soon filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s all right there in the Book of Acts. It was a complete changeover, beyond even a total remodel. The old Paul was DEAD. A new Paul was BORN.
RESISTING REAL CHRISTIANITY BRINGS GRADUAL DEPRAVITY
The same thing must happen to Unreal Christianity in America or it will continue the death spiral it brought upon itself and has engaged in ever since it rejected that which all must submit to for new life to come forth. It is not so much that the Lord cares all that much for trying to set right those Christian leaders who will never change or repent, like so many of the Pharisees of old. It is that He wants to rescue all those good-hearted Christians living in a lesser state, as Paul was, who are deceived and blinded by fake Christianity. They will never be set free from within. It must come from without, as the Lord must do so much from without since He has been rejected so much from within.
Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind… [Romans 1:22-28] [1]
© 2017 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
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The Lord Jesus will never stop trying to wake us up and turn us around, and talk sense to us, and break us from our dependency on religious rebellion, in order to save us and free us, because He loves us, enough to die for us, even if it means knocking us down while on our own personal road to Damascus.
© 2022 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 8)
Real Christians MUST understand that Unreal Christianity is a devious enemy. It is a false façade operating deceptively diverting Christians away from the full Gospel truth.
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RELIGIOUS FAKERS AND FAKERY
In case one has yet to get the memo, evil will do ANYTHING to get its way. We know from the way the devil tempted the Lord that he is a master manipulator and deceiver. If he would engage in such powerful tactics with God Himself he would certainly do it with anyone. We know from the way he successfully deceived Eve and how their transaction released sin into the world that he would stop at nothing. Evil is thus deceptive, cunning, and shrewd. Pageantry and symbolism serve as great tools. The devil is a specialist at presenting himself as perfectly legitimate and honest. He is a great actor.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” [Matthew 23:27-28]
Hypocrite: ὑποκριτής (hoop-ok-ree-tace’): An actor under an assumed character (stage-player), i.e. (figuratively) a dissembler (“hypocrite”):—hypocrite.
The first-century Pharisees had perfected the craft of religious playacting. They were insincere poseurs pretending to be effective stand-ins for God and an apparent majority of Israelites of the time were utterly fooled. A big part of their fooling was being blindsided by the majestic presence of such bedecked ones all fitted out in their religious finery and egress fenestrations. Secondly, their multi-credentialed résumés granted them superior status not to be trifled with. And thirdly was the fear factor, an egregious quality born of powerful presence and religious pride which disarms and instantly dispatches beholders to places of subservience. Theirs was a purely flesh creation designed to fool minds set on the things of the flesh. This deceptive process, however, opened them up to demonic influence. Their success, therefore, never came from God, nor does the success of today’s Christian Pharisees.
MAKING MERCHANDISE OF YOU
They provide the illusion-affirming attention religious people need to live the lie. They don’t care about anyone’s soul or eternal destination, only that their own status is confirmed and authority honored. In short, they pretty much do the opposite of the Lord Jesus but are such masters of illusion they appear to be outdoing Him. And if this is not true why are the majority of Christians in the world under their sway? We discussed in Part 7 how such an occurrence could happen and how it did. One wonders how so many still cannot see through the ruse but, as I’ve explained it in this article thus far, we are dealing with an extremely high form of deception.
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. [2Corinthians 11:13-15][1]
IT BEGAN WITH A ROMAN EMPEROR
Constantine decided on wholesale changes. He went nuclear. He completely rejected the perfect original curriculum of the Lord Jesus. He rejected as well the clear historical record of the Book of Acts and created a new syncretic “Christian” religion. He established a post-Real Christianity institution and then claimed Christianity for himself and his rebellious agenda. He was otherwise obviously never a real Christian and actively opposed the Lord Jesus and His Community. He declared all religions illegal in the Roman Empire, completely eliminating any freedom of religion that existed before. He declared his new Universal Christianity as the only legal religion and forced everyone to join. This included grave penalties for anyone who may refuse. Those who refused exclusively were the real Christians who still honored the Lord Jesus and served Him only. Of course, real Christianity was also rendered illegal throughout the Roman Empire and all real Christians instantly became a persecuted people. This persecution never stopped. The real Church was forced to go underground.
While Unreal Christianity flourished above ground, entirely earthly, entirely of the flesh and not the Spirit, and became flushed with wealth, power, and worldly success, the real Christians only enhanced their position within the spiritual realm and secured all the more the truth that the Lord’s Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. We know they survived and even thrived in a world of increasing darkness including that of the religious variety simply because the presence of the Lord Jesus never left and His positive impact and influence on the world remained. We know that though the devil continued his fight against the Lord, the truth, and the Lord’s Community, he was never able to eliminate his nemesis entirely because spiritual Light is eternal and forever shines against the darkness, always revealing it and exposing it for what it is.
The enemy can thus only gain and maintain a foothold and never succeed in making the darkness of his heart global among all humanity and nature. The presence of the Lord Jesus always disallows this and always will.
Therefore, just as was the case with the first one, the Christian Tower of Babel was never completed.
And never will be.
© 2022 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 1)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 2)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 3)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 4)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 5)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 6)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 7)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 9)
THE “LAST DAYS” DECEPTION: Editing the Lord’s Teachings (4)
There are two kinds of Christians in the world—those who are deceived, have always been deceived, and don’t know they’re deceived—and those who are no longer deceived.
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As I’ve stated here before, according to the teachings of the Lord Jesus, the default position of every single person born into this world is to die and go to hell. As distasteful as this subject may be, and as most may find it cringe worthy and fit for immediate denunciation, the Lord actually taught on it quite often. The reason He did is because there is no more important subject to teach.
“For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” [Matthew 7:14]
“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” [John 3:7]
Regardless of so many wanting to rewrite the Gospels to arrive at something more acceptable, or recharacterize the Lord Jesus as someone more like their perception of Him may be, or make Him what they may want Him to be to make them feel more comfortable, it never changes the eternity facts He spoke about except on a temporary basis, that is, while one lives in this life under deception.
WORSE THAN JUDAS
The worst perpetrators of editing the Lord and His curriculum have been Christians. These people, regardless of their socially acceptable, outwardly benign, or religiously duded-up exteriors, have ulterior motives and are His greatest enemies. They are worse than Judas.
I say that not because Judas Iscariot was not a bad guy (he most certainly was), but that Judas was primarily a very confused guy and one who could never overcome his intrinsic understanding of things or his prior religious indoctrination. He was likely a Pharisee or Pharisee sympathizer of somewhat high standing though such was probably due to family and religious connections. He had a good report with those who controlled the temple and was apparently there relatively often. Yet despite all of Judas’ failings which ultimately led him to be possessed of the devil himself, he still had enough of a working conscience to know that after he had betrayed the Lord he understood that he had betrayed the Lord. Though he did not know it while he was doing it and likely thought in his warped thinking that he was doing something good, when it all came down and he understood that he had been thoroughly deceived by the devil and the devil’s religious authorities, the only thing that made sense was to go kill himself. At the moment his eyes were opened (when he finally woke up), he suddenly saw that he had done something absolutely horrendously terrible and that it might have been the greatest sin ever perpetrated since the original sin of Adam and Eve.
Thus, it may be said that Judas acted based on living in deception. And again, deceived people do not know they are deceived. Judas was likely deceived his entire life but I will leave some room for him here in case he had moments of true understanding regarding the Lord. Effectively, of course, he never overcame his lifelong deception and made a perfect candidate for use by the devil. Judas may have been sent on a mission from the very beginning by the devil and joined up with the Lord as the devil’s tool within the Lord’s inner circle. The Lord would have always known this, though, and alluded to it on occasion:
Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” [John 6:70]
Therefore, those Christians who deliberately edit the teachings of the Lord Jesus do far worse than Judas ever did because they apparently don’t have a working conscience as Judas certainly did. Everyone remembers, for example, their first big sin as a little kid or when they first became aware of right and wrong, when they instantly came to understand that they had done a very bad thing. The understanding came because their conscience did what it was designed to do. It pointed out their error. Whatever the age of accountability may be for each person, and though there may be a time as very small children when we do wrong and do not yet know it, we all reach an age, maybe five or six years old, when we become responsible for knowing our conscience works and can no longer escape its convicting power.
For some people in this world, however, this is not true. They never seem to have a working conscience. They do not appear to feel guilt. They do bad things and like it. They enjoy doing wrong and are not convicted. They do not appear to have the remorse gene. They make light of things of very high importance and lack the respect they should have for the true things of God. They may know it is wrong behavior and even engage in greater sin as they get older but usually never have any tendency to stop. Repentance is simply not in their vocabulary. When they grow up they are capable of doing wrong without regret. While Judas was so stricken by the grossly evil thing he had done once his veil of deception was lifted, the religious psychopath has no such reaction.
ARE THEY BORN THAT WAY OR MADE THAT WAY?
I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! [Galatians 1:6-9]
There is only one original full curriculum of the Lord Jesus. Anything which purports to be His full curriculum but deviates from the original is false. This deviation from the original can be done by adding teachings and understandings that are not His or simply omitting teachings and understandings that are. Such newly created Christian curricula, regardless of how good they appear and how well they escape scrutinizing from Christians who should know better, are false and not of God. If they are not of God they must be of another source. That source must be evil.
Because we now have any number of false gospels masquerading as the real one and great numbers of Christians supporting such false gospels, we know there must have been a point A for each, a starting point, and that the starting point of each had to have been implemented in this world through human agency in tandem with a higher invisible agency. This worked the same way it worked with Judas in that the devil deceived Judas to believe his betrayal of the Lord was not a betrayal and was instead something good and right, though it was actually pure evil (Sound familiar?). For each false gospel on the planet there had to be an original hidden and sinister “Judas” or “Judas group” used of the devil to create it. Their supporters likely believe their false gospel is not false at all but the best gospel or the real gospel.
What kind of people are these? Maybe some are like Judas in that they eventually see their error. Most however, likely never care about any error to begin with and know very well they are engaging in editing the Lord’s teachings and enjoy doing it. Perhaps they have become so overwhelmed by religious indoctrination and staunchly supporting their false denominational beliefs that they justify their work as good. Perhaps they are mere religious underlings forced to carry on the work by their Christian cult leadership.
But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. [2Corinthians 11:3-4]
Maybe they do it for power and prestige and as the willing price to pay for joining a higher social caste. Maybe they are overcome by the physical eye which overpowers the spiritual eye. Maybe they do it for access to fulfilling the lust of their flesh and having all that money can buy. These are the three roots of temptation, remember, that the enemy uses on everyone. But how evil must one be who would actually corrupt the teachings of the Lord for gain? And not feel bad about it? And never have the reaction Judas had? What is wrong with such people? It could be they are true psychopaths. Or it could be they know they are doing wrong but have such a great desire for the preceding three outcomes or any one of the three that they are willing to make a deal.
Here is a good test:
Let’s say the Lord calls a person to salvation but that it will greatly complicate his life and even place him in grave danger. But he does it anyway. Most of those around him who also receive the Gospel seed turn it down, maybe largely out of fear of social or religious rejection and castigation, but that one guy does not and is willing to go through any pain to gain salvation. He then works diligently to prepare himself as a good disciple by studying the pure Word of God and learning how to present it correctly. And let’s say that one guy is then given a specific ministry but no salary. And he somehow makes it work anyway. And there are confirming “signs and wonders” in his ministry to further prove his legitimacy.
The vast majority of Christian ministers, on the other hand, never agree to become ministers unless an acceptable salary is involved (failed test). Many of these must also desire social acceptance and prestige to some degree (failed test). And some even demand that their lust be satisfied even though it may only be in the “material” realm though such is done in a deceptive manner in that their lust satisfaction is deemed “success” and therefore not only acceptable but something also desirable by their followers (failed test).
But that other guy has none of those things, maybe for many years and maybe his entire life, and somehow fulfills his ministry anyway. Regardless of what may be an extreme example, this is actually not so uncommon. The others, however, are as fake as the day is long (though such fakery is rarely or never understood by the deceived). They are mere sellouts. The vast majority of Christian “ministers” in the world fail the test. What is worse, though, is that they preach false gospels and assist the devil in deception. Whoever listens to and believes these charlatans, though such supportive believers outwardly appear as “good Christians,” end up just as deceived as Judas was. They go through life believing all is well with their chosen walk and don’t know they are deceived and have believed a false gospel. Judas got the big idea while he was still alive. Many if not most of these others will never get the big idea until afterwards when it will be too late.
THE REAL AND THE UNREAL
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. [2Timothy 4:1-4]
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. [2Peter 2:1-3] [1]
Any deviation from the Lord’s presentation is an invitation to deception.
Once one crosses the line into the realm of deception his perception is changed. He will think he is doing good when he is not. He will even be happy and satisfied and completely unaware that his spiritual reality has become compromised. He begins operating according to a non-Kingdom understanding since he does not dwell in the Kingdom though believes he does. And even if the Lord sends messengers to rescue him and bring him into the light he will likely see no need because he believes he is already dwelling in the light. And because many more are living across the line with him, a decided majority, he has plenty of support from everyone there that all is well in their vast happy land of bliss and ignorance.
Praise God for Christian persecution.
© 2022 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
REMEMBERING JFK (2021)
I remember when it happened. As was my routine, I had gone home for lunch. My grade school was within easy walking distance.
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I wrote the following on November 22, 2019:
It was getting close to the time when I should be heading back. I was sitting right in front of our small black and white television. My mother was a few steps away in the kitchen. Suddenly, whatever I was watching was interrupted. There was a news bulletin. One could almost sense the haphazard effort of the station in relaying the shattering news while trying to maintain professional decorum. A man with a strong and hurried voice began speaking. The president has been shot…
The United States of America changed forever on that fateful day. After 56 years, the majority of Americans know the official story is full of holes. This was proven early on. But a very strange thing happened. Though evil people were having their way, Americans insisted on supporting the official narrative. As more truth leaked out regarding what really happened, and as many knew in their gut something was not quite right, it became one’s patriotic duty to do the very opposite of what should have been done.
This let those in control know they were in good shape. The country was in their hands. They could do whatever they wanted and would not only get away with it but would never even be questioned. Everything changed at that point. Fast, dramatic change ensued. Regarding the country, it was all for the worse. In the space of less than four and a half years our president was murdered in cold blood right out in the open in the bright sunshine in a gruesome display. His brother, who surely would have become president in 1968, was also killed right after securing the Democratic nomination. Martin Luther King was also murdered by a sniper two months earlier. Each one of these cases involved much subterfuge and unanswered questions. Quick verdicts were reached in the official narrative. The vast majority of Americans went along with the official stories though many had private doubts. What happened to the country?
THERE WAS ONCE A REVOLUTION
Throughout the period of the 1760s to mid 1770s patriotic American colonists grew increasingly concerned about the great lessening of personal liberties and the increasing power plays of a distant British government. These people were a relatively small minority. Most American colonists were full- bore Tories who either supported the King and Parliament without question or were too apathetic and ignorant to care one way or the other. By the time independence was declared these three groups comprised roughly the same percentage. Only about a third of Americans were willing to commit themselves fully to the cause of outright revolution to secure their individual liberties which had been under severe attack for several years by those who saw their control weakening and who must strongly reassert its position of rule to overcome any notion of freedom from said rule.
How did only a third manage to overcome the other two-thirds? It is fully understandable that the third of Americans which fully supported the British overlords did so to protect their wealth and social standing. People like this are cowards at heart. They have little or no concern for others, those who make up the majority, who are on the outside looking in and do not share in their upper class stature. Their lives are not about higher ideals and ideas but merely a social position brought on by comparatively greater wealth and the desire to make friends with power—those who would advance them in their careers and protect their higher place in society.
Regarding that other third, the apathetic group, these people are also well-represented in history. They are those who never stay informed, don’t care about truth, will stand for nothing of any real importance, are willingly ignorant, and are basically only along for the ride. They like floating down lazy rivers. They find the whole idea of taking a stand for higher values and ideals ridiculous. They have no understanding for laying good foundations for future generations. They can barely see beyond the end of their nose. The present is what they care about, just like the Tory group, but they don’t care about it enough to make any attempt to excel.
REAL PATRIOTS
Back in the 1960s the generation in charge still held to the false notion, “My country right or wrong.” The most insane occurrences were taking place all around from day to day and it seemed that most would insist on keeping a stiff lip and hard face refusing to question anything. Had they been brainwashed? Why could they not see the evil? Why did they continue to support those in power who were violating the Constitution on a daily basis and doing whatever the hell they wanted to insure that the rich and powerful gained even more wealth and power?
King George III and the British Parliament never came close to the violations inflicted on America less than two centuries later. It has only gotten worse since. We now live in a semi-surveillance state in which our God-given rights and freedoms have been seriously curtailed by the very entity supposedly existing to insure them. Where are the real American patriots? How many are left?
Exactly 56 years ago powerful people conspired in the dark to remove the President of the United States because he refused to go along with an ongoing sinister plan to run roughshod on We the People. They were willing to kill him in broad daylight to achieve their goal.
And they got away with it.
© 2019 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
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I wrote the following on November 22, 2020:
It has been exactly 57 years. An American President was brutally gunned down by an evil element in Dallas, Texas. That evil element gained great power that day. It has only increased in power since.
One can always tell when evil has gained a foothold: Evil unlawful acts not only proliferate but have no remedy. No matter what one may do to overcome the evil nothing works. It may be stopped temporarily. There may even be modest gains against it at times but such minimal losses are often quickly gained back. Exponentially speaking, evil continues on an upward trend.
At last a few bright people figure out that the reason for evil’s upper hand growing greater is because it is being fed. Somehow or another evil has gained access to great funding and support. These few bright people then figure out that evil is gaining this funding and support surreptitiously. In other words, otherwise good people have been deceived into supporting an evil element. Such good people are not so wise because only the unwise allow themselves to be fooled continually.
This is why, in Old Testament parlance, God always sent prophets. The prophetic voice was clean and clear. It was strong and unwavering. It was sent to shine a Light on TRUTH. It was sent to wake people from their spiritual slumber. Through the prophetic Word, the Lord Jesus identifies good and evil. He tears away the cloak of deception. He reveals the evil element behind the curtain.
When the unwise but otherwise good people then understand that which comprises the evil element, they cease supporting it. As its funding and support begins being cut back it no longer has the free ability to wreak havoc as before. In the effort to save itself it uses that much more of the only weapon it possesses: More evil. —More sin, more lies, more cheating, more obfuscation, and more dissembling. By this it only reveals itself all the more.
We are living in the days of a Great Awakening. Pay attention.
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
© 2021 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
DESTROYING DECEPTIONS THAT CAPTURE THE MIND
The Words of Jesus are Spirit and Life that overcome ingrained mental falsehoods. Knowledge of the written Word leads to greater relationship with the Living Word.
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My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge… [Isaiah 5:13]
“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” [John 8:31-32]
The Lord has made access to His written Word extremely easy. The essential purpose for initially accessing the written Word of God is to discover God. One learns who He is, how much He cares for us, and also what He requires on our part to facilitate a lasting relationship. By acquiring knowledge of the Lord’s pure teachings one can break free from misleading false narratives, lies masquerading as Truth, and disabling deceptions imprisoning one on the other side of an otherwise bridgeless chasm.
OVERCOMING GUIDELINE GRIDLOCK
One must remember that the Early Church of the first century had no New Testament. Many did not even have access to the Old Testament Scriptures. Even at that time, people often believed and practiced not that which derived from the pure Word but from some religious leader’s interpretation of it, whether his intentions were noble or otherwise. There were scads of rabbis, doctors of the Law, synagogue leaders, and most notably, casuistic Pharisees who went so far as to essentially rewrite the OT through their endless oral traditions filled with Truth-debilitating minutia. The more they attempted to explain the Word of God the more they took their listeners away from God. Moses never did this. The prophets never did this. Moses, who was himself a prophet, and all the other real prophets in those ancient times simply delivered what God told them to deliver. If anyone got the message and understood, great. For those who did not it was their problem.
It is no different in our day in that so much of what Christians believe about the Word of God is actually not what is written right there in black and white but interpretive slants delivered by questionable Christian practitioners who often merely parrot denominational precepts, much as the Pharisees did, and overlay them upon the written Word in such a way that they have precedence and gain priority. All one must do to verify this, short of actually reading and studying the Word of God on one’s own (a novel concept for a probable majority of Christians), is visit a few other denominational churches.
Rather than cementing oneself in one place forever and hearing ad infinitum the same old same old that everyone there believes is the verbatim veracious version of the Lord’s teachings as if delivered from on high, one must at least occasionally visit the weirdos in other locales who beg to differ. One will discover that those Christians are also burdened with the same attitude of budgeless caution which was inflicted upon them, again, with good intentions or not, by interpretive teachers doing interpretive word dances as the conservative counterparts to the strange artsy folk who engage in odd expositions of poetry and dance.
Some churches put forth what are essentially emotionless drones who must think God requires them to be religious robots and otherworldly autocratic automatons appearing as ecclesiastically-cloaked talking statues. Emotion with these guys is verboten. Other churches at the other extreme have moving, walking, emotive talker-shouters who appear as fidgety née ferocious hyperactives which may or may not be under God’s actual spiritual anointing. In between are all manner of speakers-forth delivering various shadings of the same Word of God though emphasizing some parts and neglecting others (and often violently rejecting others).
And God looks down on all this duded-up strangeness and wonders how such strayings have taken hold in the minds of apparent believers because the very opposite of His intentions have been established in that He came here to unify His children rather than Tower of Babel them into impossible religious divisions which were also all the rage in His day. He did come to separate, of course, but only the sheep from the goats. What Unreal Christianity has done is to separate, at least on the surface, the sheep from the sheep and in that process created a construct for the invasion of conquering goats who seek to rule the sheep and effectively shroud the Word of God rather than share it. And instead of assisting the Lord to create open green pastures of luxuriant spiritual richness containing much more sustenance than enough for all, we have the equivalent of a barbwire kingdom of sectioned off partisan neoranches each sternly guarded by hardened shotgun-wielding cowhands intent on maintaining division and hatred for those unlike themselves. Rather than a dude ranch it’s a rude ranch. There’s a vast ponderosa of non-ponderable opposing pardners.
A CONFUSION OF LANGUAGES
Like their ancient contemporaries though in reverse, Christian dissemblers have confused God’s one universal language into a multitude of languages and rejected His one Gospel for many counterfeit variations thereof. Rather than joining and supporting the Lord’s single Community created at Pentecost they have created thousands of non-relational communities each with its own distinct language. And they continue with ongoing multiple subdivisions. Rather than “accurately handling the word of truth,” [1] they inaccurately mishandle it and thereby create doctrinal divisions which further divide the people.
The only cure for all their resultant multitudinous nonsensical wordfare permeations is entirely bypassing the faux bloviaters pontificating from fixed pulpits and lecterns of luxation and going straight to the Word of God. When the middleman does not assist us correctly under God’s authority, eliminate the middleman! Christians must learn, on so many levels, to show some spiritual spine, but most of all through the simplest, most profound, and potentially abundant fruitful process of reading the Bible.
I know, it’s tough. It’s pretty much impossible. It’s so big! It’ll take forever! Working one’s life away to old age for money is much easier. Going to a million church services to hear mere drips which never get collected into so much as the bottom half of a bait bucket is far preferable to wrenching open a fire hydrant and flooding one’s soul with life-giving Word water from which one will never thirst again. Better to drag oneself through a religious desert and occasionally suck out the moisture from a dead cactus, thorns be damned, than float upon and dive within an endless bottomless fresh water ocean filled with nutritive spiritual plankton satisfying all hunger, answering every question, and fulfilling every need.
THE GREAT AWAKENING DEMANDS GREAT DISCIPLESHIP
We must be disciples. Considering what is now upon us, as I have been warning of for the last quarter century (it’s all mapped out in my book), fence-sitting not-clear-on-the-concept don’t-confuse-me-with-facts Christians in general will either get it together finally at last or never gain the required closeness to the Lord, spiritual strength and stamina, eyes to see, and knowledge of God’s Word to overcome. We are way past the watch out for weirdos stage and the I’m too cool for school cred demanded by the social media acceptance wokesters. The enemy is here. He’s not hiding anymore. He’s determined to get you. He’s no longer playing the long term deceive you gradually into oblivion game. Instead of slowly boiling the frog he is now simply stomping on it. If you are not ready for the fight you must get there quick. The battle is upon us whether we know it or not or acknowledge it or not. This is not a drill.
In the meantime, here is an encouraging word that applies forever in every instance on every applicable occasion and illustrates the Lord’s great love for His children and ability to kick the devil’s backside always:
The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” [Luke 10:17-20] [2]
Upgrade your New Testament reading plan now.
© 2021 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] 2 Timothy 2:15
[2] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
Rolling Stones
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The secret to the devil’s success is keeping people dumb and deceived by lying his sorry head off, beguiling, distorting, and misinforming constantly and incessantly in an ongoing attempt to create a false narrative and a bizarro world of opposites in place of each other, through willing dupes who see and appreciate the sham rather than the truth.
(Sound familiar?)
And once such people have been brainwashed they will fight to their last breath and final drop of blood for the idea that their perceived version of events and conceptual understandings are the correct version, and that it’s not a mere “version,” but absolute truth from which they will never retreat.
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron… [1 Timothy 4:1-2]
You gotta love Paul’s to-the-point ultra-descriptive exposé of liars. They lie because they’re convinced by the lie and believe in the lie and live by the lie and honor without question the original wearer of the flaming hot pants who was himself torched in mind by rebelling against God and all truth, and was thereby forced to embrace FICTION as a belief system.
And every person who rejects The Truth does exactly the same. Their life and everything about their life is a spiritual fabrication and a complete fiction, though it appears otherwise in the here and now. “Success” in the world of man has absolutely no bearing on success in the afterlife. Those who only live by what their senses tell them have no chance.
This is the true nature of real deception: The deceived do not know they’re deceived.
Thus, the devil’s curriculum is nothing more than a pack of lies encased in a faux intellectual construct that gives arrogant narcissists, high minded nitwits, fighters for self whether or not self is completely stupid and asinine, and the willingly deceived exactly what they want to make them feel superior and seemingly in charge of what they think is a good fate.
“Indeed, HAS God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” [Genesis 3:1]
This is deception of the highest order and whoever plays the devil’s game will be totally outclassed. And the devil knows this, of course, and continues to nurture the giant pus pockets of pride inherent within any and all who refuse to honor the Lord and thus be set free and healed.
In other words, all those who will be thrown in the lake would never repent anyway, never in a million years, because they love the devil and his deception rather than the Lord Jesus who is the Truth. And they love the fact that they can indulge their flesh to the nth degree with the devil’s hearty approval without any trace of guilt or second guessing.
“Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
“But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.” [John 8:43-45]
Well, here’s an interesting conundrum: They cannot understand the Lord’s teachings, cannot receive His Word, and thus do not believe Him or believe in Him.
Why?
Because they bought into a false paradigm. They programmed their computers with a counterfeit operating system they thought was the real thing, and believe is the real thing, and thus, the truth is perceived as nonsense and a fable. And because their hard drive is full, there is no room for the truth in their thinking.
But some are more susceptible to this than others. The devil knows very well those who are easily deceived. They are most often lovers of themselves, the self-appreciators of the world who use either their brains or good looks to get by and excel. They have no focus whatsoever on the fact that such things were gifts that they had absolutely nothing to do with but claim full credit for anyway and consequently rate themselves superior—especially when the big money comes flowing in, that is, the payoff for selling their eternal soul for a bowl of nano-second rot soon gone with the wind.
As they say, rich guys don’t have a Brink’s truck following their hearse on the way to the sweet by-and-by and beautiful movie stars that make it to their elderly years usually fail to keep their babe status intact though some give it the old nip and tuck Hollywood try.
Clothes make the man! And possessions convey status. But the dead body of a rich jerk lying on cold steel with a toe tag looks curiously the same as that of a poor righteous man.
The story of the rich man and Lazarus is also the story of a sell-out Satan appreciator and a poor man who wanted nothing to do with Beelzebul, even though this “Lord of the High Place” made the life of Lazarus a living hell.
However, his resultant suffering did not stop Lazarus from answering his call and fulfilling his mission to be a light to the purple-wearing pinhead who could only see as far as his mirror and bank account. Had he shown any concern for the sores-ridden starving man laid at his gate his frozen evil heart might have melted and God would have been able to save his soul. But no! He wouldn’t give Lazarus squat and thus he deserved to spend time with his idol in the hot place and suffer his sorry backside off.
He could have hired a doctor to help Lazarus get healed and healthy.
He could have fed Lazarus so he would no longer be so hungry day after day.
He could have given Lazarus some spare clothes.
He could have built Lazarus a little shelter so he wouldn’t be laying in the street scorched by the sun and freezing at night and in the winter.
He could have at least given Lazarus some water “to cool off his tongue.”
But no. He was a self-worshiper which made him a devil worshiper and he considered Lazarus a lowly piece of trash not worth his time or the least investment.
This is what “looking good” and having big money does to a lot of people. Such things cause them to fall headlong into the devil’s trap.
Many years ago there were big billboards all over the place advertising a certain brand of cigarettes. The only thing the ads contained was a picture of some physically attractive unsmiling woman or man staring straight ahead at the viewer. A friend of mine said, “You know? That’s the devil. People think he’s some ugly little guy but he’s actually the opposite…”
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. [2 Corinthians 11:13-15]
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. [Galatians 6:7-8]
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. [Proverbs 16:18]
The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them,
“I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” [Luke 10:17-20]
But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” [Revelation 21:8][1]
But I’m getting ahead of current events. Before the day the liars are thrown away, their phony colossal construct must be revealed so people can see what’s really going on in the event they want to break out of their deception penitentiaries, especially religious ones.
For the most part, the world of mankind is a Grand Illusion.
It’s a Fake World.
And the majority can no longer perceive the difference between the Real and the Unreal.
Sinful, unregenerate, rebellious humanity working in close consort with the devil himself and obeying his lead has built a worldwide illusory “city” and “tower” permeating the entire planet, extending even into houses of worship (reaching into heaven), on the backs of the unsuspecting deceived.
It’s all around you. You’re surrounded.
And it is absolutely no different than your standard movie set or false backdrop. Except for the fact that it appears to be incredibly real, and one still bleeds real blood, and real souls are lost every day.
Kind of puts a whole new spin on this place we’re living in, huh?
Beware the fake and steer clear of liars.
You might catch on fire.
© 2013 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
NOTE: I wrote the preceding article over seven years ago. It not only remains topical and relevant at present, especially regarding current events, but even more so, and reveals the sad fact that the liars and fraud hustlers among us have increased “sevenfold.” Lying, deception, and selling out to mammon have now shot up exponentially far into the stratosphere like a massive Saturn rocket.
The evil ones still fail to understand or care that there is a holy God in heaven who will only put up with so much. The more they cheat and deceive the more truth God reveals. The more truth is revealed the more they are exposed. The more they are exposed the more vulnerable they become.
Those who work in evil are playing a losing game. Their victories are weighted toward the early going but justice catches up and overtakes them in the end. They may be winning big in the first half building what appears to be an insurmountable lead but then get destroyed in the fourth quarter, just as the Lord said: “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first” [Matthew 19:30].
Stay faithful.
© 2021 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
REMEMBERING JFK (2020)
It has been exactly 57 years. An American President was brutally gunned down by an evil element in Dallas, Texas. That evil element gained great power that day. It has only increased in power since.
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One can always tell when evil has gained a foothold: Evil unlawful acts not only proliferate but have no remedy. No matter what one may do to overcome the evil nothing works. It may be stopped temporarily. There may even be modest gains against it at times but such minimal losses are often quickly gained back. Exponentially speaking, evil continues on an upward trend.
At last a few bright people figure out that the reason for evil’s upper hand growing greater is because it is being fed. Somehow or another evil has gained access to great funding and support. These few bright people then figure out that evil is gaining this funding and support surreptitiously. In other words, otherwise good people have been deceived into supporting an evil element. Such good people are not so wise because only the unwise allow themselves to be fooled continually.
This is why, in Old Testament parlance, God always sent prophets. The prophetic voice was clean and clear. It was strong and unwavering. It was sent to shine a Light on TRUTH. It was sent to wake people from their spiritual slumber. Through the prophetic Word, the Lord Jesus identifies good and evil. He tears away the cloak of deception. He reveals the evil element behind the curtain.
When the unwise but otherwise good people then understand that which comprises the evil element, they cease supporting it. As its funding and support begins being cut back it no longer has the free ability to wreak havoc as before. In the effort to save itself it uses that much more of the only weapon it possesses: More evil. —More sin, more lies, more cheating, more obfuscation, and more dissembling. By this it only reveals itself all the more.
We are living in the days of a Great Awakening. Pay attention.
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
HIDDEN WEALTH TRANSFER [4]: THE MISSING TRILLIONS
In the spring of 2017, a research study was initiated to determine the facts regarding the possibility that untold multiple trillions of dollars had gone missing from government accounts.
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THE DAY BEFORE 9/11
You might recall video of an event that took place at the Pentagon on September 10, 2001 when Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense in the new Bush Administration, stunned the buttoned-down sensibilities of honest accountants and bookkeepers everywhere with the following matter-of-fact statement:
“According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion dollars in transactions.” [1]
After a Pentagon audit, this massive amount of Department of Defense spending was unaccounted for. It had somehow gone missing. For perspective, the DOD budget for the year 2001 was $313 billion.[2] The equivalent of roughly seven years of Pentagon budgets had vanished. On that day, Rumsfeld was declaring war on financial waste and possibly fraud as he announced a new plan to “save” the Pentagon. The next day, those plans, whether legitimate or not, were forgotten.
THE 2017 MISSING MONEY REPORT
As the years went by more huge sums appeared to vanish. In the Inspector General Report for the Department of Defense for 2015 the amount was $6.5 trillion.[3] Keep in mind that these two reports from 2001 and 2015, which served as the catalyst for the missing money research study, only involve the DOD and not any other government departments.
It was Catherine Austin Fitts, former assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the first Bush administration, who brought the $6.5 missing trillion to the attention of Dr. Mark Skidmore, a Michigan State University economist, in early 2017. Because the figure was so ridiculously huge he initially thought she was mistaken. Over that summer they continued the project with the assistance of two graduate students to help with a larger study and by September of 2017 had accounted for many more missing funds, officially termed “unsupported adjustments.” The total monetary amount in their report, in researching and compiling documents for only the Department of Defense between the years of 1998-2015, was a whopping $21 trillion. They found an additional $350 billion missing at HUD.
To put these numbers in proper perspective, the entire Gross National Product of the USA in the year 2019 was 21.429 trillion.[4] Where does such money go? How is it possible that the DOD cannot account for a number effectively matching the entire 2019 GDP of the nation? It is impossible that these numbers are mere government accounting errors. How would such errors originate? How would such errors continue to progenerate?
ACCESSING THE 2017 MISSING MONEY REPORT
The report is entitled: Summary Report on “Unsupported Journal Voucher Adjustments” in the Financial Statements of the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Defense and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
You can access the history and documentation page of the report at The Solari Report website, published by Catherine Austin Fitts, containing an embedded link of the five page report, here.
ADDITIONAL SOURCE MATERIAL
For further reading and to get better acquainted with the facts and history of this monumental work, I suggest the following:
MSU Scholars Find $21 Trillion in Unauthorized Government Spending; Defense Department to Conduct First-Ever Audit (© Michigan State University, December 11, 2017)
Is Our Government Intentionally Hiding $21 Trillion In Spending? (© Forbes Magazine, July 21, 2018)
EPILOGUE
After Catherine and Mark authored their report and posted it, including the many links and documentation, it was soon discovered that government report and document links had been disabled, which suggested a purposeful response by parties who may wish to keep the information concealed. In Part 3 of this series I informed you that as of October 1, 2018, there was no longer any guarantee that government accounting and budget figures could be verified. One wonders if that FASAB change was also made in response to the missing $21 trillion. These actions are largely unprecedented and all Americans should be rightfully concerned. Why did elected officials sign off on this? Why are next to no elected officials shining any light on this? The President and leaders of the Senate and House have approved of the processes resulting in multiple trillions of dollars gone missing. Where did it go? What are they using it for? Someone must be held accountable.
I hope you have enjoyed this series and that it added to your knowledge on the subject. I would appreciate it if you would share my site, continue your own research, and spread the news.
All of us must continue to be better informed.
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [Part 4]
[1] https://youtu.be/NkgQ4GpIalI (Quote located at 7:54)
[2] https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/military-spending-defense-budget
[3] DODIG-2016-113-1.pdf
[4] https://www.statista.com/topics/772/gdp/
HIDDEN WEALTH TRANSFER [1]: YOUR FUTURE IS BEING STOLEN
HIDDEN WEALTH TRANSFER [2]: A BRIEF HISTORY OF GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING (AND REFORM?)
HIDDEN WEALTH TRANSFER [3]: “FEDERAL FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS 56, CLASSIFIED ACTIVITIES”
HIDDEN WEALTH TRANSFER [1]: YOUR FUTURE IS BEING STOLEN
Once a person declares absolute support for the Lord Jesus and a total commitment to Him, it forever transforms every aspect of his life. It is a 100% proposition. The Lord becomes one’s ultimate authority.
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MANY CHRISTIANS REMAIN ASLEEP AND UNAWARE
A probable majority of people simply do not believe in the idea of hidden overlords ruling the world. Most dismiss any idea of a few great ones, swelled by stolen wealth and power, orchestrating world events for their own benefit and in the process using human beings as mere chattel to meet their nefarious goals. And what are their goals? Very simply, it is obtaining possession of enough power and wealth to direct world events according to personal desires. Wealth grants power. Power allows for the obtaining of wealth. Each allows for more of the other. Great wealth and power allows for greater freedom to do whatever they want. Ultimately, they want to control the entire world and thereby profess themselves as effective deities.
GONNA HAVE TO SERVE SOMEBODY
Honest people realize early on that if they choose to attempt to acquire wealth it will be much more difficult to do so honestly than to do so dishonestly. They value honesty more than wealth. They decide they would rather be honest than wealthy if the only way to be wealthy is to be dishonest. This forces them to appropriate a much more difficult task and a longer road with no guarantee they will ever succeed, especially since they must compete with cheaters. By putting morality above wealth, wealth, if gained, will never control them. Thus, wealth is not necessarily evil in and of itself as long as one never falls under its spell.
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” [Luke 16:13]
On the other hand, once a person decides that honesty will have no deciding role in his attempt to acquire wealth, it makes wealth accumulation much easier. This should be obvious to all. If one decides to lie and cheat one’s way to the top, so to speak, there is no end to the grease one can appropriate for proverbial wheels and palms. Dishonest people, when very young, are somewhat dumbfounded at how easy it is to deceive people. If a person with great drive and determination decides to deceive to get ahead there is a wide open door for success. If such a person also happens to have a certain charisma and charm all the better. And better yet, if a person learns how to lie and cheat while appearing for all intents and purposes to be forthright and honest, his or her dishonesty will remain hidden to most. Once such a person gains enough wealth to afford the services of such people who are masters at eliminating his dirty footprints that would otherwise be easily traceable, making it virtually impossible for most people to follow his trail, the majority are none the wiser that any evil is associated with such a person or that any nefarious activity has ever taken place. This has allowed the true character of the most wicked human beings on the planet to become effectively invisible. Not only to they hire valued dirt scrubbers but also disinformation agents to create a false public persona as well as false fronts hiding their evil power and wealth accumulation practices.
THE DEVIL WAS ONCE A GOOD GUY
He was perhaps the most bright and shining of all the angels in heaven. We can trace his origins in the Book of Revelation and his subsequent great fall when he allowed his own pride and arrogance to overtake his good sense and reason. He convinced a third of the angels of heaven to join him in rebellion against their Creator and revolt in a thoroughly ridiculous and misguided attempt to overthrow God. It was no doubt a great war but a lost cause from the start. Their initial penalty was being cast out of heaven and to Planet Earth where they have been ever since. Satan’s ultimate penalty will be the Lake of Fire and total destruction.
His human counterparts will eventually suffer the same fate. Remember, the angels who joined with Satan had no natural antipathy toward their Creator but were deceived into believing He was deficient in some way and not actually concerned about their lives and welfare, but existed only as a tyrant keeping them down and unable to fulfill their true fate. It was all a lie and came forth from the father of lies who, once leaving the spiritual Light and taking on darkness, acquired the great ability, as transformed from his former ability to shed light, into a dark being with a pronounced power of darkness. This included great deception which he utilized on his captured fellow angels, having bewitched them into doing the unthinkable.
He does the same to human beings. Those who would naturally never even think of betraying God or those they may be in covenant with will turn on a dime once convinced through the powers of deception to betray former friends and join what is essentially a mind cult in subservience to lies and misinformation. It is the only way the devil could create an army and is the same way wicked human beings in positions of great power create armies to serve them and do their dirty work. And anything in opposition to God and His goodness is dirty work.
MASTER SELLOUTS
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” [Matthew 16:26][1]
It has always intrigued me the way otherwise intelligent people can be overcome by greed and the quest for supreme power. How can they not understand that their time in a human body is limited? Why do they think it a prudent thing to cast all reason to the wind for whatever they may gain in a temporary world? Even if they live to the century mark and acquire the equivalent of billions or in a few cases even trillions of dollars they must leave it all behind at death. Maybe their lack of belief in an afterlife is their most compelling of reasons to grab all they can while they can, in their belief that only a fool would forego present pleasure for an unproven future hope. However, their greatest reason for living a life of wickedness (though couched in respectability) in pursuit of power and wealth is due to the spiritual blindness they have brought upon themselves through a rejection of spiritual light. Since one cannot sin without conviction while in the light and in possession of a healthy working conscience, the desire to seek great wealth and power through evil means forces the leaving behind of light and the embracing of evil forces toward evil gains, as well as killing one’s conscience—a blessed built-in arbiter of right and wrong.
Again, Satan is the prototype for such behavior, as one so strong he would challenge God. Every human being who implements this sordid behavior is essentially engaging in the same rebellion in that God is seen as an opposing force keeping one down and from achieving his rightful destiny. Eve fell for this lie like a rock. She had no capacity, understanding, or experience to know she was being played. Her salvation was in her deference to Adam who was certainly aware of the devil and his tricks and as long as she stayed loyal to him all would have remained well.
It is the same with real Christians and the Lord. We don’t often know the whys and wherefores but we do know our close relationship with the Lord must be gained and maintained at all costs, no matter what they may be, because without His guidance, direction, providence, spiritual strength, and love we will have no more than a snowball’s chance in hell. Refusing one’s relationship with Him for temporary pleasure, even if it means being one of the richest and powerful few on the planet, works only as long as one draws breath. This is not a good bargain. Intelligent people with a working conscience in good order know this. Hence, the powerful people running the world have obviously been willingly overtaken by evil and are deceived regarding the actions and chosen purpose of their lives. They must believe something contrary to the truth regarding what happens after death and that it somehow will be personally beneficial, and thus have no fear of future justice.
To sum up, dishonesty breeds dishonesty. Sin creates spiritual blindness. Those who choose evil against humanity for the sake of personal gain, especially on a massive scale, must be exposed and held to account.
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [Part 1]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
HIDDEN WEALTH TRANSFER [2]: A BRIEF HISTORY OF GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING (AND REFORM?)
HIDDEN WEALTH TRANSFER [3]: FEDERAL FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS 56, CLASSIFIED ACTIVITIES
FORCED VACCINATIONS? COMPULSORY MASK-WEARING AS MERE PRELUDE
America was deceived at the onset of the virus narrative. And while it appears this deception is currently being exposed worldwide, it is apparent that it provided cover as part of the larger ongoing plan.
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DAY SEVEN
We have reached the seventh day of Sukkot—the seven day Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering celebrating the Lord’s great providence. I trust things are going well for you during this eventful time. Sukkot is the last of the three great feasts of the calendar year. It is a time to honor the Lord’s ongoing presence, protection, and providence and remind us that we dwell in temporary shelters in a temporary land. The old hymn says:
This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through
My treasures and my hopes are all beyond the blue;
Where many friends and kindred have gone on before
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore [1]
Every real Christian knows this. The ancient Hebrews knew it. Abraham certainly knew it. The Lord Jesus instructed His followers that this present world is quite temporary. Whoever signs up with the Lord knows they are not to strive to make this world our home on anything other than a transitory basis. We are also instructed, however, to “Occupy till I come.” [2] This means we are to do the work we are called to do on His behalf for the sake of His eternal spiritual Kingdom. Such work is not possible without His direct involvement, guidance, and equipping. His work is specific to each individual believer.
EXPOSING SECRET EVIL
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” [John 3:19-21]
Some Christians are called primarily to teach the truth. Their vocation, of course, involves much work, study, reading, and research to find the truth and report it. Their satisfaction comes from knowing they obeyed the Lord in this regard. Whoever believes the truth they report also adds to their ministerial fulfillment but is of a secondary nature in that, for the real Christian, presenting truth never involves any force toward accepting it.
Those who use force are not in the business of teaching but in that of indoctrination. Many Christians, of course, have been indoctrinated. Many have been so indoctrinated they are unable to see anything beyond their indoctrination. When Scriptural truth which opposes their indoctrination is presented it is often rejected, in part because they must seek relief from the resultant cognitive dissonance in that two opposing views presented as apparent truth cannot exist together in harmony in the same cranium. Such Christians also feel a strong attachment to their traditional religious beliefs and feel they must remain true to them regardless of their suspect Scriptural authenticity. To do otherwise would involve too much discomfort especially when coupled with social displacement. Another strong arbiter is the choice to support one’s Christian guru rather than anyone else who may appear as an interloper. Strangely, though the Lord taught He is our only Teacher in the ultimate sense, one’s “pastors” and spiritual “leaders” often have precedence even over the Lord Jesus. This obviously proves such people put less faith in Scripture and the truth therein which means they had better have good accident insurance:
And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” [Luke 6:39-40]
Our great Teacher exposes hidden evil. No secret can ever remain hidden in His presence. This does not mean that the world is not under great deception, however. The god of this world, as Paul described him, is in the very business of deception. It is his central calling. Since he is pure evil he must remain hidden. All those who work for him also must remain hidden. Their evil deeds must remain hidden. Anything done in secret is most often evil, otherwise why is it secret? At present there are many plans in place to engage in great evil but very few know about such plans. Back in March, when the plandemic first presented itself, there were people who immediately knew the overarching worldwide response to a simple virus was an elaborate hoax. It was planned for several years. Some knew about the plan in advance. Others were informed when the time came. They were told what to do. The vast majority of the world was clueless. A few quickly understood what was happening and did their best to report the truth but it was too late. Great fear had already taken hold. A killer virus was on the loose, something the world had never seen before, and millions upon millions would die, stacked up like cordwood in the streets.
It was all a ruse. Virtually everyone in authority quickly got on board, including the President, who shares the guilt, though not to the degree of certain governors. He had previously said the whole thing was a hoax. Then the next thing you know he’s got the big Pharma versions of Barbie and Ken right in our face every day telling the country to do the very opposite of what it should have done. He absolutely yielded to their authority and cannot live this down. As a result the thoroughly evil ones with great control had a field day. Many people died that never needed to die. The so-called authorities kept lying about the death totals also. They needed, in military parlance, a large body count to substantiate their illicit actions. Though every life lost was a precious life lost, many lives were lost needlessly and would not have been lost if those in charge had followed the usual proper medical protocols.
The CDC finally admitted in late August that the actual number of Americans who died only from the virus was obviously not the millions and millions it had initially projected or even the two hundred thousand most continue to insist upon, but only a mere nine thousand, an extremely minuscule fraction of reported casualties. I reported this right away in my article The Plandemic Truth Was Revealed Here Back in March: Now Confirmed. America was locked down, the economy was destroyed, and many more lives were lost not from the virus but from the evil and false response to it. We now know that the survival rate of those who actually contracted the virus for those under 70 years of age is 99.8%:
Age 00-19: 99.997%
Age 20-49: 99.980%
Age 50-69: 99.500%
Age 70 plus: 94.60% [3]
A great many never even contracted it. Also, the tests have been proven to be erroneous. The multiple thousands of tests conducted on many college campuses across the country recently, for example, revealed what appeared to be a raging pandemic. Guess how many of the 70,000 students who tested positive in that time frame were hospitalized? THREE. Guess how many died? NONE. [4]
As one more case in point regarding this particular magic virus, it now appears that it is quite possibly so elusive it often escapes detection. John Rappoport, a leading researcher and writer on the subject from the beginning, has revealed this distinct possibility in an article he posted yesterday: The Smoking Gun: Where is the Coronavirus? The CDC says it isn’t Available. [5]
But none of this really matters anymore. Once fear took hold and the majority was properly indoctrinated, truth and facts no longer registered. They still don’t. Those who revealed the truth in March and even before March continued telling the truth. Many more did the same. It was all to no avail because the public had been thoroughly cowed. I knew this back in March and wrote a post about it entitled The Control Test: Proving the Majority Compliant. It was due to the great emerging fearful duped and indoctrinated majority that everyone had to suffer, including all those who knew better. But this only means the evil planners knew they already had control of the majority prior to the plandemic and could play the majority like a drum. And they did. They knew exactly what to do and what buttons to push.
What about Christians? The same thing. The same majority not only fell for the whole thing but many were actually involved in the hidden secret and did what they were told like all the others. They revealed themselves for what they are. In fact, all the evil minions with smiling innocent faces and outer upstanding character who took part in the ruse revealed themselves for what they are. Many more are seeing this now. But it’s likely too late.
SOMETHING FAR WORSE IS COMING
The masks everyone have been forced to wear were only a prelude. They only involved Phase 1. The mask mandates were designed to confirm the compliant majority. They were a test to see how many Americans would actually submit. They were designed to soften up the populace and cause everyone to willingly forego their natural independence and constitutional rights. Again, fear was the primarily tool used in this regard. Real Christians know, however, that fear is the great enemy of faith. These two are polar opposites. In a time of fear the Lord instructs us to never give into it but remain in faith. Of course, if one has no faith, including Christians, fear is always the default position. Once the majority was overcome by fear back in March, it became silly putty in the hands of the great controllers.
And now there is something even greater upon us. Again, our President, whom many Christians trust implicitly, signed off on a new program back in the spring, a program that could act as Phase 2 in this ongoing drama. Though officially introduced in April of this year, its initial planning actually predated the lockdown, which further reveals the long-term prior scheduling of the overall strategy.
Called Operation Warp Speed,[6] its far-reaching agenda using various clandestine government alphabet agencies working in concert with big Pharma corporations is veiled in secrecy in no small part by granting undisclosed contracts to vaccine companies. [7] The covert goal, other than great monetary profit, is not to force every American to obey life-defeating overtures such as needlessly wearing masks which do more harm than good and shuttering churches and local businesses, but to coerce everyone to submit to a scheduled 300 million doses (for starters) of a fast-tracked vaccine with unknowable and highly suspect content. With a wink and a nod our President revealed that the military would be predominantly involved to administer this secretive program all across the country. Why do so few see the obvious red flags here?
It is quite apparent that no one will have a choice in the matter. Everyone will be forced to submit to a mandatory unsafe vaccine that will most likely not help the majority against Covid-19 at all, since most flu vaccines have at best about a 40% success rate but often do irreparable damage to one’s body. This is especially true since the normal approval and testing process has been fast-tracked. The Covid-19 vaccine must only be 50% effective. Regarding Covid-19 specifically, there has never been a safe and effective vaccine for coronaviruses. Trying to create one under such auspices is therefore highly problematic. Also, the current virus has appeared to have run its course. It never resulted in a pandemic or anything close to one, unless one considers that it was a successful mental pandemic. Oh, and in case you may be wondering, as it is with other vaccines, everyone involved in creating and administering the vaccine will have absolutely no liability whatsoever. [8]
The President should immediately clarify where he stands on this. Up until now he has dodged any question regarding the mandatory nature of the operation and its underlying objectives. In fact, the entire operation is being swept under the rug at the exact time it is gearing up for its massive nationwide overture.
So while we are going through this very heavy news month of October 2020, many nefarious hidden secret dealings are taking place and there is much outer political activity also taking place to act as cover for the other. The original plan was to administer the vaccinations before the election but this is presently looking unlikely. It did not help that human volunteers involved in the vaccine trials were getting very sick and injured, which assisted in delaying the process. It’s amazing this news even came out. Of course, millions have been suffering from such vaccine injuries over the last several years, especially defenseless children. [9] Nevertheless, after the brouhaha of the 2020 election finally settles down and is sorted out, be prepared to roll up your sleeve.
Of course, it is unlikely that you will be manhandled and held down while they stick a needle in you. It will be just as the preliminary in Phase 1: You generally cannot enter a grocery store or place of business or stay employed without being forced to wear a mask. It doesn’t matter if you work in a grocery store or make a million dollars a year as an NFL coach. In other words, without a mask you cannot buy or sell or earn a living. So will it be with what is coming. You won’t take the vaccine? Okay, no problem. Just let me get your name for the permanent record…
And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. [Revelation 13:16-17]
Of course, as regards anything else, the Lord Jesus has supreme overall power and authority, and with enough prayer, fasting, telling the truth, and successful spiritual warfare, these secret hidden plans can be exposed and mitigated. But Americans in general MUST stand up for their rights as free people. We MUST work hard to get informed. Many more Christians MUST quit playing around, stop giving into fear, and get serious with God.
And rather than prioritizing and succumbing to the strong deception of nefarious controllers and their hidden agendas, we must obey the holy mandate of the Lord.
“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.” [Luke 11:23] [10]
© 2020 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] © A.P. Carter
[2] Luke 19:13 KJV
[3] CDC
[4] https://thefederalist.com/2020/10/07/the-covid-campus-plague-that-never-came-university-deaths-remain-virtually-nonexistent/
[5] https://blog.nomorefakenews.com/2020/10/08/the-smoking-gun-where-is-the-coronavirus-the-cdc-says-it-isnt-available/
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Warp_Speed
[7] https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/operation-warp-speed-is-using-a-cia-linked-contractor-to-keep-covid-19-vaccine-contracts-secret/
[8] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/04/15/2020-08040/amendment-to-declaration-under-the-public-readiness-and-emergency-preparedness-act-for-medical
[9] https://childrenshealthdefense.org/
[10] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
FINDING OUR ORIGINS: HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Christians believe in a Creator. We believe the Creator made us in His image. Christians are also highly intelligent and knowledgeable, and prove that faith in God and scientific fact are not mutually exclusive.
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Though proponents of secular science insist there is no God, they are also forced to believe in an unexplainable original uncaused cause. They must admit, no matter how distasteful it may be, that they’ll most likely never make it to the rainbow’s end. They have no idea how Creation, or the “Universe,” came to be at its earliest instant, though they content themselves with the highly implausible possibility they may figure it out someday. In the meantime, the surrender towel they threw into the ring remains there, above the canvas, stuck forever in suspended animation. For them, discovering the origin of Creation has reached a dead end. They can go no further. Though such anti-God proponents et al are saturated with scientific knowledge up to that point, if indeed their vast pronouncements of scientific reality are indeed factual, their otherwise powerful brains come up short at explaining beginnings. Could it be their absence of faith makes the original uncaused cause forever undiscoverable to them?
TRACING OUR ROOTS
For those who engage in the work of genealogy, often inspired to trace their personal family tree, it can be an intriguing and exciting adventure, especially when finding a slightly harder to locate previously unknown link in the chain. They continue going back in time adding more pieces to the puzzle. As they do the effort grows more difficult. The people one searches for become increasingly harder to find. Though one may have success in the early going mapping out ancestral generations, even going back several centuries, one discovers an eventual unwelcome interval when the trail is lost, when he must expend more time and energy on finding the next ancestor in line who has inadvertently perchance made himself scarce, than discovering all the other ancestors up to that point. Inevitably, whether Mr. Scarce or another after him is eventually found, one will reach a dead end. There will be no more ghosts of the past located.
Upon reaching this place, a person must simply face reality. The records grow scarce to the point of non-existence or at least it appears that way. With no written records one has nothing to work with. There is always the hope that maybe something will be found to grant another clue but the odds are against it. Even professionals with relatively unlimited budgets can only go so far.
ONCE UPON A TIME
As a way to remedy such an occurrence, what if one simply started making things up? What if one simply began creating ancestral characters? As an aside, we know that primitive people with no written records have oral histories stretching back into the distant past. They particularly honor the great ones of their bygone times who performed outstanding deeds to better the cause of their people. In time, the honor they give such ancestors becomes ancestor worship. And inevitably, such great ancestors become deified. They transform them into gods. Later generations approaching and appearing in the present accept such “history” without question. They believe wholeheartedly in the legends of their clan. It helps to make them what they are though much of their history is contrived.
Secular science does the same. Rejecting any idea of a Creator, an original personal uncaused cause, they insist on finding purely scientific and factual answers without getting bogged down in foggy legends or what they often term religious nonsense. On the surface, of course, this is good. On the other hand, however, without keeping an open mind to possible spiritual origins beyond their understanding, even though much in such a field is obviously suspect and easily refuted by facts, such people have a decided tendency to grow ever more cynical. It is why many of these people refuse to believe in God. The concept of God looks like a fairy tale. Some of them consider invoking God to be a cop out. And with such unbridled skepticism it is only a hop, skip, and a jump into outright mockery. With such an arrogant attitude which insists only on the use of what their intelligent but extremely limited brains can fathom, they eliminate the very place where the bulk of answers are found.
In the meantime, they must continue with their version of Creation based purely on the discoveries of the scientific method. They continue going back in time (by the billions of years) explaining to the best of their ability how it all came to be. And then they reach the same dead end. They are at a loss to explain it any further. Their only conclusion for the riddle of the Universe is an original uncaused cause. An unknown beginning. Even if they go back to a single point from which the entire Cosmos emerged or burst forth, there is no satisfactory scientific explanation for that single point. How did it get there? Do they think the process of minimizing the Universe to a single subatomic particle in the great distant past makes it easier to understand and accept our origins? Intelligent thinking people know better. The scientists know better. They still refuse, however, to consider a possible spiritual reality or something or someone beyond their ability to see or perceive.
So they make things up. In much the same way primitive tribes construct a legendary reckoning of ancient ancestors, filling in gaps as they go with fictional stories based loosely on suspect oral histories, so must science, the supposed facts people, come up with “answers” to fill in their knowledge gaps in order to complete the story, or their version of events. For backup they rely on one another. It becomes nothing more than circular logic or baseless biased reasoning. It happened that way because we say it did and we are the ones who know because we are the ones with all the credentials. And thus science destroys their one major caveat by becoming religion.
BREAKING FREE
I understood early in life that there must be something more. Looking around and sizing things up brought me to the conclusion, even as a kid, that things simply didn’t add up. Rather than plunge ahead into life with no thought of trying to figure it out, I always allowed for a belief in what may be termed higher things. Though unknown, of course, there must be something else out there I could not perceive but could at some point possibly discover. Such a belief and inevitable search allowed for a drag of sorts on doing what society expected and demanded regarding full attention toward excellence in completing a prescribed course. We understand that devoting full attention to whatever it is we must do makes the job easier.
However, as we mature and face our responsibilities, we collect out of necessity a growing number of hot glowing irons in the fire at the same time, each of which demands our attention, and therefore the idea of devoting full attention to any single one can only happen on an effective piecemeal basis. For those whose lives are so simple they only engage in a single activity and can thus give full devotion to it, I would think their chances of success would be relatively high in that particular field. For most people, however, they must devote themselves to any number of activities, engaging in them all at the same time in turn, like the guy who juggles bowling balls and meat cleavers. Life gets tricky that way. But it also tells us, through our previously unknown ability to excel at several activities at once, that we can spare some time for higher things as well, even though the latter might not be a top priority.
However, until our personal search for truth moves to the top of the list, we will never excel in that endeavor. And without such excelling God will forever remain in the distance.
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
THE PLANDEMIC TRUTH WAS REVEALED HERE BACK IN MARCH: NOW CONFIRMED
The news is now out that only 6% of COVID-19 deaths were attributable to COVID-19 alone. This is a shocking admission of truth.
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As of 8/22/20, 161,392 people were reported to have died from the virus in the United States. The actual number was approximately 9,210. [1]
Americans have been forced to participate in this. What will be the fallout? Will anyone be held accountable? Will Americans at last come to their senses? What about the millions of Christians who participated from the beginning and are still participating at present? Will they ever wake up? Who are the real leaders of American Christianity at the moment? Who are the few telling the truth?
I wrote the following posts back in March:
MARCH 16, 2020:
PANICKED OVER A TRICK PANDEMIC
MARCH 22, 2020:
THE CURRENT SHUTDOWN: AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCOVER AND PRACTICE ORIGINAL CHRISTIANITY
MARCH 31, 2020:
THE CONTROL TEST: PROVING THE MAJORITY COMPLIANT
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
WHEN YOUR BELIEFS ARE WRONG BUT YOU INSIST ON THEM ANYWAY
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Can you say cult?
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OBLIVIOUS OF ORIGINS
It is a strange phenomenon. People become convinced of certain things they think are correct and true. They never look at where such beliefs came from or where they originated. To them, the beliefs they espouse are just there. They were always there. They have no creation point. Apparently, somewhere in the distant past (as ascertained in their limited understanding, but likely relatively recent), a particular belief came to be in some otherworldly strange manner and slowly began spreading among a small populace somewhere like an unseen cloud and began entering minds, as a foundational fact, as intangible truth, and took hold on brain cells like a burr on a sock.
No defense was offered against it. No defense was apparently possible. A person had set beliefs, was going about his business one day, and then—boom—a new thought. A new belief. Did they even acknowledge it at the time? No. The person suddenly stopped in his tracks for a second, knowing something happened but not sure what, stared straight ahead at nothing, eyes slightly gazed, with maybe even a slight quizzical look and a cock of the head, and almost as quickly went right back to whatever he was doing, blissfully unaware of what just happened and totally apathetic to the process.
Is that how it happened? Is that how some ridiculous lie got planted in his brain? And how do we know it’s a ridiculous lie? For starters, long before we ever get into testing it against Scripture, and such an approach would not work anyway, because an increasing number of people are becoming all the more illiterate regarding Scripture on the one hand and absolutely hostile to it on the other, the better approach is to compare it against nature. But it appears that won’t work either because so many of these people are disconnected from nature and have no inkling of what nature is and how it works. But if one is able to do this one will see that nature itself often rejects such so-called truth. It doesn’t work there, or likely even exists there. If one applies it there it will either have little or no effect or cause harm, and sometimes great harm. Nature will tell us what works and what doesn’t, though only on a rudimentary natural level.
MENTAL STRONGHOLDS DELETION TREATMENT
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. [2Corinthians 10:3-6]
Humans must eventually grow beyond the law of the jungle and low life living and aspire to higher concepts. But any such higher concept must be beneficial to all or else it is simply a Trojan Horse benefiting a few. Once one puts the brain cells together to figure this out, that there is one standard for a few and another standard for everyone else, then one should be able to eventually comprehend the concept that whatever beliefs become attached within one’s not so bright willing minds which causes one to accept such beliefs as true without question, and act on them continually though the results are either always bad or never work as stated, then one will see that such deceptive beliefs, which start as tiny seeds, arrived surreptitiously straight from the bad guys in control who live according to a standard that always benefits them but hurts, uses, confines, and deceives everyone else.
Whoever can finally see this and get it realizes they must immediately stop believing and acting on such false beliefs with bad or fruitless results, do their best to get all the garbage out of their minds, and start looking for beliefs that are beneficial, good, sound, and loving—beliefs that actually propose we treat other people well, as we would like to be treated—and open our eyes to see the positive benefit of such for all. Unless a person is really messed up he or she will always appreciate being treated with love. Loving is not a means to a specific end necessarily but an action for any moment without an agenda other than blessing another person and helping them in a positive way.
Therefore, a good result that is beneficial to all proves a good belief. Rather than believing stuff that either doesn’t work and never has, is it not far better to believe and act on beliefs that prove beneficial for all, both for individuals and also for communities of individuals? No one can argue against this if they possess a sound coherent mind.
If one is brainwashed, however, or overcome with some false belief that does harm masquerading in the guise of being beneficial, one will never relent until their brainwashing is cured and they are set free from its effect. If they are not actually brainwashed at all but have latched on to a bad belief system and engage in evil behavior of some form to some degree for money, then there’s your second answer regarding why they do it. Sellouts are as seemingly ubiquitous as the willingly deceived.
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” [Luke 16:13]
To summarize: (1) False beliefs are sent from controlling evil ones into unsuspecting minds possessing no appropriate defense in order to get them to believe a lie and act on it because it primarily benefits the evil ones, and (2) False beliefs are sold to people for money. The first benefits the bad guys and the second benefits the bad guys and the sold-out lackeys under their control. So whether one sells out to evil by accepting, believing in, and acting on false beliefs which produce bad results because one is too fearful to stand against them and would rather weakly follow the herd as social lemmings over a cliff, or one accepts false beliefs and acts on them because he gets paid for it and in a few instances some are greatly enriched, the same result happens against those who refuse to abide by or buy into either one.
It used to be that a greater number of people were both smart enough and strong enough to test any strange belief before accepting and acting on it. They wanted to know whether such a belief was good for themselves and their families. Many already know what has always worked and they knew treating people right, being honest, and engaging in good productive work always worked to bring good ends. But over the last few decades an entirely new mass of people have come upon the scene that have foregone their natural intelligence and strength and replaced positive, wholesome, and nurturing foundational beliefs with ridiculous nonsense philosophies spawning corrupt, immoral, and depraved outcomes. Many are too young to see the long term bad results, likely involving exponential growth, which will arrive later more so than at present, though immediate consequences are right before them. They see the bad consequences of the actions, however, not so much as directly tied to the beliefs they espouse and act on, such as their own hate, negative emotional outbursts, and manic attacks against those who oppose them, but the result of resistance by those who refuse such beliefs, which causes the young ones to fight all the more.
Not so long ago, we used to call young people ideologically naïve because they desired a good world where everyone got along. They did their best to practice love and peace as they knew it. This present generation, however, contains a large element engaging in the very opposite. This element engages in collective hate, destruction, evil, extremely foul language, the inability to control their impulses, and an apparent desire to stop at nothing toward the furtherance of their cause. They are much more concerned with strictly adhering to their negative beliefs and cultish practices which refuse any compromise, and attempting to destroy any and all unlike them, rather than engage in positive acts toward their fellow man such as assisting and loving other people.
For example, rather than attempting to right the wrongs of society by, let’s say, doing something good somewhere for one individual, they would rather lash out in evil against a mythical collective group which is causing, in their minds, all the harm. But they never seem to connect that mythical group with the actual group lurking behind the scenes. Instead they take out their wrath on regular people being subjected to the same evil from the high hats running the world. They also accept payment from intermediaries, unable to perceive their upward connections, and sell themselves to do evil. It should be clear that many of these people are suffering from severe cognitive dissonance. They are expending their rage on the wrong people.
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
Imagine all the completely unknown and essentially invisible people who never make the headlines that spend their lives doing little acts of love here and there to help others. This group actually comprises the majority. The evil group of wealthy controllers is actually exceptionally miniscule with regard to the earth’s overall population. Those who do evil at their behest, whether they know it or not, for money or not, are still a small percentage regarding the world’s population.
The great majority of the world’s population are simply obscure people trying to survive and do well who mean no harm and actually help one another, though for many it may be understated and maybe not so hands-on. How do we know this? Because this world is still being held together. If the evil people doing all the destruction of the present comprised the majority it would be the end the world. It would likely mean the end of humanity. This has come relatively close to happening before in ancient history. But the cause was not necessarily natural events but man’s inhumanity to man, which was driven by hate and followed with destruction. There is a perfect example of this in modern times when an American president gave the go ahead to use atomic weapons to obliterate 130,000 defenseless Japanese civilians comprised mostly of women, children, and old men who presented no wartime threat. Due to radiation sickness and many of the injured dying later, deaths doubled by the end of that year. Many of the survivors suffered greatly the rest of their lives. It was pure barbarism on a massive scale. These unfortunate people were seen as evil and worthy of destruction. Anyone venture to guess where the real evil resided?
Whenever one sees such hatred for other people and great destruction in immense proportions, one must know that very evil forces are causing it and that includes those in overt positions of great power. These people know how to murder millions (and have) and cause destruction in the trillions (and have) but are also excellent propaganda artists who know exactly how to put a good face on their evil work and transform it into something noble and honorable in the minds of men. It is not. It is neither noble nor honorable and the only way they get away with it is by convincing good people to accept phony explanations, adopt evil beliefs disguised as culturally acceptable, and act on their behalf to do their bidding. It’s a confidence game. They are con men. Historically, they are always able to deceive and thereby convince the majority, largely through simple fear. It’s easy when one controls the major media. They will also use force, of course, on the few strong and freedom-loving willing to make an initial stand, but only enough to make their schemes work. It often does not take many threats to force compliance and the few stragglers are dealt with in the usual ways.
However, they would much rather indoctrinate people and get them to act on such deceptions on their own, and turn their evil enterprises into counterfeit noble causes seemingly benefitting all, when the implementing of such causes actually only benefits the ruling cult and its sycophants, and institutes an obliteration of freedom for everyone else.
Why are people so uninformed and fearful that they keep falling for this? Why do so many religious leaders, politicians, and academics ostensibly preach love and peace, and push all-encompassing plans to supposedly help the masses, but always end up supporting hate, destruction, and murder as a necessary component of such plans? How can they do both at the same time?
The answer is they can’t. In their duplicitous minds, any means justifies their end goals. They have become brainwashed that they are good, that they do good things, and that they support good causes, but in reality, though they may engage in such on the surface or within their small social circle, they also stand with the evil ones doing evil. The evil in their lives is thus far bigger and more real, though existing beyond a fake-out curtain which serves well to hide their true intent, than any hypothetical good they project, whether they are intelligent enough or honest enough to see it. What matters more, of course, is how many others see it. And what has now been made quite obvious, based on the great evil they not only get away with, but convince an apparent plurality to agree with and support, the majority never sees it. And not only that, the majority has been conditioned, primarily through fear, to never acknowledge it.
PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH
If one is going to actually believe in love and practice it, one will have to rid his mind of all hate. We know what hate is. It is easy to spot. We know it by hateful actions. Love is the same. We know love by the actions of love. One cannot hate and love at the same time. One must choose to do one or the other. There is no “I hate a little but mostly I love.” No. If one hates they have been consumed by it and it drives out the actual ability to love. One has to work at being loving. It is not easy, not because it doesn’t possibly come easy, but because the world is so filled with hate anyone who loves and strives for a loving world is seen as strange. It also make haters feel personally uncomfortable because they know they are not like that (loving) and don’t want to be made aware of it. It is personally convicting to such people when they see others doing good and striving for good outcomes. Love always starts with the individual.
But again, for those who are simply trying to make their lives work the right way, those who comprise the majority in this world, they show naturally that love is not so hard. Quick question: How many people do you know who do evil to others in order to get by in the world and how many do you know who are doing their best to live right without doing evil to others in order to get by? Most people can see that good people in the natural sphere are those who do the latter. This comprises the majority. This means it is only an evil few who live evil lives and use others for their wealth and power. They are liars, cheats, murderers, and thieves. In time they rise to higher positions of power and control in the world through these very means. They do it by stepping on others. As they rise they have less concern for others. Most people, however, are not like that so they never rise to such heights. Most people want no part of engaging in such evil practices just to gain high control and power and receive the monetary and material benefits thereof. They would rather try to do good. They would rather never give themselves over to such evil so they choose not to engage in such behavior. Their consciences are in good working order. Also, they seem to have eternity on their minds.
It should be clear then, that the unknown humans at the very top of this world in possession of most of the wealth, power, and control are evil. This explains the great evil in the world. This great evil does not come from regular people of sound mind who strive to do the right thing. It comes from only a few who have dedicated their lives to serving the devil.
They hate the Lord Jesus with all their heart.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” [Revelation 21:1-8][1]
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
BREAKING FREE FROM CHRISTIAN PROGRAMMING
If you’re a Christian of some form or another, the odds are high that you’ve been religiously programmed in some way or another. They don’t call it indoctrination for nothing. You must find a way to break free.
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A LONG TIME AGO IN A LAND FAR AWAY
Let’s set the scene: Two thousand years ago, in a small secluded land, a solitary figure arose from abject obscurity and began to teach. He gathered a small group of followers, twelve in number, to assist Him. He explained that they must be fully dedicated and so this small band of men lived as a brotherhood twenty-four hours a day. They traveled the countryside, visited small villages, and on occasion ventured into larger towns, even those not necessarily of their ancestral tradition.
These men were thoroughly unknown to the rest of the world, but also remained obscure among their own in the early days of the mission. If it were not for some extremely extraordinary events that took place among them by the hand of this Teacher, the group would likely have never achieved any notoriety at all and would have just as likely faded out, unknown to history. There were such groups that did. Local bands of rabbis and students dotted the place, this little country, a place with a centuries-old tradition of legends and stories of past exploits and endeavors. They said it was once at the top of nations, that it achieved the greatness reserved only for the rarest and best, and that it achieved it in a way no other country had ever done.
The residents believed these stories. Their priests and doctors of law, what some referred to as shamans and others as religious enforcers, kept the traditions alive through various means, at best to maintain revealed truths and at worse to control the populace and extract wealth. The people had no choice but to honor these men since they had attained power over the people by possessing closely held access to the ancestral writings and the ability to decipher their content. Only they could read from them and deliver teachings based upon them. No one else had access to any meaningful degree.
The new Teacher had been raised upon these traditions and knew them as well as anyone. He had become very well versed in the teachings thereof, as others had done, but most of the others had taken another turn long before by entering the ranks of the learned by joining up with the established denominations from which honor and wealth could be appropriated. Many a proud parent saw their grown children become exalted expositors of the law and sacred parchments, not knowing or apparently caring that such expositions had become stale and distant from those of the originals long before.
The great patriarchs, in a distant age, and later prophets, were said to be in close contact with what this strange and small people referred to as the One God. They had communed with Him and heard His great Words, and honored the great God with their lives. The people of the present knew conditions must have been much different and better in those days long ago and a few longed for such to be again.
SOLITARY MAN
The new Teacher did not take the traditional ministerial route. He was no mere ecclesiastic. He did not join the ranks of the powerful public officially-ordained clerics but struck out completely on His own. He was a solitary Man, a lone figure on the outer fringes, collecting not the learned ones from religious academies as student followers, but everyday men, fishermen and tradesmen, and even the lowborn and despised, like a certain tax collector. This merry band of misfits was truly unique and showed no future promise that anyone could see, and appeared destined, like so many others, for the scrap heap of wayward wonderers and wretched falsifiers.
Except, again, for the curious presence of those otherworldly occurrences that no one else had ever seen or experienced—those strange works that followed them wherever they went—those “extremely extraordinary events.” And when people saw the events, they also began paying more attention to this Man’s teachings and pronouncements. They noticed first, that His teachings were not actually so different at all from what they had grown up hearing, but secondly, that he delivered His teachings and pronouncements in a way that no one had ever done before or even heard of before. He was powerful. He never simply read a script or spoke in the usual dry and monotonous manner of the elders and priests, or carried any scrolls that anyone could see, but delivered His words as if somehow, in some unknown way, He actually was the words. His words did not simply fall to the ground or quickly dissipate in the immediate air as all were used to, but were delivered in a way in which the words entered directly into a person, like the air he or she breathed, and stirred his soul and revived his heart. It was not as if they were words, but food. They were like spiritual food. Yes, that was it.
Others came. They sat enthralled at what they were hearing. The Scriptures were coming alive as delivered by this obscure young Preacher, if one could call Him that. He was more like a Father teaching His children, but how could that be? He was so young. And a tradesman! He bore the mark of much physical strength and long toil in the hard and rough elements. No preacher or priest they knew ever looked like that. How does such a man have so much wisdom and ability? Old men with much experience, vaunted elders of the land, had not the vast wisdom and abilities of this Man.
Who is He?
TOTAL TRANSFORMATION
From the above description we can ascertain quite the contrast between The Lord’s original ministry and that of later forms of Christianity which obviously do not possess this powerful spiritual dynamic. Their character exposes them not so much as Christianity light but as entirely different entities. We fully understand such a contrast in other fields or subjects, when something vibrant and energetic either becomes downgraded over time through use, neglect, or attack, or when it is entirely replaced by a facsimile which merely poses as the original. Why don’t we consider this in the case of Christianity?
The same thing happened to the nation of ancient Israel. There was time when it reached a zenith among nations and was blessed with God’s full protection and providence. And all throughout its history to that point there was at the very least a strong Remnant of the faithful which kept the fire burning, but this didn’t last. The Remnant certainly lasted and remained as vibrant as ever. What changed was the number of spiritually energized participants holding true to the Word first delivered. The majority had drifted away from the heart of God and flaked off. Whatever they did outwardly, if they maintained the correct geography, or became members of an official religious order, didn’t matter. They had turned on the Lord in heart.
Thus we see when studying the history of the nation, a new majority arose which was not connected whatsoever to the original or in fellowship to the Remnant. They certainly were not connected to God. The fruit was not there. The same has happened in Christianity. It has happened because Christians allowed themselves to be torn from their roots and planted elsewhere under the authority of counterfeit vinedressers in entirely different vineyards. In time the forms of Christianity these Christians became associated with were essentially the only ones they knew. They did not know a variant curriculum had been foisted upon them or their parents or ancestors. And through the use of the usual religious fear tactics by those in charge to keep everyone on the plantation, they had no heart to attempt an escape but settled into their respective cultural practices and identities. They had become captured and it often passed from generation to generation.
It is the clear evidence of indoctrination. Their lives reveal religious programming. Why their brand doesn’t match first century Christianity does not matter to them because actual history does not matter, both because those who know it reject it and those who don’t have no frame of reference. As far as the latter are concerned, their denomination’s version of events is the only one that matters. This is a bad bridge to cross because the next step is actually defaming the originals as primitive and unenlightened, and unaware of “higher truths” arising later, an otherwise clear falsehood. This perspective also implicates the Lord Himself as a veritable imposter, meaning a “new Jesus” has been created in the minds of these unfortunate ones, both to make their faux forms work and also to relieve their conscience. When presented with the real Lord Jesus He appears to them as a foreigner and His real curriculum is seen as wholly incorrect, unworkable, and even strange.
BREAKING FREE
When we see the Lord for who He actually is we understand, as the Scriptures state, that He never changes. We are still in the Age of Grace. With reference to the Church it began at Pentecost. Nothing has changed regarding His pertinent commandments since then. What was done in the beginning remains in effect now. For those Christians who disagree, they may argue until the cows come home but have no leg to stand on and the Lord will never bless them. Until they get their hearts right before Him such Christians will never see what those people saw so long ago in His ministry. What He did then He is still doing now.
Maybe only a few have experienced this. Maybe the Remnant is comparatively small as it was in those OT times when the generational line was reduced to a thread. Or maybe many Christians are not doing their work to become good disciples, “rightly dividing the Word of truth.” Can it be that most are satisfied with far less than the Lord has appropriated? Don’t we all want the full blessing? Don’t we know our Lord will not only rain down His love but also His very Spirit to fill us with His energetic and vibrant life, to do as He did and as the early believers did? There comes a time when we need to get out more. Abundant life awaits for all those who seek it.
There’s a green pasture out there where dreams come true.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.” [John 10:7-13][1]
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS STRIKES BACK
The Lord Jesus came to His people during a time of profound national darkness. There had been no prophetic word for over four centuries and the resultant void was filled by religious pretenders.
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BIG BAD JOHN
John the Immerser was an absolute phenomenon, a sensation. No one had carried such an anointing since the times of Elisha, the man who took the mantle from Elijah. One will notice, however, that though Elisha was given a double portion of Elijah’s powerful spiritual anointing, it was still Elijah’s spirit. These two men lived in the ninth century BC, and it was approximately a full 900 years from the beginning of Elijah’s ministry to that of John’s.
Malachi, the final Hebrew prophet before John, ceased his ministry in the late fifth century BC. This is what he wrote at the end of his book concerning John the Immerser:
“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.” [Malachi 4:5-6]
Those wise with understanding would have known that this personage who was to come would not be the actual man Elijah. The man himself mattered little in that he was but a vessel. It was the Spirit of God that rested upon Elijah. The great prophet is certainly to be commended for his magnificent discipleship, obedience, and determination, but he would be the first to tell you that the mantle (garment) upon him was the mantle of God.
GOD’S MANTLE IN ACTION
I watched a preacher recently on video. I had never heard him preach before but his name was vaguely familiar. He was a veteran preacher, having already spent many years as a willing vessel. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. One night in prayer, the Lord suddenly spoke to him and said He was going to heal everybody in the church the next night. One obviously does not often hear that. The man believed it right off and began looking forward to the next night’s service with much expectancy.
The next day he started telling some members of his congregation what to expect. It would be a great night! By the time the meeting began, however, all was dead. There was a heaviness. It felt empty. The man started wondering why but being a mature minister and knowing what he had heard the night before, he understood that darkness was fighting back. They all began to pray and worship. They fought through it. Later, when the time came for the healing service to begin, he had people line up in the main aisle. The first two in line were women who had been battling relatively severe health issues. The preacher thought, “Oh Lord, why couldn’t You have started this out with something easier?” But he got his little vial of anointing oil and began walking toward the steps of the platform to go down and begin praying for people.
However, something strange happened before he ever got there. He felt something on his back. He thought a fellow minister on the platform behind him had placed something upon him that felt like a coat. He wasn’t amused. He turned around but there was nobody there close enough. He felt his back and there was nothing there, at least nothing he could see. But he felt a tangible presence of something that could only be explained as the mantle of God.
While still on the platform he turned to the front to begin going down to pray for the people but before he got there (again), he saw that the first woman in line was already feeling the very powerful presence of the Lord! She had her hands up, her eyes closed, and was praying and worshipping. She suddenly began reacting to God’s presence all the more and before the preacher ever got to her or anointed her with oil she was instantly healed of her disease! Then the same thing happened to the next woman in line. And the next. Before the night was over everyone there who needed healing was supernaturally healed by the Spirit of God.
The Lord did exactly as He told the preacher He would do the night before. Darkness had tried to intervene but the people had stayed faithful. Darkness failed.
OUR FAITHFULNESS TO GOD
I’ve been around a while. I’ve seen a lot. I’ve experienced a lot. I could write a book on the personal miracles I’ve experienced in my life. It often starts with an internal spiritual desire, what some describe as a “burning.” It is something relating directly to the will of God. When a person catches ahold of that, and prays about it, and seeks the Lord about it, and is faithful to it, the desire grows. It is the Lord confirming that one is on the right track.
But then the enemy enters the picture and tries to mess it up. Spiritual warfare breaks out. There is a strong attempt to bring discouragement and a lack of energy. One has to fight through it. It takes time. Again, I could tell you stories. Determined as I was, and in great need of the miracle, there was no turning back. When you have a big fish on the line you may have to play him for a while. The time comes when you at last break through, defeat the enemy, and the very thing you prayed about, that which looked impossible in the beginning, actually comes to pass. This is what a spiritual fight and faithfulness can do. My life was changed for the better on several occasions through miraculous means. If I had not stayed faithful and determined to fight alongside the Lord the great victories would never have happened.
THIS PRESENT DARKNESS
America is blowing up. Great evil has emerged. It is not unlike what happened in the first century AD. After 400 plus years of no prophetic word the nation of Israel continued to decline from within. Its spiritual weakness made it prone to attack from without and such attacks were often cakewalks for the enemy. What happened to the prophets? Why did the Lord stop sending prophets? I can answer that by asking the same question regarding America. We used to have a majority of solid Christian people and solid Christian leaders in this country. They knew the Word. Why? Because it was being taught seven days a week in some way or another. As time went on, however, the Christian strength of America continued a steady decline. Why? Because the solid Christians and Christian leaders began dying off and fading out, the latter largely through spiritual compromise. Then preachers began acting exactly like politicians in that their funding sources had to be protected at all costs. They began serving money rather than serving God. The Christians under these ministers never put up much of a fight and let them get away with it.
The enemy invaded the void. In ancient Israel’s time, the enemy that invaded the spiritual void included the religious leaders who eventually grew so demonic they sold out their country. They chose the rabid Zealots over the Lord Jesus and His followers.
These people you see in the streets today are much like the Zealots of old who were willing to destroy their own country in their effort to defeat Rome. Rome was never defeated by them but Israel ceased to exist forever. After they murdered the Lord things continued getting worse year by year until the final conflagration in AD 70. It was the result of rejecting love and peace and choosing instead ever greater amounts of hatred, bitterness, and anger until they were consumed by evil.
But the early Christians thrived. It was a spiritual war and the early believers won. The kingdom of the Lord Jesus continued to expand all across the world. At present there are a great many strong Spirit-filled Christians in America winning a spiritual war and the devil is striking back in any which way he can. He has many deceived people doing his work who care nothing for the Lord. This fight will grow much worse over the next few months.
Darkness is reacting to Light. It is reacting violently. Darkness is fighting for survival.
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” [John 3:19-21][1]
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
RECOGNIZING THE DEVIL
The Lord Jesus said there is certainly a devil. He also said the devil is a liar and deceiver. But the world is unaware of this. The devil’s greatest trick is convincing the world he doesn’t exist.
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REVEALING INVISIBLE EVIL
The heart of a person is judged not necessarily by his words but by his outward behavior. Sometimes certain people say one thing and do another, but curiously, are able to hide the incongruity. It is likely because their speech is such that it enthralls and captivates, and people fall for it like a load of bricks. After being captivated, or in other words, brought under a spell, such people no longer notice or even care about the resultant actions of said speaker since they have been emotionally brainwashed by the flowery though false words.
THE MAJORITY IS UNDER A TRANCE
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” [Matthew 7:13-14][1]
Many years ago I was talking to someone in church. I mentioned what the Lord said about the majority. I said the Lord said only a few would be saved. It was possibly the very next service when the pastor, in the process of his preaching, suddenly railed against this truth. He wore an expression of disdain, eyed me in the big crowd, and said something to the effect, “What’s this about only a few being saved?”
This happened to me a few times, comparatively speaking. I would quote a Scripture, someone would not understand, gossip would eventually get back to the pastor, and I would hear a rebuttal from the pulpit. Of course, the pastor in question was at that time in the process of transforming his successful church into a megachurch. He had already shipped off tapes of his sermons to Christian TV. He was always talking about the necessity of money.
He was not by any means a bad man. He was an excellent preacher, really gifted. But he really believed in going big and didn’t want anything keeping him from his giant goals. Done correctly, this is obviously our mandate, but it must be done according to the Lord’s ministry example. We know what that was by simply reading Scripture. Alternative means can be a trap. Whenever someone falls into such a trap he will keep up the expansion protocol, likely because it looks like success, and refuse to look back. If someone may say the Lord never did it that particular way it doesn’t register.
Now here’s the deal: Great wonderful things often happen within the context of a false understanding. The Lord blesses us with much grace. We carry around incorrect suppositions about Scripture until we gain more knowledge. We must be teachable. We must stand up to correction. But many Christians are willingly clueless by choice. They rarely read the Word and only received snippets here and there. Much of this is never due to a lack of brainpower but to spiritual laziness.
SABBATH REST?
Though I was the dutiful churchgoing Christian soldier for decades it did not mean I was not aware of many gross inconsistencies in official Christianity, one of which involved the Sabbath. According to the Law of Moses the Sabbath is Saturday. It is the seventh and final day of the week. This never changed for the early Christians. But by the second and third centuries or so the Saturday Sabbath was changed to the Sunday Sabbath. There were many obvious reasons for this which I will not get into here. Nor am I stating any religious observance mandate here. I only bring it up to further the previous point.
You see, I grew up going to church on Sundays. Pretty much every Christian did. Thankfully, because of the kind of church I had to go to, one was only required to attend one service. As a young adult after my born again experience in a (ahem) new and different church, we had services on Sunday morning and Sunday night. And I loved every minute of it. Later on, however, once marriage and kids and responsibilities and full adulthood arrived it involved much more work to continue this process. Then I began to think more about what the Sabbath was supposed to be. It was originally created by God as a day of rest. But if you are running around all day long going to church starting from the early morning to late Sunday night, where is the day of rest?
We also always had a midweek service. There were other church-related activities. By the end of the week you were run ragged and never got a day off. This violates the Word of God. And it will cost a person eventually. But if one fully buys into the always-going-to-church idea it should be obvious one has little or no time left for private study. Such people become bound by their church in that everything they know or believe largely comes from there. Christians thus learn to obey the obligations of their church and pastor as the way to get along and cover all the bases. If something arises in contrast to this it is usually rejected, even if it is pure Scripture.
Regarding the pastor I mentioned earlier, he eventually got his megachurch. They had multiple millions of dollars coming in. He established a well-known presence on Christian television. I’m sure many great and wonderful things transpired as a result. A great many unknown people who gave sacrificially made it all happen. He lived, of course, as many successful church leaders do, on donations. I’m sure many of these people were blessed in their giving. I know I was. But the Lord instructed me to leave before all the latter happened. Due to a powerful sense of loyalty I didn’t want to, but I obeyed. I think the pastor had a good heart and good intentions. But he was not beyond insisting on his own way or stepping on those who did not agree.
WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN
One would think one could figure out what often happens next. Those who study OT history do. One of this pastor’s mentors, while he was still up and coming, was a megachurch leader. This guy had built a huge church plant even beyond megachurch standards. He had an extremely high profile and was highly touted in the Christian press. Many years later a massive scandal was revealed there that involved an unbelievable amount of sexual shenanigans of the grossest variety. Of course, all that evil was going on while he and his church were being highly touted by all the official morons who held him up as a Biblical example, though he was actually nothing of the kind. This included my former pastor who was likely shocked when the news came out. At least I hope that’s the way it was with him.
I’m sure there were people who knew the truth as the truth was happening but such people are always in the minority. They are seen as those against all the good stuff. The ones who love all the good stuff and never question anything are the spiritually braindead. These always account for the majority. We have an endless stream of just such a majority who always insist that their pastor, their church, their doctrines, their practices, and their beliefs are absolutely perfect and anyone who differs even slightly can simply get the hell out. They will turn on you in a heartbeat. Then later on when the words of those who tried to tell the truth were proven true, the big boisterous we-know-everything majority becomes the not-a-peep silent majority. They don’t want to mention they were wrong. They run like a bear’s on their tail. It hurts their pride. It is far too humbling. But as long as they maintain their numbers each individual can continue to get lost in the clueless crowd and gain security from the clueless crowd. Though they are forced to face the facts they rarely face the Scriptural facts, which, had they done so before, the scandal would never have happened. And they insist the devil had nothing to do with it.
THIS IS WHY GOD MADE PROPHETS
The Lord Jesus made sure He put truth-tellers in His Community. They are there for a very good reason. Real churches have such truth-tellers. Most churches don’t. That’s why those churches are what they are. It is why they don’t look like the Book of Acts. It is why they are either dead as an iceberg where one can play hockey on the main aisle or are inhabited to some degree by stalking religious spirits. The invisible bad guys have them flummoxed. As a result, some of these places are downright weird, looking like the result of a religious experiment gone bad. Others look wonderful on the surface but are otherwise concealing hidden secrets.
But all could be fixed post haste if the homogenous majority wanted it so. But they don’t. They refuse the cure. They reject the One who could deliver them even while singing His praises.
They simply cannot recognize the devil.
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
AMERICA IS BEING RITUALED: STAY SPIRITUAL!
What you must be concentrating on is your life as a Christian. Closer to the Lord we must be. Believe more. Pray more. Fence-sitting is over.
The majority of Christians in America have always gotten by being nominal, dutiful, spiritually standoffish, half-hearted, and insistent on a non-walk perceived as a real walk. At least one foot is forever firmly planted (in concrete) in this passing world, the other being ensconced in one’s Christian world, likely faux. If by chance one of these legs continues freestyling or left to dangling it must be compartmentalized post haste and will be as soon as some outside force forces an event-related or circumstance-based directive to put it where they say put it. And once both legs are fully spoken for walking only where directed, how must one Via Con Dios? Freedom is over.
The appearance of such remains promulgated, though, regardless of zombie status guised as good guy, and image is everything (of course). Keeping up appearances being a dutiful doofus trumps that overrated swimming upstream thing. Who needs that? Better to not only watch the river flow but jump in and flow with it. Looking free is better than being free. The important thing is getting on in life. The top priority is not the Lord Jesus and can never be. If such would be so it would involve far too drastic a change and can thus never be so. My social status would suffer. I might actually have to think. Better to take one’s chances and get along in the here and now and worry about that eternity stuff later.
GRAB YOUR CROSS. WHAT?
And now, for a cataclysmic jump into spiritual reality, why do most Christians shun cross-carrying? For starters, as previously alluded, there be one’s family religion. One is born with it and born into it with no say so. Most such are not New Covenant much but on-the-shelf variations. It’s like a movie loosely based on a book. To maintain family unity one must stay within it.
Then there is family culture. This must be maintained. We all come from a long line of many people doing certain things and most doings don’t include the only doing that matters which is doing His will. Now, maybe your family got it right. That’s great. Maybe you come from a long line of Spirit-filled giants who spent their lives changing the world for God. If this is true then pardon moi and continue on. Otherwise…
Then the money monster must be dealt with. This guy puts the slave in slave master. Forget enjoyable work. It may work for a few. Most must use force and force-fit a fit without having one which would be tricky if one had time to consider it. The time comes when economic pressure coerces adherence to whatever one must do for money and one’s beliefs must never threaten this. If the people on the job expect a certain mindset and attitude and one is pressured to conform then one must conform or income and lifestyle will be threatened. Call it a form of selling your soul or owing your soul to the company store which means God can’t have my soul. Tennessee Ernie told me so and he’s the one who spent every day loading sixteen tons so he must know.
I could go on. Most people adhere to tradition to the point of absolute close-mindedness even if their tradition is some variation of low-key, apathetic Que Sera Sera in which they don’t believe much or care much. It’s amazing how much they care, however, once this Joe Cool approach is perceived to be threatened by someone with the man-ups to actually witness. Then Joe goes Volcano. It reminds me of this:
“Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’” [Exodus 33:3-5]
TEARING YOU DOWN TO BUILD YOU UP
This is best done in as much of a self-administered and agreeable fashion as possible if at all possible in that full submission to the Lord gets it done faster and better and requires far fewer checkups for further fine tuning. Putting this in a spiritual context, God doesn’t have so much respect for our traditions and excuses and feet-in-concrete reasons to steer clear of actual discipleship. But tell a man he must ruin his life by obeying the unconstitutional draft board, submit to some loud mouth idiot for two months, subject one’s entire life including thoughts and soul to a soldier-making process, go to some distant suckwind country and get maimed or killed and, well, that’s different. It’s different because they’ll throw you in jail and make your life and your entire future even worse if you don’t. And also, everyone will think you’re as yellow as a cob of corn. Can’t have that.
This is why joining up with the Lord for His full program must be strictly voluntary. So right off the bat most will never join. Why? Well, (1) There is no force involved and (2) The world will think one is a total idiot. And then one will have to live life swimming upstream against the grain with a proverbial monkey ensconced on back. Most can never subject themselves to such unless forced to, and many do subject themselves to force of course whatever the force, embracing “May the Force Be With You,” but never His force. Yet the Lord, actually, will never use force and thus most are off the hook and will eventually willingly jump into Fire Lake as the credits roll. Wimps every one. Totally unworthy of the Lord. Don’t let the screen door hit you on the butt on your way out.
WHAT MEANETH THIS?
It means the PTB have gained such control they are playing the majority like a Stradivarius. The devil is a good liar. He convinces most people to not be Christians and most Christians to not be serious. Big Brother sends daily directives to the talking heads who relay the message dutifully and most believe every word and obey or the cleaned brains will trash you to no end for declining DA indoctrination. I would think that most Christians should thus see that the Lord has made the choice very easy and that dropping one’s nets and never looking back is the perfect antidote to crazyworlditis. He cures our ills, gives us everything we need, and blesses us with great spiritual careers walking purely in faith. And then there’s the retirement benefits, which, as the slogan says, are out of this world.
They can attempt to ritual His people all they want but it will never take. Real Christians are above the clouds looking through them due to gifted eyes seeing His spiritual reality which exposes the fake one. They are off the merry-go-round forever. I like this plan.
21 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
22 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
23 Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see,
24 For I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.” [Luke 10:21-24] [1]
© 2020 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
CHRISTIANS AND RACE: KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON THE LORD!
Current events have opened a national discussion on race. Later in this article I will relay my early Christian experiences in this regard. We were way ahead of the curve.
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When the plandemic news narrative came blasting forth back in March, I noticed that many Christian blogs, ministers, etc. immediately began referring to it in their writings and pronouncements. Over the past week the same phenomenon has ensued only this time it’s about the riots and race. In both cases Christians are responding to the news of the day, taking the bait as it were, as if it is our duty to do so. It exposes what is actually on the minds of Christians in general most of the time, apparently, in that we are no different than anyone else in being highly influenced by news and culture, and consequently sometimes taken off in directions chosen by someone other than the Lord Jesus.
This obviously does not mean we should not be aware of current events. We should. We should be aware of as much as possible. But current events driven by the agenda-based, monetary-based, faux-narrative-based news corporations should never be a priority as opposed to the spiritual-based teachings of the Lord. It is certainly fine to comment on news of the day as some of it is appropriate toward greater truth. I also began writing about the plandemic at that time but my focus was what it had to do with Christianity in these times and what Christians should know and how to properly respond. I saw in the very beginning that there were obvious signs of a major false operation in transit and this has proven to be true.
By now informed people know the entire thing was largely an agenda-based deception and this has proved accurate by the lightning fast segue into the riots and race narrative in which it is suddenly okay to break all the social distancing rules of the plandemic. Previously, those who wanted to keep their churches or businesses opened or attempted to open them later without official sanction were severely sanctioned, both socially and by government authorities. Some were thrown in jail. Those who are now looting and burning, by contrast, are largely getting away with it and even being encouraged.
The first phase destroyed lives and livelihoods to the tune of multiple millions, many of which will never recover. We are talking the greatest magnitude of such in history. Reports say there were a hundred thousand businesses in New York alone that were destroyed. All for what? Fifty to a hundred thousand dying from the flu each year is a common statistic. The vast majority of the people who died from the virus did not actually die primarily from the virus but from any number of other conditions.
As this real news began coming in, that is, actual truth and science fact put forth from many intelligent and well-informed honest people telling the truth and destroying the false narrative that had captured and indoctrinated the majority of Americans, something had to be done really fast to recapture the focus. Hence, the happenings of the past week or so. The focus has indeed been recaptured. The majority has now segued cleanly into the second phase which involves the same destruction as the first but in the literal sense. This segued majority again includes the majority of Christians.
Yet, truth began coming forth right away to counter the new false narrative. This has happened much faster than the first time around and is great news. It reveals that many more have become aware of the real agenda of the narrative makers who are trying their best to stay ahead of the Great Awakening.
STAY FOCUSED
Again, it is fine to stay informed. The problem, however, is that Christians in general are more inclined to get highjacked by such current events based on the media shriekometer, especially those as charged as these, rather than stay focused on the Lord and His work. They get sidetracked most likely because they were not focused on the Lord and His work to begin with. Imagine if the disciples following the Lord were suddenly slammed with some powerful narrative/rumor event and just left Him standing there in the midst of a session and ran off to engage in the new proceedings. Their actions would prove their focus. Whatever they allowed their minds to be occupied with would prove their discipleship level.
Even with this article you are now reading, my intention is to comment on what’s happening now but only in the context of how it relates to Christians. And this current context certainly does relate to Christians. It tells us very clearly what is actually going on (for those with eyes to see) and what is coming next. We saw how the majority of ministers and churches quickly succumbed to government dictates and shut down their ministries and churches. These were all non-essential, you see. Most Christians let it happen without a fight. Next, these same people are suddenly adhering to the current narrative and obeying once again, apologizing for something of which they are not guilty.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
A little background: America obviously used to be largely segregated. There was progress in the 1940s associated with the war. There was great progress in the 1960s. By the 1970s great strides had already been accomplished and more were ongoing. I began attending Pentecostal churches at that time. There were white Pentecostal churches, black Pentecostal churches, and mixed Pentecostal churches. I attended them all.
The Pentecostal movement in America which began 120 years ago was from the start racially mixed. The great Azusa Street Revival was largely led by a young black minister from Texas by the name of William Seymour, whose parents were emancipated slaves. He was a former student of Charles Parham, a white man. There were people of several ethnic backgrounds involved at Azusa. Of course, Pentecostals were greatly scorned by mainline Christians then, the bulk of which were absolutely segregated. This disparagement continued at least until the 1960s. It was not only because these Christians had a powerful aversion to Pentecost but also toward those they saw as inferior regardless of race.
As a young man I was born again among a small group of peers who belonged to a church that contained all local backgrounds. We never had a problem with race. It was no issue to us. This might sound completely unbelievable. I can understand that based on the current narrative. In that church of roughly 100-150 people, there was an older black couple who always sat in the same place on the central aisle about four of five pews from the front. The man always sat quietly with his Bible open. She, on the other hand, was quite vocal. She would often be used of God for vocal spiritual gifts. When she spoke you paid attention. Right behind her sat a white woman powerfully used in the same gifts.
We also had female pulpit ministers. There was a black woman, a friend of the church, who visited on occasion to preach and was always smiling and cheerful but could without doubt bring a message from God. I can never forget what she did for me once. I had a problem with my car one Wednesday late afternoon and ending up having to walk to church. It was a long way. While walking down the highway a car stopped up ahead to give me a ride. It was her. She actually recognized me.
Although the majority of the pulpit time was taken by the senior pastor who was an excellent preacher, and something we all agreed with and wanted, it was a not a closed pulpit. It was open to any number of traveling evangelists and ministers. It was also open on occasion to church members, local believers, singers, and musicians regardless of background. They even allowed yours truly up there later on.
On the very back pew sat a man and his large family. He had about six children, mostly young. He and his wife sat back there because they didn’t want to be a distraction. His children however, were always full of joy and well behaved. Before this man was born again and gloriously filled with the Holy Spirit, he was a classic Texas redneck. I have no idea what his thoughts on race were before he joined up with the Lord but he had absolutely no problem afterwards. He worked in commercial construction. He was the strongest man I ever met. I was taught by my Dad to have a strong handshake, but this man could break your hand if he wanted to. I’m serious. He could have played middle linebacker in the NFL. Before salvation he could outdrink anyone and smoked two or three packs of cigarettes a day. But the Lord delivered him of all of it. He was always bubbling over with the joy of the Lord. The old song says “Give me that Old Time Religion—Makes me love everybody.” What a joy to see all these people loving and hugging one another and working for the Lord together.
We also had a lot of young twenty-somethings who previously lived, before giving their lives to God, among the conditions of that culture at that time. All of us were aware of everything social. I was among this group. We were way ahead of the previous generation. Therefore, joining this church and being around so many different people of all races was no big thing but normal and never an issue. We also had a married couple in which the man was white and the woman was black. Again, whatever. They were great people. I had two close friends in that church. One was white and one was black. I was great friends with a married couple instrumental in my salvation. He was white and she was Hispanic.
Thus, because we were far too diverse, our common denominator was not race or background or income level or social standing. It was Jesus. We were all sold out to Jesus. He was everything. We each gave our lives to Him. We were all filled with His Spirit. That was the real dividing line. It is exactly as He said, in that there would be those who were dedicated to Him 100% and then there would be everybody else. When we came together in our services we were one large diverse and loving family from all walks of life and former traditions. We were black, brown, and white.
I was blessed to win someone to the Lord who happened to be Hispanic. She wanted me to witness to her mother. I was still relatively young in the Lord but was astounded that God was actually giving me these opportunities. I went over there and told her mother about the Lord and she ended up giving her life to God and became a church member. I remember taking my pastor aside while this was going on and telling him, “The Lord is using me, pastor!” How incredible it was to be used of God so He could save and bless them.
My friend told me she had another friend she wanted me to witness to. He was also Hispanic. We went over to his house, which was actually his mother’s house, in a far part of the city. This young man was the farthest thing from what I thought in my natural mind to ever change or be born again. But he actually trusted his friend and we took him to church. Over the next few weeks everybody saw the most amazing transformation take place in his life. This young man became a great follower of the Lord, absolutely dedicated. He also knew a lot of people. Over the next few years it is estimated that he won over five hundred people to the Lord!
THE HUMAN RACE
The moral of this story is that whatever one happens to be, Jesus said we must be born again. When we are born again and filled with the Spirit of God, we have Him in common. We become members of the Lord’s one family which is composed of “whosoever will” and is open to anyone. He loves everybody. He treats everyone the same. God does not discriminate. All are welcome in His kingdom. This is what He meant when He said the following:
31 “Treat other people as you would like them to treat you.
32 “What credit is it to you if you love only those who love you? Why, even sinners love those who love them.
33 “What credit is it to you if you do good only to those who do good to you? Even sinners do that.
34 “What credit is it to you if you lend only to those who you expect will pay you back? Even sinners lend to each other, expecting to be repaid in full.
35 “But love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing back! Your reward will be great, and you will be children of Ha`Elyon; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
36 “Show compassion, just as your Father shows compassion.
37 “Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged.
“Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned.
“Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” [Luke 6: 31-37][1]
© 2020 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] © The Complete Jewish Bible. Used by permission.
THE DAY OF PENTECOST 2020
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The actual Day of Pentecost, according to celestial rendering, was yesterday May 29. This is a very important date in our current timeline and relates directly to the Great Awakening.
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THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS
For those of you who have been following my site, a little news is in order. Due to circumstances beyond my control I was unable to access the net for over three days early this week. My last article was posted a week ago Saturday. It was Lesson 22 from my latest series Early Church History 101.
My intention was to write two or three more Lessons to finish Acts Chapter 2 by this past Thursday and then post an article about the Pentecost anniversary yesterday. However, it may be a couple of weeks before I can get back to writing and posting the next Lesson. I ask for your patience and your prayers.
I want to thank those of you who are still following the series. I hope you are learning new facts from that time. It is imperative that Christians become much better informed about the Christian happenings of the first century in order to better prepare for what the Lord is doing and planning now. Official church policy in America has most often supported a complete rejection of the events of Pentecost and the actual truths of Acts for greatly watered-down renderings thereof. The main reason for this is that their substitutes can be authored and controlled by them.
Christians should know, however, that they cannot control God. They should not attempt to control God. What they should do is submit to God. I can guarantee you that if these people who comprise a majority would actually obey God, Pentecost would be breaking out everywhere. Churches all over the country would be transformed into Upper Rooms. But this is not happening. For the most part it never has. That’s because the Lord Jesus is not in control in these places. Those who are in control refuse His full authority. They don’t want Pentecost.
PAY ATTENTION
Nevertheless, something spiritually profound started yesterday. As I have said all along, there are two types of Christians in America at present: (1) Those who WANT the Great Awakening and will do anything within the will of God to do their part in bringing it forth, and (2) Those who insist on having the same old same old.
This is why there is Civil War in American Christianity and why it has been building to a crescendo. The Lord needed time to prepare His people for these times. The enemy is not only composed of non-believers who refuse to support the Lord and actively fight Him with their own agendas, but also Christians who do the same. Though many of these Christians are deceived and unaware, and thus just as quick to reject and denigrate the new move of God, many are being led by fake leaders who are not getting their marching orders from the Lord.
Real Christians know whatever they attempt for the Lord will be opposed. But it’s a sad thing when they are opposed by fellow believers. This must stop. Real believers know that whenever the Lord Jesus is given full authority, that is, when we fully submit to Him, obey Him, and invite His rule, Pentecost happens. Some of you reading this know exactly what I am talking about. You have been in the presence of God. You have had your initial Upper Room experience and many more since. For those of you who are yet to experience such and sincerely want to, it always begins with your personal prayer time.
Our current times have become flat out nuts. Incredibly weird things are happening. But also, truth is coming forth. Millions are becoming aware. A spiritual outpouring is in process and will not stop. The evil and strange things you have seen before you over the last several weeks are generally a reaction toward the new move of God and the various attempts to stop it. For those with eyes to see it is apparent that the perpetrators will stop at nothing.
But neither will the Lord.
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
SUBMITTING TO HELLBOUND AUTHORITARIANS
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Christians taking life-changing advice from people on their way to hell is not a good business model.
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This current plandemic will end up being exponentially worse for America than 9/11 ever was. The economy is self-destructing all around us, though we are still in the early stages. Granted that is was cover for an economy about to implode anyway, though two years off schedule, due to Fed gerrymandering and whizzing money mints. Enough has happened to date, however, to set in motion transformations of the not good to the nth degree. And the absolutely ridiculous, unfortunate, jarring and nonsensical greater aspect of said transformations is that they were voluntary. They said “You must destroy the country,” and Americans said, “Okay.”
Those with eyes to see knew something was off right from the start. This brings us to psychological definition time, in that there are two basic types of people in the world. Occupying the seeming majority are those who largely go along with the status quo and cultural narrative with no questions asked willing to jump through any hoops presented and wolf down everything they’re told with not even the slightest concern that the authoritarians they love and honor so much might be something other than presented. The talking heads and proxy air-preachers could be shading the truth. No! They could be lying. No!! They could be openly deceiving the populace for the sake of a hidden agenda. NO!!!
Or maybe they’re just morons. This is similar to what the Lord Jesus taught, an applicable variation if you will, that if a moron follows a moron they both fall into a pit, a pit so deep and otherwise inescapable they never see the light of truth and readily reject it if a miracle ever happens and God sends a messenger down there.
The other type of person has a brain and uses it. He or she has a tendency to see other people as on a lateral plane possessing no inherent superiority and thus unqualified to be worshipped as human deities. This used to be, in the distant past, a cultural bench mark of real Americans, who essentially said to hell with Europe and all its hell-bound, power hungry, impious, inbred, sociopathic kings, queens, money pimps, and ecclesiastics. And don’t bring your human spirit-killing, freedom-hating, individual liberty-bashing, idiots-in-charge, cultural-rotting demonic authoritarianism over here!
This truly American ethos actually lasted a while. A century and a half of colonial liberty and a leave-me-alone-to-pursue-my-dreams individualism took deep root, eventually reaching its skyrocketing beyond Everest zenith in the early 1770s when a relatively small group of Americans finally had enough of the arrogant dictates of a clueless English Parliament and smug crown-wearing fool on the hill.
Today there are, of course, countless fools on countless hills in the former land of the brave backed by unseen uber-morons with pretty much the opposite beliefs and principles of our holy and loving Creator. These puppet-owning backstage big boys with wads of cash do whatever they want whenever they want but love to make a game of it. What little mischievous boys once did, asserting their power and will over their bugs of choice with a magnifying glass, so do these present world elite no morals top hat-wearing monocle-clad mustachioed misfits on any sane planet do to the billions they rule. Why? Because they can. And they don’t believe in God. In their minds they prove this by engaging in the most reprehensible actions with no apparent pushback or immediate punishment, thus deeming themselves bullet proof and untouchable.
Which brings me to my next point. Did anyone happen to catch what Augustus Caesar said the other day? How about Tiberius? Or Nero? Or any Roman emperor? Oh. That’s right. I must have forgotten. They’re dead. They ruled the world, of course. For a short while. They could pretty much do anything they wanted. It eventually got pretty sick with Nero, who made living torches of Christians. But Nero’s dead. And all those Christians he persecuted are in a far out heavenly land of peace and joy with the Lord who purchased their salvation.
The modern guys of oligarchic ilk in our illustrious times eventually die off also, though with relatively extended lives, but every single one of them have another thing in common: They each get to face an angry God granting just judgment for their heinous crimes of imprisoning the world, making slaves of humanity, and gobbling up all the goodies for themselves.
The bigger question in all of this is why. Why do Americans put up with it? I understand that in the early going this year the v-problem was somewhat mysterious begging for information in order to set the proper course. But we’ve seen this movie before. Many times. And many of us quickly surmised what was happening early on but knew it would do little good to sound the alarm because the majority of Americans have been conditioned to tune out alarm bells and warnings as something originating from the dreaded conspiracy corner. Aghast.
This is what America has become. A seeming majority of shallow-minded nonsense news imbibers sans critical thinking skills willing only to maintain their ground level common denominator social standing carrying a hidden fear of the slightest possibility they may be seen as authoritarian-challenging boat rockers. Rather than holding the feet of those in power to the fire (actually placing such feet directly in the fire might be best), they curiously worship said feet, the various owners of said feet, and the proverbial ground said feet walk upon, as if the people attached to said feet are the experts of our lives when in reality they subsist on appropriated undeserved authority willingly granted by those who formerly possessed it.
Beyond this hapless conglomeration of happy Gumps is a rising faction which the greatest American generation would possibly be proud of, depending on eventual outcomes. That greatest generation of the middle to late 1700s gave us this country, what’s left of it anyway, and knew from personal experience and incessant drive that whatever may appear to be lost forever or impossible to achieve is actually not impossible at all. They won their independence from the greatest most implacable power on earth through the implementation of mere Brown Bess single and cluster shot long muskets from behind trees and low stone walls, taking many small victories here and there, fighting and retreating, inventing convention-busting warfare tactics on the fly, and planning on outlasting an enemy ill-equipped to deal with true Patriots who actually believe and fight for a cause, not merely territory or hoped for riches. That cause was individual human freedom and liberty, something the elite few have always hated. To them, liberty is a virus, a deadly one, and must be stamped out and stomped on through whatever means necessary. And they mean it.
Therefore (and I know I will lose some of you here), rather than submit to hellbound authoritarians and their stolen liberty-mooching, top-down, Constitution-shredding, highbrow hijinks, we should instead submit to a loving Creator who died to buy our freedom which initially must involve delivering us from a far worse contagion—our sin disease and its evil power. No actual freedom is possible without this prerequisite.
Once people are spiritually free, they grow spiritually strong. Spiritually strong Americans can re-enliven and restrengthen the land. A life-giving flow of intravenous liberty invigorates a dull-witted sleeping giant tied down by multiple kite strings, which would otherwise have no power, allowing for the rediscovery of inherent champion-level world-class DNA and the inborn fight to rise and conquer.
The strength and power of the Spirit of God overcomes the enemy.
© 2020 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
THE CONTROL TEST: PROVING THE MAJORITY COMPLIANT
None of this would be happening without a predetermined confirmation that the controlled have reached a majority and will readily comply with every directive from upper management.
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HIDDEN THREATS EVERYWHERE ON A DAILY BASIS
When a person ventures into public areas everything he touches has already been touched by many other people. At the grocery store, for example, every item on every shelf has been handled by any number of people by the time it got there. Were any of them sick? How about the last guy to touch the item, the store employee that stocks the shelves, was he sick? One grabs a grocery cart that had been handled by an endless succession of people including the employees who went out and rounded them up from the parking lot. Every item in the produce section was handled by probably even more people on its way there and many of those items have no protective containers. How about the floors? What did people track in? What unseen entity did one step on or in during the day and then track into the house?
At the checkout line one unloads one’s groceries onto a conveyor belt that everybody else has used. Might any of them have been infected with something? If using cash to pay one may wonder how many thousands of people touched that cash on its way in and out of one’s wallet. If paying with a card, one uses a machine that has been touched by thousands who likely left unseen residual reminders of their presence which now transfers to your hands and your card, the latter of which goes back into your wallet infected with whatever. When one breathes, everything in the air around a person goes into one’s nose and mouth, travels to one’s lungs, and possibly enters one’s bloodstream. Not everything breathed in necessarily goes back out when exhaling.
Drinking unfiltered tap water likely does more to promote illness than breathing in possible pathogens. Tap water is loaded with chlorine, ammonia and many other unsafe chemicals. It is basically swimming pool water. Those with knowledge of built-in pools know what happens if one fails to keep the chemical levels correct. The water will turn green due to the presence of all the little unseen life forms that also like to swim and hang out there. They must be killed. Chlorine and other chemicals work very well. The same thing must obviously be done in municipal water systems which have infinitely more extremely serious contaminants than swimming pools. If one tests the water in either, one will get about the same result. Tap water, of course, is said to be safe because the chemicals in it are diluted to the point that they have no detrimental effect on one’s health. Right.
Over the last few weeks, there are suddenly many people who now comply, though not before, with the directives handed down from on high, such as hand-washing, using sanitizers, wearing face masks, donning gloves, trying not to touch their face while out in public, and attempting to keep the suggested proper distance from other people. They are responding very well to control directives. It is obviously good advice, but most never engaged in any of these protective efforts before. Every year hundreds of thousands die from the flu but this is never reported, meaning most people go about blissfully unaware of the danger or are simply too apathetic to act. Perhaps that’s why hundreds of thousands die from the flu.
But some people are already aware of the manifold threats to health out there. They have known most of their lives the great value in washing their hands and using sanitizers. They do their best to steer clear of unhealthy people and avoid those who are infectious. They never drink tap water but only the best purified water available. They have learned the value of organic Vitamin C. Those are the first two items in one’s pro-health anti-getting-sick starter kit. In addition to those one knows to take an excellent organic multiple vitamin, most of which one will never find in the usual haunts. Such vitamins provide a wealth of nutrients for the body starved by the lack of proper nutrients in most food available today. From there one can add additional supplemental vitamins as necessary. Vitamin D, for example, is excellent (among many other things) at defeating viruses. The Creator has blessed us with a wealth of proper foods to keep us healthy and strong.
THE KEY IS HAVING A STRONG IMMUNE SYSTEM
The issue before us then, is not simply obeying control directives from on high during times of crisis that come and go, but being disciplined enough to take care of one’s health on a daily basis regardless of whatever else is happening or where one might reside. Many people have been preaching this for decades. The Creator has already blessed us with immune systems that fight off those evil little entities that cause sickness and disease.
THEREFORE, WHAT ONE MUST CONCENTRATE ON IS TAKING CARE OF ONE’S IMMUNE SYSTEM AND PROVIDING IT WITH EVERYTHING IT NEEDS TO BE AS HEALTHY AND AS STRONG AS POSSIBLE.
This is the real test. It is not principally about being fearful of exterior threats using exterior means but insuring interior protection. It is about being healthy enough to withstand the enemies of our health from the inside out. Those who educate and discipline themselves in this regard have the best chance at staying healthy and avoiding illness.
It is obvious, however, that only a relatively few people do this. Judging by the way many people look and function nowadays it is readily apparent they refuse to address the real problem. Weakness of will, lack of discipline, absence of critical thinking, and wholesale acceptance of authoritarian directives often prove weakness of health, lack of proper information and truth, and gross personal irresponsibility. By throwing caution to the wind and placing all of one’s faith in the medical industrial complex—excellent for many treatments but also a massive earnings-engineered economy in itself in which the profit-incentivized leaders thereof are treated as gods—it is no wonder that the time was ripe for scaring everyone to the point of mass hysterical panic and unadulterated obedience toward their worshipful masters.
Such people continually pass the control test. Rather than doing their own research, being extremely careful about whatever they ingest, and doing their due diligence to steer clear of the causes of illness, one of which is fear, they simply decide to bow down and obey a few effortless orders until the all clear sign is given and then quickly return to their unhealthy lifestyles.
Their behavior proves the existence of a compliant majority under authoritative control.
© 2020 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
CHRISTIANS IN LEAGUE WITH THE ENEMY: THE TRAITOR WITHIN
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There is no effective difference between those in powerful positions on the world stage engaging in mass subterfuge who actively oppose the Lord Jesus, and deceived Christians who support them unequivocally.
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Though blissfully unaware, they are willing accomplices. They will not get a pass. Failing to correct this great wrong before passing into eternity means facing their Creator on the wrong side of justice. They will be shocked by the verdict. The Lord alludes to this outcome in the following:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” [Matthew 7:21-23]
You may be wondering what He means by “lawlessness.” On the surface it should be plain to see that He referred to such people as apparently successful users of His Name without knowing the bearer of the Name—they didn’t know the Lord Jesus personally. The Greek word is anomia. Though some Bible versions translate the word as “iniquity” or “evil,” the root of such is actually defined as “without the law, contempt for the law, or violation of the law.” In this case, the word must indicate the violation of God’s law.
How were these people who appeared to be disciples in good standing with the Lord Jesus and therefore keepers of His law actually violating it? Looking further into anomia, we discover that it points to something familiar: One can be violating the law unknowingly. He can be ignorant of it. He can be unaware of its existence. This also portends deception. And, as always, ignorance of the law is no excuse. This is why those Christians who violate their conscience, even to a small degree, open themselves up to blurred spiritual vision and an inability to properly delineate right and wrong.
THIS IS WHY GOD MADE PROPHETS
There is a gross misconception among “prophetic types” and those who follow them that prophecy is one of two things, either foretelling, which is obvious, yet primarily forthtelling. This is not necessarily untrue in that prophecy is not only seeing the future and pronouncing it before it arrives, but also addresses particular actions or steps one may take, for example, to get right with God, prepare for a certain outcome, or partake on a certain course. However, there is a third aspect just as important—correcting those in authority. For example:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” [Matthew 23:27-28][1]
In other words, those Christians in authority without proper accountability due to the stature of their office must have a means of receiving correction, not primarily for their own benefit but for those subjected to their authority. And because God knew beforehand that people in authority would attempt to claim accountability by surrounding themselves with sycophants, yes men, and the rubber stamp guild, He determined that prophets must be independent so as not to be compromised by the same egregious false concessions made to maintain illicit authority.
Authority figures who engage in immorality or injustice, or refuse to be accountable to God are compromised, even though they may legitimize their power to their heart’s content barring any uprising by those under their rule. If the ruled over are content to live for less and usually much less than God intended that is their choice. God obviously saw this happening beforehand also. Therefore, the prophet also exists to encourage and strengthen those who refuse illicit religious rule and demand God’s rule and His righteousness.
CONSPIRACIES EXIST BECAUSE THEY WORK
The murder of the Lord Jesus was the end result of a conspiracy. The plan was carried out in stealth by those who hated Him. They had tried to get Him several times without success but at last succeeded once gaining the valued assistance of a traitor.
They needed an inside man. They needed a dupe they could deceive. Dupes are not necessarily unintelligent but are compromised by a false perception of reality. The false perception arises from believing and acting on lies or propaganda masquerading as truth. All perceived knowledge must be vetted. If not, it entails a lack of discretion and proper discipline, which makes one susceptible to incorporating principles that are selfish in scope and evil at their core, though such evil is rarely perceived. In order to be fooled, that is, to accept the making of moral concessions, they must engage in an effort, however small and seemingly innocuous, to compromise their conscience.
And it is the violation of their conscience—that wonderful entity possessed by all that acts as an arbiter of good and evil—that opens the door not only to potential evil but also to deception.
Rather than reject all sin with the desire to serve the Lord and gain His righteousness, see the world from a positive perspective, do right, treat people right, engage in righteous acts, and attempt to spread goodness and joy, however idealistic such a course may be perceived, the conscience compromisers decide they have no choice, in order to get ahead in life, but to reject the Golden Rule (treating others as one wants to be treated) in areas in which they feel infringements are warranted. They deceive themselves by this practice and insist the bulk of their actions are good, or will have a beneficial end, and that somehow the greater percentage of good they do outweighs the minor amount of bad behavior. Or they may think a certain immoral response or ongoing behavior is justified based on prior maltreatment or perceived wrong.
THE TRAITOR WITHIN
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.” [Taylor Caldwell, A Pillar of Iron.]
Like Judas, Christians must be deceived into supporting the enemy and his conspiratorial evil plans, and a great many do. Their lack of insight, spiritual laziness, and a willingly compromised conscience has blinded them to reality. They fail at seeking the Lord with all their heart. Rather than know Him they merely use His Name for their own benefit. As the Lord expressed in the preceding verses from Matthew’s gospel, such Christians appear to be for real but are merely chosen members of a club who all believe the same and therefore support one another in deception. They may practice foretelling and forthtelling but refuse the ultimate truthtelling. The prophetic voice of correction is rejected.
And also like Judas, they have their price.
© 2020 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: HIDDEN PROPHECY AND THE SIGN OF JONAH
Dear Readers: Due to several cataclysmic events of “Biblical Proportions” taking place throughout the world at present, and the UK’s recent Brexit from the EU, many Christians are of a mind that we are in the last of the “last days.” The evidence is unconvincing, however, and by itself is nothing more than an oft-repeated narrative.
For those of you who are old enough to have been taken in by the false pronouncements of so many prophecy teachers back in the 1970s and 80s, the following article I wrote two years ago will clear up a few things and expose the overall sham for what it was. Those people were relentless in their incessant insistence that the Rapture and the Great Tribulation and the End of the World were just around the corner and essentially imminent. They were wrong.
But not just wrong. They were absolutely positively wrong and ended up with egg all over their faces and leisure suits. Yet they learned to wear the egg very well. This is what happens when you become convinced of a false narrative or buy into it with much cash and careers and your entire reputation rests upon it. It works great for a while as long as there are enough willing dupes but then crashes and burns spectacularly in the end.
Whoever continues to push this false narrative upon yet another unsuspecting generation truly does not have a correct grasp of actual New Testament prophetic content. It is up to every believer in the Lord Jesus to do as He taught, therefore, and:
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. [2Timothy 2:15]
I highly encourage you to read the following article. It contains historic content regarding the founding of the original European Common Market and how it was utilized by prophecy teachers. Also, please read the comments. You will be blessed and likely enlightened. Some of you contributed, as did my friend Richard in the UK who also reblogged it. Anyone interested in Biblical prophecy or the current prophetic movement should add this post to their understanding of the present. They will gain greater insight toward the truth and a better understanding of both disinformation and incorrect interpretations so that what happened in the past may at last be seen for the trickery it was.
Remember, the Lord Jesus said deception would be so thick even the very elect would be fooled without His direct intervention.
Blessings to you. Here’s the link:
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: HIDDEN PROPHECY AND THE SIGN OF JONAH
© 2020 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
A SHOCKING REVELATION
Something was wrong in the church. Great spiritual effort was being made to no avail. A hindrance was blocking progress. What could it be? I began praying earnestly to find out.
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We were young, in our early to late twenties. In the space of six months to a year the Lord brought forth a new membership group by ones and twos in an otherwise small traditional church. We provided a new strength and energy. The church had been struggling. The existing congregation had recently moved from its previous location and built a large, tasteful building. It had not gone as planned. There might have been a split. The church maintained a solid core of strong faithful believers but most were older and determined to maintain traditional practices. The Lord, however, was doing something new.
A NEW AWAKENING
A nationwide revival of sorts remained on the move. It began around 1960 and spread throughout all denominations. Prior to that time there had been a great divide between Pentecostals and Protestants. The Azusa Street Revival, which began in 1906, had brought Christians of many stripes together for a brief time but after only a few years a major divide had ensued. There were initially arguments among Pentecostals that resulted in splits that created what later became major Pentecostal denominations. Mainline Protestants were at first intrigued with the movement but in general had a hard time giving up or changing their long-held traditional practices. Nevertheless, there was a lot of healthy mixing and cross pollination. In time though, these two groups returned to being estranged from one another.
What took place in 1960 was possible in part because a relatively few Protestants in key positions of authority were somewhat secretly engaging in Pentecostal practices. Because they were discreet it caused no scandal. They perceived the otherwise questionable practices as perfectly natural and solidly New Testament based. These believers would be used by the Lord to assist in opening doors when the new movement began. By the mid 1960s even Catholic priests and nuns were receiving the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. It was in a certain sense a non-threatening revival, somewhat the opposite of Azusa Street, which blew the doors off and created a powerful worldwide movement. The 60s awakening spread steadily throughout all denominations and even began the new phenomenon of non-denominational churches. The traditionalists could not stop it but likely had great success at times in slowing it down. Non-Biblical traditions die hard.
In the late 1960s a great many young people, especially it seems, on the west coast, began coming to the Lord. Some of these had no traditional underpinning and therefore had no understanding of how they should properly present themselves. In all the pictures of the Lord Jesus they had seen He wore long hair and a beard so the young men wore long hair and beards. Those who had dressed like hippies pretty much continued dressing like hippies after they became born again Christians. Their hearts were in the right place but their new attitude of spiritual freedom didn’t go over so well among buttoned-down conservative Christians. Even traditional Pentecostal churches had a major problem with this.
By the 1970s battle lines had formed. It was yet another new guard-old guard paradigm. We know from the Word of God that the prior generation always has a problem with whatever new thing God is doing and regularly opposes it. The new generation, thoroughly enmeshed in the Lord’s new purposes, continues on, as they should, in obedience regardless of the opposition and obstacles. And the old does all in its power to maintain and hang on.
MY NEW CHURCH
It was this very thing that I was born into. The Lord needed new blood and provided it. The latest members added much new energy and exuberance. It turned out to be a great mix. We thoroughly respected and honored our elders in the Lord, the older people who had supported the church for many years and kept it going. After the big move they had a problem. Most of the shiny new pews were empty every service and remained that way for the most part after the new influx. To rectify the problem the pastor was always preaching about the need for witnessing. This went over the heads of most of the older saints but us younger people took it seriously. We were determined to fill up the church.
We had a meeting in a couple’s apartment. It was decided that we would continue witnessing all the more but also go on an extended fast and devote much time to prayer. I had learned all about fasting when I joined this church. We were expected to fast one day every week and go on a two day fast every quarter. These were real fasts that allowed only water or coffee. I was great at this. I often fasted two or three days a week though not in succession. I discovered early on that 24 hours was doable but going beyond that very difficult. Some of the guys had decided to fast for a week or two, and one guy pretty much indefinitely. This is how serious we were. We had a great passion to see people saved!
I continued witnessing up a storm and bringing people to church. We were all on fire for God. This greatly assisted the older saints and gave them a charge. They appreciated how respectful we were and for all the new life! The big fast eventually came to an end. One man fasted an entire two weeks while never missing a day of work. We were praying all the time.
UH OH
But not much changed. The church building remained as it was. We might have gained a new member or two. I couldn’t understand it. I began seeking the Lord earnestly in prayer. I kept asking what the problem was. I was still a relatively young Christian and had a lot to learn. I was naïve regarding church practice and churchgoers, believing everyone to be solid believers in step with the Lord. Remember, I had been wondering what was causing the problem in the church and why all of our efforts weren’t going anywhere. I had to know why.
While praying one night alone I finally got an answer. I was stunned. It was the kind of answer one never expects to receive. The Lord had spoken very clearly. He said, “It’s the pastor.” That was all He said. He never said what the problem was. I had no idea what it could be. I never asked. I really wasn’t interested.
I didn’t know what to do. I decided at last to reveal this shocking answer to my best friend and his wife, the ones responsible for witnessing to me which led to my salvation. I was very careful. I knew he greatly honored the pastor and held him in high esteem. I did my best to reveal the answer in as gentle but strong a way as possible. With the three of us gathered at their house one night, both of them expectantly waiting, I revealed what the Lord had told me. My friend almost immediately hit the roof. I couldn’t believe it. I was asked, or told, to leave. I had arrived there with them and ended up having to walk home. His wife, who never reacted as he had, came outside after me. She asked if I was okay. I will never forget her loving manner and her open tender eyes. But the relationship was broken. I don’t think I ever told anyone else. It wasn’t long after that incident that I had to move on. I moved away to start again. They stayed.
About a year later the news had reached me. I found out what the problem had been. I discovered why our heartfelt sincere work for the Lord had been unfruitful. While we were busy witnessing, fasting, and praying, our pastor had been having an affair with a church member.
© 2019 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
REMEMBERING JFK (2019)
I remember when it happened. As was my routine, I had gone home for lunch. My grade school was within easy walking distance.
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It was getting close to the time when I should be heading back. I was sitting right in front of our small black and white television. My mother was a few steps away in the kitchen. Suddenly, whatever I was watching was interrupted. There was a news bulletin. One could almost sense the haphazard effort of the station in relaying the shattering news while trying to maintain professional decorum. A man with a strong and hurried voice began speaking. The president has been shot…
The United States of America changed forever on that fateful day. After 56 years, the majority of Americans know the official story is full of holes. This was proven early on. But a very strange thing happened. Though evil people were having their way, Americans insisted on supporting the official narrative. As more truth leaked out regarding what really happened, and as many knew in their gut something was not quite right, it became one’s patriotic duty to do the very opposite of what should have been done.
This let those in control know they were in good shape. The country was in their hands. They could do whatever they wanted and would not only get away with it but would never even be questioned. Everything changed at that point. Fast, dramatic change ensued. Regarding the country, it was all for the worse. In the space of less than four and a half years our president was murdered in cold blood right out in the open in the bright sunshine in a gruesome display. His brother, who surely would have become president in 1968, was also killed right after securing the Democratic nomination. Martin Luther King was also murdered by a sniper two months earlier. Each one of these cases involved much subterfuge and unanswered questions. Quick verdicts were reached in the official narrative. The vast majority of Americans went along with the official stories though many had private doubts. What happened to the country?
THERE WAS ONCE A REVOLUTION
Throughout the period of the 1760s to mid 1770s patriotic American colonists grew increasingly concerned about the great lessening of personal liberties and the increasing power plays of a distant British government. These people were a relatively small minority. Most American colonists were full- bore Tories who either supported the King and Parliament without question or were too apathetic and ignorant to care one way or the other. By the time independence was declared these three groups comprised roughly the same percentage. Only about a third of Americans were willing to commit themselves fully to the cause of outright revolution to secure their individual liberties which had been under severe attack for several years by those who saw their control weakening and who must strongly reassert its position of rule to overcome any notion of freedom from said rule.
How did only a third manage to overcome the other two-thirds? It is fully understandable that the third of Americans which fully supported the British overlords did so to protect their wealth and social standing. People like this are cowards at heart. They have little or no concern for others, those who make up the majority, who are on the outside looking in and do not share in their upper class stature. Their lives are not about higher ideals and ideas but merely a social position brought on by comparatively greater wealth and the desire to make friends with power—those who would advance them in their careers and protect their higher place in society.
Regarding that other third, the apathetic group, these people are also well-represented in history. They are those who never stay informed, don’t care about truth, will stand for nothing of any real importance, are willingly ignorant, and are basically only along for the ride. They like floating down lazy rivers. They find the whole idea of taking a stand for higher values and ideals ridiculous. They have no understanding for laying good foundations for future generations. They can barely see beyond the end of their nose. The present is what they care about, just like the Tory group, but they don’t care about it enough to make any attempt to excel.
REAL PATRIOTS
Back in the 1960s the generation in charge still held to the false notion, “My country right or wrong.” The most insane occurrences were taking place all around from day to day and it seemed that most would insist on keeping a stiff lip and hard face refusing to question anything. Had they been brainwashed? Why could they not see the evil? Why did they continue to support those in power who were violating the Constitution on a daily basis and doing whatever the hell they wanted to insure that the rich and powerful gained even more wealth and power?
King George III and the British Parliament never came close to the violations inflicted on America less than two centuries later. It has only gotten worse since. We now live in a semi-surveillance state in which our God-given rights and freedoms have been seriously curtailed by the very entity supposedly existing to insure them. Where are the real American patriots? How many are left?
Exactly 56 years ago powerful people conspired in the dark to remove the President of the United States because he refused to go along with an ongoing sinister plan to run roughshod on We the People. They were willing to kill him in broad daylight to achieve their goal.
And they got away with it.
© 2019 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
IF HE CALLS HIMSELF A CHRISTIAN AND ENDS UP IN HELL IT’S HIS OWN FAULT
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He didn’t read the fine print.
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The New Testament is the fine print. It includes anything and everything one must know in order to secure one’s heavenly eternity. It includes primarily the unabridged original teachings of the Lord Jesus. It also includes the first Christian history book explaining in full detail exactly what it means to be a real Christian by seeing Real Christianity in action. The New Testament includes as well several preserved letters of correspondence and teaching explaining in great detail the actual teachings of original first century Christianity, most of which were written by Paul the apostle, who was also the best teacher of the early Christian Community.
The early believers paid close attention to the Lord’s teachings. In their mature state they followed them to the nth degree. But this did not make them legalistic like the later dogmatic DAs of Unreal Christianity who, like the Pharisees, loved legalism and forced indoctrination. They majored on the letter (though they didn’t follow it) but disdained and rejected the Spirit. Paul said this:
Our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. [2Corinthians 3:5-6]
Those who major on the letter refused to be filled with the Spirit as per the Lord’s command. They will not walk in the Spirit, teach the Spirit, or be empowered by the Spirit. Consequently they walk around like religious zombies in new suits while deluding the world into following the dead faux forms of Christianity which the world is deceived into believing are the real thing. They also work very hard at attempting to make the real thing appear illegitimate.
Some people, however, can see right through religious camouflage. Apparently, most people cannot. Thus, most Christians in the world do not follow the Lord Jesus; they follow their own pastors, ministers, reverends, denominational hierarchies, and etc. The more of a following the substitutes get the more powerful they become and the more easy it becomes to spout their false Christian teachings.
SO WE ARE WHAT WE ARE WHY?
There are a few people, and only a few, who manage to discover the roots of their particular denomination. If they remain loyal to their denomination that’s as far as they go. If one is a Protestant, that is, a religious descendant of those who fiercely protested against the Roman Catholics, his roots go back about five hundred years at the most. If one is Catholic, his roots go back to Constantine in the early fourth century. That’s about seventeen hundred years ago. Of course, the Lord Jesus walked the earth two thousand years ago. Wouldn’t it be smart to just keep going back until arriving at the source?
“I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” [John 5:43-44] [1]
Of course, the vast majority of Protestants and Catholics have absolutely no idea of their actual denominational roots, nor do they care to put any effort into discovering them. Denominational lifers are what they are for various reasons, none of which has anything to do with actually following the Lord Jesus. Why? Because when one actually begins following the Lord Jesus one will intently read all of His teachings and then begin studying His teachings in-depth. When one does this he will find discrepancies between the Lord’s teachings and those of his church or denomination. He will then seek answers for why this is so. His innocent queries will inevitably lead to the leadership. The leadership will then downplay such questions and attempt to further circle the wagons around the straying sheep in an effort to get him back into the denominational corral. This often works. Those who succumb are doomed to being longtime members of a mere religious club who care more for social inclusiveness rather than the Lord’s truth.
Though they start out great following the early truth trail they get cut off at the pass by the religious chucklehead posse.
They then become denominational Christians in which their own denominational teachings always trump the pure teachings of the Lord. Whenever questions arise they never ask “What did Jesus teach?” Instead, they ask, “What does my church teach?” Or “What does the Pope teach? Or Martin Luther, or John Calvin, or John Wesley, or Fatboy, or Smiley. Or “What does my own pastor teach?”
Of course, all of these people are mere men but judging by their fawners they are worshipped as deities. They are never questioned. Questioning one’s pastor is the new unforgiveable sin. It only works in that tiny location, however. When you walk away and shake the dust off your feet you get to be “saved again” and discover the Lord still loves you. You also rediscover cool things like eyesight and liberty and sunshine and places where seldom is heard a discouraging word.
For a New Testament illustration regarding what happens to people who actually question the leadership or particular church doctrines, there is that which happened to the Lord and pretty much all of His early followers: If one was a member of a local synagogue and everyone there did everything they were told to do by the leadership and believed everything they were supposed to believe, then all parties, especially the leadership, were all smiles. It was a quasi-contented and quiet place though there was likely a massive cloud of fear just under the surface. All the good guys—the no power or influence members who desired truth and love—were scared spitless to speak or act or move in any such way which may be rendered religiously incorrect because they knew their entire lives were built on being members in good standing. And that meant following the controllers 100%. There was no independence of thought or seeking of truth. There was certainly no liberty in the Spirit. There was only a sad and spineless kowtowing to “the leadership.”
When one stepped out of line, those beautiful contented costumed clergy boys were suddenly transformed into stark raving mad lunatics who wanted to abuse, maim, and kill. They always had rocks very handy at their disposal.
Does this sound familiar? Because it also accurately describes roughly 90% of Christian “churches.” It used to be that they would disfellowship a person in a nano second but seeing the error of their ways and that it too easily revealed themselves as the Christian Pharisees they were, they reverted to the tried and true Silently Disparage, Gossip About, Reject From Fellowship and Communication, and Treat Indifferently Method. This works just as well and allows the good members thereof to practice world class Holier-Than-Thou smugness. You know, just like the Lord did.
SOMETIMES, TRUTH IS SO INCONVENIENT
The reason so many of these kinds of Christians are so apathetic toward the Lord’s teachings is because it doesn’t matter anyway. They are all told what to believe. They can only legally believe what they are told. If they divert from that they bump up against the edges of their party boundaries. Many therefore refuse even an attempt to seek further Biblical truth because they may inconveniently discover greatly discomforting facts which depreciate the investment in their chosen religious culture. This could in turn cause a weakening of one’s personal foundation and social standing. What then?
In the words of Luke Skywalker, “NO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O…!”
© 2019 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
WANT TO KNOW WHO THE REAL DECEIVERS ARE? HERE’S A HINT:
When their actions are the opposite of their rhetoric.
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TRAITS OF THE PHARISEES
The people who put on a big show spouting on endlessly in their bold bloviations do not care whatsoever if their speech is the opposite of their actions. In fact, their speech is designed to hide their actions. What they say is not what they do.
Therefore, if one is swayed by the talk without investigating the walk, they will be hopelessly deceived. They simply do not grasp the fact that they are being manipulated. They are being tricked into joining the mass support class.
“HE WHO HAS EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR.”
The Lord Jesus warned us about this. He exposed this trait of the Pharisees. But the majority always either reject the warning or are simply too dense to understand it. Those who have the lazy tendency to believe anything they are told simply need a grand presentation on the part of the Pharisees in order to enforce their laziness. In other words, if you dress up a lowlife huckster to the point that he or she appears to be a legitimate and honest proponent of truth, the majority believes what they see and what they hear at face value instead of making an investigation behind the scenes.
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” [Matthew 23:1-13][1]
© 2019 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
EXPOSING CHRISTIAN PHARISEES (THEY’RE JUST LIKE THE REAL PHARISEES…)
Image is everything. The real person is the one hiding behind the carefully crafted outer person. There is no greater idol or graven image than a living human being.
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But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.
Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. [2Timothy 3:1-15][1]
© 2019 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT PROHIBITS GRAVEN IMAGES: WHAT WAS GOD THINKING?
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
The level of deception regarding our so-called “leaders” is so thick most Americans are completely deceived and have no idea what these people really are. They are certainly not with the Lord.
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Their world is not His world. He created a world of love, beauty, and peace in which people get along and treat each other right. They created a world in which people are impoverished, in which they suffer and die needlessly, and in which a very few at the top become incredibly wealthy and powerful at the expense of everyone else. They love war and profiting from war. They have no reservations about killing mass numbers of people and then calling it good and necessary. They create the “bad guys” and the “good guys.” They finance both sides.
Most people do not know this or care. The sad thing is that most Christians are just as oblivious. They are ignorant of this reality because they believe the incessant false propaganda and false narratives and are hopelessly glued to their televisions and mass media, and refuse to do their own research or consider alternatives. Most of all, they refuse to read the Word of God, have a real walk with God, and engage in spiritual warfare against the enemy. This makes them thoroughly susceptible to deception. The mass media is owned by just a few corporations and it is ridiculously easy for them to deceive the bulk of the people, especially in America.
So here we have yet another who has gone onto a reward that is the opposite of what most people think. The desperate and evil people who live a life of committing petty crimes with long rap sheets are properly looked upon by law-abiding people as lowlifes who refuse to play by the rules and cause problems for others. But what if someone kills a million? What if a small cabal decides to have a World War to satisfy their own financial and geopolitical interests and increase their power and authority? What if these people suck up all the wealth, gain all the power, impoverish the world, and do the very opposite of what the Lord Jesus taught? What are they?
There is much to study here. The information is available. It takes a lot of work. One will not only have to find historical truth but wade through great swamps of obfuscation, lies, and misinformation. The evil ones promote their own. As a testimony to their power and influence, the greatest Man who ever lived ended up dead on a cold hillside nailed to a cross, thoroughly rejected by all while evil people are propped up as great and adorned with adoration. These evil people would put Him there again and again. But instead, the great evil people are applauded and lauded as the world’s finest. All their sycophants who owe their careers to them honor them and pay them endless respect.
Consider organized crime families and how they support one another. They call them families for a reason. They engage in evil practices as a way of life but still have love for another. They know they are all successful because everyone involved does their part and obeys the directives that bring them success. But then consider these people on a much, much larger scale. Start wondering about why the earth is filled with so much evil and pain. It doesn’t have to be this way. It is not inevitable that the world must be evil. It is evil overall compared to what it could be because a handful of evil people have made it that way. There is a reason the Lord taught us the proper rules by which to live. If everyone lived the way He wants us to it would be a beautiful world of love and peace. There would be no World Wars. There would be no poverty.
Now, there will always be evil people in the world, but guess what? Law-abiding citizens have always greatly outnumbered the outlaws and by this have helped to keep evil in check. But when evil people gain the controls of the machinery and rig everything to support their lust of gaining ever more riches and power, and they don’t care at all what they do to other people, and will kill people by the millions to serve their ends, well, now you have a problem. There is then no possible way to get such evil, rich, powerful people out of that place they wrested for themselves.
Unless the Lord Jesus intervenes. He is our only chance. My suggestion for all Christians is to take the blinders off and start doing greater research. One will initially be shocked at what one finds. More Christians will then have a much greater understanding of why certain people absolutely hated the Lord Jesus, despised Him, and vowed to kill Him on countless occasions. They never succeeded and never would have unless He willfully laid down His own life as a sacrifice for us. And they rejoiced that they could finally get their hands on Him. They inflicted the most pain and torture they could imagine upon Him to satisfy their hatred and blood lust. If they could have done this to Him a thousand times they would have, and would have loved every minute of it.
Since they cannot, they turned to inflicting pain and murder upon His followers. The evil people running the world have done this ever since. They hate the Lord and they hate His kingdom. They hate His people. They hate real Christianity. If they could they would eliminate all real Christians. They have certainly tried.
But an interesting thing always happens in their pursuit of this goal. I remember being shown this revelation as a young believer and was absolutely enthralled at the prospect: Every time the evil ones kill a real believer greater good comes from it and even more believers spring up in his place. Every time they fight to destroy the Lord’s people the Lord raises up even more people. The devil can’t win. So he took a different path. Instead of trying to eliminate them, he thought, I will deceive them and pacify them. I will convince them they are fine when they are not. I will tell them their sin is not sin and they can do whatever they want. As he continued thinking along these lines he realized he had come upon the perfect plan: It is much better for me to fool Christians and create false “Christian” entities that refuse to teach and preach the real Gospel. By this I will capture their minds and hearts. Then I will turn the “Christians” against each other.
Of course, there are actually only a comparative few real Christians in the world, exactly as the Lord taught, as opposed to the unreal variety. The real guys suffer the bulk of the attacks for obvious reasons. The fake Christians remain warm and fuzzy and snuggled in their beds, spiritually brain dead and brainwashed. They don’t even know who the real enemy is. Then they end up honoring the evil anti-Americans who never show any signs of real repentance for all their evil deeds and by this they crucify the Lord afresh.
The cabal honors its own. But justice awaits on the other side.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? [Matthew 23:27-33] [1]
© 2018 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
AWAKENING TO TRUTH: DETECTING CHRISTIAN BS
“You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” [John 8:32]
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Real Christians are good BS Detectors. They know when people are blowing smoke. Some are excellent at this skill. Our Master and Lord is, of course, the best. He saw right through the idiot religionists of His time and hammered them hard. He did not appreciate their manner of deceiving people, their use of silly propaganda, and most of all, the way they acted out their religion to keep up appearances as outwardly righteous though possessing disingenuous hearts.
He does His best to teach this skill to His students (disciples). Most Christians have a difficult time with it, however, and there’s a specific reason why: Most Christians are not disciples. They are instead as rebellious, if not more so, than all the spiritually unregenerate people in the world who refuse to bow their knee to the Lord Jesus and acknowledge Him as God.
They get tripped up in their own limited interpretations and fall sway to savvy savants who masquerade as ministers. Before they ever get their detectors up and running they succumb to the very BS the Lord wants to protect them from.
THE HISTORICAL RECORD
Imagine that. We have very clear writings dating back two thousand years proven to be accurate and also secular documentation to prove their authenticity. Specifically, we not only have a historical record of the Lord’s life and teachings but we have it from four different perspectives. In addition to this amazing data mine we have a full history of the early Community of the Lord, a thirty year detailed record dating from just before His ascension into heaven to a few years before the death of the apostle Paul, which took place in roughly the year AD 67.
Luke, the writer of both a gospel and the Book of Acts, our aforesaid history book, has been verified as extremely precise in all that he wrote. His many detractors over the centuries have continually been proven wrong in assessing his facts as incorrect. Many of these people are now dead and their intransigent legacies have left them with eternal egg all over their formally arrogant faces. It still amazes me how the devoid-of-facts crowd which insists it knows better but actually doesn’t know squat makes up for it with negative emotion and truckloads of anger when their false interpretations and convoluted narratives are challenged. They cannot stand the thought of being proven wrong after investing so much of their lives in phony characterizations and bogus imaginings regarding the Lord Jesus and the real history of early Christianity.
DON’T CONFUSE ME WITH FACTS
Regarding unreal Christians, in all their superfluous variety, they prefer their own versions of the way things ought to be and reject handily the truths of Scripture which confirm their unstable and derelict dirt foundations. It is part of the reason we have four million Christian denominations. It is also part of the reason we continue to have spiritually brain dead preachers spouting off their nonsensical deceptive twaddle endlessly and incessantly, plugging up the airwaves and stealing the spotlight from the Lord’s real ministers. They also love engaging in personal character destruction and destroying reputations, as the unbelieving Pharisees et al attempted with the Lord. They will get theirs eventually. My hope is that they repent. Maybe they will. The odds are most won’t.
The bewitching nature of this fallen world is such that most people always buy into false narratives and are somehow seemingly blocked from truth. Deception has always run deep on planet Earth. Most of the truth blockage is often self imposed, in that people not interested in spiritual truth set up their own blockades to various levels in order to protect themselves from any encroachment of light which might possibly seep through and cause them to have to actually think about their chosen belief systems. The Lord taught that those who have no love for the truth will be blind to it. Those blind to truth can thus only believe such truth does not really exist, since they cannot possibly discern it or know what they don’t know, when in all actuality it only does not exist to them within their diminutive darkened worlds.
We know from the relatively recent phenomenon of social media that most people who engage in that particular medium almost always end up associating with like-minded people and then think their respective social constructs and belief systems are the correct ones. They then often get extremely agitated and angry with those who do not believe as they do and consider everyone not within their zone as complete nitwits. (There are obviously a multitude of zones.) They frequently reject whoever does not see things their way. This has caused a rise in great hatred for others and a deep bitterness which never shows itself until thus challenged.
What this phenomenon had done regarding social division is striking. It is stunning. But it is not new. Christians jumped in with both feet long ago and started their own social media constructs, otherwise known as denominations. Whoever differed from the company line was made to pay. Those who clutched their religious robes about them in defense of the cult saw to it that detractors would be dealt with severely. All the little sycophants had such great fear of their religious masters they meekly stayed in line and consequently remained blissfully ignorant. There were a few, however, who displayed great courage.
THE MORNING STAR OF THE REFORMATION
For example, John Wycliffe was a Catholic priest who eventually gained access to Scripture as part of his higher learning and studies, something denied to the people in general. It didn’t help for the general population that the Scriptures were not available in most languages. This was by design, of course. It was a way to keep people unaware and uninformed and thus much easier to control. The idiot religious powers-that-be greatly feared the people gaining access to the truth of Scripture, mainly because the people would then know they had been shanghaied by con artists misrepresenting themselves. They would know they were ripped-off and cheated, and taken over by what were essentially wolves in sheep’s clothing who hated the Lord Jesus and served the devil.
So what happened with Wycliffe? This was back in the 1300s. There are reams of data on his life and accomplishments. For those of you who do not know much about him I suggest you study his life. It is quite revealing and informative and will open your eyes that much more to the battle real Christians face. John Wycliffe was an English scholar who knew Latin, the language of Scripture at that time, and thus had access to the truths of the New Covenant. He had paid his dues in that he was trusted with Scripture, since he had already bought into the dictates of his denomination which happened to be Roman Catholicism. The vast majority of people who get that far become so heavily invested and dependent, both monetarily and for their religious and social reputations, that they never stray from the reservation regardless of what Scriptural truth they might learn that is contrary to the teachings of their cult.
Wycliffe was different. He was essentially one in a million. He discovered when reading the New Covenant writings that they did not match up so well with Catholic teaching. He attempted to rectify this and bring reform. He eventually completed one of the greatest works in Christian history by translating the entire Word of God into English. This was the real beginning of the Great Reformation. He never stopped being a Catholic but Catholicism hated him anyway. They failed at stopping him. They were never able to kill him but did kill many of his itinerant workers and preachers. Several of these were burned at the stake with Bibles around their necks!
Over forty years after Wycliffe’s death, his Catholic enemies, in a particularly vengeful case in point, dug up his resting remains from his otherwise peaceful grave and then crushed, burned, and scattered them in the River Swift. The incredible amount of hatred against these early Christian reformers starkly exposed the real demonic presence within the establishment Roman Catholic leadership at that time, which would stop at nothing to maintain control. This was a level of hatred seen often by many over the centuries to that time, but that particular act against such a great Christian lives on as an ignominious example of what wolves in sheep’s clothing will do to those who stray from the cult and expose it for what it is.
John Wycliffe differed from others in that he had a very powerful Christian BS Detector. Make sure yours is in good working order.
Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. [2Peter 3:14-18] [1]
© 2018 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
A GREAT AWAKENING PRIMER: WHO IS MORE LIKELY TO DISAPPOINT THE LORD?
There are two types of Christians: Those who obey the Lord and those who don’t. Those who don’t are often held in high esteem in church society. Why? Because substance matters little and image is everything?
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KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
Most Christians are no different from anyone else in this world. They know that the best way to get ahead and have a better life is go along with whatever program they have ascribed to and never rock the boat. They know leadership will appreciate them much more if they simply never question anything and do all they are told. They are taught that this attitude is the way of the Lord and that the Lord is against all who refuse to toe the mark. Thus, one’s standing in church society is paramount.
The reality is that this is not so much the way of the Lord but the way of those in religious control and those under their sway. It is much easier to control the people who always do what they say and weakly succumb to their leadership.
But no clergyite can control a Spirit-led child of God.
Now, this is a very strange attitude for these people to have. They are supposed to be Christian leaders. This means they must believe in the New Covenant writings and especially the pure teachings of the Lord Jesus. All their sycophants apparently believe this about them. They consider them experts in the Word of God and thus they honor them accordingly. They also believe if they do not honor them accordingly, well then, the Lord will get them and much trouble will transpire in their lives.
But are these people really all that brilliant? The reality is that the vast majority of official clergyites actually do not have much knowledge of the Word of God at all. They claim to but most are not taught of the Lord. Many of them certainly have surface knowledge but most of what they know has been received through the prism of subjective narratives. Rather than ever being taught the pure Word of God without leaven they are instead taught according to their yeasty denominational beliefs or their own limited personal beliefs. Both are lacking and both are prejudicial toward a particular viewpoint. These vaunted people, in other words, are not independently-minded but are also controlled by senior members of their respective hierarchies. They therefore must kowtow. They must pay homage to their religious culture. Their paycheck and religious standing demands it.
OUR REAL EXAMPLE—OUR ONLY EXAMPLE
The best way to gain knowledge of this reality is to simply study the life of the Lord Jesus. No person had ever honored proper religious authority as much as He. He was raised very well. He studied Scripture, like all the youth in His culture and time, from a very early age. As a young Man, He was already extremely well-versed in the Law of Moses, the Hebrew Prophets, and the Writings. He was quiet and obedient. He never caused trouble. He blended in so well no one ever thought of Him in any way but as a dutiful and obedient young Man who brought honor to His parents, family, and community. He was known in His local synagogue but likely never stood out. No one ever suspected He was more than the humble, obscure youth they were vaguely familiar with.
Except His parents. Mary knew. Joseph knew. They experienced clear, miraculous events associated with His birth. The parents of John the Immerser also knew. And Simeon knew:
And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, and the glory of Your people Israel.” And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” [Luke 2:27-35]
Anna also knew:
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. [Luke 2:36-40] [1]
But most of Israel then and later knew absolutely nothing about Him and this was also true of those in Nazareth. Next to no one had any spiritual vision. Most had dark hearts. Sound familiar? However, there were sordid rumors from that earlier time that did damage to Mary’s reputation. This is what most had believed. Some remembered and would bring it up on occasion. These rumors would later be used against Him.
I say all this to let everyone know that the Lord Jesus had an impeccable and perfect reputation. He had never sinned. No one had any dirt on Him whatsoever because there was none. He was just a great kid who grew into a perfect young adult. He was the type of child every parent would be proud of. He never rebelled, never caused any problems, always did what He was told, and grew into the epitome of the ideal Hebrew Man.
Yet, somehow or another, none of this mattered when the time came to begin His ministry. In the space of only a couple of months or so He became the most hated Man in Nazareth.
© 2018 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE GREAT AWAKENING IS EXPOSING HIDDEN EVIL
This current Great Awakening is based on revealing TRUTH. When the Lord Jesus brings forth His Light no evil can hide. We are now seeing this in real time.
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It used to be easy for the enemy to have its way. Christians were taught by faux-spiritual girly men to always back down in any kind of spiritual fight as if that was the way of the Lord. But those who are filled with His powerful Holy Spirit know that has never been His way.
The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name. [Exodus 15:3]
He just got through destroying the pursuing Egyptian army. Before that the firstborn male of every family in Egypt was struck down. Before that several plagues had decimated Egypt. None of it was enough to cause repentance. None of it was enough to admit guilt. None of it had to happen. The defiance and stubbornness of the Egyptians was off the charts. Sound familiar? The Egyptian king had decided to pursue the Israelites whose time had come to leave Egypt and possess their own land. He had decided to bring them back in chains if he must.
For any Christian paying attention this story has always been indicative of future happenings when the people of the Lord would gain maturity and move on only to be pursued by those attempting to hold them back. Why were they trying to hold them back? The answer is an easy one. The ruling Christian potentates knew they must have ever-present congregants to fill seats and pay tithes or they would never be in business. It also follows that such congregants must remain somewhat spiritually ignorant, Biblically illiterate, and stay dependent.
But for those who progress anyway, through much individual hard work and study, one should realize that spiritual growth must result at some point in spiritual graduation. When graduation day comes, however, few ever graduate. The spiritual graduates are instead coerced through fear to remain in place forever so they can forever support those in control and their non-New Covenant structure and belief system.
These are often no different than Israelite slaves making bricks in the blazing sun.
Whoever did graduate and obeyed the Lord often found the opposite of a ceremony. They were instead trashed and labeled as malcontents and what have you. Think Stephen. The only ones “graduating” officially were the same few sycophants allowed into the inner circles of those in charge. These people rarely got there by the Lord’s appointment and never earned it. They got there because they sold out to become members of an exclusive club and the club took care of its own.
Many Christians on the outside looking in have always known this and experienced the resulting rejection first hand. They knew they were much more qualified and had paid the greater price. If a Christian is oblivious of real Christian history and the historical accounts of the Book of Acts he will never be able to understand this or relate. The early Community of the Lord was composed not of religious appointees but powerful spiritual people who had paid the ultimate price to properly repent and get right with God. It cost them everything but the Lord was relatively quick to get them re-situated in their new spiritual environment, His holy kingdom.
They depended on Him and one another. They supported one another. No one was left out. Every single one of these had been rejected by the higher powers of this world that had no place for them. Unreal Christians have no idea of such truth, which proves their Unreal Christian status. Real Christians know that nothing is gained without a spiritual fight. They learn early on that the enemy will stop at nothing, never plays fair, and can be quite vicious.
We have seen a variation of this play out on the national scene over the last few weeks and days. They pulled out all the stops. They did the most evil despicable things. The devil is a liar and cannot exist without lying about anything and everything. Desperate people on the wrong side of the argument who have knowingly or unknowingly sided with the devil always put everything on the line in pushing forth their agendas because they know they have no faith in a higher power that they would otherwise trust. Christians who trust the Lord know they are not in the fight alone and are therefore never desperate. They remain at peace. They know the Lord is working. They pray. They seek Him. They believe Him. They lean on Him. They trust Him.
When Abraham did these very things the Lord proclaimed him as righteous. Abraham was righteous because he trusted and believed in the Lord. He gave his life to the Lord forever and promised to do his best. He failed on occasion but repented. He thus remained righteous. True righteousness is thus not possible without the Lord Jesus. It is in fact a gift:
But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.
For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. [Romans 5:15-19]
Those who reject the Lord Jesus remain in their sins and there is no other cure. They reject the free gift. Their pride is too great. They are too vested. They have bought into the wrong paradigm. They attempt to protect their investment even in the face of ongoing diminishing returns. When in power they cheat. When out of power they rail against righteousness. They have lost all semblance of understanding eternal principles. They live only for this world. Compared to where they are going this present world is a great place. They have thrown away the Golden Rule. Their violation of it will prove to be their undoing.
Regarding the future there will be more TRUTH coming forth. More awakening will happen. The Lord will grant greater strength and favor. This is a time many real believers have hoped for and looked forward to for many years and even decades. So many have been praying and preparing. These have thrown in their lot with the Lord long ago. Otherwise successful lives according to a worldly standard have been forfeited for the greater spiritual good. Though no written guarantee of eventual spiritual success was made these believers have trusted the Lord anyway. For all those who stayed in faith their faith is now beginning to pay off in a major way.
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” [John 3:17-21] [1]
© 2018 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE HEALING OF AMERICA (A GREAT AWAKENING PARABLE)
I have a friend who is a Certified Holistic Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach. She did not choose this vocation. It was a calling that arose in the midst of a severe family crisis.
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Several years ago her husband became very sick. It kept getting worse. The illness had reached a serious stage. Traditional medical authorities had no real advice outside of radical measures and pharmaceutical drugs. She knew there must be a better way.
She decided she must take the bull by the horns. She began researching his condition. She had always maintained a traditional Christian outlook on life and had no real proclivity for anything off the beaten trail but that’s where she was heading. She entered into the outskirts of the realm normally inhabited by people on the alternative side of life who often engaged in pretty much the opposite of traditional Christian outlooks. They believed in things shunned by ultra-traditionalists who want nothing to do with anything dictated and directed by anything or anyone not perceived as official establishment authority figures. Her story and eventual long and hard-fought victory is also an inspiring parable for what has happened to America and what is coming in the near future.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
Though many non-Christian beliefs and practices began entering the American mainstream in force about half a century ago, other beliefs and practices also emerged which have been proven to be wholly beneficial. One of these was, for most Americans, an entirely new paradigm on diet. This new understanding and knowledge also came at a time when the American food supply began being bombarded with all manner of harmful chemicals on an ever-increasing scale which almost all citizens were completely oblivious to. In short, Americans were being poisoned. Wholesale chemical use upon the food supply certainly did not begin then but that’s when it burgeoned forth. Like a massive evil dust cloud descending from every horizon, great fields of produce were routinely blasted with poisonous chemicals from on high. These substances were designed to kill the bugs and weeds and whatever else that preyed upon the cash crop. The perpetrators thereof were either too ignorant of what they were actually doing or did it anyway with no concern for what they were unleashing upon an unsuspecting citizenry.
People started getting sick but they didn’t know why they were getting sick. One must remember that this was from a time when people still had no understanding of such things and thus never made the connection. It was from a time when people believed “When it’s your time it’s your time.” They thought diseases just materialized out of nowhere and that there was no cause and effect. They had no understanding that lifestyle choices and the food one consumes plays a powerful role in healthy living. They didn’t understand that their food had been poisoned but the effects of the poisoning were often long-term in scope. Since nothing happened at the moment of consumption or immediately thereafter, as would certainly happen if one’s food was directly poisoned by an evil enemy, they did not detect a problem. When health problems did emerge later that were based directly on their consumption of chemically-laden food and drink they had no idea that the sicknesses that came upon their lives were directly related to what they themselves had been introducing into their bodies.
The perpetrators didn’t care because they were only concerned about the bottom line and personal or corporate profits. If they must poison Americans to gain those profits they certainly would. They covered themselves by always insisting there were no direct ties between their chemicals and American health issues, which began growing exponentially, and stated publically time after time that the idea was preposterous. But others made the connection. It always starts with a few. Hardy souls, these, who were willing to take on gargantuan and powerful interests for the sake of everyone else, but knew the fight would be next to impossible. As Christians, this should sound familiar. Since many of these whistleblowers were from what may be termed the alternative side of things, their knowledgeable warnings and pronouncements were not only fought against by the powers that be, they were also largely rejected by the majority of those they were trying to help.
This was the backdrop from fifty to sixty years ago. One may recall the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, published in 1962, in which she revealed the fact that powerful poisonous chemicals were routinely being sprayed all over everywhere and dropped from the sky in such massive amounts that the perpetrators thereof were killing not just the intended insects but also all manner of beneficial insects vitally necessary for a healthy environment. Many species of birds, including the American bald eagle, were being randomly obliterated. Other negatively affected wildlife would be unable to recover in the targeted areas for years to come. Americans had been instructed to have no fear, that these chemical poisons would have no effect upon them even though vulnerable members of the natural world were dropping like flies all around us (pun intended). Rachel Carson said this in a 1963 interview:
“Man’s attitude toward nature is today critically important simply because we have now acquired a fateful power to alter and destroy nature, but man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.”
Incidentally, this was also a time when cigarettes were routinely smoked by doctors and were often prescribed. Let that sink in. (“Here. Have a cigarette. It’s good for you.”) One wonders how people could be so unaware and trusting.
DUMB AND DUMBER BY DESIGN
It stemmed from two things: (1) Americans of that time had already been thoroughly brainwashed into always honoring all authority figures without question. It gave such people free reign to do whatever the hell they wanted without enough oversight or accountability. (2) Americans had been taught to get stupid and stay stupid. Now, this stupidity was selective. Americans in general were very bright and industrious. If whatever they engaged in stepped on no establishment toes they could do whatever they wanted. Much knowledge continued coming forth. New discoveries reached dizzying heights. People continued coming up with brilliant inventions in their garages and backyard workshops. But for the two reasons stated above almost no one ever looked into those things which Americans were conditioned and programmed to steer clear of.
This revealed a great fear of authority figures and established dominions, especially secretive government institutions. It was as if all the serfs could play but only upon their own playground. If one entered the playgrounds of the disconnected, secretive high and mighty they would initially be set upon by perimeter bullies and scared off. If they persisted and actually had the strength and wherewithal to fight them and reveal their sordid evil, they would be beat to a pulp by bigger bullies. Thus, Americans were conditioned and programmed to know their limits. They feared what would happen to them if they challenged those who were secretly ensconced behind giant mighty doors doing who knows what.
As a result we all suffered. Americans in general became like the proverbial submissive dog ducking its tail while simultaneously and otherwise walking around like cowboys and linebackers. Americans had always been a strong and powerful people but such strength and attitude was being limited to only allowable venues and otherwise made illegal in others. People have always known the ones they better not mess with unless they wanted a fight they would likely lose. But over the last hundred years Americans started learning that you better not mess with those who should otherwise be friendly allies.
COMING SOON TO AN AMERICA NEAR YOU
For example, the Constitution of the United States contains big bold letters at the very beginning: We the People. Those first people truly were the People. They were powerful, stalwart, independent figures willing to take on the devil himself anytime and anyplace. In a bold stance of gathering might they challenged the greatest power on earth that had become an intolerable overlord and put everything on the line. They gathered in their houses and taverns and open fields discussing what must be done. They had had it with all the garbage inflicted upon them from a distant unseen enemy and had enough gumption to go after them though they knew the chances of ultimate victory were next to nil. But they didn’t care. They were willing to take the chance and live the lives they knew Providence had granted them without the asinine interference from arrogant wig-wearing effeminate tax-collectors and bureaucratic henchmen. They made a call to arms.
The difference between then and what has happened in America going back first to about fifty to sixty years ago, then to about hundred years ago, and ultimately all the way back a century and a half to the War of Northern Aggression (the Civil War), was that before that evil war Americans were much more united when it came to pure Constitutional principles. What the great American Revolution had gained the War of Northern Aggression had fundamentally decimated. Further decimation happened in the years of 1913-1918. If you don’t know much about this period, that is by design, but you must educate yourself! Traitors in very high places had everything to do with these decimations of American liberty and strength. From a hundred years ago it continued unabated as if a new power had somehow come to be in charge. This was a secretive evil power that hovered over DC like a dark demonic cloud and continued growing like the evil intestinal parasite it was. By the late 1950s Americans were becoming a mere shadow of their former glory and along with this the great personal Christian morality they had once displayed before the entire world was being decimated as well.
The 1960s blew everything to hell. On the other hand, however, the Lord Jesus began doing something He had never done before. While some thoroughly involved themselves in the new evil with no concern whatsoever for others or the future, and while others huddled in their huts of fear unwilling to take on what had become a gnarly universal monster, a few began turning on to God in a way that most American Christians never had. While hell was rising heaven was also descending. Where sin began to burst forth like an intergalactic destructive algae bloom, grace was also being supplied in great quantities like new manna from heaven. The traditionalists began being squeezed out of the middle and eventually joined up with the “my country right or wrong crowd” and the evil cabal that ruled them but never did anything to right the wrongs because they were too chicken and were unaware they had been programmed and conditioned by their unseen slave masters to be exactly that way.
Those who refused to be forced into joining the look-the-other-way crowd who refused to challenge the entrenched evil took lonely stands against the otherwise obvious illegal and immoral practices that had become mainstream. Many of these were real Christians. They believed something must be done about the secretive malevolent underbelly so harmful to America and Americans.
RESTORING AMERICA TO HEALTH
When my nutritionist friend started her initial research into the true nature of the American food industry she was shocked by her findings. It was not too long before she became aware of rudimentary solutions that would assist her in restoring the health of her husband. All it took was nothing more overtly radical than changing his diet. But keep in mind, his diet was perceived as perfectly fine. No doctor ever advised him against it. He was an otherwise strong and vibrant man. He was not overweight. He was active. The problem was that the food he was eating, the same food millions of other Americans were eating, the standard American diet in other words, contained secret poisons each of which had various levels of dire effects on his body. Some are more sensitive to these poisons but all are affected in some way. Through much discipline and instruction on her part and being perfectly willing to be as disciplined to make the necessary changes on his part, he began to recover. He kept getting better. He eventually became perfectly healed. She saved his life. Literally.
Of course, the Lord had everything to do with it as well as she will readily point out. The answer was always there. It just took the right catalyst to find it.
© 2018 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
TWO CHRISTIANITIES: ONE REAL AND ONE FAKE
Christians who should know better continue to state blatant untruths as if they were real. One of the most egregious of these is lumping all “Christians” together into one “Church.”
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Christians, including many ministers, continue to perceive the “Church” as all Christians worldwide regardless of denomination or grouping. This is not true and never has been true. It should be obvious. The Lord teaches that there are actually two groups, not one. The first group is composed of all real Christians who have bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus and confess His Name, the Name above every name. The members of this group comprise His Community on the planet. This has always been the case from the beginning and has never changed.
The other group is comprised of Christians in name only. These are largely cultural Christians who have never surrendered to the Lord Jesus. They have never repented properly of their sins. They have never been born again as the Lord Jesus said all believers must be. They have never been filled with the Holy Spirit. Their hearts have never been circumcised unto God. They continue to live in the flesh and honor human leaders and human institutions rather than honor the Lord Jesus and His one Community or Kingdom.
There is only one King. There is only one Lord and Savior. Only one Man went to the cross and paid for our sins with His one and only perfect sacrifice. After He rose from the dead He said He possessed all authority in both heaven and earth. Those who follow Him are completely distinct from the people of this world. Those who do not follow Him but refer to themselves as Christians or are perceived as some form of Christian do not qualify. There is only one door into this Community and the Lord Jesus is that Door.
Thus, Christians should stop referring to the “Church” as a universal monolith made up of all “Christians.” The real Church, His Community, is the one in which each member follows Him and obeys Him. It is in great shape and is doing great things in the earth. Massive progress has been made in this Community since the first century AD and great progress continues onward. The Lord is getting it done!
Therefore, there is Real Christianity and there is Unreal Christianity. There is the real Church and there is the fake church. The fake church is multi-denominational and is beset with multitudinous non-relatable factions. The real Church follows and obeys to the best of its ability the full curriculum of the Lord Jesus. The members thereof believe in all of His teachings. They do not pick and choose. They do not put one teaching above another or form a denomination based on particular teachings to the detriment of others.
The fake church or Unreal Christianity is actually the enemy of the Lord’s real Community. It insists on putting itself forth as legitimate when it is actually completely illegitimate. People must understand this. They must choose correctly. The Lord taught this from the very beginning:
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.” [Matthew 7:13-20] [1]
© 2018 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE HYPOCRISY OF LIARS
There are six things which the LORD hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers. [Proverbs 6:16-19]
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The Lord Jesus said the devil is the father of lies. Therefore whoever engages in lying is siding with the devil. Whoever sides with the devil has turned his back on the Lord. Lying is a great evil. It is a great sin. It is one of the greatest evils and one of the greatest sins.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” [John 8:34]
The word “commits” is from the Greek poiôn: (present active participle). It means “continuous habit or practice.” It denotes ongoing sin in any area with little or no repentance or desire to stop.
Lying is a great evil in part because it destroys trust. It destroys the possibility of trust. No one can trust a liar. No one can have true fellowship with a liar. Even liars know this. Whoever trusts a liar is an idiot.
One can never know when a liar is lying or if he or she is choosing to lie at any given time. Maybe this time they are telling the truth. Maybe they aren’t. How can one know unless they can verify each statement? Some liars only lie on occasion. They save their lies when they can best be used. Others lie almost constantly. The latter are easier to catch. They are bad liars. Good liars fool the best of us. Good liars are the best. World class liars are the very best. Maybe they never lie to their friends and family. Maybe they do. How would anyone know? The most evil liars are those who deceive great numbers of people. The greatest of these are those who deceive their own people.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” [Exodus 20:16]
“You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.” [Leviticus 19:11-12]
Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD. [Proverbs 12:22]
QUESTION:
Who were the greatest liars at the time of the Lord Jesus? Who was He referring to when He said the following?
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” [John 8:44]
ANSWER:
1) Pharisees (John 8:13)
2) Probably Scribes (John 8:3)
3) Unbelieving Jews (John 8:22, 48, 52, 57)
(All who oppose the Lord Jesus are in the same boat. It’s a big boat.)
The Gospel of John Chapter 8 begins with scribes and Pharisees dragging a woman into the temple treasury where the Lord was teaching ready to stone her because she had been accused of adultery. The chapter ends with some of these same people picking up what are most likely the very same stones to stone the Lord. Why?
Because He is the greatest Prophet who ever lived. He saw right through them. They couldn’t hide. He revealed them as the liars and hypocrites they were. He exposed them as pretenders who claimed to be children of Abraham and of God but were actually children of the devil. He also exposed them as bald-faced liars who lied about everything all the live long day. Their entire lives were a lie. Nobody else apparently knew this or did anything about it if they did. But He obviously knew it. He knows who all the liars are. Many of us do not know this until the liars are caught in some lie and it becomes obvious.
ALL LIARS ARE MESSIAH REJECTERS
But if such liars have gained control and the people they have gained control over are also liars or do not care that their leaders are liars then the liars will get away with their lying. This is part of how the Messiah rejecters gained power. They joined up with the devil and rode his coattails. They lied and cheated and deceived their way to the top. No one ever successfully challenged them until the Lord did.
He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me. [Psalm 101:7]
This does not mean they cannot gain positions of great power. It only means they will not dwell in the Lord’s house. It means they will have no place with the Lord. He won’t have anything to do with them. They will be completely out of fellowship and communication with Him. Some pretend to be with Him but they lie. They betray themselves by their lies. Their deceit extends even to lying about their deceit.
But not to worry, they say. I lied, they say, and no lightning bolt crashed down upon my head. This means there is actually no retribution for my lying, they say. Besides, they say, lying is often very necessary to get along in this world. It is also necessary to protect us from evil people. Really? It’s okay to lie and engage in deceit to protect us from liars and deceivers? That may be true for liars and deceivers (obviously) but it’s not true for the Lord. There are no liars in His kingdom and there will be no liars in heaven.
“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” [Revelation 21:8]
The rule of thumb here is thus: Whatever one does, it must be okay with the Lord and must be acceptable in His kingdom and in His eternal heaven. If one must sin “to do right” then one is only protecting something temporal and has very low priorities. It would be better to do right by God and be honest. If one is in a high position of power and is getting away with lying it is only because no one with sufficient authority and influence is calling him or her on it, or is but such advice is rejected. The latter is highly unlikely because those who make their living lying don’t want such people around. It’s why the great liars get off scot-free while whistleblowers exposing the lies are persecuted.
As a case in point, it is why the wicked Hebrew kings of old kept killing the Hebrew prophets and righteous ones who exposed their sin and depravity. The king most guilty of engaging in this practice was good old Solomon, the “wisest man who ever lived.” His brilliant propaganda reaches us still, three thousand years later. Few remember or know about his great sin in so many areas. All they know is that he was “wise.” So wise that he still deceives, like so many others who have learned to greatly deceive and are greatly deceiving the entire world right now…
THE ONLY SOLUTION
“THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.” [Matthew 4:16] [1]
© 2018 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
YES, THEY REALLY ARE THAT STUPID
The Lord gave us a wake-up call in 1906. What happened then illustrated how powerful the Lord can be when we get it right, even in the face of great opposition.
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It was a powerful event. What was just as striking, however, was the usual resistance by the opposing authoritative Christians. The humble organizers, the good guys, those who were merely self-effacing enough to seek and obey the Lord, were hounded from the very beginning and eventually forced into using the most rudimentary building for services.
They began in a house, but the movement grew too big too fast and they couldn’t allocate enough houses fast enough, so they were blessed with a bigger building, though old and rundown. It had much in common with the Lord’s actual beginning, something we lose the significance of over time. But there really wasn’t any room anywhere in Bethlehem for the Lord to be born. No residence, no inn, no nothing where people normally live. He ended up with the farm animals, something equivalent to our barns, but a small one. He apparently had no problem with this. He even expected it. He expected this world to treat Him in such a way. He was born anyway, in a place none of us would ever permit our own babies to be born, regardless of circumstances.
The same thing happens with His work. The apostle Paul said no people of higher bearing are chosen, in general, for the Lord’s work, largely because they deem themselves far too important. They are also ultra-pampered. There is no room for a pampered preacher in the Lord’s real work, but we are besotten with pampered preachers everywhere we look. In fact, this has become the standard.
Where then, are the real preachers? Where are the real Christians?
In general, you will rarely find them in the limelight. William Seymour was a one-eyed black man shunned by much of Christian society yet the Lord worked wonders through him. The apostle Paul has been wrongly relegated after the fact as some sort of high churchman or great theologian. Of course, he was certainly brilliant, but much more so in a spiritual sense. Prior to his own personal Pentecost he used his theological brilliance and high religious standing to do the very opposite of what the Lord had intended for him. How did he get so lost? How did he get so caught up with his own pride? How did he ever get so full of himself? One might ask about 90% of today’s so-called pastors and preachers and priests and what have you.
To show what must be done NOW to correct this is to show what had to happen to Paul—the Lord knocked him down, thoroughly humiliated him, showed him who the boss was, blinded him and made him helpless, and then completely revamped his life. He showed him how he was completely wrong and on the wrong path and had the wrong attitude. He could have just let him go to hell but He knew Paul would respond correctly to the correct stimuli, which in this case involved knocking him on his butt and destroying everything that he had previously held dear.
Paul responded properly. He quickly ascertained that he had been a giant jerk of the worst kind and was thoroughly embarrassed. After a few days his sight returned. He underwent full repentance, giving himself totally to the Lord for whatever purpose no matter how difficult. He went through further humiliation (from a religious view point, that is) by immersing himself in water in the Name of Jesus, the name of his new Master and Savior, and he was soon filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s all right there in the Book of Acts. It was a complete changeover, beyond even a total remodel. The old Paul was DEAD. A new Paul was BORN.
RESISTING REAL CHRISTIANITY BRINGS GRADUAL DEPRAVITY
The same thing must happen to Unreal Christianity in America or it will continue the death spiral it brought upon itself and has engaged in ever since it rejected that which all must submit to for new life to come forth. It is not so much that the Lord cares all that much for trying to set right those Christian leaders who will never change or repent, like so many of the Pharisees of old. It is that He wants to rescue all those good-hearted Christians living in a lesser state, as Paul was, who are deceived and blinded by fake Christianity. They will never be set free from within. It must come from without, as the Lord must do so much from without since He has been rejected in most places so much from within.
Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind… [Romans 1:22-28] [1]
© 2017 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
NO ONE KNOWS WHAT GOES ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
There are a great many tacit taboos in traditional Christianity. One of them concerns knowing what happens behind the outer stage presentation and the unknown agenda of the few in charge.
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“For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.” [Luke 8:17-18] [1]
I heard a sermon many years ago relaying a story that took place many years before then. The elder preacher, very well respected with an excellent reputation, was well aware of the incident, having lived at that time.
BANG THE DRUM QUICKLY
It seems one of those small-church revivals had started up. They were going every night and much spiritual excitement was in the air. Those kinds of things would traditionally carry on for about two weeks, maybe three, and served as a method to get stuck-in-a-ditch church people back on track with God.
The preacher said someone there had a big bass drum. When things got to swinging every night that feller would bang on that drum incessantly. This somehow greatly helped inspire the people to get all excited and keep things happening. They were doing all the many things church people did in those kinds of revivals, which were different things from those in regular services. And the big drum would keep banging away in the background.
As I listened to the older man’s sermon I wondered where he was heading with the story. This was a veteran preacher who knew very well what he was doing and I was a young man quite intrigued with a story from way back, picturing a small church congregation intent on following the pastor’s lead and honoring the apparent fact that the man of God heard from God and the revival was heaven-sent.
He said night after night the revival kept going, the people kept coming, the Spirit kept blessing, and the big bass drum kept booming. Then one night the drum broke…
I learned a giant lesson. The preacher was not bashing the church or Christianity or any such thing. He was only giving people a small peak into what actually goes on behind the scenes. At that time I was still thoroughly wet behind the ears in that I trusted all leadership and never suspected anyone of doing anything untoward. I was so blessed to have had the incredible born again experience I had and everything in life was brand new and fresh. There was no way I would question anything about the process the Lord used to bless me so abundantly.
But that sermon brought me back to earth in a sense. It let me know there was more going on that I didn’t know about. It let me know all was not what it seemed… [To Be Continued]
© 2017 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Real Christianity Is Not Popular
The closer one gets to the truth the more the world will hate you. This includes the religious world. And sadly, it includes Unreal Christianity.
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During Paul’s travels he continually learned firsthand the terror arising from those opposed to the Lord Jesus. The worst offenders were those who claimed to know God. They were the ones far away from the reality of Truth who insisted they had it right. Paul did his best to convince them they were not right. He had the same fight the Lord had.
If a Christian takes the time to think about all the opposition the Lord faced and why, he or she might begin to understand what this world is really all about. But again I must reiterate that the world itself, though fallen from God and unaware of the truth, and in opposition to Him as a result of its blindness, does not necessarily have an inborn hatred of Him.
A DIFFERENT GOSPEL
This is only exhibited by those who are also fallen far from Him but insist they are not. How did these religious people gain control? We have major Christian denominations that continue to sink farther away from the Lord’s Truth though many were founded in great spiritual strength. How is it that such great numbers of “Christians” insist that the New Covenant is wrong and they are right? Why do they react adversely to New Covenant Truth while insisting their version is the correct one?
But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. [2 Corinthians 11:3-4] [1]
They can’t back it up. They are in opposition to the New Covenant. If Paul came traveling their way they would reject him as soon as he started teaching. His teachings, which he learned directly from the Lord, are not their teachings. We continue to have major figures rise in the Christian world in America and gain great followings while preaching a Christianity opposed to the Lord. Their teachings, their manner, their chosen man-made doctrines, and their non-New Covenant formats are all different from that which the Lord brought forth in the beginning. Indeed, the history of Christianity in general is a continual falling away from the Lord’s original. Though there has always been a Remnant in the world illustrating the full Light of the Lord, His Light for most grows less and less. For many it has gone out completely.
TEST AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS RIGHT
One can test this. All one need do is check on how much of the New Covenant Scriptures are preached and taught in these fake assemblies. There is much of the Lord’s teachings they never touch. According to their standard much of the New Covenant writings including the teachings of the Lord in the Gospels is never heard. Such teachings are not conducive to their false agenda. They have another purpose in mind and it does not involve the full Truth. The great bulk is never mentioned. We never hear the Lord’s insightful teachings with regard to repentance and reform, for example, and the great battle we must each engage in to bring forth His Kingdom in all its fullness.
The only thing this false preaching does is coddle sinful flesh. It tells people they are right when they are wrong. The agenda for most is thus not to reveal error and promote Truth, but to allow people to remain far away from God in a continually unborn again condition. This may work in the here and now but I really don’t know how these people can live with themselves.
Here is the truth: Every Christian will have to stand before the Lord one day all alone and give an account of his or her life. Wouldn’t it be better to do it now and every day instead of waiting until that day?
I want to thank all of you for your support. Many of you have been loyal for years. You are all a blessing. I have had many former loyal readers, however, who reached a point in which they felt they must reject this site. They never or rarely give any explanation. The truths I am offering here are rarely challenged and when they are we have good discussions. This must be our course. This is what the early believers did. There were so many things the Lord called on them to do that did not look right or feel right but in the end they rejected their own reservations and embraced the Lord. They obeyed Him. It was very difficult and it often cost them greatly but there was no higher reward.
For those of you who like to pray or who may be intercessors I would appreciate your prayers at this time. Thank you.
© 2017 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
2017 GREAT AWAKENING TRENDS: (2) The Rise of Christian Whistleblowers
In Old Covenant terms they were called prophets. They were sent by God to stand up strongly for truth, speak out forcefully against error, and expose outright corruption in high places.
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“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. [Acts 7:51-54]
Hold on to your hats folks, because 2017 will be a bumpy ride. It will also be a year of great blessing.
We have already seen the beginning of the overthrow of entrenched establishment principles, priorities, and prime movers and shakers. Three extremely powerful political dynasties have been pushed aside. The Powers That Be are doing one of two things they never thought they would be forced into. The first is to admit they never thought the day would come when the challenge against their authority has actually made their defeat possible. The second is scrambling around in their shocked amazement in the effort to gain or maintain a piece of the current pie.
Since corruption can never be eliminated wholesale at any given time in this corrupt and fallen world of mankind, it is not possible to eliminate all the compromised players and many will find a place on the new team. But the fact that three teams have been pretty much rendered ineffective and unwanted lets them know they are no longer in Kansas and that things for them could get even worse. They know an unraveling when they see it. They can feel the pulse of angry lesser power centers composed of millions of individuals who would otherwise have no power at all but have been forced into a new mindset after decades of being treated like chattel.
These people are not associated with mere street rioters blowing off steam, running around like proverbial headless chickens accomplishing nothing productive.
Instead, they are strong and vested members of various communities with various backgrounds who have had enough and are willing to challenge a compromised status quo. Their bravery will go nowhere, of course, and rarely has, if only the few forthright ones come forth with no support of great majorities, and this is where it gets interesting.
In Christian circles, it is very easy to single out the one or two with an honest willingness to live for the Lord and speak the truth. It is easy to turn a church against them. There are long-held traditional ways in which to do this and the perpetrators are very good at it. They know how to make themselves look good and make those who follow the Lord look bad. One simple method is to activate the church gossips to stir up the people. This has always proven to be quite effective.
But at present, there are far too many real Christians coming forth. They cannot be treated in the usual way. Rather than the usual occurrence of a few coming forward and getting quickly slammed and eliminated, as had happened with Stephen, there are now too many real Christians to be dealt with in the usual dismissive and indifferent manner. Not only are they too numerous, they are too informed. Much groundwork has been done over the last few years exposing corrupt leadership. Corrupt leadership has actually been forced by powerful former witnesses to reform themselves, but they only do it incrementally, as their heart is not in it.
An overall general reform has come forth but only exists as a foundation of sorts at present from which much greater reform can take place now and in the future. Also, there are many, many more real Christians on the cusp of coming forth. They are just waiting for the right time or inspiration. Their minds are made up. They are fed up. They want to do the right thing. All these people know that real reform must happen.
A SPIRITUAL EXAMPLE
There was a time when the Lord sent me to a new church, but it took a lot of work to get me there. Here is how He did it:
I was a member in good standing in a previous church. It was borderline large and a few years later achieved mega church status, largely built on the persona of the preacher. (No! Really?) I had a good record there and many friends and associates who respected me. I did what I was told. I went through all the proper channels and obeyed church protocol. But I was also following the Lord and this caused a problem. Over time the leadership there, composed of one man and the usual yes men, developed a different opinion. They began to make life difficult. They were revealing their cultish side.
Of course, they treated anyone this way if they did not fall into line and obey whatever they were pushing from on high. They, like so much other entrenched church leadership that continues to exist, some far worse, prefer to operate with smiles and “love” but much of this is mere window dressing. Their exterior can change in a flash. Sometimes their interior is exposed. It is often much different than their exterior. They hide their full personas to protect their real intentions and agenda.
It was certainly not all bad. In many ways it was a great place. But that is not the issue. Many churches do much good. But real disciples of the Lord know the difference between Sunday school and spiritual reality. They know there is a devil and they know the devil goes to church. Even the leadership knows that. But what most Christians don’t know is that the devil is often IN the leadership, something those in power refuse to consider or acknowledge for obvious reasons.
The main objective for the majority of religious establishments is power, control, and money. Otherwise they would look like the Lord and His ministry, but most know they can’t operate that way and must therefore establish other methods to do what they want. Whoever within the congregation that follows the Lord Jesus first and not them is always suspect.
The Lord started telling me to leave. I resisted the Lord. I was far too loyal. I would stay the course. The Lord started sending witnesses my way to tell me to get out of there and go to another church. He knew the leadership in my current place would never support me because I was too much of a challenge even though I did not see myself that way, was struggling to survive, and was only being what the Lord created me to be. Compromised leadership always has a problem with such people. I initially paid no attention to the Lord and did not even know it was the Lord. Nevertheless, some reform was happening. Here is one small example:
The preacher was always talking about money. He was a great preacher. Really gifted. But he was obsessed somewhat with money and was always engaging in small sermonettes on the subject. A friend of mine in another church in a different city far away told me how they collected money in their church. They never took up offerings. Instead, they had a box in the back of the church. Members gave when they gave without any prompting whatsoever or coercing. There was also no condemnation. The church had no money problems. In fact, it was a relatively large church and the preacher took no salary.
I thought this news was very refreshing. I thought it was cool. I mentioned this in passing to a friend in my church one day. I was not saying it to be critical but simply because I thought it was a great idea. He thought so too. I never told the leadership. That was the extent of it. Guess what happened? Within a very short time I came to church one day and there was a large tastefully constructed collection box matching the trim installed on the wall of the vestibule. I kid you not.
There were other things like this.
THE TWO WITNESSES
The Lord sent me a witness. Christians talk about the places they attend. This first witness brought my attention to a new church. The Lord was directing me to it. I had never heard of it. That was the purpose of the first witness. This person had no idea what was going on and was not in any way trying to proselytize that I know of, but merely giving an excellent report in conversation and probably had no idea the Lord was in it. I didn’t know it was the Lord.
Then the Lord sent me a second witness. The two witnesses did not know each other. This second witness, which came several weeks later, was a man of excellent character. Like the first, this was not an overt witness either because the man didn’t even know what the Lord was doing in reference to me. But he happened to mention the church he was attending. It was the same church.
It got me thinking. He put the place on the map, so to speak, and made it a distant possibility. No other church ever came up in conversation like this. But I was still adamant about being loyal and not leaving my current church, even though life kept getting more difficult. It got so difficult that I was forced to change anyway and make relatively desperate moves.
We left. We needed support but there was no support coming and never would be. This is what the Lord had been warning me about. He tried to get me to make a shift earlier before things got worse. He knew I was open to attack and was no longer covered even though I should have been and never warranted their behavior. The leadership there was actually reacting to my calling and not necessarily me personally. Their cold shoulder made me vulnerable, the enemy attacked, my life was going downhill, and they took that as a sign that I was not worth supporting. This, obviously, was not financial support but merely the support all believers should have from their community. I was actually supporting them. I had worked hard and had given a lot of money that was earned with difficulty. I gave by the Lord’s direction. I even supported a new building program financially and donated free labor.
But again, they did not appreciate my calling. The Lord was bringing conviction upon the leadership and they didn’t like it. They reacted by turning against one of the messengers. Incidentally, in my time there the leadership began making big moves to correct their financials. I had never seen that before.
After being forced out through the usual cold shoulder church tactics and due to the Lord increasingly withholding His blessing as a way to get me to move on, I spent months mulling my options and trying to figure out the next step. During this time, the strangest thing happened. The Lord began blessing. I wasn’t even going to church. It involved quite a dramatic change for the better. Just getting out of there allowed the Lord to bring blessing. He was making a way.
THE THIRD WITNESS
Six months later I came into contact with the third witness. Remember, the Lord had already blessed me with two clear witnesses over a year earlier. The third witness hit the ball out of the park. It was amazing. The Lord Jesus is always faithful! I had never met the man. He was a well-known minister from a different city with an excellent reputation and also had no knowledge whatsoever of my past situation with the other church. By this time I had pledged to never attend any church ever again and I was maintaining that line of thought as a mature follower of the Lord overly loyal to a fault.
Completely out of the blue, the third witness suggested to me that I look up a good friend of his. This friend of his was a church pastor. He just happened to be the pastor of the very church the other two witnesses had been telling me about! I was in a very large locality with hundreds of churches. The odds of this happening without the Lord’s direct involvement were absolutely impossible. It had been the Lord’s plan all along but my own misplaced loyalty had been getting in the way.
THE STEPHEN EFFECT
The lesson to be learned here might be called the Stephen Effect. Because Stephen was so powerfully anointed and filled with the Spirit of the Lord, the religious idiots he revealed could not hide. If he had said nothing at all they still would have been greatly uncomfortable just being around him. They were powerfully convicted. Compromised Christian leadership acts exactly the same way. It is why they attempt to get rid of people that make them feel convicted.They would much rather be surrounded by adoring fans.
Most Christians refuse to make the connection that this is exactly the way the Lord makes us all feel if we are not right with Him. He convicts us. He does it to help us. He does it to purify the Church.
Since the Lord convicts us, should we get rid of Him?
Christian leadership almost always rejects the spirit of reform, especially when it comes from someone they do not respect or from the outside. But what else can the Lord do? They have already taken control of everything inside. The Lord must always send someone from outside.
Isn’t this always the case? Is not this the true nature of a prophet? Isn’t this exactly why Hebrew leadership was always killing Hebrew prophets? Those who were sent by God? Isn’t that exactly why they killed the Lord?
STEPHEN THE WHISTLEBLOWER
Why was Stephen even brought to trial before the mighty Sanhedrin in the first place? What in the world did he do that was so bad? What law did he break? How did he violate the Torah? What did he do that was so wrong that it got him killed? Could it possibly be that his chief offense was provoking conviction?
And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away and brought him before the Council. [Acts 6:8-12][1]
© 2017 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Real Christianity—The Nature of the Church
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
2017 GREAT AWAKENING TRENDS: (1) Growing Opposition from Money-Serving Status Quo
When John the Immerser blasted onto the scene he warned his hearers of losing eternal life and loosing national destruction. The means of avoiding both was encapsulated in one word: REPENT.
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REPENTANCE DRIVES GREAT AWAKENINGS
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.
The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” [Matthew 3:7-10]
John did something then that next to no American Christian does today: He blasted the religious leaders. These were men who had total control of the religious establishment in first-century Judea. They controlled the entire Temple complex. They controlled every single synagogue. Their control was such that John was preaching way out in the wilderness.
In today’s terms these would be the religious leaders who control denominations, churches, seminaries, and major Christian media, including publishing and television. The Pharisees and Sadducees had a lock on all things religious back then just as Christian controllers have a lock on most things Christian at present. Both have a single denominator: MONEY.
ONLY TWO GODS FROM WHICH TO CHOOSE
Getting to the root of Christian intention begins with the simple question: Is it serving the Lord Jesus or is it serving the money-god?
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. [Luke 16:13-14]
One will either submit to the Lord Jesus and make money a servant, or one will submit to the money-god and make oneself its servant.
If one serves the Lord, one’s life will look increasingly as being under the primary influence of the Lord and His teachings. If one serves the money-god, one’s life will look increasingly as being under the primary influence of the money-god and its teachings.
Here’s is a quick contrast and illustration: John the Immerser served the Lord. His life looked like the Lord. The Pharisees and Sadducees served the money-god. Their lives looked like the money-god. Compare both to the present.
John warned everybody, but especially the brood of vipers otherwise known as the Pharisees and Sadducees, that the entire nation was about to suffer complete destruction for one principle reason: IT CHOSE THE MONEY GOD.
Money can make you and it can break you. If there was a way to exist without it we would never have to deal with its powerful influence and temptation. We would never have to submit to its effects. But the international money system has been with us a while and unless we somehow manage to go completely off the grid we have little choice but to enter the game and play according to the rules.
It is for this reason that most people believe there is no escape and the only solution is to try to gain as much money as possible in order to gain the upper hand. In other words, the way people think they can beat the powerful effect of money on their lives is to defeat it by gaining enough of it that it no longer rules them but becomes their servant.
This works for some people. For a while. It never works for the vast majority. The system has limited resources. Some are able to gain the upper hand and remain relatively personally free or at least maintain the appearance of freedom, and do not seem on the surface to be anxious regarding money matters. If one does win the money battle by doing whatever they feel they must to gain authority over it by having much of it, it rarely lasts. One must keep doing whatever it takes to gain access to the money well. Most do it legally. Some do not. But even if one does find a way to beat the system, so to speak, and gain great piles of gold, one cannot leave this world with it. It must all stay right here where one found it.
MONEY IS NO GOOD OVER YONDER
It has been said that rich people don’t have armored trucks full of money following their hearse to the graveyard. Money does not translate into eternity. To the degree that one depends on money is to the same degree that one does not depend on the Lord. This equation portends one’s final location in the afterworld and often whether one even believes in an afterworld.
One of the best things that can ever happen to a person is to discover early on in life that the pursuit of money for the purposes of mastering life is a heartbreaker. The money-god is a deceiving, bewitching taskmaster. It is a hard lesson to learn. It can be quite cruel. On the other hand, if money always comes relatively easy then the odds of having a spiritual life with the Lord are next to zero. Most people will always choose much money over a disciplined spiritual life. Here’s why:
Making the decision to give oneself totally to the Lord involves:
(1) Faith in the Lord Jesus instead of faith in the money-god and all it portends.
(2) The need to repent, which means one must accept the fact that one is a sinner and a violator of God’s laws and commandments. Who wants to do that? Especially in these days? To admit that one is messed up like this, that one is not the great person he or she thinks he or she is can have a devastating effect on one’s psyche. And yet the Lord is persistent. He says that prior to our born again experience we are sinners. He says we violate His laws. He says we have uncircumcised flesh that must be dealt with. This fleshly nature is not always on display but certainly reveals itself on occasion, with some people much more than others, especially when under stress.
TEST AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS RIGHT
A simple test to prove God is right and humans are compromised in this way is to simply see how often we violate the Golden Rule. Do we always treat others the way we want to be treated? Do we do this especially when we are stressed out or under a lot of pressure? Do we always contain the pressure that builds up, find a way to keep it from building up, manage to channel it off in some safe way in which nobody is hurt, or even stop it completely in the very beginning? Do we always master our impulses? Do we have impulse control or do we simply vent all the time everyday at everybody?
If so, it is the opposite of real discipleship and thoroughly proves the need for heart circumcision surgery and real repentance. It proves the Lord knows exactly what He is talking about though many people may successfully hide their true nature. Occasional mess-ups are understandable. A lifestyle of trashing others and violating the Lord’s teachings is not.
The Lord looks on the heart, not the outward appearance. He is not fooled by outward appearances. He knows what a dirty, fleshy, sinful, uncircumcised heart looks like. It doesn’t matter how much one may try to cover it up and deceive people about one’s true nature. God knows. And He demands that we fix it! The Pharisees and Sadducees fooled almost everyone because they dressed to look the part. They were mere religious actors. That’s what hypocrites are—stage players. Is it any wonder then that the majority of Christian leadership at present does all its work on a stage? What would they be without the stage? It was money that made the Pharisees and Sadducees successful. They served the money-god while pretending to serve God. IT IS EXACTLY THE SAME TODAY. God is not fooled.
A FOOL’S PARADISE
If there appears to be a way around the repentance and discipleship the Lord demands, most people, including most Christians, will do the end run. They will run from God. They will find substitutes in which they can keep themselves in charge. They will choose counterfeit belief systems, of whatever variety, in which they do not have to submit to the Lord. They will try to convince themselves and everyone else that they are good people.
Of course, they are playing a fool’s game. There is no other way than the way the Lord Jesus prescribed. Better to find this out early in life than to build one’s house on sand, but most people always end up building their house on sand and it works great as long as everything remains constant. But we all should know this is ridiculous. Next to nothing in this life remains constant. Change is ever-burgeoning, is always messing up the best laid plans, and the tide always comes in and wipes out sand castles no matter how well or elaborately they are constructed. Wise people know this. Yet, there are apparently not many wise people when it comes to applying known knowledge if it clashes with one’s authority.
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” [Luke 9:24]
Real repentance is the end of one’s personal authority. What unrepentant religious leaders do not know, however, is that they do not have any personal authority anyway because they are bound by sin. And they are deceived about it. Sin is in charge but they are not aware. They reject the notion. They are not accountable. Most are spiritual adulterers. It is why they refuse to preach the real Gospel. It is why the Lord stated what He did in the preceding verse. The word “lose” in that verse is translated from the Greek word apollumi. This word means “to destroy.” It is only by losing one’s life (or destroying it) through real repentance and submitting fully to the Lord Jesus that one breaks the power of sin and the powerful grip of the money-god. The Lord gave His very life to set us free from this monster.
OPPOSING THE GREAT AWAKENING
Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion states: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
As did John the Immerser, the Lord warned the people of His nation that total destruction was soon coming and that it was coming because they rejected His love and leadership for the love of money. The more He attempted to bring forth a Great Awakening the more the religious leaders who were sold out to the money-god opposed Him. Their continued rejection of the Lord and His real teachings, their intransigent rebellion against truth, their refusal to repent, and their worship of mamônâi brought forth a witch’s brew of arrogance, ignorance, and religious pride. It increasingly enflamed their wicked uncircumcised hearts and removed all semblance of impulse control. They sowed the seed of murder and reaped over a million deaths. Literally.
THROWN INTO THE FIRE
As time marched on toward 70AD, they became ever more strident in their opposition to the Lord. They were incorrectly fulfilling Newton’s Third Law of Motion. They were resisting that which they should have surrendered to and surrendering to that which they should have resisted. They had a completely different agenda. Their persecution of the Lord’s people—those who chose the Lord as Messiah—increased dramatically. They were doing to them, on an ever-advancing scale, exactly what they did to the Lord.
The same dynamic is at work today. Christian Pharisees and Sadducees look great on the outside and preach what sounds like the real Gospel. They don’t look compromised. They look successful. They’ve been in control seemingly forever. Their status quo rendition of official Christianity appears as the only accepted rendition, but it has little or no resemblance to the Lord’s original and has almost zero impact within the spiritual world. They can’t handle anything they can’t control. They can’t handle anything that exposes them as pretenders. They can’t handle anything from which they cannot extract a living. It would be good if they could learn from the past.
Judea had been in the midst of a Great Awakening during that final generation in the first century and the religious leaders continually put much effort toward their opposition to it. The more they tried to stop it the more it grew and yet they could never stop opposing it. Their unrighteous stand for the old dead religious order—the only one they could control, the one that gave them power and wealth—was thoroughly compromised by a love of money and service to the money-god. Their unrighteous rebellion must eventually end. Their opposing reaction to God’s action must finally stop. Justice was demanded. Only God could administer it. He did. Judea was no more. Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed, by fire, exactly as John prophesied.
“The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” [Matthew 10:10][1]
© 2017 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Real Christianity—The Nature of the Church
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
JESUS IS THE ONLY MESSIAH: Whoever Denies the Son Denies the Father
REVEALING THE ANTICHRIST
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.
Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. [2John:7-11]
EVIL DEEDS
There are people in this world who insist one does not have to be in covenant with the Lord Jesus to be in covenant with God. The Word of God, however, makes it clear that one cannot possibly be in covenant with God if one is not in covenant with the Lord Jesus. Even most Christians are unclear on this concept. The enemy has muddied the waters and thus muddied their thinking, deceiving them into believing in something that does not exist. Many Christians are actually not in covenant with God even though they believe they are. Many others insist they are in covenant with God though they reject the Lord Jesus.
REAL COVENANT
The promises of God only exist within a covenant relationship. If there is no covenant, the promises do not apply. The Word of God says that whoever does not have the Son does not have the Father, therefore one must be in covenant with the Lord Jesus in order for the promises to be active and applied.
The New Covenant with the Lord Jesus is a blood covenant. He shed His perfect, precious blood for each member in covenant with Him. He gave everything He had for His people. He loved us before we ever loved Him and He proved it. We must also be in blood covenant with Him as He is with us, in that each of us must give a totality of our entire life to Him, including our entire heart.
We begin the process of entering into covenant with Him, of beginning the new birth, by expressing belief in Him, by having faith. Faith must always come first. This faith, however, is a 100% faith. The covenant cannot work any other way. He gave all. He demands all from us.
The second condition that must be fulfilled entirely is full repentance. Sin must be dealt with. Each person to enter the covenant with God, who is holy and pure, must also be holy and pure. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away sin. Without the Lord Jesus one is still in sin. Period.
LOVE ON THE ROCKS
To illustrate, imagine a man and woman about to become married but one partner refuses to give his or her entire heart to the marriage relationship. Imagine one of the partners insisting that he or she must keep their options open. It should be obvious that a marriage based on such a faulty foundation is doomed to fail. The reason many people enter into such relationships is because the uncommitted partner pretends to be committed and deceives the other partner.
Many so-called Christians do exactly the same thing with the Lord. They enter into covenant on their terms and not His. Of course, He is not fooled. There is actually no covenant at all if it is not His covenant. He never agreed to the terms and never entered into it. Christians deceive themselves and are deceived by false leaders into believing in a false covenant and that they are in covenant with God when they are not. They do not have full faith in the Lord. They have never fully repented. They remain in their sins.
ONE WAY TO GOD
No one is in covenant with God without being in covenant with the Lord Jesus. If one does not have the Son then one does not have the Father. One is either in full covenant with the Lord Jesus or one is not. There is no in-between and there are no exceptions. There exists only ONE New Covenant. It is a blood covenant. There is only one Son. There is only one Messiah. There is only one way to God.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” [John 14:6] [1]
© 2016 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Real Christianity—The Nature of the Church
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. [Galatians 4:4-5]
The Lord Jesus arrived at exactly the right time. One would think it was actually not a very good time at all, especially in light of what eventually happened to Him. He came to His people when what was left of the nation of Israel had brought forth the very worst generation in its history. That says a lot, since the ancient Hebrews had manifested some really bad generations over the centuries.
THE SADDUCEES
He came at a time when the religious kingpins had gained complete control and had corrupted the entire spiritual establishment. The sect of the Sadducees, the high upper class of well-to-do Establishment power brokers, were in bed with the Romans and had control of the Temple. But remember that the Lord God never wanted a Temple in the first place, and that the Temple in Jerusalem in the first century was empty: There was no Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies.
The Ark had disappeared to history 600 hundred years before and is still missing to this day. Without the Ark of the Covenant, what exactly was going on at the Temple in the first century? This is a perfect type of the majority of churches in America that refuse the presence of God but continue to go through the motions anyway.
Consider the following:
But in the same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying, “Go and say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’ [2Samuel 7:4-7]
“David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says: ‘HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET; WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?’ says the Lord, ‘OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REPOSE? WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL THESE THINGS?’ You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.” [Acts 7:46-51]
As soon as Stephen said this his fate was sealed. Those religious authorities not only murdered him seconds later, they acted exactly like the pack of wolves they were just before:
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. [Acts 7:54]
Did Stephen hit a big old giant religious nerve or what?
THE PHARISEES
The sect of the Pharisees had control of the synagogues, which meant they controlled all religious thought and actions, supervised all behavior, and demanded that everyone follow their strict but incorrect interpretation of the Law and Prophets. They had gained the seat of Moses but the Lord told His own disciples to not do what they do. There are many powerful rebukeathons directed by the Lord against the Scribes and Pharisees throughout the Gospels. There are also many parables revealing their illicit behavior and inherent wrongness. The Pharisees were always against the Lord, always trying to trip Him up, always attempting to disparage Him in the eyes of the people, and also always trying to kill Him.
Was the Lord Jesus constantly hitting a big old giant religious nerve or what?
In light of the fact that the Holy of Holies was empty, the people were struggling under a curse, and the religious Establishment looked great on the outside but were evil within, shouldn’t more people have noticed the real Ark of the Covenant? Shouldn’t they have perceived the real Temple?
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” [John 2:19]
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES
So why did the Lord Jesus arrive at such a time? The religious authorities who had been engaged in so much wanton destruction for so long, whose forebears had killed all the prophets, had gained complete control.
Evil had been elevated to the very top of the pyramid.
“Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away. [Matthew 16:3-4]
Sound familiar? Let’s return to the topic verse:
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. [Galatians 4:4-5]
The Lord Jesus arrived when He did to redeem His people who were under the Torah. For greater clarification, Paul also said this:
For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.” Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”— [Galatians 3:11-13] [1]
The Lord came to set His people free at a time when they needed it most. He would become the Sacrifice Lamb. He had to be born under the Law and that particular generation was more “under the Law” than any prior generation.
The word “redeem” in these two passages from Galatians is from the Greek exagorazo, which means: (1) to redeem (1a) by payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, buy off (1b) metaph. of Christ freeing the elect from the dominion of the Mosaic Law at the price of his vicarious death (2) to buy up, to buy up for one’s self, for one’s use (2a) to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own.
Paul said that Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Torah. That’s a powerful statement. Quite pejorative. The curse of the Torah? This explains how the Pharisees gained control of the people. It explains why that generation was the worst. It explains why He came as a bright Light into a land of great darkness. It explains why they hated Him.
THE ESSENES
This Jewish sect had fully recognized the evil of the Sadducees and Pharisees, how they had gained control of the Temple and the synagogues, and essentially the entire religious Establishment. And they told them all to go stick it in their collective ear by leaving all and going to the wilderness. They would not put up with all the religious chicanery and shenanigans. Their problem was not that they left but that they had no power as witnesses to stay on the scene and do anything about it. They knew they were defeated and could never change the status quo. But they did a great service to the Lord by shaking the dust off their feet and refusing to be a part of the evil.
This is also why John the Immerser conducted his ministry out in the wilderness, away from all the religious and political intrigue. He proved in part that his ministry was from God because much of the nation went all the way out there to see him. It was a powerful movement within what was left of the nation of Israel and set in motion the Lord’s own movement. What these two movements portend is that REPENTANCE must always come before GRACE. American Christians must properly repent before the Great Awakening can come forth. A big part of this repentance is renouncing everything wrong within “Christianity” instead of supporting it or merely walking away from it.
BLINDED BY DECEPTION
Though the spirit of repentance is rising, there is still very little repentance in America for incorrect, non-New Testament church practices and church formats, the teaching of false doctrines, the clergy-laity division, or the refusal to be filled with the Lord’s Spirit allowing Him full control. This is due in part to ignorance, willful ignorance, deception, and outright rebellion, but at its heart is a curse. In Galatians, Paul quoted the following OT verse:
“‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’” [Deuteronomy 27:26]
The point here is that Moses taught that the entire Torah must be honored. Anything less not only rendered it ineffective, it brought on a curse.
James reiterated this teaching of Moses in the following:
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. [James 2:10]
The Lord Jesus made it clear that we are either with Him or against Him. There is no middle ground. It should therefore be obvious that we are not allowed by Him to choose whatever part of His teachings we like and reject the others. But Christianity in general has been guilty of this for centuries and certainly remains guilty at present.
It was the same in the first century. Though the people were under a curse, they continued to support the status quo. They continued going through religious motions that had no real effect on their spiritual lives. They were beat down, and they were scared. They wanted real change for the better but could not make it happen.
Until John.
Until the Lord Jesus.
And until Pentecost.
After that the flood gates opened.
For such a time as this.
© 2016 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Real Christianity—The Nature of the Church
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE (and the Inevitable Fork in the Road)
The majority lives in a fallen world. It is a world largely constructed by people separated from the Creator, most of whom have no desire to know Him, much less honor Him. This is especially true of many people who have managed to acquire great wealth and power.
This fact presents an always interesting conundrum for those who choose to acknowledge the paradox of wealthy holders of great power who refuse to honor the Creator while living in very mortal bodies which will one day cease to exist. Yes, they hold great power now. They are incredibly wealthy. The current world of man has been created according to their will and blueprint, and most inhabitants of the planet are so caught up in mere survival they have no time or ability to consider such knowledge.
We assume the world is what it is according to a much higher benevolent power. But this is simply not true. The world of mankind has the devil as its author, in association with sinful, fallen humans, much more than it has anything to do with the Creator.
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
Cognitive Dissonance is defined as “psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously.” [1]
In other words, truth and untruth are both believed as truth at the same time, which causes discord in one’s cognition or ability to understand until one can distinguish between the two. It means primarily that a person has accepted an untruth as a truth and had believed in something that is not true as though it were, and are thus conflicted when presented with actual truth. Since both untruth and truth can never comfortably exist together in a sound mind, one or the other must eventually be rejected. Indeed, accepted reality is reality until someone shines a light on darkness, and reveals accepted darkness and untruth for what it is.
Most will reject newly-presented actual truth since they have lived according to a false belief system or set of false beliefs their entire life and find it far too challenging and uncomfortable to walk away from them. The untruth has incorporated itself throughout their being and has long since been given life through willing and passive acceptance. For the most part it has never been properly challenged. Since no one has spiritual truth until they are presented with it at some point in their life, people unconsciously appropriate belief systems that are not true though they believe them to be. It is their belief in that which is false that makes it true to them. It is their acceptance of the unreal that makes it real to them.
Those hungry for spiritual truth do not have this problem. They had only accepted untruth because it had been foisted upon them somehow but know it fails to satisfy. Because they strive for total heart and soul satisfaction and a true answer to their hunger, they never cease their pursuit of truth until they come in contact with it. When they are presented with it they find it relatively easy to rid themselves of all untruth regardless of what it costs them personally. This is why the Lord is much more able to lead spiritually hungry people to His Truth and to Himself.
SAY WHAT?
The Lord tells us the truth, and because the truth He tells is so shocking and so apart from mankind’s false world views it is usually instantly rejected by most. It is too uncomfortable. What He says seems too far-fetched and simply cannot be right. It flies in the face of one’s accepted reality. It goes against one’s culture. One does not want to become a deviant within his or her group.
For the world of man, this response is perceived as appropriate, because, again, the world of man is composed for the most part by lovers of it and those who reject the Creator who are openly rebellious toward Him. It makes no sense for them to accept the Lord Jesus or consider His teachings. They would have to make wholesale changes in every part of their falsely constructed lives to integrate His teachings and they find the whole idea completely asinine.
“But you will die one day, sooner than you think, and will have to account for your life.” This they soundly reject because it is the only intelligent and reasonable thing to do. They cannot fathom any wholesale changes in their life that might compromise or remove their great power and wealth.
“One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” [Luke 18:22-24] [2]
This young archon was certainly not one of the world’s richest and powerful men, though he possessed incredible worldly wealth. Let’s say someone tried to tell him, “Hey, your money is only so good for so long. It is currently losing value. It can never be translated into the next world. You trust in it way too much. This is actually destroying you. You are putting your faith in an adulterous mistress that will turn on you in a second. It is only a matter of time. You do not possess it. It possesses you.” Well, he would see that he had come suddenly to a very distinct fork in the road, because these are two competing, polar-opposite ideas. He would be forced to choose one or the other. And even though he cannot reject the obvious facts he was just presented with, the odds are almost 100% that he would make no change.
Why? Because the fake world he lives in is comfortable and though he knows it can never last forever he would rather have comfort now than risk it all on possible comfort in a possible next world. Many people never consider such opportunities at redemption and therefore stay deceived about the nature of reality and life. It is not until they die (that is, until the very temporary house of clay they currently live in wears out or is damaged sufficiently in some way) that they are confronted with the actual truth. Most are and will be shocked. And it will be too late.
So, the few great power brokers who have most of the wealth of this world never change a thing regarding their own eternity and continue to put their faith in the fairy tale that they will somehow live forever and/or get away with all their personal sin and the destruction and pain they caused so many in the gaining of their wealth and power. And there will be a special place in hell for them. It is their choice.
But for those who actually believe what the Creator teaches, and applies it wholesale, they discover everything He said is absolutely true and their formerly blind eyes are opened. They see what they had never seen before or could ever see. By trusting and obeying the Lord Jesus, they become aware of the deception they were formerly blinded by and are set free. They then see this fallen world of mankind for what it actually is. They exit the world at the inevitable fork in the road and enter the kingdom.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” [John 14:6]
If you feel confused, uninformed or not properly informed, or cognitively conflicted regarding truth, and are not sure what course to take to remedy the situation, I suggest you first begin growing closer to the Lord. His light will shine upon the areas that have need of it and in time He will fill the voids with His truth.
Onward.
© 2016 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Real Christianity—The Nature of the Church
[1] © Merriam Webster
[2] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
ANTI-DISCIPLESHIP: The Problem of Willful Immaturity
The Lord Jesus commanded us to be excellent disciples. We must be fully trained. The majority of Christians refuse this command. Most Christians are willfully immature.
“A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” [Luke 6:40]
IGNORANCE IS BLINDNESS
Some people have very low IQs. Their intelligence level is not their fault. There are low IQ people in the world who have achieved masterfully. I believe the Lord is proud of them. I believe the Lord is proud of anyone who overcomes against great odds to achieve great things. He taught many times in His parables on this theme. He implied clearly that it is never about what a person may start out with but what a person achieves even though the odds are stacked against success.
Most such people do not achieve, of course, which only makes those who do stand out all the more in showing what is actually possible.
Some people start well but are shut down repeatedly by circumstances not under their control. But they refuse to stay shut down. They get back up, are knocked down, get back up, then something comes against them from out in left field and knocks them down again. They think a minute, get their bearings, refuse to be defeated, and get right back up. They start to figure out that as long as they get back up and go at it again they have a chance. But they also start to see that every time they get back up after the enemy tries to destroy them that the enemy has less power.
It is the same with disciples of the Lord Jesus. These are the real Christians. They take the Lord’s commands and instructions seriously. They are thanked for their great desire to do right by God by being attacked all the more. And for those who know and have been through it, the very worst attacks are those by friends.
Why do some Christians act like first-class asses? Why are some Christians filled with so much hate? There are reasons, you know. Here’s one of them:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? [Matthew 23:29-33]
This exact dynamic has been playing out for a very long time among Christian adherents though most of it has gone unacknowledged or is completely unseen. It is unseen due to ignorance. Many Christians are ignorant because they refuse to obey the Lord and do their proper work. When Christians refuse to be real disciples they become ignorant of spiritual things. This ignorance creates a wall. The wall shields them from the truth. They can’t see it. They become blind to truth. Then they act out on what they know, which is not much, and attempt to defend their place of ignorance and laziness, which is not defendable. Then they resort to anger and hate to defend themselves. Thus they become not only all the more stupid but all the more close-minded and hateful.
We know what happens with human inbreeding. We know that inbreeding causes problems and if it is not stopped the problems grow worse over time. The people thereof become more prone to mutations and disease. Inbreeding is not healthy.
The same thing happens with Christian denominations and churches. If there is no free flow of the Holy Spirit, no new ideas, knowledge, or new applications, no cross-pollination, and especially no emphasis on obeying and following the Lord and walking in real discipleship, the people thereof will grow spiritually stupid and ignorant of the Word of God. They become stagnant. They become inbred. They see their little place as the entire world. They see everyone else as inferior. This inbred condition causes a distrust and hatred of all things and all people unlike themselves. There is only one solution for this terrible condition and dreaded disease:
READ THE WORD OF GOD. STUDY INTENTLY THE PURE TEACHINGS OF THE LORD JESUS. DO THIS ON YOUR OWN. LET IT BE STRICTLY BETWEEN YOU AND THE LORD JESUS.
Anyone who refuses to read the Word of God is deceived. Let me repeat: ANYONE WHO REFUSES TO READ THE WORD OF GOD IS DECEIVED. PERIOD.
They are spiritually blind. It is not possible to see without the one who is able to heal blind eyes and grant sight. It is especially problematic when Christians are thus blind. It is most problematic when Christian leaders are blind. Sadly, there’s a bunch of them. Christian Pharisees are everywhere, hidden in plain sight.
And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? [Luke 6:39] [1]
© 2016 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Real Christianity—The Nature of the Church
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE REAL CHOSEN PEOPLE: The Fig Tree (Part 5)
THE FIG TREE
On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. [Mark 11:12-14]
Why did the Lord curse the fig tree? The narrative said it was not the season for figs.
Actually, a fig tree produced fruit three times a year. In about April, which was the time the Lord saw the tree in question, every healthy fig tree would bear what are known as “early figs,” also known as “unripe” or “untimely” figs. These immature figs were very small, were edible, though certainly not comparable to the full fruit which would come later, and most fell to the ground with the wind. They appeared as the first leaves appeared on the tree.
In about June, the first mature figs appeared, the first actual crop, and were said to grow out of the “old wood,” or the shoots from the prior year.
In August or so, the final crop of figs came forth, from the “new wood,” or new shoots of the present year.
From this we know that if a tree will be fruitful and not barren, it will send forth fruit roughly at the same time, or very shortly thereafter, as it sends forth its first leaves, though the first fruit is a far cry from what will come later. The Lord Jesus knew, therefore, that because the tree He came upon already had leaves but no “early figs,” it would never produce any figs.
Keep in mind also that He was hungry, that He saw the tree “at a distance,” that He had to put time and effort into reaching it, and that He expected to find food. This is obviously indicative of His long journey to visit and rescue His beloved people.
ISRAEL
As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.”
And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.” [Mark 11:20-23] [1]
Mountains are associated with spiritual high places, places of great power. The little that was left of the Jewish nation in the first century had long since been subverted by a political association between the religious leaders and Rome. This was especially true of the Sadducees who had no belief in spiritual things whatsoever, not even the resurrection. It was also true of Annas and Caiphas, the High Priest. They were living only for this world, had achieved great wealth and power, and had joined “the mountain,” represented by the great earthly power of the Roman Empire.
The fig tree was representative of the Israel of that time, which made an outward show of national legitimacy and religiosity, but was actually fruitless and spiritually barren. It is the same today.
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]
© 2016 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Real Christianity—The Nature of the Church
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
FURTHER PROOF:
THE REAL CHOSEN PEOPLE (Part 1)
THE REAL CHOSEN PEOPLE (Part 4)
Tonight at sunset marks the beginning of Iyyar 5 on the Hebrew calendar. It was on this date in 1948 that the modern state of Israel was created. Iyyar 5 corresponded then to May 14 on the Gregorian calendar.
The modern state of Israel was created by non-believers—among the movers and shakers was not a single believer in the Lord Jesus. In fact, many were atheists, including the first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who was also a lifelong Communist/Marxist/Socialist and admirer of Lenin.
Among unbelieving Jews, no actual descendent of Abraham is historically more rejected, hated, or despised than the Lord Jesus, who continues to be viewed as a false Messiah and evil interloper.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. [John 1:10-11]
Abraham was the first to be called a Hebrew. The Hebrews descended from Abraham. Abraham had descended from Shem, one of the three sons of Noah. Noah had descended from Adam.
The Lord Jesus—YeHoshua HaMashiach—descended from Adam, through Noah, through Noah’s son Shem, through Abraham, through Abraham’s son Isaac, through Isaac’s son Jacob, and through Jacob’s son Judah. He also descended through King David. Hence, the “Son of David” is the rightful and final heir to the throne—the King of kings and Lord of lords:
These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” [Revelation 17:14]
Here we see that the CHOSEN PEOPLE are those who are with the Lord Jesus.
In fact, the New Testament refers to REAL CHRISTIANS as the CHOSEN PEOPLE at least 16 times.
Therefore, in order to qualify as one of the chosen people, one must be CALLED BY, CHOSEN OF, and FAITHFUL TO the Lord Jesus.
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” [Matthew 22:14]
Those who are called and chosen by the Lord Jesus MUST ALSO BE FAITHFUL to the Lord Jesus or there is no covenant with Him.
The Kingdom of the Lord Jesus is His Kingdom. There is no other. He is the only King. It is His community. His community is comprised of all those who are chosen by Him. He is the only one who chooses the members. Anyone can apply for membership, but applying for membership in no way proves chosen status. One must not only apply, one must be chosen. And the Lord Jesus is the only one who does the calling and choosing.
“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.” [John 15:16-17]
This is what the members of His real community look like:
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. [1Corinthians 1:26-29] [1]
Regarding these real chosen people of the Lord’s community, one cannot be faithful to the Lord Jesus or one another without loving one another. The faithfulness to and love of the Lord Jesus is that which creates an ongoing covenant with Him. Loving one another in the Lord’s community is that which creates an ongoing covenant with one another.
Therefore, it is impossible to be a member of the CHOSEN PEOPLE if one rejects and refuses to honor the Lord Jesus as Messiah, Lord, King, and “God with us.”
Without acknowledging the Lord Jesus as God, there is no possible covenant with Him:
Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. [1John 2:22-23]
© 2016 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Real Christianity—The Nature of the Church
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
FURTHER PROOF:
THE REAL CHOSEN PEOPLE (Part 1)
FIFTH COLUMN CHRISTIANS: How the devil Created Unreal Christianity
“FIFTH COLUMN”: Clandestine group or faction of subversive agents who attempt to undermine a nation’s solidarity by any means at their disposal.
“A cardinal technique of the fifth column is the infiltration of sympathizers into the entire fabric of the nation under attack and, particularly, into positions of policy decision and national defense. From such key posts, fifth-column activists exploit the fears of a people by spreading rumours and misinformation, as well as by employing the more standard techniques of espionage and sabotage.” [1]
THE JERK WHO STARTED IT ALL
The devil is the original jerk.
A jerk, in this sense, with a wide inclusion of corresponding names and titles denoting derivative evil and subversive activities, is someone driven to do all in his or her power to mess up a good thing.
The Garden, east of Eden, built by the Lord God, was absolutely perfect.
Adam, the first human, created by the Lord God, was also absolutely perfect.
And Eve, wonderful Eve, the first woman, also created by the Lord God, was not only absolutely perfect but the crown of creation. With all due respect to Adam, there was no possible better created being than Eve. After the Lord God made her He was done. He saved His best for last.
But of course, the devil had to come along and screw it all up. (The devil is such a rotten little reprobate.) He lives to destroy, to rottenize everything he touches, and to do all is his power to transform the perfectly moral and beautiful into gross immorality and ugliness.
The sad thing about this idiot is that he possesses such a powerful ability to lie and cheat and deceive that EVERYBODY ends up listening to all his sorry tripe and most obey him their entire lives with no recourse or ability to stop.
THE ONLY CURE:
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. [John 1:11-13]
THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL
Adam listened and at first he told the devil to bug off. Adam remained loyal to the Lord God.
Eve listened and at first she fought him. She quoted the Word of God. But the devil kept on in his sly and slimy manner and started making sense to her. Adam was nowhere around. The devil isolated her and caught her on her own. She had never been taught directly by the Lord God but by Adam. Thus, the devil simply attacked her husband’s credibility in order to attack the credibility of the Lord God.
Interestingly enough, Eve began to listen:
“Maybe Adam got it wrong…”
“How do I really know that Adam learned everything he taught me from the Lord God?”
“Maybe this alternative picture the devil is painting in the real reality…”
The devil encouraged her to use her human eyes, her human understanding, and her human imagination. The forbidden fruit suddenly looked good to her, both to her eyes as a thing of beauty and also for food. She also fell for the lie that eating the fruit would make her wise and that she would replace the Lord God. She would be equal to the Lord God. SHE would be the Lord God.
The original fifth columnist gained his first convert.
ADAM’S EVENTUAL FAILURE
What the hell happened to Adam? Why did he no longer resist sin and temptation?
He had successfully defeated the pukey little devil on every other occasion. He was never fooled by his lies before. His education by the Lord God in spiritual things had been perfect.
Why did he not resist his wife’s manipulation?
If you can answer this question you will know how Christianity in general has been almost completely subverted and transformed into something completely different from the original, WHICH IS PERFECT.
The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” [Genesis 3:12] [2]
And with that the devil made his second convert.
Since that time the devil has managed to create many more converts. There are more unreal Christians on the planet than real ones. The faux bros have listened to the devil’s suggestions and eaten the forbidden fruit.
Unreal Christians have never undergone required heart circumcision as per the Lord’s commands, but have certainly succumbed to backbone removal.
Could it be because many of the people you see in pulpits are nothing but undercover Christian Fifth Columnists blinded by the devil and won over to his cause?
It certainly appears that they and their congregations have all fallen into their respective pits.
“FIFTH COLUMN:” Clandestine group or faction of subversive agents who attempt to undermine a nation’s (Christian group’s) solidarity by any means at their disposal.
“A cardinal technique of the fifth column is the infiltration of sympathizers into the entire fabric of the nation (Christian group) under attack and, particularly, into positions of policy decision and national (Christian group) defense. From such key posts, fifth-column activists exploit the fears of a people by spreading rumours and misinformation (false doctrines and teachings), as well as by employing the more standard techniques of espionage and sabotage (lies and deception).” [1]
© 2016 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Real Christianity—The Nature of the Church
[1] © 2016 Encyclopedia Brittanica
[2] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
DEFEATING THE RULER OF THIS WORLD: Christian Heroes and Villains
Baseball Hall of Fame Election: Rewarding Steroid Users?
The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the 2016 voting results for new member inductions later today.
If you’re wondering what this has to do with Real Christianity, I would like to point out that Hall of Fame electability has a morals clause.
That’s right. The Hall of Fame has always had written into its rules the fact that a player must show a certain level of morality during his career as part of his overall resume, otherwise thought to be based purely on one’s career record and statistics.
According to the BWAA, the Baseball Writers Association of America that does the actual voting and decides who gets in, the official rule for deciding a player’s induction is the following:
Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.
Here are the qualifications in list form:
(1) Player’s Record
(2) Playing Ability
(3) Integrity
(4) Sportsmanship
(5) Character
(6) Contributions to the Team
Three of the above are purely about morals and good conduct: Integrity, Sportsmanship, and Character. The last says a player must be a team player which must also be included on the morals list. This means that each player elected is supposed to be elected based primarily on his morals and character, though he must obviously have great statistics and demonstrate a high desire to achieve and win.
But in these days of anti-Christianity and no morals in which people get away with so much immoral behavior, the morals clause no longer applies in the way it was intended. At present, secular non-Christians have created their own morals rule book and it diverts greatly from the original written by the Creator. According to the new rule book, morals have either been redefined or eliminated, and some moral failings, such as gambling, have been pushed to the top, while so many other moral failures are not even considered. There is no need to go into specific moral failures because all readers know what I’m referring to, as do the players themselves and everyone who sees baseball from the inside.
So, since we are talking about the Hall of Fame, the institution which showcases the very few and very greatest players of all time, many of whom are not considered moral stalwarts, I will limit myself for the purposes of this article to the one immoral act that has divided baseball and the election process itself over the last several years—the use of Steroids.
It has been argued that steroids and associated chemical substances do not give a player any actual advantage. This is a lie of the highest magnitude. When Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were racing to the home run title in 1998 reaching totals no two players had ever reached before in the same season, long-term fans knew something was up.
For the sake of historical reference, here is how one man set and then continued to set the season home run record without steroids:
BABE RUTH
In 1919, Babe Ruth set a new record by smashing 29 home runs. The next year he absolutely destroyed his former record by hitting 54! But he wasn’t done. In 1921 Babe Ruth hit an astounding and incredible 59 home runs. He then set a record that stood for 34 years when he hit 60 in 1927.
Keep in mind that there were some big home run hitters that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s but none of them broke his record of 60.
In Babe Ruth’s time each team played 154 games. In 1961 teams played 162 games. And it was in 1961 that Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s record by hitting 61. He needed the extra eight games to do it, but it was still an amazing feat. If Roger Maris had played only 154 games as did Ruth, Babe Ruth’s record would have stood.
It would have stood for 71 years! Until 1998. That was when Mark McGwire hit 70. It had also been revealed that year that McGwire had been taking a steroid supplement. The supplement was not illegal. It was not even illegal at that time in major league baseball. Hence, McGwire didn’t break any rules. But in my opinion, he certainly violated the morals clause.
It was not seen that way at the time near as much as it was later. Steroids became a giant issue. Again, did steroids make a statistical difference? The obvious answer is YES. When steroids were first introduced to the game in the 1980s their use eventually spread like wild fire. When Barry Bonds saw what McGwire and Sosa were achieving he apparently decided to go all out on a steroid regimen which eventually helped him break McGwire’s record of 70 by hitting 73 home runs three years later in 2001.
Of course, he beat the rap legally, but everyone knows what he did.
If you don’t think steroids played a decisive role in breaking the home run record, here are Barry Bonds’ season home run totals leading up to his record-breaking year and afterwards:
1996: 42
1997: 40
1998: 37
1999: 34
2000: 49
2001: 73
2002: 46
2003: 45
2004: 45
In 2005 his body apparently broke down and he only played 14 games, hitting 5 home runs. He played two more years, hitting 26 and then 28 homers to close out his career. In his last season he set a new career home record with 762 by breaking Hank Aaron’s 755.
Barry Bonds has not done so well on the Hall of Fame ballot so far for only one reason: Steroids. Mark McGwire will never get elected. If I had the vote I would never vote for known steroid users with inflated records. It’s a no brainer. Barry Bonds broke the morals clause, in my opinion, as did many, many others. By bulking up with the apparent express intention of setting new all time records with the help of chemical substances, he violated the Hall of Fame’s electability moral standards:
Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.
According to the above, he made a mockery of former time-tested statistics through unfair advantage and has lessened the accomplishments of many great players who played the right way and respected the game.
The ironic thing about what he did is that he would have easily made the Hall of Fame if he had never done steroids. He was obviously one of the all time great players.
I don’t know who will gain enshrinement later today. Bonds probably won’t make it this year. But I do know that America’s moral standards in general have long since descended into a pit and most do not even consider morals to be an issue. Name the gross sin and people are committing it every day in this country and getting away with it.
Shoeless Joe Jackson, the man with the third best career batting average of all time, was banished from baseball over what has proven to be a relatively minor issue compared to what so many of the steroid cheats have done and gotten away with.
Barry Bonds is currently trying to rehabilitate his name by coaching a major league team this season. Again, he won all the legal cases against him. It could even be argued that he broke no actual rules. In my opinion, he will eventually get in the Hall of Fame and that tells one all one needs to know about the moral direction baseball has taken. Instead of being called out for an obvious wrong and instead of repenting for an obvious wrong, the wrong has been eliminated as a wrong.
And Integrity, Sportsmanship, and Character have also been eliminated.
For-e-ver. For-e-ver. For-e-ver.
© 2016 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ… [Colossians 2:8-11]
.
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT
Circumcision is a circle cut which removes the foreskin. It was a vital and necessary part of the Abrahamic Covenant. It was a type of heart circumcision in human flesh.
“And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations…” [Genesis 17:12]
Eight is the Biblical number of resurrection and regeneration.
THE NEW COVENANT
It is the same with spiritual (heart) circumcision. Heart circumcision is a spiritual cut around the human heart (spirit) removing the natural, sinful flesh (foreskin). It is a vital and necessary part of the New Covenant instituted by the Lord Jesus—the Blood Covenant. It is the new birth. There is no new birth without a spiritual circumcision of the heart.
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. [Romans 2:29]
THE NEW SPIRITUAL MIND
Scripture tells us that this heart “circle cut” also removes the lower human mind and renews it with a new spiritual mind. All real Christians (real disciples of the Lord Jesus) have this mind. It goes along with the new spiritual heart. The renewed mind brings forth renewed thinking. An entirely brand new thinking process develops. It is a thought pattern based on the pure Word of God. It is in agreement with the thought pattern of the Lord Jesus.
Prior to an actual new spiritual birth, the human thought process is in clear opposition to God. It is a thought process based on the selfish desires of human flesh. It is impossible for this thought process to bring forth anything of spiritual worth or good. This lower human nature is the result of the original rebellion of Adam and Eve. There is nothing to do about this lower nature—there is no escape from it—there is no higher nature to be achieved—unless one is born again from above as taught by the Lord Jesus.
THE ONE WAY TO LIFE
There is only one new birth. There is only one way to God. There is only one way to the Father.
The Lord Jesus is the Father.
He is also the Way to the Father. It is through the humanity of the Lord Jesus that a person finds his or her way to God.
This is why God—YHWH—the one God of the Hebrews, became a human being. He came among us as one of us to show us the Way to Life. As part of His great love it required a perfect blood sacrifice from within humanity to pay for the sin of mankind. Only one Man qualified. This perfect sacrifice could only have taken place through a perfect, sinless, and spotless human being. This is what and who the Lord Jesus was and is. He is Immanuel—God with us. He is also the Sacrifice Lamb. He became one of us as a Son in whom dwelt the Father (YHWH).
COUNTER CIRCUMCISION: THE MENTAL MARK
The devil’s answer for the powerful new birth which creates millions of Holy Spirit-filled sons of God is to counterfeit the process. The only option he has is to capture minds. Once he captures minds he changes the thought process even beyond that of generic human rebellion against God and spiritual purity. He creates his own disciples.
He brands a “mark” upon such minds which serves as more than a stronghold within it. His mark changes a person’s thinking and thought process to one in agreement with the devil’s thinking and thought process. It is a thought process of hate in the guise of love.
Of course, every individual who undergoes this process is deceived by it. The majority of the devil’s disciples do not know they are serving him. Though they have become haters they are convinced they are lovers. They are blinded to spiritual reality. They have willingly accepted this mark, or branding. Their mind becomes controlled by evil in the guise of good.
Paul described the devil’s circumcision of the human mind and one’s elimination of it as thus:
…With gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. [2Timothy 2:25-26]
Paul also speaks of Christians who quit on the Lord (apostasy) and give themselves over to counterfeit forms of Christianity:
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron… [1Timothy 4:1-2]
Thus, we can see that no person without the Lord is immune from the great deception of demonic forces. The only chance one has to be freed from deception is through the Lord Jesus, and this is done by repenting of sin and surrendering to Him so He can begin the process of the new birth. He can deliver the captives from spiritual death and free their minds from the devil’s control.
WHAT IS THE MARK OF THE BEAST?
The word “mark” is found seven times in the Book of Revelation. It is translated into English from the Greek word charagma. It is defined as a stamp or impress, or imprinted mark. This particular mark has to do with the economic system of who the Book of Revelation refers to as the Beast.
The Beast of Revelation is described as a bestial man—brutal, savage, and ferocious. Merriam-Webster defines the word bestial as “marked by base or inhuman instincts or desires.” This lines up perfectly with one who has taken the devil’s mark upon his mind.
The Beast is the epitome of the aforesaid evil human being in total opposition and rebellion toward God. He is a man of brute force, epitomized by all the brutal dictators of history who had no care or concern for human beings, but used all and abused all to their own ends. His economic system will demand that everyone participate by first buying into the system entirely. Whoever does not will be excluded entirely. Such a system is further implied to be purely demonic and will be used as the method to gain souls through the selling of their souls. People will be forced to choose between God and mammon, one or the other, and nothing in-between.
For those who choose the Mark of the Beast, it will be a furthering of the existing circumcised mark upon their minds, and will prove one’s total worship of the Beast and his kingdom from which retreat will be impossible.
Do not be deceived. All who take the mark will do so because they have rejected the Lord Jesus and accepted the Beast. All of these will be unable to see him for who he really is and will love the Beast and believe him to be the greatest and most wonderful leader in history. Externally, he will possess an extremely likeable and charismatic personality. He will look good, dress good, sound good, and seemingly have an answer for every human heart.
As a leader, he will satisfy every desire of every person on the planet, except, however, for real Christians, who will perceive him clearly, not hindered by the massive fog of deception made possible by a purely exterior masquerade. Only those born of the Spirit of God will see through the sham.
In order to stay above the fray of dismay we must be born again. Our entire thought process must be renewed by the Spirit of God.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. [Romans 12:2]
THE MIND OF CHRIST
…But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.
For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ. [1Corinthians 2:7-16] [1]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
The “Official” Christian Rule Book: Invalidating the Word of God for the Sake of Religious Tradition (1)
I was sitting in church one day years ago. It was relatively early in a midweek service. We all sat waiting expectantly to hear a message from the Lord. The pastor had just begun his sermon and he told the congregation, “Please turn in your Bibles to the Book of…”
A twenty-something man toward the front, an unbright visitor with no understanding of church protocol, then immediately blurted out, “Wait! What page!?”
.
One wonders why, in the face of many centuries of ecclesiastical control and strident oversight within Christianity, that someone has not yet addressed this issue. Why don’t we have just one Bible and one translation so everyone can follow along the same way many Christians do with everything else?
Wait. In fact, “Christians” did think of this. Many centuries ago. Then they quickly surmised it would be even better if they simply dispensed with the Word of God altogether. Then they could make up their own rules and their own book and no one would be the wiser.
They could have called it The Official Christian Rule Book.
All facetiousness aside, such a thing actually happened, exactly that way. For a thousand years (let me repeat), FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, the Bible was effectively outlawed within “official” Christianity.
THE ORIGINAL PROTESTANT REFORMATION
Christians forget that there was once a Protestant Reformation. They also forget that the Protestant Reformation arose for only one reason—it was a PROTEST against the Roman Catholic Church.
Why were so many people protesting against the Roman Catholic Church? And why were all the ringleaders Catholic or former Catholics?
Actually, the Protestant Reformation did not simply begin at a single point in time in the early 1500s, though that was certainly the beginning of the open and successful Reformation that the Catholic Church could no longer suppress or contain. It had been ongoing for, yes, A THOUSAND YEARS.
The problem for the various Protestants through the intervening years prior to the early 1500s was that they were usually politically unprotected single individuals, much like Old Testament prophets, or relatively small Christian societies. They were always outnumbered and outvoted, which included by possibly the millions otherwise sympathetic Catholics who were intimidated into silence without the courage to join them. Thus, these early Protestants were very easy to suppress and kill off by the so-called mother church.
Never mind that the Catholic Church violated always and repeatedly the clear teachings of the Lord Jesus in this regard in order to gain and maintain its strict religious control; it was obvious to the evil leaders thereof that no other method was feasible. The RCC spared no effort or funding to engage in ongoing religious cleansing of dissenters in order to establish and maintain a religious monolith.
Once a person decided to protest against obvious rule-breaking by the new illicit rule makers, such a person became their enemy. The religious controllers could attempt certain punishments to bring such righteous dissidents back into line, such as applying a non-tangible whip like a guilt trip or social excommunication, or they could go much further and engage in actual physical “discipline.”
If such efforts failed and the recalcitrant party refused to buckle under, the only things remaining were the dungeon or death. Both had been used forever by evil despots to silence their critics, and the new “Christian” clergy knew it must also use the same tactics to stay in power. Otherwise, their lies would be overwhelmed by the honest words of honest men who stood for the teachings of the Lord Jesus, and the clergyites would be defeated by truth.
Hence, the Original Protestant Reformation continued on throughout the many centuries of the Dark Ages—ages made dark for one reason—the elimination of the Word of God from the people. Therefore, the opponents of the Catholic Church—the protesting opponents who favored the free use of the Word of God for everybody—were actually the real friends of God. This exposed the real enemies of God—the Catholic clergy—the ones who purported officially and openly to be God’s friends and spokesmen.
Remember, there are two things that the enemies of the Lord hate more than Him, and that is HIS WORD and HIS NAME:
As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” [John 8:30-32]
Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. [John 20:30-31]
The elimination of the freedom-releasing, life-giving, and spiritual power-producing Word of God and Name of God is a must if the Lord’s enemies are to be successful. That this happened through a false front “Christian” operation would otherwise open many eyes save for the extreme duplicity and treachery involved.
It is what we call religious guile, deceit, and hypocrisy of the highest order—standard operating procedure at the hands of the official Roman Catholic clergy of that time—and the very thing the Pharisees of the Lord’s time were guilty of as well.
THE ORIGINAL PHARISEES
The Lord Jesus saved His greatest, most forceful, and most damning rebukeathons for the evil Pharisaic leadership for one reason—they refused to allow the pure Word of God to be in the hands of the people—they refused to allow God to be in charge. They majored on instant condemnation for rule breakers. They were much more interested in the Gotcha! Protocol (and the quick punishment thereof) than any forgiveness, compassion, understanding, love, or mercy.
Sound familiar?
The Pharisees also insisted they must teach from a perverted “official” substitute rulebook written and sponsored by them and by no one else. The desire and goal of the Pharisaic leadership was complete and dominant religious control over every single person within what was left of the nation of Israel, as well as to infinity and beyond:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” [Matthew 23:15]
The Pharisees succeeded at this for a while, maybe two or three centuries. Their efforts ended up destroying their nation. But their success was minimal in comparison to successful Roman Catholicism, which not only caused the European Dark Ages but became the greatest Christian offshoot in history to the tune of one billion plus worldwide at present.
And it still operates the same way it always has, though obvious outward changes had to be made since the incredible spiritual successes of:
(1) The Protestant Reformation,
(2) The unprecedented establishment of complete, legal spiritual liberty and religious freedom with the against-all-odds creation of the United States of America. This freedom and liberty did not exist in Europe, even among Protestants, and certainly not among Catholics who spent a millennium and half fighting against it.
(3) The giant, ongoing, ever-increasing, worldwide Pentecostal movement of the last 120 years.
As had the Original Pharisees, the Roman Catholic Church still possesses its official rule book. It is a book loosely based on the Word of God. Yet, whoever knowingly teaches against the pure teachings of the Lord Jesus, makes additions or subtractions to or from them, and refuses to honor all of His teachings are, like the interloper Judas Iscariot, the Lord’s greatest enemies.
They are such because they both pretend to be something they are not and deceive people into believing it, and are flippantly arrogant in their effective rewriting of God’s original Word for the sake of their own illicit religious kingdoms and elite power structure.
Regarding the approach of the Lord Jesus toward such illicit rule book makers who revel in lording it over others, we know how He approached the Torah teachers (lawyers) and Pharisees of His time in the following passages:
“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.” [Luke 11:52]
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” [Matthew 23:13]
“And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” [Matthew 15:6] [1]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued.]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
The Reception of Deception: Happy Rosh Hashanah 2015
Rosh Hashanah arrived at sunset tonight.
Four years ago at this time of year, in the first year of this site, I wrote a post regarding Rosh Hashanah. I reposted that article in 2012. The post explains succinctly but compellingly the nature of Rosh Hashanah and the month of Tishrei, and includes tantalizing clues regarding the return of the Lord Jesus:
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. [John 1:14]
I highly recommend a quick look at the article. It is especially necessary for this particular Rosh Hashanah and will set the tone for the following post. You can find it here: Happy Rosh Hashanah 2012
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THE SECOND COMING
The second coming of Messiah Jesus to this fallen world will be the greatest event in the history of the last days. All will see at once the extreme dichotomy of His pure, holy, and powerful rule—the rule of the great triumphant King returning to claim His own—in comparison to the corrupt rule of sinful, hell-bound despots, who by that time will have consolidated their evil under the demonic rule of one man.
This man will be purported to be a child of Abraham, a Last Days Solomon—the Antichrist. He will rule the entire globe openly through the power of satan, and will be revered by the majority of this world’s population as a Savior and populist answer man bringing peace, security, and economic prosperity. His embrace by the world will prove the incredible depravity to which the world has fallen, but much more by this world’s overwhelming rejection of its real Savior.
Imagine then, the rejected One returning, not as the faux representation—the safe and harmless man few people respect or honor, including all those within Unreal Christianity who have historically purported this ridiculously false image—but as the GREAT CONQUERING KING He is, to set everything right and dispense justice righteously and mightily, in a manner this world has never seen.
The rule of the Sinner Elite will be over. Spiritual slavery will be ended. Deception will be revealed for what it is. The faithful will be rewarded.
THE RECEPTION OF DECEPTION
Speaking of deception, it should interest all of us the full extent of such spiritual deception happening at present, especially with regard to all of the so-called prophecies supposedly about to happen. Great fear has been ratcheted up. False prophets are going nuts. They have understood very well, going back a few years, that this is a great time for garnering speaking engagements and selling books. There are some first class shysters out there demanding we listen, intent on deceiving. When that which they prophesy fails to happen, they will, as usual and as always, back off somewhat but quickly change gears, as they always do, like duplicitous politicians.
Their game is not about revealing the Lord’s truth—it is about gaining influence, earning market share, building up their brand, and making money.
I will again remind everyone that the Lord’s real prophets and teachers of these last days look like the Lord Jesus—they look like the members of the Lord’s original community. They have no vested interest or agenda other than speaking and revealing the truth—the truth that lines up perfectly with the Lord’s teachings and His revealed Word.
As I wrote a year and a half ago regarding the so-called Blood Moons, most of what you are hearing about the “imminent” happenings of these days is more about deception than truth. To draw a very quick distinction, this is what happens when someone tells the actual Truth:
Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. [Matthew 27:26-31]
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” [Acts 7:55-59]
But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” [Acts 9:13-16]
THE GREAT AWAKENING
If you want to know the REAL truth about the time at hand, it is this:
The Great Awakening will continue. Deception will continue to be revealed for what it is, and Truth will continue to come forth as a shining light. Spiritual warfare will be greatly increased. The persecution against real Christians in America, something I have been predicting for 25 years, will be increased, and much of it will come directly through organized, false Christianity. Many real believers will gain new spiritual strength and anointing to stand forth and will refuse to surrender to unholy dictates which violate their beliefs and consciences. Formerly supportive “friends” will become foes. Sinners will lash out in their limited understandings against the teachings of the Lord Jesus, thinking they are doing right and believing they are winning arguments, but will only be further revealing their hate. As we grow closer toward the great return of the Lord Jesus, opposing sides will grow further apart. Those on the wrong side will graduate from mere name-calling and character assassination to outright physical attack, as noted in the above Scriptures. We are entering a time when fewer and fewer people will be able to hide the real intentions of their heart, and will be compelled to bring formerly hidden intentions and unspoken words into the open. We are already seeing this through the phenomenon of instant social media, brought much more strongly to the fore as of late through the presidential election process. Illicit, anti-God power will increase, and much of this is illustrated by the following:
“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.” [John 16:1-3]
THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
The Word of God clearly reveals that when the Lord returns, about this time of year, He will return for a powerful, glorious, Spirit-filled community—a spotless Bride. This community will be very well versed in the ways of spiritual warfare and will have defeated the devil at every turn, though also paying a heavy price. This Bride of Christ will be worthy of His return. It will be composed of the powerful Stephens and Pauls of the last days, those who know that an all-out commitment to the Lord Jesus is the only proper commitment, as all laggards and fake Christians will not be found within it, but without, in unity with the enemy.
Regarding the victory we seek and must have, I encourage you to be strong and grow in faith. Stand up for the Lord and He will stand up for you. Preach the real Gospel in whatever way the Lord has laid upon your heart.
I leave you with these words from a man who not only preached the real Gospel but lived it, and paid the ultimate price:
…But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. [1 Corinthians 15:57-58] [1]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
WISE UP: Revealing the Signs of the Antichrist Spirit
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.
Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. [2John 1:7-9]
There is only one “Teaching of Christ.” There is only one real Gospel. The teaching of Christ is His entire curriculum. Those who refuse to teach, believe in, and obey the entire curriculum of the Lord Jesus do not have God. Period. They are not for real and should never be trusted.
They have rejected both the Father and the Son.
IDENTIFYING THE FATHER AND SON
The Father and Son are a package deal. The Father and Son cannot be divided. The Father and Son are not two separate entities and never have been:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [John 1:1]
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. [John 1:14]
“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” [Matthew 11:27]
Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” [John 14:8-9]
The Bible clearly identifies the Word of God. But it also reveals that The Word of God is not separate from God. In fact, it clearly states that the Word of God IS God. The Word of God and God are not two separate entities, but the same entity. If the Word of God IS God, and there is only ONE God, then how can the Word of God be something or someone other than God?
The Word of God became flesh. In other words, God, the one and only God—the YHWH of the Old Testament—became a human being. We know this human being as the Lord Jesus. Therefore, the Lord Jesus is God. God came forth among us no longer as merely the spoken Word, but as THE LIVING WORD.
Therefore, if one denies that the Lord Jesus is God, then one has denied the Father. The Lord Jesus said exactly the same thing on many occasions.
“He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” [John 5:23]
Also, if one accepts the Son, then one must accept Him entirely. One must acknowledge Him as the one and only Messiah and Savior of the world, and one must acknowledge that He died for our sins and rose again. One must teach, believe in, and obey His entire curriculum.
Failing this, one rejects the Son, since the Son demands total obedience:
“He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” [Matthew 10:38]
If one rejects the Son, it is impossible to ever know the Father. Why? Because it is only the Son who reveals the Father. It is not the Father who reveals the Son, but the Son who reveals the Father.
Regarding major monotheistic religions on the planet, Judaism denies that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah. By denying the Lord Jesus, Judaism has denied the Father. Therefore, “the Father” referred to by the Lord Jesus must be someone different than the one adherents of Judaism worship.
Islam denies that the Lord Jesus died for our sins and rose again. By denying the Lord Jesus for who He is and what He has done, Islam has denied the Father. Therefore, “the Father” referred to by the Lord Jesus must be someone different than the one adherents of Islam worship.
Returning then, to the narrative from John’s second letter, it is impossible to divide Father from Son. However, as indicated, there are those who teach that it is possible to have the Father without acknowledging the Son. This is a lie. It is absolutely refuted by the New Covenant writings.
Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. [1John 2:2-23]
If “Christians” believe the lie that one can have the Father without the Son and incorporate it into their thinking, they will become convinced that other belief systems are just as viable as the Lord’s pure and original teachings. They will especially become convinced, and thus deceived, that monotheistic religions which honor a single “god” are actually honoring the one God of the Bible.
But again, if one refuses to acknowledge the Son, then one does not have the Father.
Thus, the Incarnation of God into human form—the Lord Jesus Christ coming in the flesh—must be recognized and believed OR ONE WILL BE OVERCOME AND DECEIVED BY THE ANTICHRIST SPIRIT.
THE DEVIL IS A DICTATOR
The devil wants to be in charge. Always.
He does not believe in community or group counsel.
He will not tolerate any dissent. He will brook no interference whatsoever in any of his plans.
He must be front and center, in complete control, surrounded by yes men.
His sub-tyrants, fallen angels and human sellouts, are mere sycophants.
He has an agenda, and he achieves it through lies, manipulation, intimidation, coercion, and giving people money, power, titles, authority over others, and whatever else their hearts desire in exchange for becoming his servant and obeying him in all things.
By refusing to serve the Lord Jesus, one serves the devil by default.
There is no actual spiritual middle ground, but only the appearance of such. Those who refuse the Lord Jesus and think they are also refusing the devil from the safety of a mythical, objective middle ground are deceived.
THE ANTICHRIST SPIRIT IN GOVERNMENT
The antichrist spirit has always revealed itself in human governmental forms throughout man’s history, including, of course, the ancient world when its presence was far less subtle. Uninformed and unintelligent people are always much more easily manipulated and the majority of people in the ancient world fit that category.
Barring keeping people uninformed and unintelligent, one must keep them indoctrinated. In fact, it is much easier to control and manipulate people through mass indoctrination, since they can be used to further one’s agenda. Otherwise, those in power must use pure force and fear.
The power of force and fear certainly works, and governmental forms can certainly use such “assets,” but only on a very low scale. Better to indoctrinate them with a “one size fits all” education process that denies truth and promotes what can only be termed misinformation and half truths. In other words, there must be enough truth in the faulty equation to deceive people but not so much that the enemy and his illicit plans are exposed.
ADAM AND EVE
The devil thrives on deception. He must fool people. It is the only way he can be in control. He won his authority over the human race in the very beginning by using this exact simple method on gullible Eve, who then convinced her husband to do likewise.
Adam, of course, was never deceived by the devil or by Eve, because he was already in possession of the full truth. He had a pure walk with God his entire life. He knew right from wrong, he knew truth from error, and he knew all about the devil’s methods. He had obviously already been tested by temptation and passed.
Eve, however, presented a challenge to everything he knew. He remembered life without her when the days of his longing came upon him, when the Lord said it is not good for the man to be alone. Adam did not want to return to those days. But he also did not want to sin and fall away from God.
He was, at least in his mind, which was quite weakened and compromised in that moment, on the horns of a very serious dilemma. Eve had already decided. She already took the bait. She had already sinned. She already fell for the lies of the devil. She ate the fruit.
She was overcome by the antichrist spirit.
But Adam remained on the other side. He had not yet done any of those things. He suddenly saw, like a bright flash of lightning in his troubled brain, that he would have to choose one or the other. He could no longer have both.
Would it be God? Or would it be Eve? If he chose God he would have to banish Eve from the Garden and lose her forever. If he chose Eve, well, we all know how that turned out.
UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT
It was at this point that males began worshipping females. The entirety of ancient goddess worship can be traced back to this incident. Adam went from loving God with all of his heart and loving his wife with all of his heart to betraying God and essentially obeying and worshipping his wife. It was through this that he opened himself up to serving the devil. Obedience can be equated with worship.
This bewitching spiritual gene mutation (flaw) was later manifested in many otherwise great men who felt compelled to obey their wives against the will of God, which always caused major problems. It even showed up in Abraham, whom God referred to as His friend.
Of course, problems can also ensue if one does the right thing, especially in these days, and one may see obeying one’s wife instead of God as the lesser of two problem-producing scenarios. If a Christian questions the preceding truth or what worship is and where it should go, there is this:
Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” [Matthew 4:10] [1]
That is exactly what Adam should have said. It is what Abraham should have said.
THE ANTICHRIST SPIRIT IN RELIGION
Though real Christianity is referred to as a “religion,” this is absolutely untrue.
And though the origin of Christianity should be known by all Christians as something learned in a simple introductory course—Christianity 101—the vast majority of those who refer to themselves as Christian have apparently (and obviously) never taken such a course.
This makes them vulnerable and open for indoctrination, which, again, is the ancient ploy of the devil. Whereas the Lord Jesus does all He can to bless all people with truth and freedom, the people who are sold out to religion want the opposite. Deceived themselves, they take their cue from the devil and strive to indoctrinate with their own corrupted form of Christianity as a means to gain converts, gain control over them, and thus control and gain access to their money, time, and resources. Having no legitimate power or ability in themselves, they must act the parasite and suck it out of others, but first must deceive said others into doing their bidding. It is how they become religious kings and potentates, large or small.
Again, this time-honored and hugely productive tactic is right out of the devil’s playbook.
Religion has corrupted and controlled the minds of billions, regardless of its various forms. Whether they are non-Christian religions or corrupted forms of Christianity, they all serve one purpose: to manipulate, indoctrinate, re-educate, and then propagate for the purpose of gaining control and wealth.
It’s all a mind game. The best religionists are those who convince others, often with a gentle manner and smiling face, to do exactly as they say and thus transform otherwise free human beings with vibrant minds into mind-numbed religious robots engaging in endless ritual who exist in a state of abject fear at the prospect of stopping.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Religion is a Mind Closer
Nothing shuts people off from greater truth than religion. The religions most notorious for this diabolical practice are the various forms of Unreal Christianity.
The devil started the practice of preaching disbelief in God and His Word in the very beginning, when he put doubt in the heart of Eve by questioning the legitimacy of God’s true intentions. Indeed, satan’s question to Eve, “Has God Said?” (Genesis 3:1) has been the devil’s mantra ever since.
He flat out lied to a gullible Eve who had professed evil intentions in her heart. Though she knew exactly what God really said, what He taught, and what He commanded, her desire was to explore the limits of sin and visit the very place and the only place God commanded must never be visited. Her desire to explore evil was cleverly disguised as an attempt to become “spiritually aware,” to become authoritative and strong, and even to become like God Himself. She decided she must break out of what she perceived as limitations curtailing her freedom.
I AM WOMAN. HEAR ME ROAR.
Though Eve incorrectly perceived herself to be boxed in, a box certainly existed. It was actually Pandora’s Box. And when she opened it, thinking she was opening some great Christmas present that would usher her into a wonderful world of spiritual knowledge and freedom, she discovered that God had never limited her at all, but was trying to protect her. The commandment to never partake of the evil tree was actually God’s protective shield of her soul and life. She had incorrectly believed that God was obstructing her from a higher, better place.
People must be allowed to choose. It is why God never forces anyone’s will. And that is why this world has become an ever-growing, festering, gigantic trash dump and manure pile of sin.
It all resulted from the incorrect actions of Eve, who, though greatly deceived by the devil, made it all possible through her own rebellious and manipulative desire to be like God, on her terms, through pride and because of pride, with no perception whatsoever of the real DOOR.
REAL REPENTANCE
Religion is not that door. Unreal Christianity is not that door. The purveyors of false religions tell us to do anything and everything other than the only thing and the real thing that will allow us to meet the Lord, and they draw the line and bar the door at that one thing: Real Repentance.
Why is real repentance so important? It is when the Blood of Jesus is applied to the cleansing of one’s soul.
False Christian religions do not preach repentance. If they did, everyone who walked into a service on any given day would hear all about it, every service, in a clear and understanding manner. To hell with people getting saved, set free, and delivered from sin, they say. They refuse to be disciples of the Lord and do what it takes to be used in that way. All they really want is religious power, money, and converts. They want a religious social club. Most preachers/priests/reverends are far too concerned with the things that benefit themselves and their religious enterprises. They are anti-examples.
The example of John the Immerser, however, is a perfect example. The reason he preached far out in the wilderness is because God wanted him to have nothing to do with the established false religions of the Jews.
The Sadducees did not even believe in spiritual practices or the resurrection. They were sold out to this world and were in bed with money, power, and the Roman government, and it benefitted them greatly. They were evil. There are many present examples of large bodies with false mindsets within overall Unreal Christianity who believe and practice exactly as did the Sadducees.
And exactly like still more forms of present Unreal Christianity, the Pharisees thought they were perfect, and believed they were perfectly teaching the real Word of God. The Lord Jesus even implied that they were, except they never practiced it. They made up a plethora of their own unwritten rules and extra-Biblical beliefs, exactly as the many forms of false Christianity later did, and continue to do today. The Lord Jesus said the Pharisees were children of the devil. He would say the same thing about Unreal Christianity.
John had to be set apart from all that diabolical religious nonsense. He had one message—REPENT. He commanded all who came to hear him to repent, to stop sinning, to get right with God, and to break free from corrupt religious practices that did the opposite of what they preached. God chose him as a perfect vessel for the process, “the greatest man ever born of a woman” (Matthew 11:11, Luke 7:28).
John was a prophet. He was the last Old Testament prophet. He had the anointing of Elijah. He HAD to be out in the wilderness away from all the corruption of false religion or he would have never achieved his calling. And he did achieve it. He did exactly as the Lord commanded him and did an excellent job.
Where are the John the Immersers of today?
The Lord Jesus also preached the message of repentance, of course. Everywhere He went He commanded repentance as the door to THE DOOR. Eve rejected repentance and chose spiritual and personal pride, which amounted to religious pride. It was the exact thing the Pharisees did. The devil became Eve’s father that day, and Adam, like a complete idiot, not wanting to lose Eve, chose the devil as well.
The apostles all preached repentance. “REPENT” WAS THE VERY FIRST WORD PETER USED WHEN GIVING THE ANSWER ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
In the vast majority of “Christian” church services, one never hears the word repent. It’s just not a nice thing to say. People will get mad. It would create a hassle. Who needs that? Substitutes and counterfeits are put forth instead. Why do the purveyors of Unreal Christianity do this? Why do they deny to the people the one thing that will begin the process of eliminating their sin and bring them closer to God?
It is for the same reason the Pharisees did what they did. They wanted people to honor them, not God. What a strange twist—John told it exactly right but was out in the middle of nowhere looking and acting and speaking like the complete opposite of a clergyite and got great results. His ministry turned around the heart of an entire nation!
Where are the John the Immersers of today?
AN ALTERNATIVE AGENDA
The majority of “Christian” adherents have closed their minds to God’s reality. Exactly like Eve and the Pharisees, they have desired the opposite of that which God commands. They do it for personal pride and advancement, and standing within this world’s culture. They even ascribe to and mix in as leaven the worldly cultural practices and beliefs of a fallen world in order to gain the benefits of the culture. Their desire is for wealth and power in this world through the practice of their religion, and will listen to nothing that hinders that desire and pursuit.
The fruit of this garbage is all around us. For the most part, “Christianity” is indeed DEAD.
Real Christianity, however, is advancing powerfully.
By refusing to succumb to the devil’s lies and false diabolical doctrines, the disciples of real Christianity understand repentance for the door it is. Their minds are open to the things of God and they do not care about any personal inconvenience or rejection by others. As a result, they have entered THE DOOR and are filled with the Spirit of God, and they have the evidence to prove it, unlike the fakers who claim the same but are deficient of proof.
The Lord is against dead religion that cuts people off from THE TRUTH, especially that of the “Christian” variety. It is up to each of us as individuals to choose correctly and break free from Unreal Christianity, all false doctrines, and fake preachers/priests/reverends, strangers all, who refuse the ministry of repentance from sin, notably religious sin—spiritual pride, the first sin—and obey and follow the Lord Jesus unto LIFE in Him:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
“When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.
So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” [John 10:1-10][1]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Suppression: The Forces of Hell at Work (2)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. [Romans 1:18-20] [1]
“Did you know that people who violate the Golden Rule go to hell?”
“You mean if they violate it willingly and habitually.”
“Yes. In the sense that violating it is part of the code they live by, in that keeping the Golden Rule disallows the possibility of their success in this world by their estimation, and hence keeping such a “mythical” rule is senseless.”
“But that’s the argument of a selfish person.”
“Yes it is, but they don’t acknowledge that, because they see what others call selfishness as one’s required pathway to survival and success.”
“Meaning that looking out for number one is a self-preservation requirement that all intelligent people recognize as a must and as perfectly honorable.”
“Right again, except, again, they are blind to their own selfishness and have written their own rules to benefit themselves, and then codified it as something all right-thinking people should accept.”
“Which is why the Lord Jesus has always had a hard time in first convincing His disciples-to-be to see things the right way, and that selfishness is anathema to brotherly love.”
“Right. Meaning that selfishness and violating the Golden Rule is exactly why Cain killed Abel. Abel was a keeper of the Golden Rule.”
“What does any of this have to do with suppression?”
“The work of the Lord Jesus was suppressed. But guess by whom?”
“By the Pharisees and other religious leaders, primarily.”
“And why?”
“Because they were threatened by Him.”
“But the Lord had no evil intent toward them whatsoever and never violated the Golden Rule regarding them.”
“They were threatened by Him because he exposed their evil hearts.”
“And yet the people in general had always seen those religious leaders as God-sponsored and upright, and for the most part believed in their false religious garbage.”
“And that was because the religious leaders had cornered the market on religion and religious expression, and had created harsh punishments for those who rebelled against them.”
“So people were intimidated.”
“Of course. It’s the way of this fallen sinful world. People set off in life to climb the pyramid of success and invariably come upon junctures in which they must violate their conscience in order to proceed. They compromise. Then they no longer listen to their conscience once success arrives. They build their future on a foundation of moral compromise and violation of God’s commands, and as long as the money keeps rolling in they keep doing what they feel they must in order to maintain their success and achieve greater success.”
“But why don’t they ever think about what comes after this life is over?”
“In too deep. Too late to change. And, of course, they have convinced themselves to believe their own lies. They also find that it is very helpful to hang around people like themselves to keep any possible conviction of their conscience far, far away.”
“But isn’t conviction actually their friend, in that it leads to repentance?”
“One would think so. But once violaters of the Golden Rule taste success and get away with it they no longer perceive the possibility that pay day is coming. Some actually come to believe a reward is coming.”
“The Pharisees?”
“All fake religious leaders. It is why all the false religions of mankind, including the many false forms of Christianity, always end up with the two goals shared by the great evil elites in league with the devil—power and money.”
“So if false religious leaders, including all the ones who appear benign and harmless, and perfectly acceptable, perceive their religious enterprises as threatened, they will fight back against those they perceive as enemies.”
“Yes. They will indeed fight back. And they will demonize all who do not believe as they do. And they will suppress their work. Why else did the Pharisees try to kill the Lord Jesus in the very beginning of His ministry? Why did Roman Catholics over many, many centuries murder perhaps millions of those who they called heretics? Why did so many Protestants kill so many non-Catholic dissenters, engaging in the exact dynamic as the Catholic inquisitors? These were obvious gross violations of the Golden Rule, God’s command.”
“And why don’t the Catholics and Protestants of the present condemn those of their own religions who did this in the past?”
“Because to do that would be admitting guilt. And regardless of fake overtures that appear as apologetic, they can never condemn the past guilty ones properly and correctly without condemning themselves.”
“So they suppress.”
“Yes. They suppress. They treat real Christians with indifference. They hate with a smile. THIS is what you are going to have to see and fight through. Once religious leaders are compromised by money and power, they will fight the very Lord Jesus they claim to serve and suppress the work of His people at all times in order to protect themselves and their faux religious enterprises. In this they have compromised themselves with a false gospel and violate the Golden Rule for the sake of power and money in this world.”
“And condemn themselves to hell.”
“Yes. Though they are blind to it. They have discovered it is very easy to suppress and hopefully eliminate the Lord and His people if they merely violate the Lord’s commandments in the process. They justify their sin as a means of protecting themselves and all they have gained.”
“When they should be hitting the deck in repentance.”
“But people don’t repent when enraged by hate. And they don’t repent for sins they don’t think they have…”
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Suppression: The Forces of Hell at Work (1)
“I don’t know. I just can’t figure it out.”
“Figure what out?”
“All the effort…”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about all of the effort we put forth. All the work…”
He paused, as if trying to find the energy to go on with a line of thought he had traced out so many times before, that always ended in the same place, a place where nothing made much sense at all.
“We work so hard and it seems we rarely get much done. I’m working twice as hard, three times… But it’s like pulling teeth. There is so much resistance, apparently. There is always such a backlash. It is so hard to figure. Why is there such a fight against our work? The level of vitriol just doesn’t fit.”
His older friend said nothing. He turned from looking at him and stared at the ground, knowing the usual words of counsel would have little effect. After many seconds of silence, a thick silence filled with the proverbial Why’s and Woe’s of his friend and the desire to receive and provide a fitting answer, a word came.
“Suppression.”
“Suppression?”
“Your work is being suppressed.”
The younger man wondered at the idea. Why would anyone want to suppress his work? It wasn’t sinister, or…
“The devil doesn’t like what you’re doing.”
“I know that. That’s no secret. It’s all…”
“You don’t quite understand. The devil has these people…”
The older man was not really all that much older, only about five years, and had taken on the role of older brother to the younger man. He was much wiser and much more knowledgeable of spiritual things, though. He was perhaps thirty years older in that sense and it gave him the aura of being almost a father figure.
“The devil has these people. They are bound to serve him. There are bound to stop you.”
He wondered if he had said too much but quickly discounted that notion, knowing his younger friend had reached a point when he needed a clear answer and strong counsel regarding the fight at hand.
“Evil was here first. It had already staked a claim. We’re contesting that claim. They don’t like that. They see us as attacking them, that we have no right to do what we’re doing. They hate losing…”
“Seems to me they’re winning. They’ve got the whole blasted planet.”
The last words trailed off as the weariness in the young man began to bleed through.
“Why doesn’t God help us more? Why does the fight have to be so strong? I just don’t get it.”
“You don’t get it because you see yourself as playing by the normal rules, that life is fair or should be, and that goodness should win out rather easily, and that evil just can’t be that evil.”
He paused again. Both men stared ahead at something that wasn’t there, the younger man settling into a rare disillusionment, the older waiting for his words to sink in. He stared at the ground, strong, a slightly contorted look on his face, very slight, but showing the gravity of the moment. Many men never get past this moment. They give up though they continue on, no longer believing that the victory they seek will ever really happen to the degree they hope for. They are all in when young and fresh and excited about the future but become slowly bedraggled in their spirit for want of achievement that just won’t come.
“You have to fight through it. You knew it would be hard, but you didn’t realize how hard. And even after trying harder it still didn’t work to your satisfaction. You know that in other pursuits you would have achieved so much more by this time and it bothers you that the work you are attempting appears next to impossible. Especially after you feel you have given it everything you have.”
“Suppression?” The young man thought long and hard and said it again. “Suppression?” My work is being suppressed?”
“Uh, YEAH.”
“Wait. I know that. But not to this degree. I am… I’m just one man. Why is the devil so concerned about what I am doing? I’m nobody special.”
“Well, actually you are, and it actually isn’t about you or your desires. You have signed up with the King of kings and the devil hates the King of kings with a passion no human being knows, and is also deathly afraid of Him, and knows his vast evil kingdom is always hanging on a mere thread regardless of outward appearances.”
Continuing, he said, “Every young buck who wants to change the world and set the world on fire with the Gospel reaches this point where you are presently at, and realizes, shockingly, that it is going to be a lot harder than he ever imagined. It will even come down to fighting for survival. You don’t know what I have suffered to get to where I am, and I spent years trying to figure out why it all had to be so hard, and why it seemed as though God called me to do a job and then disappeared.”
“Yeah…” The younger man’s words trailed off…
[To Be Continued.]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Dancing With the Devil
Why did the Lord Jesus continually warn us about being deceived? Why did He continually command His disciples that if they would be His disciples they must stay very, very close to Him? Why did He command His followers to obey Him, and Him only, and no one else?
The obvious answer, though only obvious to a few, is that the devil is a lying deceiver and hater of the first caliber, and that the only antidote to his lies is Truth, and Truth only comes from the Man who called Himself the Truth.
In other words, without the Truth, you’re on your own.
And since the devil has no need to fight those not against him (the majority of the world), he concentrates his attacks on Christians.
Why is this the case? Simply because the devil won’t waste his time with peripheral people and issues that do not directly affect his central modus operandi—to stop his one and only mortal enemy by attempting to corrupt and hoodwink those who claim to be His followers.
As the Lord Jesus Himself was tempted by the devil, and in a very major way, every Christian will also be tempted by the devil.
But not all Christians will pass the test.
It should be obvious when researching general Christian history that most Christians fail the test. They fail the test the same way Adam and Eve failed the test. They end up serving the devil whether they know it or not. The Lord said you will know them by their fruits. This is why unreal Christians are included among the deceived.
The devil is essentially a keystone predator. He has no natural enemy that can touch him or do him any harm whatsoever, except for one. The devil runs roughshod over this world doing whatever he wants to do, destroying, stealing, and murdering. He was here before we were. He knows the landscape. The apostle Paul called him “the god of this world:”
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. [2Corinthians 4:3-4]
Consider that statement—the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving.
Why? How? And how does he have this power?
It must somehow be according to the will and plan of God.
But consider how far-reaching that power is, that the devil has the ability to blind the minds of EVERYONE who does not believe, including unbelieving “Christians.”
What constitutes an unbeliever?
An unbeliever, from the New Covenant perspective and writings, is anyone who does not honor, trust, and obey the Lord Jesus as one’s sole Master, Rabbi, Shepherd, and Savior. And if one wants a pure description and illustration of real New Covenant believers in action, one must read the Book of Acts.
It is there where one will discover the evidence that constitutes a real believer, the dividing line between believer and unbeliever, and deduce the presence of unbelievers who masquerade as believers, whose minds have been blinded by the god of this world.
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. [Galatians 6:7-8] [1]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
STRONGHOLDS (Don’t Confuse Me With Facts!)
GREAT AWAKENING ALERT
In light of my most recent post, What Was In The Village? (link), many excellent comments were made in answering that question. For those who haven’t read it I encourage you to do so, and suggest you read the comments as well.
In the following two articles listed below, I further identify what was in the village of Bethsaida in the Lord’s time when He had to lead a blind man outside of town in order to heal him. There was something located in Bethsaida that made it not possible for the healing to take place there.
Many of us can identify with this phenomenon. The hindrance is much closer than many of us realize. The following articles reveal this. I strongly suggest we read these articles both for the knowledge therein, but also to get free and set others free.
There is much the Lord Jesus wants to do and can do, but many think He has blown them off or won’t answer their prayers. In reality, Strongholds are present in places where we have grown comfortable and must be destroyed in order to first eliminate the deception regarding the Lord’s intentions (or perceived non-intentions), and secondly, eliminate the actual hindrance that keeps the Lord from working.
Once a particular Stronghold is identified, we can do battle against it, but it’s difficult to fight against an unseen enemy or one we do not even know exists.
In others words, if we want the miracles we seek, we’ll have to take the Lord by the hand, let Him lead us out of Bethsaida (in our blind condition), and go with Him to a spiritual location where He has full authority…
LINKS:
STRONGHOLDS (Don’t Confuse Me With Facts!) Part 1
STRONGHOLDS (Don’t Confuse Me With Facts!) Part 2
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Be Encouraged (3)
In order for the Lord Jesus to make a reset, a reset must first be made in the life of an individual who desires a reset by that individual and by no one else.
The latter reset, the one by the individual, is a choice. That’s all it is. It is an appeal to the Lord for help. The individual has no power to actually make any changes in the spiritual world to overcome the effects of the material world since he or she is limited to making choices that create change only in the material world.
Until repentance, one is in jail and often does not know it. And with no desire for real repentance one is free to exist without God.
The material world is limited. It is finite. There is only so much a person can do. And when a person is beset with the result of past sins and slavery to sin one has the added bonus of an allegorical albatross around one’s neck and a ball and chain on one’s foot.
Not good.
Some people notice this though maybe only in a foggy sense. They know something is not right. Something doesn’t add up. They exist in the midst of an illusion and false construct and are made to do things that do not satisfy their hearts.
So they search. These are the smart ones. The ones who are not smart decide to simply live for this world.
The smart ones who search must want THE TRUTH whatever the truth happens to be. They are looking for the keys. One must desire the means of escape even if the means is uncomfortable, socially unacceptable, a destroyer of one’s pride, and sure to cause trouble.
So, whoever refuses the above probabilities need go no further…
Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [James 3:4]
This is a very powerful statement. Let’s read it again:
Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [James 3:4]
Did you know this principle applies regardless of group size or official capacity? It applies to an individual just as it applies to governments and ruling institutions.
Quick questions:
Was the Roman Empire an enemy of God?
Can a “church” be a friend of the world?
For further insight and clarification, let’s look at the fourth chapter of James in context:
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us?”
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. [John 4:1-17]
The last verse speaks of a violation of conscience. Everybody has a conscience. No one has an excuse. God judges the heart.
But have you noticed a person has a much greater chance of surrendering to the Lord Jesus if he or she has not already surrendered to a group?
Peer pressure is a killer. A government makes a bad law and everyone obeys it because they are afraid to stand up against it and invite the government’s wrath. Religions have codes that all within them must obey or they will be deemed a slacker and many obey codes and rules they do not agree with simply because they do not want to be characterized as a slacker and lose their standing in the group. People who belong to whatever culture must obey the expectations and ways of that culture or the culture will turn on them.
So we can see very clearly that the Community of the Lord Jesus is obviously made up of people who did not fit elsewhere. It is made up of strong-minded and strong-willed people who love the truth and will stand up for it regardless of personal cost.
And the greatest personal cost is always rejection from the prior group, the members of which are compromised by a lack of love for the truth, a heart with little or no courage, a desire to make it in this world at the expense of the next, a love of money, uncontrolled lust for things material, a desire for social prestige, and weak capitulation to any strongman who demands to rule them.
America, for example, was once a nation of strong individuals. Individualism was the very thing that made this country great. Strong groups are made of strong individuals.
Does anyone wonder how the Lord Jesus was able to stand up against virtually everyone and every group who all saw Him as a malcontent and deviant? Or how the early disciples faced so much persecution willingly without surrender, even to the point of death?
These were strong people. Real Christians are the strongest people on the planet simply because they are the most persecuted. They are hated without a cause. They are seen as deviants. They are culturally unacceptable. They don’t fit anywhere but in the Kingdom of God. They will have no master of any kind whatsoever other than the Lord Jesus. They are sheep of His pasture and no one else’s.
Be encouraged. The Lord is THE ROCK and His children are rocks.
Rock on.
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” [Matthew 5:10-16] [1]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Be Encouraged (2)
There are people in this world who have never done anything wrong other than be a human being prone to sin and yet have suffered terribly. Through no fault of their own or choice made on their own they exist in this world under very challenging circumstances. Some people have suffered horrendous wrongs and have never received even the slightest modicum of justice.
Mature people learn early on that this world is not just. One can delude oneself all day long if that is one’s choice and insist in little kid fashion that all is fair and all is being taken care of and everything will be okay and all will work itself out and I am a good person and on and on.
In reality, however, some people know that evil—great evil—tremendous evil—exists in this world and that they have become its victims to various degrees. Tell an aborted child who just made the trip to heaven that there is no evil or that everything works out in the end. Tell him or her that the choices made by people to tear his or her tiny perfect body apart and end his or her one and only chance at life that justice always prevails.
Tell victims of unjust wars—and 99% of all wars in human history are without doubt unjust and happened only to satisfy powerful people and gain them more wealth and power—that unjust wars do not exist and it’s just your tough luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tell victims of murder, rape, robbery, and the unjust confiscation of their lands, property, money, health, and desire to live after such wanton destruction by people with absolute power and absolutely no heart have destroyed everything they have that justice always prevails.
The fact of the matter is that justice in this world is not blind, is applied selectively, and most people are not selected. The rich and powerful, however, are always selected.
Then remember the very clear teachings of the Lord Jesus:
“In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” [John 16:33]
“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.” [Matthew 24:9]
“For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will.” [Mark 13:19] [1]
The Lord spoke of a tribulation birthing process in which birth pangs will begin and increase exponentially. In other words, the evil present in this world will grow even greater, and even to the point in which it appears nothing, including His own people, will survive.
But lest one believe that tribulation has not always been here, consider what happened to the Lord Jesus—a perfect Man who never did anything wrong. Or consider what happened to His selected apostles and so many of His disciples. They did exactly what He told them to do and suffered as a result. It tells one that evil certainly exists and if one dares to challenge it one will pay. But if one never challenges evil then evil wins without a fight. It has been the victory of evil to merely intimidate and threaten without ever having to carry out such threats in most cases since most people have no courage.
But the Lord told us to be courageous, to receive His courage, and to be encouraged. Despite all the evil present way back then the Lord Jesus won anyway. The early believers won anyway. And we in the present can and will win anyway.
There is nothing the Lord Jesus cannot do but we must always remember that this world in not heaven and it is unjust. The Kingdom of Heaven resides in this world and it is certainly just. It is just because it is run by a just King. It should therefore be obvious that in places where justice does not prevail, the Lord Jesus is not King.
To the extent that the Lord can, since He is limited by our faith and obedience, He can certainly fix things. Here’s how:
(1) Repent of all sin, evil deeds, disobedience, and hate.
(2) Forgive everybody for anything they have ever done no matter how evil.
(3) Love everybody, even your enemies.
(4) Surrender your entire life and everything you possess to the only just King, and pledge yourself to full obedience to Him. His justice will then prevail in your life. Part of this process (though many will reject it), involves a proper water immersion response. And if someone thinks this is not necessary or superfluous I must remind one that the Lord created it, it is all over the Book of Acts, and both the Lord and the early believers thought it was very important. If one can somehow look beyond the surface one will see why.
(5) Allow the Lord Jesus to fill you with His powerful and loving Holy Spirit so you can have power and strength and might to both fight the good fight of faith to the greatest extent using a power not your own but also to be empowered to minister in powerful ways for the benefit of others who have been victims of evil and to be enabled to overcome all things.
The mark of a real Christian is being a selfless agent of God being used to overcome the evil and injustice of this world using any and all means possible and to properly arm oneself with all that may be required in order to set people free.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Be Encouraged (1)
The Lord Jesus will return again soon. He will set everything aright.
He brings everything to pass precisely at its time; He also puts eternity in their mind, but without man ever guessing, from first to last, all the things that God brings to pass. [Ecclesiastes 3:11 JPST]
We sometimes find ourselves in the middle of an impossible challenge. Yet, many of us also know that, with God, all things are possible.
Here is the test of our faith:
The Lord God is righteous. He created everything. Mankind has rebelled against God and sinned. Mankind has brought gross corruption to this planet. The corruption continues to grow exponentially. God has never left the planet, but has been outvoted. It does not mean that He does not remain all-powerful or that He cannot act. It merely means that one must choose. One must develop eyes to see. One must know that God cares and has solutions.
But one must also know that because of the extreme interconnectivity of everything on the planet, anything done affects other things unseen, and as is often the case, the “solutions” of sinful rebellious humanity only make things worse.
The people ruling this planet making the biggest decisions affecting the most people are not righteous whatsoever, and are indeed the opposite of righteous. They are in league with the devil. They have agreed with a diabolical covenant that has as its foundation two basic tenets:
(1) The devil is the god of this world and everyone had better recognize it and obey him, and
(2) Those who surrender to him and honor him the most receive the greater benefits.
Hence, if a person is sold on this world instead of the Kingdom of God, if one loves mammon, if one loves imbibing the lusts of sinful flesh, and if one cares little or nothing for a God-given conscience that warns one of illicit behavior and the certain eventual results thereof, then one will end up falling directly into the devil’s trap.
However, because of the nature of the devil’s sly and deceptive game, a person on the wrong path never knows the full extent of a trap being set or that he or she is heading directly for it. It is only afterwards, after one has been trapped and is beset with the terrible effects of the imprisonment thereof, that one recognizes one has been deceived.
It should be obvious, therefore, that the best, most influential, and most successful human agents of the devil are those which appear as the very opposite and are in positions of well-accepted authority. Looking up to them, listening to them, obeying them, and even following them leads one to the very trap we have thus discussed.
You will know these people because they never acknowledge the absolute authority of the Lord Jesus. Never. Not even the so-called Christian religious authorities.
This should open a few eyes but such is a rare event. If the Lord had to actually appear in all His powerful radiance to the murderous, hateful, ultra-religious Phariaical Saul to get his attention, even to the point of knocking the little weasel off his horse and on his backside, what makes everyone else so special? The fact is that the Lord most often has to do the same thing to every one of us to gain our attention and eventual salvation.
Of course, there is no possibility of being deceived by the fake shining agents of the devil if one follows the Lord Jesus, who is God and has revealed Himself as God. Yet, strangely enough, He is not perceived as God, as the one supreme leader of the Universe, even by most Christians, because of the devil’s deceiving influence, and this is why most people never really submit to and exclusively follow the Lord.
It is the rejection of the Lord Jesus that causes the acceptance of false leaders and their false agendas. It is the acceptance of the Lord Jesus as the Master and sole authority of one’s life that causes complete rejection of anyone and everyone else who would stand in His place, especially those within the religious realm, and especially those within the “Christian” religious realm.
Most Christians fail and their lives never come to full fruition simply because they have accepted other leaders as the sole authorities in their lives rather than the Lord.
Those who never fully accept the Lord Jesus do so at their own peril. Until the trap is sprung they never see it coming.
As the apostle Paul recounted his first meeting with the Lord to King Agrippa, he included some incredible words of the Lord Jesus which explain perfectly our world situation and why so many are in absolute darkness, including himself prior to that eventful first meeting:
“While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me.
“And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
“And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you,
‘To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’” [Acts 26:12-18] [1]
If a person has never experienced a great trap-freeing experience as the apostle Paul did—if one has never been born again spiritually—then one remains in the trap, otherwise known as the dominion of Satan.
And one remains deceived by some very influential people who have actually embraced the dominion of Satan because of the earthly benefits they have been granted. For most people, of course, there are few benefits or none at all.
And this explains everything.
In Part 2 we will look further into how the Lord Jesus can fix things, rearrange things, and set things aright in order to bring blessing to His children.
Be encouraged.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Unreal Christianity: Hamsters on a Spinning Wheel
You’re in a cage. But you don’t know that. Your perspective is as limited as your spiritual geography. You have been taught over many years by fake smiling faces to get in your cage, stay in your cage, get dumb, stay dumb, don’t think, don’t express, stay within yourself, and be in prison…
It’s called a clergy spirit. Clergyites must control. Without control, clergyites have no reason to exist, cannot exist, have nothing to do, and have no reason for being.
But give them something to control and their brains suddenly start coming to life like an extravagant outdoor Christmas lighting display.
What must they control?
People. Always people.
And the results of their obsession and control is obvious to everyone with the real Light of God outside the cage and off the wheel.
“Hey Mommy, what are those people?
“Well, Johnny. Those are unreal Christians.”
“Why are they in that cage and going around on that wheel?”
“Well, Johnny, it’s because they think they’re going somewhere.”
“Where do they think they’re going?”
“Nobody knows, Johnny. Nobody knows. And neither do they…”
DECEPTION OR DISEASE?
The obsession of the clergy is not classified as a disease. The even greater obsession of obeying the clergy is not classified as a disease either. The reason is twofold:
(1) All things behavioral found in the institutional religious camp are not classified among psychological problems and diseases because such are perceived as faith issues with deep-set and often generational stimuli at the core of one’s being which must be respected since change is rendered next to impossible.
(2) The clergyites are an extension of political and statist controllers who know that control in general is a must in order for the ruling class to stay in power, and they perceive religious leaders as serving a very useful purpose and are therefore respected.
This is why clergyites in general are always respected by society in general without even knowing why this is the case or why no one ever questions these people on their control techniques and apparatus. And if you think asking questions of hamsters in a cage on a spinning wheel will get you anywhere you would be wrong because it’s something they cannot explain either.
Religious practices contrary to the teachings of the Lord Jesus are thus seen as “the right thing to do” without even knowing why one is doing it. One might think they have an answer early on regarding the hoped-for results or perceived results of their religious actions and protocol but such hoped-for results fade over time and are never actually actualized.
In time religious people then become stuck in their rote behavioral patterns and get closed-mouthed and closed-minded about it and will even become quite belligerent with anyone who may question their strange acquiescence to controlling controllers and the process of cramming their otherwise brilliant minds into a space the size of a tiny med bottle and living by the spirituality-killing meds within the tiny bottle.
Why does one not see that such behavior is the exact opposite of the behavior exhibited by those in the Upper Room on that first Day of Pentecost or by all of those real disciples throughout the early years of the Lord’s community?
Why can’t they perceive that their stifling and incoherent behavior is the result of a different teaching mechanism (false gospel) and is nothing whatsoever like that which the Lord Jesus taught about and brought to this world?
Why can’t they understand the simple concept that ultra-controlled behavior is the result of ultra-controlling controllers?
Why has the other side of the action-reaction principle become invisible?
Why can’t they see the other end of the harness to which they are attached?
Why can’t they perceive the wizard behind the curtain?
“I don’t know why I do what I do. I only know I do it. I must stay in the cage. I must stay on the wheel. I must go round and round…”
RELIGIOUS SLAVERY
Regarding actual hamsters, we know why they run within a spinning wheel in a cage: They’re in jail.
They have energy. They must move. They were created to be free with a large range and a purpose in life but all of that has been stolen from them. They exist purely at the whim of their owners who are somehow gratified by having such little pets over which they can watch, control, take care of, and be amused by. Now, if one could only harness the energy of the spinning wheel with the hamster in it and put it to some practical money-making use the circle would be complete.
Does this ever happen with humans? Does it ever happen with religious humans? Are there people in this world who actually have the desire to make money off of other people? Are any of these types found in religious circles? Do some religious leaders see their “flock” as mere living wallets from which they extract their living and build their enterprises?
When one removes all pretense, this desire to control and use people is boiled down to being nothing more than slavery. And those evil people who have believed in and practiced slavery throughout history had only one objective, and that was to use other human beings for their own purposes. Thus, it should otherwise be obvious that there is a thing called religious slavery.
Just like breaking horses and hitching them up to wagons or throwing a saddle on them, people have their breaking points when they finally give up, give in, and surrender to some form of slavery so they can get along in this world. They would rather be free but see real freedom as a practical impossibility and eventually give up all hope of ever having any real life and freedom and become jaded and redneck with regard to the possibility.
They may know somewhere way down deep in their heart that there is or was a way toward something better that their hearts used to believe in and strive for (spiritual freedom) but having failed repeatedly to find it and because they see all authority figures as exalted superiors who tell them no such way exists, they give up hope and become stoic lumps of humanity with closed minds and mere superficial outward expressions that mask their inner desires of something better.
This is what fake man-made religions do to people, and all of these fake man-made religions are controlled by some form of clergyites, which makes religious controllers the guilty party though most see them as benevolent, innocent, highly advanced, and loving gurus doing the “right” thing.
THIS IS RELIGIOUS DECEPTION OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.
It is the very thing and the most diabolical thing the Lord Jesus came to free us from and also that which He had the greatest fight against. It was the clergyites of His day that caused Him the greatest problems and who were always trying to kill Him. They both knew they could never exist together since the clergyites had stolen His place of authority for themselves and would never give it up. They were full of the devil—literally.
Those evil people eventually succeeded in His murder, but only because He laid down His life for all. All their prior attempts had failed miserably.
The Gospels are thus SHOUTING at us all to watch out for those guys who want to control one’s spirituality and stamp it with their own false garbage. Their objective is never to turn you on to the full revelation of the Lord Jesus and allow you to be completely free in Him but to make a brain dead religious slave of you and get your money in the process.
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” [Matthew 23:13]
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. {pernicious ways: or, lascivious ways, as some copies read}
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. [2 Peter 2:1-3 KJV]
LIGHT EXPOSING THE DARKNESS
Until the Lord Jesus came to live among us 2000 years ago the devil had remained very successfully hidden.
Then, THE DEVIL WAS SUDDENLY EXPOSED. The Lord Jesus tore down the curtain of illusion and revealed all the evil people submitted to the devil as well, and this is a major component of the real Gospel.
When the real Gospel is preached, the Light of God shines in such an all-pervasive way that the devil and his people cannot hide, have no place left to hide, and all the little unseen spaces where the cockroaches usually hide are suddenly lit up like airport runways blinding them by the Light.
Hence, the actual effect of the real Gospel chases the devil and his people to places they can no longer find to escape the Light. They are the ones who are then relegated to, and are supposed to be relegated to, a spinning wheel to nowhere in screaming fearful flight of a Light they cannot shun and an objective to hide that can never be achieved again.
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” [John 3:19-20]
THIS LIGHT IS WITHIN THOSE WHO ARE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD AND WHO ARE CALLED, COMMISSIONED, AND EMPOWERED BY GOD TO SHINE THE LIGHT, TESTIFY OF THE LIGHT, PROMOTE SPIRITUAL FREEDOM, REVEAL ALL DARKNESS, AND EXPOSE THE DEVIL.
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. [John 1:4-13] [1]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
The Presence of the Devil (2)
The Word of God says the devil is the accuser of the brethren:
And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” [Revelation 12:7-11]
The devil gets riled up pretty easily. If he acted like an ass in heaven he will obviously do the same on earth, and has, and always has, and continues at present.
He hates God, he hates the truth, and he hates real Christians.
The above passage is abundantly clear regarding the ongoing personal attacks the devil levies against the Lord and real Christians. He is constantly on the offensive attacking attacking attacking—using whatever means he can in the ongoing attempt to assassinate character, destroy honest people, and bring railing accusations that most often have no merit whatsoever.
He reminds one of some spoiled rotten smarmy little high school freshmen who doesn’t know when to shut up and needs to be taken out somewhere and get the hell beat out of him for his own good and that of everyone else.
I think most people know people like this. In most cultures of the world people like this only survive if they manage to gain a lot of power of some sort, and such people know they otherwise have no chance so they do whatever they must to gain power, so they can attain a base of power, so they can have a certain level of protection, so they can then engage in what drives them—attack attack attack—accuse accuse accuse—everyone’s an idiot but them—if only they could rule the world…
Short of that, these people often must settle for their own little limited fiefdoms, the best of which are found in the realm of religion.
And there you have it—the devil is really into religion. He is a religious legalist of the very worst kind. And when he manages to train and send forth his own well-taught disciples, one can see in them exactly that which resides in him—these religious legalists are the biggest jerks that ever wore a human skin suit.
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” [John 8:44] [1]
Though full of the devil and possessing a heart record that smells like the worst rancid decaying herd of rats in a wall cavity, it never stops them from bringing accusation after accusation after accusation. It would be good if they could look in a mirror and accuse themselves and then suffer the ongoing exponential effects of a mirror in a mirror in a mirror attacking themselves to the point of ongoing destruction like that of the Ozian wicked witch, “I’m melting! I’m melting!”
That would be pretty cool to see.
But in reality they don’t do this. They simply pick out people who are the very opposite of themselves, starting with the Lord Jesus and extending to real Christians, and make a life of attempting to tear them down through unlimited accusation.
It never worked against the Lord Jesus. In fact, it dovetailed with His plan of redemption. In further fact, accusation helps real Christians get better and grow in spiritual strength.
It’s like living long before the age of modern weapons when warriors had only the crude implements of protection such as spears and arrows, and who went hunting the alpha male keystone predators—hunting the hunters—who went after powerful male lions who had been terrorizing their village. They found a way to attack and defeat the best and most ferocious hunters on the planet that no others had any chance against.
This is exactly what the Lord Jesus did to the devil.
It is exactly what He calls His people to do also.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Christian TV: Entertaining Actors Unaware
Many billions of dollars have been spent on Christian television over the last few decades with little overall effect on the spiritual condition of the country, though a few have greatly benefitted.
By this it should be obvious that money never drives real revivals and actual spiritual awakenings. Neither do popular personalities. Great Awakenings are always brought forth by the Lord Jesus through very humble people on a grassroots level, often with minimal financial support.
Appearing on major Christian television networks, these major personalities have major backing by tens of thousands of people who support each of them unequivocally. In essence, these personalities are idolized.
They are never questioned. Their backers have long since been persuaded by the demands of their religious culture to be silent and absolutely supportive. Their backers have been taught to believe that these personalities are standing right next to God Himself, are spiritually special, and are “God’s anointed.” Maybe some are.
Television is the perfect medium for these personalities. However, before they could ever appear on television, they must have first proved to be able to gather large crowds of solid supporters who never question anything they do or teach, though the majority of these personalities do not teach the fullness of the New Testament.
Here is a sign—a clear disclosure for anyone with eyes to see.
How is it that these personalities do not typify and better represent the example of the Lord Jesus as clearly illustrated in the Gospels? They do not seem to look like the Lord Jesus or any of the original apostles and disciples of the Lord. In fact, they sometimes present themselves as the complete opposite.
In further fact, some of them by their very example apparently live by the motto, in referring to the Lord Jesus, “He must decrease while I must increase.”
Uh Oh.
WHO’S FOLLOWING WHO?
In order to be successful, they had to create not disciples of the Lord Jesus, but their own followers. Their followers are not necessarily followers of the Lord and are usually not His disciples. Why? Because it is obvious that the Lord Jesus is not their primary focus and that they do not answer to the Lord but to these personalities they have chosen to be their leaders.
Once these personalities have gained a substantial following, they are allowed to be on television because television programs can only be successful if people watch. Having a built-in following already insures that a sizable amount of market share can be gained and can be used to build upon.
Some prove to be not quite ready for primetime. Some fail their opportunity. It could be because they are too honest and too real.
Others, however, fit the television medium perfectly. As a result, they are followed by even greater numbers of people, huge market share is gained, and donations rise exponentially. These people are thus gold to the network. They are what make the network successful.
Remember how the Lord Jesus described Himself? If one wants an accurate description of the Lord, it can be found in the following:
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” [Matthew 11:29-30]
Also, remember how He was kicked out of the synagogues and was fought by organized religion? And how the religious elites and controllers of His day hated Him? And how they finally had enough when He cleaned out the money makers from the temple?
Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple.
And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS?’ But you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN.”
The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. [Mark 11:15-18]
This account adds to the former description of the Lord Jesus. From it we can see that in addition to being gentle and humble in heart, He can also astonish people and make religious leaders afraid of Him.
BRAZEN IMAGES
The Lord would probably not have been so effective within the deemed requirements of the present Christian television medium. Here’s why:
People do not want television to reflect reality—even “reality shows” are at least partially scripted (fake). People want television to be entertaining, including Christian television. They want it to reflect fantasy. They want it to be a hyped-up, better-than-this-world, fictional adaptation of reality. And because these major Christian television personalities had already proven themselves to be entertaining showmen by the performances they put on in their churches every Sunday, it makes it possible for them to do the same on television.
It takes much training to look at a television camera and talk to it as if one were talking to another person. Some are not so good at this. There are television news readers, usually local, who have not quite mastered the concept. They talk to the camera well enough to have their job, but they do not appear so convincing. When a person watches them one can see that the news readers in question are certainly looking at the camera but appear to be talking to the camera instead of talking to the television viewers.
Major Christian television personalities do not do this. They have mastered the craft of appearing sincere while talking to a camera either with an audience or virtually alone in a studio. If they can get people to identify with them and watch them and listen to them intently as if they were actually talking directly to the person watching on television, then they have mastered the art of communicating through the medium of television.
This mastered art makes them primarily actors, not preachers of the gospel.
And everyone knows that the best actors are those who give the most convincing performance.
“…But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.
“They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men…” [Matthew 23:5-7] [1]
During the Lord’s time, the chief religious actors were the Pharisees. How do we know this? Because the Lord Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites, and the meaning of the word hypocrite is, “an actor, a stage player, a dissembler, and a pretender.”
According to the major Christian television networks that exist because of these major Christian personalities, (1) Image is everything, and (2) Biblical truth is not as important as monetary success and maximum viewership.
REAL CHRISTIANS DON’T GO TO CHURCH TO HAVE CHURCH—THEY ARE THE CHURCH
It is obviously the same with many churches and denominations. It takes large amounts of money to make a religious enterprise work. It takes the purchase of real estate, much of it very high value. It takes the building of large very expensive structures. It takes the paying of very good salaries. Christians are conditioned to believe that Christianity simply cannot work or function without the preceding and without very large amounts of cash.
To that end, congregants and adherents of their respective denominations must be put upon to constantly support the enterprises with much time and much money, though most of the money goes to mere material outlays and most of the time is spent going back and forth several times a week attending the “services” in the buildings we call “churches.”
The Lord Jesus never bought real estate for ministry purposes.
He never built a church building.
He never commanded the building of church buildings.
Neither did any of His original disciples.
The first official church buildings were built three hundred years later.
Therefore, one must attempt to figure out how something so foreign to the Lord and the first Christians had become traditionally indispensible to later church folk. What spirit is being honored here? Who are these people trying to impress?
The Lord Jesus spent most of the donated ministry funds on everyone and everything but Himself. He purposely put Himself at the very end of the line in the use of ministry funds and allowed Himself only the very barest of the bare necessities.
Pharisees did the opposite. Major Christian Television Personalities often do the opposite. Many church leaders often do the opposite.
Rather than obeying the Lord Jesus, they have joined the “successful ministry profession,” and simultaneously the “religious acting profession,” since you can’t have one without the other. Both require large amounts of money, so the raising of money through any means possible is vitally necessary to the existence and maintenance of both professions, and has become a ministry of its own.
That’s why there are “religious telethon ministers” whose primary duty is to raise cash by manipulating as many people as possible using any means possible to get as many donations as possible.
On top of all this, the owners and purveyors and on-camera personalities of these enterprises use fear tactics against anyone who might question the necessity of their enterprises and the sincerity of its movers and shakers. Those who don’t go along with their shenanigans are attacked and labeled as something ungodly, which is another great trick of the devil.
The Pharisees used this exact trick on the Lord Jesus many times—“If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!” [Matthew 10:25]
Remember, the above dynamic involved an attack by institutional, traditional, mammon-serving religious leaders and their followers against the Son of God, who appeared as a total radical by comparison. The amount of conviction He brought to them by His perfect example was off the scale.
YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MAMMON
Because correct teaching is deemed less important to the enterprise and is even frowned upon since it tends to greatly decrease market share, mass viewership, and especially potential donations, the major Christian television personalities only engage in what is popularly accepted by the majority since that is where the money comes from.
They also bow at the altar of all-inclusiveness by accepting non-believers and legitimizing “Christian” cults. They stay away from divisive issues, both social and political, but most often never address any strongly convicting New Covenant truths that are sure to cause problems with their real agenda.
Every good business owner knows the customer is always right and one must always honor the clients that make one’s business successful. That is why many ministers know one should never tick off the donor base. And whoever has the most money to donate and influence to grant, regardless of their spiritual condition, must be doted on and given a greater stake in the organization and interaction with those at the top of the pyramid.
Regarding such behind the scenes actions, the truth is usually not possible, whether it concerns real intentions and motivation, or why they shy away from preaching the full Gospel. They appear as seasoned politicians, expertly deflecting everything beyond the script with sincerity and smiling faces, knowing that as long as they have their financial backers everything will be fine. As a result, they are rendered largely untouchable regardless of scandal or the hint of one. Most may be as honest as possible within a not so spick-and-span industry, but many are at least guilty by association.
And instead of rebuking those among their ranks who are involved in questionable behavior and refuse to toe the New Covenant mark, they rally to the side of the guilty parties who sometimes remain unrepentant. They know the light may be shining on them one day and they’ll need the support of their allies.
Quiet on the set.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
UPDATE (3/13/15): The AP reports that a major Christian television personality, a man who claims he can garner $100,000 for a speaking engagement, needs your help. He needs $65 million dollars for a new luxury jet. Seriously, I do not make this stuff up…
The Perfect Law of Liberty: Our God-Given Rights
And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” [Luke 4:16-21]
Though there are many proofs of real Christianity, and though the Gospel accounts, the Book of Acts, and the New Covenant letters reveal very clearly these many proofs, it has not stopped the enemy from denying them.
The greatest proofs of real Christianity are Freedom:
“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” [John 8:36]
And Liberty:
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. [2Corinthians 3:17]
Yet, the deceiving words of the devil as spoken to Eve against the freedom and liberty of the Lord are always in play: “Indeed, has God said?” [Genesis 3:1] [1]
THE TRUTH AND THE LIE
Of course, God has certainly said, but it is just as certain that the devil is a bald-faced liar. He lies as a matter of course. His game is all about illusion and deception, saying one thing but meaning another, promising one thing and doing another, and having a veritable field day with the gullible and ignorant. He is also a hater of freedom and liberty, loves absolute control, and the last thing he wants is for Christians to be free, to think free, and to live free.
But not so with God. The Lord Jesus is into liberty, not slavery. Unlike the devil and his fallen ones, God never uses force to make people behave or adhere to His curriculum. Real Christianity is completely voluntary. And unlike the faux bros, the Lord Jesus does not demand that we all sit down, shut up, and do what we are told. Whoever advocates for such is advocating against God and is in league with the enemy.
Though it is definitely the case that the devil will twist Scripture and use his twisted versions for his own illicit purposes, it is always for the purposes of enslavement.
Prior to the corruption of humanity and of the principles of freedom, God created people to be free. He founded a document in the form of His Living Word that was later committed to paper. The Word of God is a document that advocates for the liberty of all, though only a few actually believe it and apply it correctly.
Everyone else uses the Indeed, has God said? version.
GOD-GIVEN INALIENABLE RIGHTS
After James Madison wrote the United States Constitution, some of the representatives objected that there was nothing within the document that spelled out the basic rights of Americans. Others said our basic rights were spelled out in general terms within the Constitution itself, though not mentioned literally and specifically.
But this was objected to on the basis that legal rights cannot be implied and must be codified. These objectors insisted that individual liberties and prohibitions on government power must be listed in clear language.
The objectors got their way. The proponents of liberty won the day. As a result, we have the first Ten Amendments to the United States Constitution, which are still very much in force today, and are otherwise known as The Bill of Rights.
These are God-given rights (not government-given, a devil-inspired notion), and are lawfully possessed by all citizens of the USA.
And though these individual rights are often disparaged, reduced, limited, lied about, removed, and even destroyed, such attacks always originate from the haters of liberty and thus, the haters of God.
We are living in a time when the attacks upon liberty and clear violations of our Constitutional rights are continually ramping up ever higher without present remedy, and those responsible are in collusion and emboldened by a decided lack of resistance among the citizenry.
One must never forget that freedom was paid for with blood. Our Lord Jesus paid the ultimate price for our spiritual freedom. Our American forebears, the greatest patriots, also gave their lives for every freedom listed in The Bill of Rights. Our liberty has not come cheap. If one wants freedom, one must live for it and fight for it. It is apparent that we must learn this truth yet again. It is each generation’s responsibility.
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. [Galatians 5:1]
If we want to keep our God-given rights, we must claim them and use them, or we will certainly lose them.
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
AMENDMENT 1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
AMENDMENT 2
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
AMENDMENT 3
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
AMENDMENT 4
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
AMENDMENT 5
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
AMENDMENT 6
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
AMENDMENT 7
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
AMENDMENT 8
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
AMENDMENT 9
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
AMENDMENT 10
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
The Empire Strikes Back: Obstructing the Awakening
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” [Matthew 23:13]
.
I wrote the following on a friend’s blog recently:
Repentance always precedes individual salvation.
National repentance always precedes national Great Awakenings.
Speaking the real Word of God reveals truth,
Which reveals sin,
Which causes one to see their sin,
Which brings on repentance.
Real Christians must have the courage of their convictions and beliefs and speak forth because preaching, teaching, speaking forth, and writing about the truth begin the entire process.
Otherwise, repentance never happens, people remain spiritually blind, unregenerate, believe lies, are deceived, and die in their sins.
Regarding truth, who else is going to reveal the truth of God’s Word but real Christians?
.
REPENTANCE ANYONE?
Since the driving force of every personal salvation or Great Awakening is repentance, two of the main reasons hindering the current Great Awakening in America are:
(1) The very sad fact that mass numbers of Christians in America are guilty of pure idolatry in several forms but mainly because of the ridiculous worship of vain Christian “leaders” past and present rather than worship of the Lord Jesus, and
(2) A complete, utter, total, and stubborn refusal to repent of the many questionable and/or what should be obvious false teachings and beliefs of said “leaders,” as well as the acceptance of historical and current false narratives which serve to put many Christians in bondage, blind them to the truth, and weaken their resolve, which makes them anti-disciples and followers of frauds rather than the Lord.
False doctrine within general Christianity has always been a plague from the very beginning, and we have the apostle Paul’s writings to attest to the fact that false doctrine existed then and would greatly increase:
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. [2Corinthians 11:13-15]
I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. [Acts 20:29-30]
IGNORANCE IS BLISS
Americans love their denominations and man-made doctrines which would otherwise be obvious as such but are instead hidden in plain sight. They are hidden because many Christians, on their own respective planets, have become convinced that what they have is the best that can possibly be though it consistently fails to pass the evidence of truth test, and have become satisfied with substitutes and counterfeits and thus weak toward further searching because:
(1) Many Christians have been hoodwinked (brainwashed) into believing things that are not true for the sake of an ulterior agenda by false Christian “leaders,” and
(2) Many Christians do not have the courage to stand up for and speak out on the actual truth of God’s Word for fear of being seen as a deviant among their religious culture and rejected by it, and
(3) Many Christians are invested up to their eyeballs in a false narrative and most fail to acknowledge this or leave their organizations that push false doctrine even after they know or suspect it is false doctrine, because to leave or acknowledge the false doctrine or confront their false “leaders” would cause them to lose their entire investment in the enterprise which many people have spent a lifetime establishing.
This is why those who are most invested are those who are least likely to repent and get right with God, which is exactly why the Lord said prostitutes and tax-collectors would get into His kingdom long before any clergyites or their followers.
OBSTRUCTION—CONVICTION
Until the hindering and obstructing “Christians” in this country have the guts to admit they are wrong about so many false beliefs created by unspiritual false “leaders” whom they follow instead of the Lord Jesus and their resultant watering-down and making of no effect the Word of God, their stubborn lack of repentance will slow, hinder, and restrict the Great Awakening process until they finally surrender to the truth or quit on God (“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot…”).
But since the Great Awakening has already begun, it is also the fact that a very powerful and strong conviction is presently in the works for the sins of “Christian” idolatry, laziness, lack of discipleship, worldliness, being sold out to the serving of mammon, a refusal to preach the truth, fearing for one’s social, cultural, family, or church standing, looking out for number one, and an overall dissing of the Lord Jesus, His teachings, and the full truth He longs to bring forth.
My warning to all who claim to be Christians living in America at present is—JUDGMENT BEGINS WITH THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD.
For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER? [1Peter 4:17-18]
We are past the point of the Lord being patient with fence-sitting clergy-following “Christians” to any further degree. He has great plans and is determined to make them happen. The pressure to conform to His truth is ramping up. It is time to choose sides. That which is hindering is being exposed.
But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” [Ephesians 5:13-14]
Repentance is the only answer and will serve as the only form of relief.
And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
“The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
“But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
“I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” [Luke 18:9-14] [1]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
♫ Kenneth, James, and Joel ♫
(Sung to the Tune of “Abraham, Martin, and John” © Dick Holler)
.
(Sing Along With Above Karaoke)
.
♫ Kenneth, James, and Joel ♫
.
(0:21)
Has anybody here seen my old friend Kenneth?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He’s fooled a lot of people
But it seems the fooled, they move on
You know, I just looked around and he’s gone.
.
(0:54)
Anybody here seen my old friend James?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He’s fooled a lot of people
But it seems the fooled, they move on
I just looked around and he’s gone.
.
.
(1:36)
Anybody here seen my old friend Joel?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He’s fooled a lot of people
But it seems the fooled, they move on
I just looked around and he’s gone.
.
(2:03)
Didn’t you wonder about the things that they stood for?
Didn’t they try to make a fool of you and me?
And we’ll never be free
Following them, if we follow them you see…
.
(2:29)
Anybody here seen my old friend Francis?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
I thought I saw him walking up over Vatican Hill
With Kenneth, James, and Joel
.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
Graven Images of the Human Kind (Part 3)
Graven Images of the Human Kind (Part 1)
Graven Images of the Human Kind (Part 2)
PHARISAICAL FAKERY
In began in ancient Sumer at the dawn of civilization.
The Egyptians mastered the craft.
It extended through the major cultures and empires of the world, culminating with the Romans in a purely pagan, non-Biblical sense.
The Romans built upon the prior foundations of Greece and Egypt primarily, and confiscated from those and other prior cultures the highly defined pagan image-making art of ancient times.
The nation of Israel had also long since succumbed to the practice of idolatry over a thousand years before, but it was the highly developed religious image-making and pretension of the first-century Pharisees who formed a false syncretic hybrid of Torah-ism and demon worship to the degree that the Lord Jesus called them “of their father the devil.”
This Phariseeism was later used in Christian forms, one principally which still exists today, and formed the basis of the Christian image-making of the present. And rather than only forming idols of wood, metal, or stone, these fakers have followed the devil’s lead by also creating fully evolved human idols worshipped and followed every Sunday morning and on televisions nationwide.
Indeed, television has become the perfect medium for such idolatry, though outside of television there has existed for many centuries an ultra-religious ceremonial and liturgical pageantry within particular denominations that has captured the minds of millions and deceived them away from the full expression and knowledge of the Lord.
The entire effort of these false Christian forms and formats, as related to the Lord’s original, results in nothing more than shallow religious “showtime” using well-compensated religious actors, exactly as did the Pharisees, whom the Lord referred to as hypocrites (devious religious stage players).
The Pharisees were fakes. They were not concerned with growing spiritually closer to God but about gaining earthly power and wealth. So are many “Christian” leaders and celebrities. If anyone actually believes that such “ministers” one sees up front and center are real, and that they are just like their stage (platform, pulpit) persona behind the scenes in regular life, such people are grossly deceived, and it illustrates how easy it is to manipulate and lead around by the nose those who refuse to fully surrender to the Lord Jesus.
“IT IS THE SPIRIT WHO GIVES LIFE; THE FLESH PROFITS NOTHING.” [John 6:63]
Of course, there is nothing whatsoever fake or disingenuous about the Lord. And His rejection and death was in part because He obeyed the Torah commandments against idolatry and that He rejected false image-making. In essence, He appeared to be much less than whom He really was to a people well-conditioned to submit to religious masqueraders. To the majority, the God of the Universe simply did not look the part unlike so many religious fakers who did.
…For even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness… [2Corinthians 11:14-15]
Christian religious image-making of the present has certainly gone mainstream but also mandatory if one is to receive market share, popularity, and reach the primary highly-coveted fundamental goals, which remain the same:
(1) An outlet for one’s vanity, narcissism, and pride,
(2) Greater advantage and influence, and
(3) Wealth.
Therefore, Christians in particular must always remember that—
One’s eyes can certainly be deceived (and often are)
One’s perceived correct Biblical beliefs can certainly be inaccurate (and often are) through the power of a false gospel, and
One can certainly become a dupe. It has happened to millions, and such millions are growing exponentially. Those without spiritual eyes to see who have no love for the truth cannot help but be fooled. [See 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12]
These are victims of higher powers masquerading as something real—false lights of shining fakery and carefully-crafted graven images of the human kind.
One thing such victims all have in common is they don’t know they are deceived, are often willingly deceived, and strangely, stubbornly insist on supporting the unreal rather than the real, even if it costs them their eternal souls. It is pure idolatry, and the antithesis of the purity and reality of the Lord Jesus.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.” [John 10:7-13] [1]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Graven Images of the Human Kind (Part 2)
Graven Images of the Human Kind (Part 1)
CULTURAL CONFORMITY
The historical and American culture-changing Kennedy-Nixon debates of 1960 (see video at end of Part 1) proved that what once was, was no more. A great transformation had taken place. Life got “modern.” The organic became the cosmetic. The country shifted dramatically from the spiritual to the material. Depth gave way to shallowness. Image-making became a priority.
Keep in mind, however, that this was also the beginning of the Holy Spirit outpouring throughout denominational Christianity. Pentecost was pouring into places where it had previously been blocked. Thousands of denominational Christians were being filled with the Spirit like hundreds of thousands of Pentecostals before them. This outpouring also eventually reached the American Catholic Church. Many priests and nuns were becoming Pentecostal. It began the great Catholic Charismatic movement.
But, of course, almost all of this wonderful spiritual history was not being reported by the few major news outlets that had succumbed to the phony dog and pony political show before them. It became obvious to anyone with spiritual eyes and ears that the major media became nothing more than a corporate entity doing the bidding of elites deceiving the country. As the dominance of the television medium increased, so did the power to use it for the sinister purposes of swaying the country toward a hidden agenda for the personal gain of those in power.
Cultural conformity was forced and enforced, even more than in the 1950s. For a typical example, over half a century ago, IBM mandated a black pants, white shirt, black tie image for all workers as a statement of corporate uniformity. Professional dress became the model for emerging corporatism. Any and all forms of dissent were perceived as anti-American though the country was founded upon dissent and revolution.
But suddenly, unbelievably, the perfect created image was destroyed. Naïve, idyllic America became an all too real nightmare. An American president had been savagely murdered under mysterious circumstances. Militarism and the destructive Vietnam War were in full swing. The ridiculous attitude of “my country right or wrong” became a compulsory slogan as an end-all be-all instead of doing the right thing to correct gross wrongs. Race riots were breaking out.
Such coercion toward a regimented “follow-orders” populace created what was then known as the generation gap in that young people, still very much American at heart, rebelled against the fakery, the overbearing political correctness, religious redneckism, and the emerging military/political/corporate glom being forced upon the populace.
Amidst all this, most Americans had no idea what was causing all the change or that they were being played. They did not see the actors behind the curtain. All anyone knew was that it seemed like the country was exploding.
For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind. [Hosea 8:7][1]
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
It had been almost another half century since the dawn of public relations imaging and methods, and American individualism took a hit. It was a time of “Keeping up with the Joneses,” a popular expression of the day, when the middle class expanded and most were concerned with doing whatever they must to appear as solid, successful citizens and within a higher social strata.
Bucking the system was opposed by the majority as something inherently wrong without noticing that “the system” had gone terribly wrong. “Keeping up appearances” was preferable to taking on the persona of the early American patriots to fix the country, and such image-consciousness was no longer only for the wealthy but for everyone who wanted to be well thought of.
One’s presented image took precedence over one’s spiritual stature.
Therefore, much of what happened in the counter-cultural 1960s was an immoral over-reaction against the heavy-handed authoritarianism of the day, in which those in charge were often terribly wrong though they insisted they must be honored, respected, and obeyed anyway. Most Americans did obey only to discover years later they were wrong to do that. Their outer redneckism of the time veiled a yellow, selfish heart. They bought into the lie.
Image-making was so pervasive it became unconscious.
Yet, centuries before the changes of the last one hundred years, there was a group of people who had mastered the craft of image-making and became extremely successful in its use. And it seems that whenever we reach points in history in which false imagery reaches its zenith, all hell breaks loose.
In Part 3 we will look at the greatest manipulators of all and the sinister methods they use so well.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued.]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Graven Images of the Human Kind (Part 1)
It is fairly easy for the non-deceived to spot faux religious leaders.
Such are the ones with perfect outer images who have mastered the art of staying in character.
They also dress very well for the part.
“‘Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’” [Deuteronomy 27:15] [1]
I remember hearing a message by a man principally involved in marriage ministry who also pastors a large congregation. This man was talking about how God created men to be wired visually regarding their attraction toward a mate.
He then began talking about how enhanced photography and facial makeup allow some women to look much better than they actually do. When such methods create an image, it is simply not real. He said married men often fall into temptation comparing such pretty faces to their wives, who feel they can’t compete.
Regarding even the best looking professional super models he said, “Don’t be concerned about not looking like that. They don’t look like that…”
Now, it is certainly okay to want to look our best, but some strive to vastly improve on the Creator’s handiwork and attempt to look not just their best but better than the rest, even if it means cosmetically transforming in the extreme their actual, God-given appearance. And the ultra use of cosmetics, plastic surgery, and photographic tricks to assist in that process is no longer necessarily an option for many, though it is a relatively recent innovation.
CONTEMPORARY IMAGE-MAKING
The first crude camera photograph was created circa 1826-27, going on two centuries ago, and the vast majority of ladies in developed nations never wore makeup until maybe 50-60 years ago. Now, of course, the percentage of women who wear makeup to some degree or another has advanced dramatically, and photography has advanced to ultra high definition video. By comparing the oldest photographs from the 1800s and portrait paintings centuries older, one can see the great advances made both in mechanical media and also culturally accepted (demanded) cosmetics.
Technology has presently improved to the extent that a person’s image can be dramatically changed, and it can generate quite a shock when such people are seen outside their usual doctored images. This often happens with celebrities who spend a lot of time behind a camera, but this is not always the case.
For instance, there is the true story from a few years ago of a longtime pastor who, during the middle of a big Sunday church service while preaching, suddenly ripped off the hairpiece from atop his head.
The entire congregation was blown away. He had been wearing hairpieces for so long most of the people there had never known he was bald. It probably took a while to get used to the “new guy.”
Because there are currently so many false images in the world, and because people become so used to seeing created images, the actual person underneath is often unrecognizable and by comparison obviously inferior.
This has caused two things: (1) Very high artificial self-esteem based on the use of excellent effects to enhance one’s natural appearance, and (2) Very low self-esteem for those who cannot compete for whatever reason.
It is most likely that such a wide divergence of image did not exist in the days when all women wore no makeup, save for a tiny percentage of royals and the wealthy. This provided for a level playing field though some had greater natural beauty than others.
Today, if people choose to transform their image using whatever means, the outer image thus created is obviously different than what their actual natural image would be otherwise.
If some of these people also dress very well, learn how to present themselves very well, say all the right words and phrases, and effect fake smiles and attitudes that appear real, outside observers will certainly be faked out, especially if they’ve never seen such people sans their carefully crafted image.
What’s going on here? Why do people want to engage in such image-making?
It usually boils down to three things: (1) Vanity, (2) Advantage, and (3) Money.
CREATING A PERSONAL BRAND
It is a matter of social acceptance. It is a matter of dispelling any doubts concerning one’s character and motives. It is a matter of putting forth the look of success and proper reputation.
It is also a matter of competition. The better one looks and the more one is accepted, the more one rises in one’s society (gains in popularity) and the better one feels (an ongoing endorphin rush), both of which results in greater pleasure and high self-esteem, though the danger of creating great pride exists based simply on a less than honest outer image. Also, more doors will open. More open doors mean receiving more opportunities, earning more money, and even attracting a better mate (or multiple mates).
Of course, Hollywood figured this out going on a century ago. The creation of “movie stars” was not possible without stage lighting, makeup, superior costumes, camera tricks, and etc. And once such stars were created, the movie-going public attended theaters all over the country in droves which made for an interesting phenomenon regarding people worshipping people.
As the medium grew more sophisticated and color film was invented, image-making went through the roof. Nice looking people became extremely good-looking people. The eventual fake image of these people became the standard image, since so few were seen in the real world under normal conditions. When they were seen for how they really looked, however, the contrast was obvious and often scandalous.
Many mainline Christian denominations preached against makeup and what they might term “unholy clothing” for decades in a vain attempt to keep Hollywood from invading the church. But after World War I, the advent of moving pictures, and the comparatively decadent “Roaring Twenties” when greater wealth and material goods became available, the cat was out of the bag.
It would take another quarter century, another World War (including the immoral influence of other cultures), and television before America became transformed forever into an amoral image-based society.
The Kennedy-Nixon presidential debates, the first televised debates, proved this transformation in 1960. The visual contrast between these two men was stark in that John Kennedy presented a much greater televised image than Richard Nixon, though many who only listened on radio thought Nixon had won.
It was primarily John Kennedy’s carefully crafted superior image that eventually won him the presidency.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued.]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
“Kennedy and his people were the master manipulators of television:”
If We Love Him We Will Obey Him
For those faithful readers who have read the articles on this blog for a while, you know I must write about what is wrong in order to attempt to illustrate what is right. What the Lord Jesus did during His ministry was right. What His hand-picked men did after Him was right.
The original apostles ushered in real Christianity at the very beginning and spread it throughout the then-known world in faithful adherence to the Founder’s vision.
Some may want to call original Christianity a movement, and it certainly is in a sense. Others may se