Now why would I think like that?

I was telling my friend yesterday about a blog that I had put up. In that blog I was talking about the New Jerusalem, that Great City, and how we the bride are that city.
I mentioned how that I occasionally see myself as little more than than one of the greasy little bricks, at the bottom of the wall, next to the drainage hole, where the filthy water drains out.

Now why would I have that kind of thought?7

There are many reasons:

1. I have made mistakes in my life, most of which are easily overlooked and forgotten, but some are not so easy, and I do not care who you are, or how self-righteous you come off to others, you are still a judgmental sinner like everyone else and you will judge me too.
Point here: You have not walked in my shoes, so try being honest and watch your tongue. Scripture tells me that God judges us the way we judge.

2. Raised as a "Christian", in a Christian home does not make for a perfect world. My world was far from perfect. Having done a short stint in a psychiatric hospital I was asked how long my parents had been alcoholics. The irony in that is that they would never touch the stuff. I suppose the behaviors consistent with that kind of lifestyle are not exclusive to what you drink, and doesn't that it lean itself to personal choices.

3. I believe that God desires in faith in us. It is, after all, the way we came to him, in faith.
The Faith movement, while having many sincere people, was filled with people that were really motivated by selfish greed and used faith as the momentum to walk upon those with "less" faith than they. I attended several churches like this, and one really sticks out in my mind more than others.
Yes, I was involved (for the most part I see being involved as a good thing) and therefore saw more than I needed to. I suppose, truth be known, I wanted the good life too. Unfortunately the good life was never promised anyone, and was anything but the focus of Jesus while he walked upon this earth. If a man could have had the good life perhaps it would have been the master carpenter himself, but He chose a life of simplicity. One might even think that he lived in poverty, and that may well have been. An example to support that kind of a statement is indicated when Jesus, from the cross, turned to Mary and said: Behold your son, speaking about John, and to John behold your mother. What is the importance of that? NO social security. If your family will not take care of you then you die. How that explains Jesus other kin not caring for Mary I do not know.

Bottom line here is that I walked away with the feeling that if I did not produce what the successful ones did then I would not be accepted. What you cannot see, as I write this, are the elders, standing down front, waiting for people to come to them so that they could pray for and minister to the peoples needs (In thirty seconds or less.) They were all dressed in the most expensive suits, for that demonstrated God's desire and ability to prosper you.

I can remember one sermon that became a recurring theme, and that was gaining jewels for your crown. I have found that concept to be an underlying theme in most of my spells of depression that I battle; have I done enough to gain jewels in crown, but then I rebuff that thought with have you not read Revelation, because it has the elders in heaven, not necessarily those at church, throwing down their crowns at the feet of the Saviour, and what does He need with your crown, He has one of his own I am sure.

I do not believe that God ever intended for us to get involved in perfomance orientation, for our salvation has little to do with effort on our part. Lately I speak about Islam with some frequency. Islam is strictly a performance oriented religion, with your martyrdom being the only thing that guarantees your entrance into "heaven" the presence of Allah.
Christ death paid the price for the entire planet. What I do have to do is to make Him my lord, the rest is just relationship building with the one that loved me first.

Conclusion:
Having taken the moment to continue reading in Revelation I saw something that felt like it was the first time. Revelation 21:18 says: ..and the city - pure gold, like clear glass.
There is nothing about the city, the bride, US, that is less than pure, ifallible gold in Gods eyes. A gold so refined that it appears like glass.
As I have worked toward relation building, with the one that first loved me, I am also finding out about me. The negative image that I fight off has nothing whatsoever to do with the way God sees me. Jesus voluntarily gave his blood and life for me, and you. That act alone changed everything, and yet on that day, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be changed, once again. From the moment that Christ paid that price God has only looked at us through that blood. Even with the events of the end of the age, God is looking at a people that are forgiven, and yet refusing that forgiveness and relationship.

As I have stated in other posts, I cannot imagine a life without pain and some form of anguish in life, but there is always hope, and that is the good news.

He, God, is more merciful than I ever imagined. Pray that God makes himself real to those that are deceived and outside of a relationship with Him.

Come see the bride

Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

Ponder this for a moment. John is told to come, and he will be shown the bride, the Lamb's wife.
1. We should all know who the Lamb is: Jesus
2. We are married to Him.
3. The fact that we are a city, the New Jerusalem, does not bother me, but it seems like something that I need to wrap my mind around.

Somehow we, the bride of Christ, people that were formerly unworthy and incapable of knowing what LOVE is and was, have been married to the son of God, and made to be the most beautiful thing that the Father's heart could conceive of. How or why Jerusalem takes such prominence in his thinking I do not know, but it does.

We, the bride, are no longer separate entities, struggling for His attention, but are somehow integrated into the city itself. This city is spectacular, in every way, therefore so are we.

One of the issues with us humans is that we, in our broken condition, are selfish. Even as I write this I am having to battle through this brokenness. Why would that be important? Because, I have rarely ever been able to see myself any greater than the bottom brick in the wall; you know the one that has the little opening beside it so all the dirty run off water can pass through, and in my selfishness I do not want this for myself at all. I want to be something beautiful and adorning that people might look at and find some value in. Aside from being broken there are many other reasons for that kind of thinking, and the honest people will admit that they completely understand that.
People, who may mean well (I can think of one who has a Doctorate in Theology and is one of the rudest people I have ever known) seem to try and keep some of us in our place. All I know, from scripture, is that the first will be last. Perhaps that applies to bricks as well, but the bottom line is that I honestly hope that heaven is nothing like the earth that I live on. My earth is filled with pain, and a daily dose of depression, most of which I battle successfully through.

Yes, I know that there are many who might read this and:
1. Not understand, thinking that I am just a whiner and loser.
2. Berate me for not having enough faith.
3. Probably want to push me out of the way anyway, because the world wants to teach us that the strong should eat the weak.

Truthfully what I see, when I read God's word, is hope, and I embed myself in in it because I know that I will find it there; I always do. Beside that I am constantly reminding myself of the reasons that I have to believe that He is real, and that there is a hope.

I now find that as I read, primarily Paul's writings, that this is exactly what he, Paul, spends so much time doing. Do you suppose that is because he understands the human condition far to well, having been an angry zealot himself.
(Think about that when comtemplating Paul's "thorn in the flesh". Paul was a student of the Torah and would, like any other rabbinical student, have memorized it. He knew exactly what he was saying when he used the terminology "thorn in the flesh". God had told Israel to destroy the surrounding nations or they would become "thorns in their flesh and pricks in their eyes". Literally? are you kidding? It is symbollic at best. So this thing that was bothering Paul was symbollic also. Being a zealot that killed believers in this Jesus character, because Saul, his zealot alter ego, was trying to defend what he thought was a pure faith in God.)

Does it really matter?

Cults, religions, and people who just want to control, all think they know what our end is.

Some do not believe that there will be an end at all; you merely get recycled until you get it right. The fact that you are waiting for some entity (God) to make a decision about whether you got it right, therefore ending your pain here on earth, clearly implies that you do believe in a higher power; some will call that a moral authority.
You have merely opted to make to make it a god of your choosing. AA gives you the leeway, though that was not the original method, and therefore you can make a fire hydrant your higher power if you choose. A rather pathetic choice.

Hardly anyone will disagree that man sinned and fell from grace. It was really more comparable to treason, for man exchanged the enemy's pipe dream for the ownership of the earth. Yes, you can argue that one all day, but that is not what I intend to do here, but what spawned out of man's selfishness is.

Islam has strict ideals wrapped in a cloak of "righteous" living. Praying five times a day, covering your body - if you are a woman, believing in one god, and having the hope of a peaceful end to life. Sounds OK at first glance, but if they (the Muslims) are honest (They are permitted not to be if they deem you to be a threat. - A threat can be anyone that challenges their beliefs.) 
they would let you know that there is only one method of assuring a life worthy of Allah and that is through the spilling of the first drop of their blood, as a martyr, in the act of Jihad. Nothing outside of that can provide you the comfort of knowing what your end will be.

If you understand what Muslim's are taught, then their use of swords for beheading people might help you to understand how well Islam fits into God's end times events.

In their own prophetic writings about end times events you will find that annihilating Jews and Christians is a number one goal.

Suppose you feel comfortable because technically you do not fit into one of these categories. Besides that, you might consider yourself a devout Satan worshiper, and therefore excluded from the Islamic fall out.
Don't you wish!

Islam has their own Jesus, but he is certainly not God's son to them. The son of Mary, yes. Mohammed allegedly rescued him from death, and then Jesus merely disappeared like Elijah of old Testament fame did. Though he is a good man he is not God's son, that would be blasphemy on the highest order, for God (Allah) stands alone. Jesus is also a prophet to them, a Jew of course, and get this, a good Muslim. He will make pilgrimage to Mecca, and when he shows up he will give himself in service to the Mahdi, supporting him.

What I have attempted to describe for you fits with precision what God has described in end times revelations as the Antichrist and the False Prophet. Both of these characters are well integrated into the Islamic prophecies of the Koran. And they bring death and destruction for Jews and people of the book, but that is not all. One of the primary functions of these two is to bring about a subservience to the "beast". To demonstrate that commitment you will have to take on some form of symbol, the Bible calls it the mark of the beast, indicating your allegiance. It will be on your hand, arm or your head, and it will most likely say: "There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger".

I started this topic with "Does it really matter?" and the answer is yes, but what does that mean?
If you have looked at the book of Revelation at all then you know that those that receive this mark of Islam and worship the beast, will have cut themselves off from God, end of argument. Well wait a minute, I believe that many of you said this does not matter to you because you do not believe in God anyway. Unfortunately for you Islam believes and they are fanatics about it. Not only does Christian scripture describe how you will be treated (written almost 700 years before Mohammed hit the scene) but the Koran describes how you will be treated. You either submit to Islam or have your head cut off, for to be in opposition to Islam is to be an enemy and there is only one option, beheading.

So then, the Jehovah's witnesses, marching the residential streets, preaching their own version of god, or the Mormons leading people astray with angels named Moroni, and the ever peaceful Buddhist's with their religion of peaceful thought, will be killed, along with anyone in opposition, if they do not bow to Islam.

You think this is joke, and that I am just a nut case preaching hatred, then you have your head stuck in the ground, paying absolutely no attention to what is going on around you. What if all this violence, and it will be disgustingly violent, is centrally located in the middle east, where "they" live. That would work if that was the only place they lived. This wonderful country of ours, that is established in freedoms, allows anyone to come here without questioning what their ulterior motives and background religion is. The FBI thinks that conservative numbers for Muslims in this nation (USA) are least 15% and growing rapidly. Consider what England, France and Spain are and have been going through. If their population numbers are approximately 850,000 and the possibility of even as low as 10% are fundamentalists (fanatics). That means that there are more than 85,000 willing to commit jihad in this country. We are talking about 85,000 people in the USA that could create a world of havoc, and they may not have to establish any sort of "global caliphate" in order to do that. In reality it would only take a handful with the right weapons to bring us to our so called knees.

If they press a knife to your throat what religion will you be on that day?

Note: It is not my intent to provoke violence against any people group, but it is my intention to wake you up! The end is near. Nearer than you thought possible. Islam believes that every event necessary for the end to come has happened with the exception of two. One of those is the fall of the Arabian king, and the other is the arrival of the Mahdi.
Now how comfortable are you. You need to make a decision now! And if you are a Christian reading this then you have just heard the call to pray. Pray without ceasing. Pray in tongues. Pray with weeping and sorrow. Pray for repentance. Pray for Christians that are being captured, tortured, and killed because they had a backbone and said yes "I belong to Jesus, the living Son of God" knowing full well that death was coming. Pray that God opens the eyes of the Muslims world wide and makes himself real to them. Pray for others that do realize that God is real and that he is coming soon; pray that God opens their eyes as well.
You should  know that they are coming to the Living one, the Son of God, Jesus himself, by the thousands on a daily basis. We have an opportunity because you do not know but what God will hold back his judgement and preserve those that we pray for.
Therefore also now, saith the LORD, Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repents of the evil. Who knows if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; (Joel 2:12-14 Webster)

And more importantly pray that God makes you a vessel worthy of His honor.

Learn about Islam, because if you know Christ then you are not in the darkness that you should be deceived.

If you believe that I have attempted to deceive you then READ your Bible.

If you feel like I have chewed you out, you are probably right, and the Lord will have to straighten me out.

We shall be changed.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruptibility. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
(1Co 15:50-52 Webster)

I cannot tell you how many times I have withdrawn in mental despair wondering if there could ever be any relief from the pain and weaknesses that became a part of me through childhood's teachings. I will tell you that even though the "teaching" seemed to come to an end, once I managed to separate myself from them, the voices in my head never seem to go away. (Don't go getting strange on me here, you have to deal with them too. They sound like the radio, the television, your parents, your boss, peer pressure, prejudice, anger, jealousy, a nagging teacher, the voices of encouragement, the enemy, and occasionally the voice of Holy Spirit.) What I find is that I have learned to sort out the voices that I hear, determine whether it is a voice that will benefit me, and move upon the healthier ones. (Most of the time.)

Imagine how relief, in the form of instant change impacts someone like me. I feel elated. All the angst, all the negativity, all the questions gone in an instant. Of course this is all contingent upon me being "in him." If there is a doubt as to how one might gain that kind of assurance merely choose to receive Jesus, the Son of the Living God, as being your salvation due to his death and resurrection. He, Jesus, paid the price for your sins giving you free access to God. When you choose life, Jesus, you have then become a part of Him and a Son of the most high God himself. Therefore when that day comes, the one in which the trumpet blows, then you too will be caught up to meet him in the air, and you too will be changed.

To be honest I do not know what all change entails. I have my hopes, but merely ending the pain will be worth anything at that point. I find myself standing at work at times, thinking that this is not what God intended for life to be. To put that comment into perspective I take my bible with me most all the time these days, and I become engrossed in what I am reading. To put it bluntly, I cannot get enough, and to stop reading and return to work is one of the hardest things I do. I do not enjoy leaving the state that I associate with being wrapped up in his presence. I am not only absorbed in His word, which is bringing about changes in me, but there is an awareness of how close He is in my life.

I suppose one does not have to experience a disappointing life in order to value a change, but I am not talking about greed and selfish motives here. I am talking about freedom from mental anguish over simplistic daily decisions. If you have no self doubts about the decisions you make then you may never understand this. Jesus performed the Father's will perfectly. You cannot do that when your thoughts are often filled with self hatred because you do not trust your decision making abilities.

I am so looking forward to being changed, and instantly. Whatever comes after those changes can be nothing more than icing on the cake, but I will say that mental freedom will be priceless.

The head that was wounded

Rev 13:3  And I saw one of its heads as having been slain to death, and its deadly wound was healed. And all the earth marveled after the beast.

When you read, attempt to read as though you are reading it for the first time. Look for the context of what is being said.

God intended for this book of Revelation, especially, to be read and understood. He even promised a special blessing to those who make it their mind to understand it.

Having gained some insight into how the Islamic mind thinks I can tell you that the book of Revelation is suddenly making all the sense in the world to me. How that would have happened previously, with the strange ideas that we had and taught, I am not sure, but many tried. Sadly we ostracized our Catholic neighbors by tying far to many of the anti-Christ characteristics to the Roman Catholic church, and by the way it did us no good.

Suddenly, it would seem that Islam has arisen, and frightening as it seems, it fits like a glove the things John saw all those years ago.

There can be only one good reason for what I believe is a sudden clarity, God wants us to be aware and prepared, not with guns, and food so we can hide out in bunkers, but to strengthen those that may remain.

Demonstrate God's love at every opportunity, and pray that God opens peoples eyes and make himself real to them. This is happening in greater numbers than we will ever be aware of while these people live under these oppressive regimes.

Heads G2776
κεφαλή
kephalē
Thayer Definition:
1) the head, both of men and often of animals. Since the loss of the head destroys life, this word is used in the phrases relating to capital and extreme punishment.
2) metaphorically anything supreme, chief, prominent
2a) of persons, master lord: of a husband in relation to his wife
2b) of Christ: the Lord of the husband and of the Church
2c) of things: the corner stone

Men do not have multiple heads, so why then do we refer to this a man?

The spirit has given male and female personifications to metaphoric entities all throughout Revelation and in other books of the bible.

In terms of entities receiving the death blow, the Ottoman empire was the last great empire on earth. It encompassed the nations that we are seeing arise today, as well as Turkey and those countries across the Caucasus mountain range.

Because they flexed their muscles too much, too often, they were trounced and the world thought them dead. Turkey, Egypt, Saudi, Libya, and many others became quasi-democratic dictatorships. Setting aside some of the tenants of Islam in exchange for the riches of the world. Consider the disgusting wealth of the ruling Saudis.

What we have seen is a rebirth of Islamic fundamentalism, starting dramatically with the ouster of the Shah of Iran, and the rebirth of the Persian empire under Islamic radicals or fundamentalists as some would prefer to call them.

This is not a religion of peace but of war, for they will and are called to destroy anyone who opposes the teachings of the Koran.

The book of Revelation spells out that this head is the beast, the antichrist, and that the whole world marveled after it.

Look around you, Muslim's are everywhere, and they are beginning a drive to dominate the politics of America much like they have already done in other countries.

Our President has stated openly that he is a Muslim. Perhaps that will explain why he is fighting alongside the Muslim Brotherhood against Libya. This is why he has ordered surgical strikes, using unmanned drones, against Yemeni's as they attempt to wrestle control of Yemen back into fundamental Islamic hands.

Think about this: though the head, one of many, sustains a wound that appears fatal, and could well represent Islamic rebirth as a controlling factor, it also defines this head as the anti-Christ. That would make this person an extraordinary ruler of these people, even if it is for only a short time.

This is exactly what Islam spells out in their teachings. They are awaiting this man, and they call him the Mahdi, the missing or 12th Imam. Folks he is here.

Every prediction of theirs, that so closely parallels scriptural timelines of end times events, has, in their minds come to pass with the exception of two events. One of which, may not be critical, but details the death of a king of Arabia named Abdullah. Guess what, although there were years when there was no ruler over Arabia named Abdullah, there is now. How he meets his demise will be interesting to watch from a prophetic point of view. It, again, may not be necessary, as so many will probably not bat an eye if they gain the advantage that they feel they want without meeting all the demands of the Koran.

The other awaited event is the return of the Mahdi.

The Koran Riots in Afghanistan: An Indictment of All Islam | RedState

The Koran Riots in Afghanistan: An Indictment of All Islam | RedState

Another beast

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.
(Revelation 13:11 ESV)


We have already seen the first beast in scripture, the anti-Christ.
- AN'TI, n. [Gr. See Ante.] A preposition signifying against, opposite, contrary, or in place of;
The method could overt or covert.

So then, this beast in sheep's clothing has the same goals as the anti-Christ - to deceive, contradict, and turn the heart and mind against God.

"Another beast" implies something horrific and dangerous, yet it has a gentle connotation because it appears as a lamb.

Sheep have horns, something we city folk do not get to see. Sheepherders lop them off to protect their assets. Aside from horns, what would make a sheep so frightening? Seeing as Jesus was described as a lamb, quietly led to the slaughter, any potential dangers in this sheep like character have to be hidden from obvious view when initially seen. A clue is in this. It speaks like a dragon.

If you have read Revelation 12:9 then you know the answer to this, Satan, the father of lies. So we can safely assume a person that pervades a powerful deception; a lie.

Islam has its own version of Jesus. Mohammed allegedly rescued him from the death of the cross. Their Jesus vanished from the earth, but will reappear once again. The Jesus of theirs is merely a man, and a prophet. He will be subservient to the Mahdi; the anti-Christ, and according to scripture:
13:12 exercises all the authority of the first beast.
- Makes everyone worship the first beast.
- Performs great signs, including fire from heaven.
- deceives the earth.
- Sets up an image in the temple.
- Causes the image to speak.
- Kills those that will not worship the image.
- Forces everyone to receive a mark (denoting allegiance).

The Koran also teaches that our Messiah, Jesus, God's son, is the anti-Christ, and that they (Islam) will do battle with him, and win. Good luck with that.

What I see is Satan attempting to parallel virtually every aspect of God's plan for salvation.

Though this beast person comes in the gentle appearance of a lamb, his deception only serves one purpose, to steal the souls of men from God. We should know that Jesus said that Satan only comes but for to kill, steal, and destroy. Satan is the father of lies, therefore this scenario is based purely in selfish desire - the basis of all sin.

Apparently to be a "beast" your qualifications must include:
Deception - The same thing magicians do. They cause you to believe one thing, while distracting you from what is really going on.
Blasphemy - Many have asked the question, has my anger toward God disqualified me from God's mercy? The short answer is no. Look at the intent of the anti-Christ. Although he speaks against God, his express intent is to turn hearts away from God.
Violence - Against the people of the book (the Bible). This is what Islam considers Jews and Christian followers of the risen Lord. There will also be violence against anyone who refuses to worship the image or receive the mark of allegiance to Allah and his prophet Mohammed.
This aspect, violence, is an ongoing issue in Islamic ruled nations even today.

Another aspect of this verse that requires some thought is "another beast rising out of the earth". The original beast comes out of the sea, but that is definable as the masses of people on the earth. Islam is the fastest growing religion on earth, and is Muslims are quickly becoming the dominant population.

Feel free to consider this conjecture, but having done some more research I have found that commentators said similar things to this.
What if the earth represents some commonality? 
John wrote this book to be understood. If we did not understand it, where does our inability lean.

Islam was not the force it is today thirty years ago. We now have a clearer picture of what Islam believes, and yet we cling so heavily to traditional explanations that were so wrong, regardless of how little sense they might have made then.

What gives this Islamic definition more validity is Al Queada, an Islamic organization, noted for its terrorists acts, directed against the great satan, USA, and the little satan, Israel. These acts of terror are also directed at anyone else that does not hold to sharia law. The fact that they flew our own passenger planes, on suicide missions, into the World Trade center towers, changing the way we operate in our daily lives, demonstrates what these people are capable of.

So as I ponder what could be common in the biblical sense, it occurs to me. The Koran declares this Jesus of theirs (the second beast) to be a Jew of Aaron's lineage. That would make him qualified to command the role as the high priest, enter the temple, and eventually set up the abomination, the image that eventually speaks. His heritage would make him a believable person to the Jewish community, and a fatal influence pertaining to worshiping the beast, and extraordinarily blasphemous in God's eyes. For how could one of his own do such a thing.

An understanding of Islam causes the book of Revelation to begin to make all the sense in the world. For Islam's tenants and prophecies match the scenarios of the book almost to the letter.

Note: this is not a message of hate, but one trying to demonstrate that it is possible to understand the book of Revelation, and that the time to pray is now. God has left us loop holes, you will see them if you read the book. And you do not know but what God may repent of the anger he intends to pour out upon the earth.