The Death Penalty for Abortion.

 

Anyone can copy and use all of my posts.

I love to listen to podcasts. As I was looking around for an interesting subject, I came across, The Daily, which is with the New York Times. The subject was, “The Effort to Punish Women for Having Abortions.”

This was a subject I deeply cared about because I have been watching the news on what is happening in the U.S. since Roe vs Wade was struck down. What I have seen has horrified me; trying to force a 10-year-old to carry a child to birth, arresting and deciding to prosecute a mother who bought abortion pills for her teenage daughter, women who are miscarrying being turned away from hospitals because the doctors don’t want to be charged for helping a woman abort a baby.

The next big news was hearing the Christian Right want to take away our right to have contraceptives! This was hard for me to believe, but yes, it is true. It’s part of their plan for women! How is that possible? Are we going to have no right to try to have our babies when we want to? Do these crazy Christians think contraception is a sin? Do they want women to have 10 children in a row? Honestly, I have no idea.

I must tell you I am a Christian. I love Jesus, but I am not crazy, neither do I want my Christian beliefs forced on you or anyone else. Jesus did not force anyone to join his movement, he merely said, “Follow me.” He has given the whole world the choice to be a Christian or not.

But what I heard on this podcast was truly horrific. There are people on the far-Right who want to give women the death penalty for having an abortion. The pastor in this podcast said the women had committed murder and therefore must die. He then quoted the Old Testament of the Bible to defend his reasoning. He said, “An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.”

Okay, that law was meant for the Jews around 3,000 years ago. God had asked them to be his people, his nation on earth. They agreed to that and so God gave them lots of laws besides the 10 Commandments. These were civil laws, like if someone stole an ox or accidentally killed someone. Every nation needs these kinds of laws. Were those laws for everyone in the world? No. Israel was a Theocracy, God was their ruler. And actually, if you didn’t like all the laws etc. you could just move away to some other country. You weren’t forced to stay.

When Jesus came, he told the people there were new laws now. He did not change the 10 Commandments, but he did abolish all the other laws God established with the Jewish nation. He said, “You have heard it said, ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you (insults you) on your right cheek, turn to him the other also; if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well; and if someone forces you to go one mile, (Roman soldiers did that so someone would help carry his bags) go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from one who wants to borrow from you.”

Jesus continued, “You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the evil. If you love those who love you, what reward with you get? Do not sinners do that? If you greet only your friends, what are you doing more than others? Do not pagans do that? But strive to be perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect.”  Matthew 5:38-48

Jesus was starting a new religion, one based on unconditional love. Yes, God loved people in the Old Testament, but times were very different then and God’s laws were actually more merciful than the laws of other nations. I believe God chose his own nation so the memory of God would not be lost down the ages.

Most of the world back then was pagan. They worshipped Baal and Molech who demanded child sacrifice. Sex was part of their religions, which is probably why it was so popular. Most of those nations were not peaceful, they wanted to conquer other nations. There were so many gods in those days, and God needed some people who would write down God’s words and deeds for generations to come.

Okay, so if someone brought to Jesus a woman who had an abortion, what do you think he would have done? It’s very easy – nothing. He would have let her go her way. That’s exactly what he did for a woman who had committed adultery.

The religious leaders (sound familiar) brought a woman caught in adultery. They told Jesus she should be stoned to death as the law of Moses said. Then they asked, “What would you do?” They were testing him.

Jesus did something strange. He bent down and began writing in the dust on the ground. Then he said, “Let him who has never sinned be the first to cast a stone at her.” Then he continued writing on the ground. When the crowd of men heard this, they left one by one. (Some scholars believe he was writing the sins of the men who were accusing her.)

After they left, Jesus stood and asked the woman, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you, now go and sin no more.”

Jesus said at the beginning of his ministry, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that everyone who believes in him shall not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only son.  John 3:16-18

Jesus did not come with judgement at that time. Judgement Day is still in the future where everyone will have to give an account to God for what he has done in this life. Until that day, we should never judge people for religious reasons.

The banning of abortion is the Church joining the State to force their religious beliefs on the whole country, if they can. Religion and State should never unite because to do so always ends in persecution, imprisonment and death. I urge everyone to read the history of religious persecution. It has happened in the past and is happening now, here and in other countries.

I also urge every woman to vote for the Democrats from now on, unless you want to have your rights taken away from you.

The Effort to Punish Women for Having Abortions - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Host: Sabrina Tavernise     Reporter: Elizabeth Dias

 

 

 

These Dark Days.

 

Photo by Peter Griffin

(I give permission for anyone to copy any of my posts.)

In these dark days, we need encouragement, hope and peace. God will give that to us in many ways. One way is asking him for them, another is listening to uplifting music. Somehow music feeds our soul. Like everything else on earth it can feed our souls for good or evil. The last few years, I have found music lifts my heart up to the heavens. The earth seems to fade away.

 Below I have printed the lyrics to a song that comforts me. This artist sings some of the most beautiful words I have heard in music. I hope you look him up and give his music a try.

 Always Good.

 Written and sung by Andrew Peterson

 Do You remember how Mary was grieving?

How You wept and she fell at Your feet?
If it's true that You know what I'm feeling
Could it be that You're weeping with me?

Arise, O Lord, and save me
There's nowhere else to go

You're always good, always good
Somehow this sorrow is shaping my heart
Like it should
And You're always good, always good

It's so hard to know what You're doing
So why won't You tell it all plain?
But You said You'd come back on the third day
And Peter missed it again and again

So maybe the answer surrounds us
And we don't have eyes to see

You're always good, always good
This heartache is moving me closer than joy ever could
And You're always good

My God, my God, be near me
There's nowhere else to go
And Lord, if You can hear me
Please help Your child to know

That You're always good, always good
As we try to believe what is not meant
To be understood
Will You help us to trust Your intentions for us are still good?
'Cause You laid down Your life and You suffered like I never could

And You're always good, always good
You're always good, always good

 

 We Christians should never forget what happened to the followers of Jesus right after he went to heaven. There was death, imprisonment and persecution. Many Jews were thrown out of their church, excommunicated. This meant no one could trade with them or talk with them. They lost everything for Jesus. That is why the believers needed to share among themselves. The need was very great.

 Remember what happened when Rome turned against Christianity. They tortured and killed thousands. Remember the suffering of the Holocaust. Not only Jews, but Christians, gays, mentally disabled and those who resisted Hitler were wiped out. Remember the suffering of the war itself. I had an uncle who died who left a wife and two daughters behind.

 It seems to me that we, North Americans, are surprised by suffering. We don’t seem to think we should have to suffer anything. Even the wearing of a simple mask in order to not spread an illness to others. No, we think that is too much to ask. It is a sacrifice we aren’t willing to make.

 Many believe there is no virus. It is all untrue! So that means every news service in all the world is lying about all the people who are suffering and dying. There is some vast (worldwide) conspiracy against – who? Them personally, I guess.

 To me, these are the scary people of the world. These are the ones who will persecute others to the death – like the ones who go surround government officials with weapons and send death threats. If they can, they will overthrow the democracy of the United States and keep Trump in power.

 We are in our own era now, with our own wars against a virus, against ignorance and against pure evil. We don’t need to fear though, because God will walk through this time with us. He may let us suffer as he has done for millions in the past. We may lose our lives to violence by the hand of evil people.

 But as the song says, Jesus did too. And his death was much worse than any that can happen to a human, because he had the sins of the world on his heart and his Father turned away from him. The Father did this so Jesus could experience the second death: knowing we will be separated from God forever because of our sinful lives. At the judgement, God will show us our sinful lives and why he can’t take us to heaven. Then we will die and be dead forever. Jesus went through that to take our place if we want him to. He endured it so we don’t have to, and he endured it for every person.

 

 

 

Judging People.

Courtroom in Beverly, Yorkshire, England.

The disciple, John, said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.”

But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.”  Luke 9:49,50

In a sermon, W. Clarkson says, “We are in danger of counting among our opponents those whom we should reckon as allies. It did not seem to be a service of a any particular account that a man should use the name of Jesus to exorcise demons, even though he may have had a measure of success in his attempts. But Christ said he was not to be forbidden as an outsider, but rather hailed as a friend and as an ally. What then, would he not say now of those who go so far towards the fullest declaration of his truth as many thousands do, but who remain outside the particular church with which we may be connected? Would he have us blame and brand these because they “follow not with us?”

The spirit of persecution is cruel, foolish, and emphatically unchristian. Rather, let us rejoice that there are found so many who, while not feeling it right to connect themselves with our organization, are yet loving the same Lord and serving the same cause. These are not our enemies; they are our allies.”

I like what Clarkson said. I know of how some people look down on Christians of other denominations. Not only sneer at them and their beliefs, but say they are not saved. I remember hearing in my church how “we have the truth,” and visiting a different denomination where a woman told me, “we have the truth.”

I think that is spiritual pride, and a kind of putting God in a box where he is only with the people in that box. Someone once told my husband he was not a Christian before he was baptized into my church. No, he was a Christian for a year and a half before he was baptized.

Human beings, all of us and I definitely include myself, judge other human beings constantly. That can be good or evil. We must use our judgement in deciding who to marry, who to be close friends with and who to do business with. God doesn’t want us to be blind to the faults of others. But when we judge whether someone is saved by grace or not, we move into God’s territory. Only he knows the heart of each person, and each person is on a path only God knows. He is patient. We are not. He is all loving. We are not. He is God. We are not.

Dying for God.

I was listening to a sermon by Jeffrey Rosario, one of my favorite preachers. He was speaking on why a person would die for their beliefs. He spoke about the men who were tortured and burned to death during the Dark Ages. To save themselves, all they had to do was say they were wrong about what they believed and say the Mother Church was right.

Why did they think the different beliefs they held were worth dying for? Jeffrey said a beautiful thing. He said they weren’t dying for a belief; they were dying for a person. Their beliefs weren’t a thing, they were a person. I love that.

Some things Christians disagree about are not very important. But when it comes to who God is, that is important. God is the only God, he is worthy of our praise and worship.

“For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me.” Isaiah 46:9

The early Christians were told to worship the Emperor of Rome or die. Some chose to die. In the Dark Ages, Christians were told to accept the Roman Christian Church, and if they didn’t they would die. Some chose to die. They could not say they agreed with what the church was teaching about God.

When I was in university, a guest professor came into our class. Someone asked him why Christians would die for their faith. He said he thought they were like suicide bombers and no one could understand them.

“They were nothing like that!” I said.

He asked me what they were like then. I said, “If a German during WWII didn’t want to become a Nazi, wasn’t that worth dying for?

He said there were some Germans who did that. Then he looked at my professor in exasperation and she said the discussion was over. I wish I had thought of something better to say than what I did, but it all happened so quickly.

Many Christians have been killed by ISIS because they would not renounce their belief in Jesus. They are being killed in the Sudan and many other countries. One day, persecution will come to the West. One day there will be religious people who will want to arrest and kill those who disagree with their concept of who God is.

But we need not be concerned; if we stick close to God through faith and prayer, he will give us the strength at the right time to stand with him. Jesus told us not to even worry about what to say, for the Holy Spirit would give us the words.

Revelation: The Seven-Headed Beast.

I am posting chapters from my sister's book, "The End is Near

Continued from previous post:

“Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names…And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.”  “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.  And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.  It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them….”  
Rev. 13:1, 2, 5-7

                                     Picture by:  Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing

          This beast came out of the sea, meaning it arose out of people (see Appendix 2) and the dragon, Satan, backed this beast with all his power.  Here again we see the 42 months, the1260 years, of authority, so this beast must be the same entity as the horn.  Revelation 17:9 says, “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.”  The woman referred to is Jezebel, the false church, “…Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots…” Rev. 17:5.  The seven mountains give us her location:  the seven hills of Rome, the city where the Pope lives and from which the Catholic Church rules.  We know that a beast represents nations, kingdoms, or political powers (see Appendix 2), so the Catholic Church’s depiction here as a beast shows the political authority it wielded as well as its religious authority.

One thing you must remember: the Catholic Church referred to in prophecy describes the leaders of the church, those who operate with the spirit of Balaam and the Nicolaitans.  There have been millions, and there are still millions, of innocent and sincere members of the Catholic Church who do not know the truth and are led astray by the leaders of the church.

We have not explored why the false church persecutes those who refuse to follow her lead.  Revelation 12:17 tells us that the persecuted depicted in Revelation are those who “…keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus”.  What does this mean and why does it threaten the false church? 

 “…commandments of God…”

Even if we do not know exactly what the commandments are, most of us have at least heard of the Ten Commandments.  You can find them listed in Exodus 20:3-17.

 But even the Catholic Church knows that the Ten Commandments are still in effect, right?  Yes they do, as do almost all Christians of all denominations, but there is one commandment that the Catholic Church changed and that the followers of truth refused to honor.  

Revelation: The Dragon and the Little Horn

This is a chapter by chapter copy of my sister's book, "The End is Near."

Continued from previous post...

          “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.  But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.  And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.  But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.  So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus."               Rev. 12:13-17

          Satan is furious about losing to Jesus and decides to go after those who follow Jesus.  The true followers of Jesus were forced to flee, many hiding in the mountains and forests where they were able to avoid the flood of people searching for them (see Appendix 2).  Those who remained in the populated areas were less able to avoid persecution.  The persecution lasted “…a time and times and half a time…” which is the 1260 days mentioned in verse 6.  It is calculated this way: “a time” is one year, “times” is two years, and “half a time” is six months, giving a total of 1260 days (360 + 720 + 180 = 1260).  This time period is also mention in Daniel 7.

            “…out of this kingdom (Rome) ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.  He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One…and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.”  Dan. 7:24, 25

          Do you remember the mouthy, blasphemous horn we saw in chapter two of this book?     

It is mentioned in Daniel 7:8 and Daniel 8:9-14, 23-26 as arising after Greece.  But we had questions about this because we knew Rome followed Greece.  Well, here our questions are answered.  This mouthy, blasphemous horn does arise after Greece, but we can see here that it comes out of Rome and after the Western Roman Empire had been carved up into ten kingdoms.  And this horn does uproot and subdue three of the ten kings.  When the Emperor Justinian declared the Bishop of Rome as head of the Christian churches and gave him civil powers to go with his new religious powers, three of the ten kingdoms opposed this.  The Heruli, the Vandals and the Ostrogoths fought against this new arrangement but by 538 CE the last of them had been crushed.

  The Bishop of Rome, the Pope of the Catholic Church, the blasphemous horn, was now unopposed and was able to wield its unlimited powers as it saw fit for 1260 years.

This is Belle writing now: If you think it cruel and unfair to name the Pope as being the little horn, I am adding what the protestants of old said.

Protestants[edit]

Many Protestant reformers, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, John Thomas, John Knox, and Cotton Mather, identified the Roman Papacy as the Antichrist.^[38] They held that the Antichrist power would be revealed so that everyone would comprehend and recognize that the Pope is the real, true Antichrist and not the vicar of Christ. The Centuriators of Magdeburg, a group of Lutheran scholars in Magdeburg headed by Matthias Flacius, wrote the 12-volume "Magdeburg Centuries" to discredit the papacy and identify the pope as the Antichrist. The fifth round of talks in the Lutheran–Roman Catholic dialogue notes,

In calling the pope the "antichrist," the early Lutherans stood in a tradition that reached back into the eleventh century. Not only dissidents and heretics but even saints had called the bishop of Rome the "antichrist" when they wished to castigate his abuse of power.^[39]

The Pope as the antichrist was so ingrained in the Reformation era, that Luther stated it repeatedly. For example:

"This teaching [of the supremacy of the pope] shows forcefully that the Pope is the very Antichrist, who has exalted himself above, and opposed himself against Christ, because he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power, which, nevertheless, is nothing, and is neither ordained nor commanded by God”.^[40]

and,

"nothing else than the kingdom of Babylon and of very Antichrist. For who is the man of sin and the son of perdition, but he who by his teaching and his ordinances increases the sin and perdition of souls in the church; while he yet sits in the church as if he were God? All these conditions have now for many ages been fulfilled by the papal tyranny."^[41]

John Calvin similarly wrote,

"Though it be admitted that Rome was once the mother of all Churches, yet from the time when it began to be the seat of Antichrist it has ceased to be what it was before. Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman Pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt .. I shall briefly show that (Paul's words in II Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy."^[42]

John Knox on the Pope wrote,

"Yea, to speak it in plain words; lest that we submit ourselves to Satan, thinking that we submit ourselves to Jesus Christ, for, as for your Roman kirk, as it is now corrupted, and the authority thereof, whereon stands the hope of your victory, I no more doubt but that it is the synagogue of Satan, and the head thereof, called the pope, to be that man of sin, of whom the apostle speaks."^[43]

Thomas Cranmer on the Antichrist wrote,

"Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of Antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons."^[44]

John Wesley speaking of the identity given in scripture of the Antichrist wrote,

"In many respects, the Pope has an indisputable claim to those titles. He is, in an emphatical sense, the man of sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled, the son of perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers, destroyed innumerable souls, and will himself perish everlastingly. He it is that opposeth himself to the emperor, once his rightful sovereign; and that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped - Commanding angels, and putting kings under his feet, both of whom are called gods in scripture; claiming the highest power, the highest honour; suffering himself, not once only, to be styled God or vice-God. Indeed no less is implied in his ordinary title, "Most Holy Lord," or, "Most Holy Father." So that he sitteth - Enthroned. In the temple of God - Mentioned Rev. xi, 1. Declaring himself that he is God - Claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone."^[45]

Roger Williams of the Vicar of Christ or Pope wrote,

"the pretended Vicar of Christ on earth, who sits as God over the Temple of God, exalting himself not only above all that is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, yea, and God himself...speaking against the God of heaven, thinking to change times and laws; but he is the son of perdition."^[46]

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antichrist

Revelation: The Church of Thyatira.

Thyatira: Faithfulness          Fourth Seal: Religious Persecution            538 CE – 1516 CE

Spirituality

“I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads my bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality…But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them – I place no other burden on you. Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. He who overcomes, and he who keeps my deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.”  Revelation 2:19, 20, 24-26

Jezebel was a wicked queen who led the people of her nation to abandon God and worship idols and she killed those who refused to submit.

 (1 Kin. 16: 31; 21:25; 2 Kin. 9: 7, 22)  In prophetic language, a woman represents a city and a group of people that have something in common (i.e. citizens of a city [“city”zens] have their place of residence in common). (see Appendix 2)  Here, Jezebel calls herself a prophetess, so Jezebel is a city and a group of people (“city”zens) who have a religion in common since they believe they speak for God. 

In the year 533 CE the Roman Emperor Justinian declared that the Bishop of Rome was to be the head of all Christian churches.  By the year 538 CE all opposition, both religious and civil, to this appointment was crushed.  The Bishop of Rome (city) was firmly established in his authority over religious and civil matters.  Those church members with the traits of Balaam and the Nicolaitans (“city”zens) had finally attained all the power and riches they had so desired (commonality).  They had set up a powerful church and were designing doctrines that would strengthen their control and would lead the masses astray.  But there were still believers who remained faithful to the teachings and the spirit of Jesus although they did not fight hard enough in the beginning against this false church with its false doctrines.  However, what was done was done and Jesus told them to hang on and as a reward they would rule with him.

Experience

“ When the Lamb broke the fourth seal…I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him.  Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.”  Rev. 6: 7, 8

     Hades is the Greek word for hell, and the experience of many of those who refused to follow Jezebel, the teachings of this false church, went through hell on earth, dying for their faithful adherence to the pure teachings of Jesus.  The Inquisitions and persecutions, the torturous and agonizing deaths of the faithful were unrivaled by anything in history.  Truly the ashen horse of Death followed by Hades fell upon those faithful people.

Revelation: The First Two Churches.

Ephesus:  Apostolic Age           First Seal:  Purity        31 CE – c. 100 CE             

Spirituality          

“I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.  But I have this against you; that you have left your first love.  Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first…To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.”  Rev. 2: 2-7

          The early church, from Jesus’ ascension into heaven until the death of those who knew Jesus personally, is often called the Apostolic Age.  Here they are commended for their work and tenacity that was motivated by love for Jesus.  But as time went on their motivation changed and was replaced by something else, perhaps a sense of duty.  Jesus’ promise to them is that they will be in paradise. 

Experience 

“…the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and…I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”  Rev. 6: 1, 2  (see Appendix 2 for an explanation of horses in prophecy and in visions)

          The white color of the horse denotes the purity of the early church, and the rider represents the apostles spreading the word and conquering paganism.

Smyrna:  Martyrdom      Second Seal:  Roman Persecution       c. 100 CE – 312 CE

          Spirituality

“I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)…Do not fear what you are about to suffer.  Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.  Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life…He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.”  Rev. 2: 9-11

          The church during this time may have been poor when it came to money and power to protect itself, but it was rich spiritually.  There was fear in the church due to the persecutions but Jesus says they will have eternal life.

            Experience

          “…He broke the second seal…And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another;  and a great sword was given to him.”  Rev. 6: 3, 4

          The red color of this horse denotes the spilling of the blood of the saints.  Beginning with Nero, the Roman Emperors often persecuted Christians for one reason or another.  But late in the first century CE, the emperor Domitian demanded everyone within his empire to worship him as divine, but Jews and Christians refused.  This began a full-scale persecution and makes it easy to identify the rider of the red horse as the office of Emperor. 

  

Church & State in the U.S.A.

Many years ago, I received a phone call from my sister, Liz. She lived in Nevada and I live in Canada. She told me she thought God had asked her to do something, but she wasn't positive it was him. I asked her what it was.

Liz told me she didn't want to tell me. She was asking God for guidance and asked me to pray about what she should do. I said I would be glad to pray about it.

That night, I had a dream. I was in my living room and there was an open book laying on my coffee table. I looked at it closely and could see pictures in it. They were pictures of the images of the book of Daniel. I realized it was a book about the end times.

I picked up the book and felt God wanted me to give it to our next-door neighbor. So, I went over and gave it to her. I woke up.

I called my sister the next day and told her my dream. She told me that she had thought God had asked her to write a book about Daniel and Revelation and the last days of earth's history. We were happy the Lord opened this up to me as it was in agreement with what she had heard.

She wrote the book and we gave it away and sold some online. E-books started being popular so she put her book on lulu.com and that is where it is now as an ebook or a soft cover. I also gave one to my next door neighbor since God showed me that in the dream. She looked at me like I was nuts, but that's okay. She is already a Christian, but of a different church than the one I went to.

Now, what does this have to do with Church & State? Well, in Revelation, we believe it prophesies about a major Christian power that will unite church and state. This power will persecute those who don't believe what they say. They will pass laws and whoever does not obey their laws will not be able to buy or sell. They will make an "image to the beast," which will be a national Sunday Law. Those who go along with this law will receive the mark of the beast.

Because the United States government is now taking steps to unite church & state, I felt very strongly to put my sister's book on my blog to warn people of what is to come. I'm pretty sure many people who follow my blog will quit following, but that is not important to me. What is important is that I warn people, so when they see it happening, they will know that a Sunday Law is not from the Lord.

This is an excerpt from my sister's book. I plan to begin copying her book and putting pages of it on my blog. Remember the Book of Revelation means a "revealing."  It is not hidden, for God wants us prepared for what is to come.

I love the cover. My sister and I have the same sense of humor.

"Of the United States, Revelation 13:12 says, “He exercises all the authority of the first beast (Rome, Catholicism) in his presence.  And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal would was healed.”  Just as the Pope and the Catholic Church used to exercise political and religious authority over the Western world before its deadly wound in 1798, so the United States will exercise its political and religious authority over the Western world, uniting with Catholicism and giving back to the Pope the power his position once wielded. 

The Image of the Beast

            When you look in a mirror you see a reflection of yourself.  It is not you, but it looks just like you and it mirrors any movement you make.  Well, the beast was a political and religious power that ruled the Western world for centuries, and an image to this beast will have the same traits without being the exact same entity.  

Instead of being solely the Catholic Church with the Pope wielding religious and political power, this image will be political powers, dominated by the US, backing up the Ecumenical unification of religious powers (Revelation 17:12, 13 says that the kings of the earth will give their power and authority to the beast, so it will not be just the US political power).  Combined, these political and religious powers resemble, or mirror, the works and the powers of the Catholic Church during her 1260-year reign from 538 CE to 1798 CE.  So what we will see is an unholy trinity, a joining of politics, Protestantism and Catholicism. 

What Should Christians Do When Surrounded by Evil?

What did Jesus do when surrounded by evil?  In his home town they tried to throw him off a cliff because he said he was the Messiah. What happened? God made him disappear because his hour to die had not come.

In Jerusalem, they picked up stones to kill Jesus. What happened? God again intervened and Jesus disappeared. His time had not come.

They sent solders to arrest him. The soldiers came back empty-handed and said, "No man has ever spoken as this man has."

But at the end, when his time had come, he went with the soldiers, he stood trial and didn't say a word except to Pilate, who didn't really know what was going on.

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly."   1 Peter 2:23

"He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished."  Isaiah 53:7,8

"Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil."  Psalm 37:7,8

If we worry, fret and become angry, the Bible says it will lead to evil. It will lead to violence, and violence is something we should have nothing to do with.

In Jesus day there were groups of Jews called, Zealots. They hated Romans and they're government. They would plot, riot and kill. This is not God's way. His way is for us to wait on him. If we are thrown into jail or persecuted, we have to accept this and if possible Jesus said to run away to another place.