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The Nephilim Deception

2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took to wife such of them as they chose. Gen. 6:2

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It used to be only a few people had ever heard of this cabalistic teaching. We rarely had to deal with the absurd idea that there were or are hybrid people out there. This belief that somehow fallen angels had sex with human women and produced giants. However now almost everyone asks us about this. It seems many of the prophecy mongers are now getting on the “Ancient Aliens” bandwagon. If you have not seen the TV show, their whole premise is that a bunch of guys who have never read anything about comparative religion or art appreciation has taken a look at some old piece of art that they don’t understand and conclude “aliens”.  This is not how one determines what the Bible means or for that matter what the art is about.

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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE? IS THERE SOUL SLEEP?

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How does the Resurrection Work?

The simple case on not understanding God’s Omnipresence.

veterans_cemeteryFrom a small child who has lost his pet to anyone who has lost a loved one the age old question is voiced, “What happens when we die?”

In the case of small children and the bereaved often a simple short answer is all that is needed; many will never ask again.  They are content to live out their lives believing in some very simple, and for some unsatisfactory, even ludicrous conceptions.

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The Blood Moons HOAX

Belief that the blood moons signify something extraordinary is like believing that animal migrations signify something extraordinary.  They are just too regular and predictable.

We are not sure how many or how far this teaching has spread.  Google turned up Pastor John Hagee first, so we will go with what we found on his website.  The Dispensationalists have taught that the eclipses of the moon are portents of the Second Coming, or the beginning of an apocalyptic tribulation event.  Supposedly, four such blood moons are coming.  While this is made to sound rather ominous and warlike, these blood moons are actually a known periodic celestial appearance.

What Hagee and others are teaching:

banner291“THE COMING FOUR FULL BLOOD MOONS” Continue reading →

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The Day of the LORD

john-martin-1789-1854-great-day-of-the-lordThe day of the Lord is said to be an event at the end of time. The dispensationalist will take you to the verses that say it is “near” and explain that the writer really meant futuristically.  It is all very convoluted and confusing, and it contradicts one of the preeminent rules of hermeneutics, in that, the plain reading of the text is to be preferred above all others.  Look methodically at the passages in question and figure out where and when this “Day” is or was to happen.

Be careful because there is also that nagging problem of those pesky translators, who are often inconsistent with their translations, so that the non Hebrew reader thinks something special or different is being said, when nothing of the kind is even being inferred.   The first three verses in the Bible with this phrase   “The day of the Lord” or “Yom YHWH”, are a prime example.  They translated “today” instead of “the day” where in the Hebrew it is “the day”. Continue reading →

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The LORD of Hosts

holy-angelic-hostsThe title LORD of Hosts in English invokes the idea of a Being that commands both the cosmos and spiritual beings.  All creation is ordered and marshaled by Him.  It is a title of the LORD which indicates His supreme creative omnipotence.

In Hebrew YHWH Seva’ot, is always plural, which in Hebrew does not necessarily mean more than two, but can indicate great, large or important.

“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory”.  Isa 6:3

 Common misunderstanding

There are some people who think and/or teach that the hosts of God are angelic forces.  They use Rev 12 as their proof text.

His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; Rev. 12:4

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The Angel of the LORD

sunset_rays_web_900x675The word for angel in the Hebrew can mean angel, messenger, or king, only the context decides the meaning.  But the Angel of the LORD is very different. He is clearly not an ordinary angel.  He is extraordinary. Unlike regular angels, if you can call an angel regular, the Angel of the LORD claims to be God [Ex  3:1-22], and He accepts worship [Judg. 13:16], no other angels ever makes these claims.  If worship is offered to them, they correct the person, and advice them to worship God. [Rev. 19:10; 22:9]. Where the Angel of the LORD lights the fire. [Judge 6:21]

The Angel of the LORD presented himself as no other.  Because of his unique behavior, scholars have come up with a more descriptive name,  The Pre Incarnate Christ.

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Dispensations, what are they?

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Dispensationalism posits distinct historical periods where God interacts uniquely with various groups, assigning separate laws to Jews and Gentiles. Most of these teachers have 7 dispensations, but I have seen as many as 21. They are always a multiple of 7. However, not all people who teach dispensations are dispensationalists. See Also: hermeneutics

We are not dispensationalist we are Historicists, we do not believe that God changes the way He is working. The way He did things in our past is the same way He will do them in the future. God is immutable and therefore does not change. His laws have passed away.

There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.” Ex. 12:49

But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one dot of the law to become void. Luke 16:17

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15 

Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. Rom. 3:31

Historicist Dispensation

We Historicists count 3 dispensations so far.

These three dispensations are distinct from each other. They have a pattern.

  • God reveals His plans and purposes, supported by many miracles.
  • Over time, God transmits less and less information until only a few people are listening.
  • It ends with 400 years of silence.

The Creation

The first one started with the creation. This is where the Creator made everything that exists. The miracle of creating everything from nothing, and all the information that came from this. The Creator gave the rules of planetary motion, DNA, and everything that is within those six days. Then, the fall, as sin entered to universe, man needed more information. The promise of the Redeemer was necessary. We see that the central characters of this dispensation were Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Joseph. Then, from Joseph to Moses, there were about 400 years of silence.

The Mosaic Law

The second dispensation emerged with the giving of the Torah to Moses and the people of Israel. The Torah offers vast amounts of information. We begin to have a better understanding of God’s plans and purposes. During this period, we see the prophets and kings bring small pieces of information here and there. Four hundred silent years occurred between Malachi and John the Baptist. This dispensation ended with the Messiah and the destruction of the Temple.

The Kingdom Age

The third dispensation began with Messiah announcing that the Kingdom had come. At the beginning, there was a lot of teaching and excitement, then came the tapering off during the Dark Ages. Occasionally, you will note some person or group popping up to keep truth alive, such as Peter Waldo, John Huss, John Wycliffe, and then the Reformers. Since then, we have experienced the silence.

The Millennium or New Jerusalem

We expect that a new dispensation is about to start. It will follow the same format. We assume copious amounts of information and performances of miracles will herald us into the return of the King.

FYI. We are pre-millennialists. However, we are aware that the Post-millennialist and the A-millennialist have very different ideas about what is coming. But we all agree that something or Someone is coming.

It will probably take 40 years to assimilate the new information or teaching, and we could really use those miracles, as this world is a mess. Regardless of whether Messiah himself will return to give us this new information as to God’s plans and purposes in a physical manner, or spiritual manner, we do not really know; only time will tell.

Speculation is fun, but it is all vapor.