DANGEROUS FALSE TEACHING ON PAUL: PART THREE

37). “Paul says it’s better to not get married like him. The Torah says otherwise. “It is not good for man to be alone”.

REBUKE: In 1 Corinthians 7:6-9, Paul states the following: “But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn”. 

Here, Paul is talking about the “spiritual gift” of “singleness” vs. the “spiritual blessing of marriage”. He says that “singleness” is a slightly higher spiritual calling than being married.

However, Paul doesn’t discount marriage but rather, upholds it. Paul is confirming that married souls are to “be as one flesh”, “one body”, “one soul” and “one mind” (more or less AFFIRMING Jesus’s words in Matthew 19:6 and Mark 10:9!) Paul says that some people are CALLED to be married, while OTHERS are NOT called to be married! And that’s very much TRUE, according to the bible! Look at Hosea, who was called to be married to a prostitute! And to Jeremiah, who was CALLED TO BE SINGLE ALL HIS DAYS!?

And when Paul is saying that he wished all men were like him, it was NOT for selfish, egotistical purposes as it might first appear on the surface. But rather, he was saying in his heart that he wished ALL men had “24/7” to devote to Christ and Christ’s gospel! For a married spouse is more concerned with “worldly things” (such as how to please their spouse, rather than how to please God!) However, like I said, Paul is NOT denouncing marriage. He talks all throughout 1 Corinthians 7 on the IMPORTANCE of marriage, about how two “become as one”, etc.

And as far as I can see, Paul gives a very easy descriptor of those that are “called” to marriage; they simply “can not control their lusts” for a very specific person of the opposite gender! For he says that those who are called to “singleness”, by CONTRAST, will, by the power of God, easily be able to DEFEAT any lustful thoughts or temptations and remain “pure” and live a “celibate lifestyle”. We also don’t know if Paul was NEVER married OR if he was at some point and was “widowed” by the time he was called to ministry! But what we DO know is that Paul is making some very clear “distinctions” between “married life” and “single life”.

38). “Paul’s teaching of abstinence above all lead to sexual immorality among church leaders for centuries, and it still continues”.

REBUKE: Paul did NOT preach “abstinence ABOVE ALL”. Lets re-examine 1 Corinthians 7:2 again! 1 Corinthians 7:2-5 says the following: “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency“. 

So in other words, Paul ONLY taught abstinence OUTSIDE of marriage. While INSIDE a marriage, Paul taught husbands and wives to GIVE SEXUAL AFFECTION TO ONE ANOTHER – for to do otherwise – in a MARRIAGE – was “sin” and giving a foothold to Satan! And true, several “religious leaders” over time HAVE taken Paul’s words OUT OF CONTEXT and started whole “religious movements of abstinence” (i.e. Catholic priests, Buddhist Monks, etc.) But that is NOT Paul’s fault!

If I myself were to write a memoir and people 100 years into the future misinterpreted what I said and started a “false religious movement” BASED off that MAJOR “misinterpretation” of MY written work, how would that be MY fault? Think about it, folks! Answer: It wouldn’t be! And just like it wouldn’t be MY fault but the misinterpreters’ own fault(s), neither is it Paul’s fault for “religious leaders” MISINTERPRETING his written words SEVERAL years after his death!

Also as well: how is Paul (now long dead) responsible for THEIR SEXUAL SINS *due* to their misinterpretation/false teaching OF his written words? If those same people who, 100 years from now, misinterpreted my written words then partook of a MAJOR sin DUE to that misinterpretation, would “I” (a person long dead by then) then be responsible for THEIR SINS? I think NOT! So it is with Paul!

39). “Paul says he, “being crafty, caught you with guile”.

REBUKE: Being “crafty” doesn’t necessarily mean that one is being “malicious” or “evil”. Let me think of an example. If a 19-year old boy still lives at home and has no job and his father is trying to get “junior” to get a job. So the father goes out and strategically and secretly places tree branches under junior’s tires to see rather or not junior had gone physically job-applying that day or not. And then, at the end of the day, the “sticks” were still in the same spot under junior’s tires, so the father KNEW his son had NOT gone physically job applying like he promised his father he would. The father, by non-evil “craftiness”, found his son “full of guile” and “deceit!”

And so it was with Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:16 in which Paul states, “But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile”.

So in other words, this is the moment in time when Paul (I’m assuming this is when Paul went to go back and “check” on a church he had originally planted, earlier?), being non-maliciously crafty (much like the “father” in the example above), found “deceit/guile” IN the church (the one he had planted or taught in, earlier?) When Paul says in the passage: “I DID NOT BURDEN YOU”, Paul is letting us know how much he LOVED this “church” that he was so-called “going back to check on/inquire about”. That tells me that the type of “crafty” Paul employed was NOT evil or malicious but yet, humble, loving and long-suffering.

Afterall, the father in the above example only LOVINGLY wants what’s BEST for his son, just like Paul only LOVINGLY wants what’s best for God’s people! “Caught you with guile”. OUCH! Think about those words, folks! Think about how it must’ve grieved Paul AT HIS VERY HEART to have to think, then to verbally SAY those words! Like, imagine in the example given up above when the father is FORCED to confront his son with the TRUTH that he’s discovered: “Junior! You LIED to me! You didn’t go job-applying like you told me you would!”

When and if junior tries to defend himself (just as I’m sure it’s likely the church tried to defend ITSELF against Paul’s accusation of “guile” being found among them – atleast at first, anyways), the father then would’ve had to say to his beloved son: “WITH CRAFTINESS, I CAUGHT YOU!” And then when he SHOWED “Junior” the PROOF of what he had found, “Junior” would’ve then had nothing to say for himself, just as the church would’ve had nothing to say for ITSELF once confronted with the PROOF that Paul had that THEY were full of deceit and guile!

40). “Paul says it’s OK to lie, as long as it leads people to Christ (Romans 3:7)”.

REBUKE: This one, like many before, was taken WAY OUT OF CONTEXT! Romans 3:7 states: “For IF the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?”

There, Paul is asking his congregants a philosophical question. Many at the time were persecuting Paul, calling him a false prophet, accusing him of lying and everything else under the sun. So Paul, in his defense, more or less asked the congregants a question of rational and deductive reasoning: “IF my lie caused the gospel of salvation to prosper and glorified God in the process, then why am I still judged as a sinner?“

In other words, Paul is saying between the lines that God is a God of truth and can NOT lie, so neither can HE, for it would serve NO THEOLOGICAL OR PRACTICAL PURPOSE! In another sense, he’s also implying that LIES can NOT prosper the gospel of salvation but if they ever do, it would serve the person telling the lie NO PURPOSE since that individual will have given all that “testimony of God” FOR NOTHING since they would be eternally judged as an “unrepentant sinner!” And Paul, as we know, was about as “religious” and “over-zealous” for Jesus/the gospel as one can GET!

Therefore, it stands to reason: if the gospel “so-called” prospered by Paul’s “so-calling” lying, and Paul KNEW he’d go straight to hell when he died, why would Paul put himself through all that? The threat of persecution, DEATH? The loss of “FINANCIAL SECURITY and PRESTIGE” among the Pharisees, the “loss of reputation and livelihood” among the Pharisees? Being HATED by MANY? He risked ALL THAT for a LIE? I don’t think so! A person ONLY risks all of those things if they were doing it for something or someone that they 100% BEYOND ALL SHADOW OF A DOUBT BELIEVE IN! Otherwise, a person would NOT risk everything for “said person” or “said thing”, that’s just human nature, folks! 

41). “Paul says to be all things to all people, a subtle doctrine of deceit”.

REBUKE: It’s NOT deceit to relate to people at their own pace and on their own level! 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 states: “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you”.

At first glance, it might appear as though Paul was trying to be “the master of disguises”. But that’s NOT what Paul was doing there. He was simply meeting them at their own spiritual pace, and on their OWN level! That would be no different than if I were to learn everything I possibly could about the Hindu religion before preaching about Christ to the Hindu! I would be doing myself a SERIOUS disservice if I knew nothing firsthand about the Hindu religion BEFORE preaching about Christ to the Hindu. Not to mention the Hindu themselves would also probably think: “Oh, so you think you’re better than me and that YOUR religion is better than MINE, do you? Away with you!”

But yet, if I LEARN everything I can about the Hindu religion BEFORE preaching Christ to the Hindu, I’d have a much better chance conversing with the Hindu about Christ! Plus the Hindu would then be more “receptive” to what I was saying about Christ, if they knew that “I” knew about their Hindu religion or where they were currently “at”. Paul met people where they are “at” and didn’t expect them to be at the “same pace” as HIM! He meant them at their own pace and didn’t try to FORCE them to do ANYTHING, other than to be receptive to Christ’s love for mankind during his sacrifice on the cross for our sins! Therefore, we can all learn ALOT from Paul and his preaching style!

42). “There are only 12 foundations on New Jerusalem, with the 12 disciples’ names written on them, Paul makes 13″.

Rebuke: Paul NEVER said or claimed to be “one of the 12!” In Galatians 1:12, Paul says: “For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ”. There, Paul is letting us know that he got his authority to “teach the gospel” from Christ HIMSELF! And though he called himself “apostle” and fellowshipped with the other apostles, he never ONCE called himself a member of the original 12! He also never assigned himself a number of any sorts! Therefore, since Paul NEVER claimed to be one of the 12, and NEVER claimed any “number”, he ALSO never claimed that his name was gonna be featured on one of the 12 foundations on New Jerusalem!

[Disclaimer: Judas Iscariot “betrayed” the Lord. So will the 12th foundation STILL have Judas’s name on it? Or will it be replaced by Matthias? Or could it POSSIBLY be replaced by Paul? We simply don’t know, folks! Only God The Heavenly Father knows!]

43). “There are only 12 gates leading into New Jerusalem, where’s Paul’s?”

REBUKE: The 12 FOUNDATIONS of the walls are composed of 12 apostle names while the 12 GATES are the names of JACOB’S 12 SONS! Therefore, Paul would NOT be named on ANY of the 12 GATES since the 12 GATES are named after Jacob’s 12 sons (Reuben, Judah, Joseph, Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulon, Naphtali, Levi, Asher, Gad, and Dan).

[Disclaimer: The tribe of Dan “disgraced the Lord” and was “cast out” – much like Judas Iscariot was. So will Dan STILL have a gate named after him? Or will it be replaced by Manasseh – Joseph’s younger son – whose tribe REPLACED Dan in the 12 tribes of Israel? Or will it instead possibly be named David after King David? Again, only God the Heavenly Father knows!]

44). “Paul quotes writings of Euripedes (406B.C.) and claims it to be the words of the Messiah (“kick against the pricks”)”.

REBUKE: The play called “Baccae” by Euripedes was written around 406B.C. while the letters of Paul are estimated to be written around 50 to 58A.D. – So yes. In retrospect, The Baccae by Euripedes was written FIRST, several hundred years before Paul’s gospels, sure. However – the Old Testament Jewish scriptures had been in circulation LONG BEFORE any “Greek play” hit the Earth. Therefore, it’s FAR more possible that Greek “plays” borrowed from the Old Testament scriptures, than the Old Testament scriptures borrowing from THEM! Therefore, if any New Testament writers borrowed from any Greek plays (who more than likely borrowed from Old Testament scriptures), then it wouldn’t mean much in retrospect.

Eusebius of Caesarea, wrote in his work “The Preparation of the Gospel”, and argued the case in great detail that Plato learned from Moses, etc., for instance. Plus we also knew that Luke was Paul’s personal secretary and was “Greek-educated”. So did Luke himself insert the words “kick against the pricks?” Quite possibly. But if so, did Luke do so with deceitful intentions? Ofcourse not. He may’ve possibly only did that so that the Greek “converts” to Jesus would have a much better, richer understanding of who Jesus the Messiah WAS! 

But regardless. Rather Paul and Luke borrowed from the ancient Greek play or not [and just for the record, I don’t think they did], it still doesn’t change the fact that A) Jesus appeared to Paul and that B) Jesus “commissioned” Paul to preach the gospel. And think about it folks, if Paul “lied” about his “spiritual visitation from the ressurected Jesus”, then why would he risk his LIFE, his REPUTATION, his FINANCES, his good, cushy societal standing in the synagogue/with Rome, etc. just to be “popular” among those he had previously severely persecuted/killed, knowing FULL WELL that now HE would now be A HUMAN TARGET at risk for being severely persecuted and possibly KILLED for his *newfound faith in Jesus?* That doesn’t make any sense, whatsoever!

Therefore, in conclusion, it’s FAR more likely that Paul REALLY DID have a supernatural experience with Jesus that filled him with SO MUCH DREAD/FEAR of going AGAINST Jesus (as he had previously done) to now desperately wanting to SERVE JESUS in any way he could, in order to save him FROM THE WRATH OF THE ONE HE HAD PREVIOUSLY PERSECUTED! And sure, it took him “three full days” to come to terms with what he had just seen and experienced. But think about it, folks. Think about if YOU had been Saul in that position and had had the total, divine visitation that he had had of the VERY THING you made an occupation out of PERSECUTING! Wouldn’t that also throw YOU for a “mental” and “spiritual’ loop for 2-3 days? Answer: it WOULD and anyone that says otherwise is most likely LYING! 

[P.S.: For a Modern-day human being to compare Jesus’s own words to the words of Euripedes is the HEIGHT of spiritual blasphemy! I pray that any and ALL modern-day souls who do that WILL REPENT!!!!!]

45). “Paul taught popular doctrines of stoicism instead of the law (deny the flesh)”.

REBUKE: In Acts 17:16-21, it states, “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)”

So in summary: Paul was waiting for some of his spiritual companions at Athens. He’s GRIEVED to discover that the city is wholly given over to IDOLATRY! Therefore, Paul starts speaking out AGAINST IDOLATRY! And the Hellenistic Epicureans and Stoics then become interested in Paul’s preaching for he seems to be preaching “a new thing” (salvation and faith in Jesus Christ, alone!) And much like Buddhism, stoicism tells its followers to “deny themselves physical pleasures – IN GENERAL – in order to attain a degree of higher spirituality”. 

Paul teaches ABSTINENCE OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE, while it may “appear” somewhat similar to stoicism and Buddhism at first glance –  is totally DIFFERENT from what the Stoics/Buddhists later taught! So I’m not seeing the point being made here…..? From what I can see in Acts 17, Paul was ANTI-STOIC…. 

46). “Paul has no witnesses to his conversion”.

REBUKE: Paul’s conversion story can be found in Acts Chapters 9, 22, and 26. Each account has slightly different literary details, yes. But one thing is consistent, all throughout. The two “witnesses” to Paul’s conversion are A) his traveling companions and B) a Christian man by the name of Ananias. Note: The internet is chalk FULL about the traveling companions of Paul AFTER his conversion. But not BEFORE his conversion. Those sources are a little bit more harder to come by. Nevertheless, if and when I find out who any of THOSE pre-conversion travel companions were of Paul’s, I will list and add them here. 

47). “The early Ebionite and Nazarene churches utterly rejected Paul as a false apostle”.

REBUKE: In Acts 24:5-6, it says: “For we [The Pharisees/Sanhedrin] have found this man [Paul] a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes: Who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took, and would have judged according to our law”.

Verses 14-15 then go on to say: “But this I [Paul] confess unto thee, that after the way [Ebionites] which they [The Jewish Pharisees] call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: And have hope toward God, which they [The Jewish Pharisees] themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust”.

And upon reading the ENTIRE chapter of Acts 24, it becomes readily apparent that only THE PHARISEES/SANHEDRIN reject Saul-turned-Paul as a “false apostle of/to the Jews”, NOT the Nazarenes or Ebionites!  

48). “The other disciples did not believe Paul was a disciple in Acts 9”.

REBUKE: Acts 9:26-28 states: “And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem“.

Translation? The 12 disciples (now included with Matthias in place of Judas?) weren’t sure if they could “trust” Paul’s “genuineness” at first. And that’s to be perfectly understandable. For imagine if a jihadist-Christian-beheading-RADICAL-MUSLIM, who had most recently been “indicted” for KILLING Christians, then had a seeming “change of heart” and walked into a MAJOR Christian church JUST THREE DAYS LATER and said: “I’ve had an encounter with Jesus, I want to co-pastor!” Imagine how ANY Christian pastor would IMMEDIATELY REACT! They would FEAR! They would likely say: “No! You’re not gonna kill me or my congregants! Get outta here before I call the cops! NOW!” Therefore, is it ANY WONDER that the 12 disciples who were with Jesus weren’t 100% sure at first if Paul was “trolling” them or not? Think about it, folks! 

49). “The true apostles did not defend Paul when he was imprisoned and questioned”.

REBUKE: Paul’s “imprisonment” is discussed in Acts chapters 24-28, Acts 16:23-24, Philemon 1:1-25, among possible other places in the New Testament that I’m not yet aware of. At VERY first scriptural glance, it DOES appear as though no-one defended Paul as he was being imprisoned and questioned.

However, in Acts 20:36-38, [RIGHT AFTER PAUL TELLS THEM HE’S ABOUT TO BE ARRESTED OVER IN JERUSALEM], it says: “And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship”.

Then again, in Acts 21:4 “And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem“.

And again in Acts 21:8-12 “And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem”.

Translation? Many of Paul’s friends (including some of disciples themselves, most likely) were WARNING PAUL NOT TO GO TO JERUSALEM, as to try to make Paul not get arrested! 

But in the next verse, in Acts 21:13-14, it says, “Then Paul answered, ‘What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done“.

Translation? Paul was “ready to die for Christ, if need be”. And once the disciples and Paul’s friends ACCEPTED that fact, they CEASED warning him about going to Jerusalem and all said in unison: “The will of the Lord be done”. In other words, the disciples and many of Paul’s followers tried to talk him OUT of going to Jerusalem, where they KNEW he’d be arrested and possibly killed. But Paul INSISTED on dying for Christ and couldn’t be persuaded otherwise, therefore, they [the disciples and others] were willing to “let go and let God”, as the saying goes. 

50). “Paul’s conversion story is almost identical to that of Pentheus, King of Thebes from the play titled Baccae, written 400 years earlier. Dionysus (instead of “Jesus”) is confronting his persecutor and states “You disregard my words of warning….and kick against the pricks, a man defying god”.

REBUKE: This one’s a “rehash” of number 44 on the list. Nevertheless, I will provide the same rebuke since number 44 and number 50 are practically one and the same:

The play called “Baccae” by Euripedes was written around 406B.C. while the letters of Paul are estimated to be written around 50 to 58A.D. – So yes. In retrospect, The Baccae by Euripedes was written FIRST, several hundred years before Paul’s gospels, sure. However – the Old Testament Jewish scriptures had been in circulation LONG BEFORE any “Greek play” hit the Earth. Therefore, it’s FAR more possible that Greek “plays” borrowed from the Old Testament scriptures, rather than the Old Testament scriptures borrowing from THEM! Therefore, if any New Testament writers borrowed from any Greek plays (who more than likely borrowed from Old Testament scriptures), then it wouldn’t mean much in retrospect.

Eusebius of Caesarea, wrote in his work “The Preparation of the Gospel”, and argued the case in great detail that Plato learned from Moses, etc., for instance. Plus we also knew that Luke was Paul’s personal secretary and was “Greek-educated”. So did Luke himself insert the words “kick against the pricks” specifically for his Greek-speaking audience? Quite possibly. But if so, did Luke do so with deceitful intentions? Ofcourse not! He may’ve possibly only did that so that the Greek “converts” to Jesus would have a much better, richer understanding of who Jesus the Messiah WAS! 

But regardless. Rather Paul and Luke borrowed from the ancient Greek play or not [and just for the record, I don’t think they did], it still doesn’t change the fact that A) Jesus appeared to Paul and that B) Jesus “commissioned” Paul to preach the gospel. And think about it folks, if Paul “lied” about his “spiritual visitation from the ressurected Jesus”, then why would he risk his LIFE, his REPUTATION, his FINANCES, his good, cushy societal standing in the synagogue/with Rome, etc. just to be “popular” among those he had previously severely persecuted/killed, knowing FULL WELL that now HE would now be A HUMAN TARGET at risk for being SEVERELY persecuted and possibly KILLED for his *newfound faith in Jesus?* That doesn’t make any sense, whatsoever!

Therefore, in conclusion, it’s FAR more likely that Paul REALLY DID have a supernatural experience with Jesus that filled him with SO MUCH DREAD/FEAR of going AGAINST Jesus (as he had previously done) that he was now, from that point forth, DESPERATELY wanting to SERVE JESUS in any way he could, in order to save him FROM THE WRATH OF THE ONE HE HAD PREVIOUSLY PERSECUTED! And sure, it took him “three full days” to come to terms with what he had just seen and experienced. But think about it, folks. Think about if YOU had been Saul in that position and had had the total, divine visitation that he had had of the VERY THING you made an occupation out of PERSECUTING! Wouldn’t that also throw YOU for a “mental” and “spiritual’ loop for 2-3 days? Answer: it WOULD and anyone that says otherwise is most likely LYING! 

[P.S.: To put Jesus’s name in QUOTATION MARKS and to compare him to DIONYSUS (a FALSE Greek “god”) is the HEIGHT of BLASPHEMY! Therefore, I pray that any and ALL souls who do that WILL REPENT!!!!!!] 

So folks, in COMPLETE SUMMARY, there you have it. The 50 reasons why we KNOW that Paul is a TRUE APOSTLE! Not OF the original 12 (which Paul NEVER claimed to be) but an “Apostle” nonetheless! 

DANGEROUS FALSE TEACHING ON PAUL: PART TWO

24). “Paul taught to follow your conscious, not the law”.

REBUKE:

I could be wrong but I believe what’s being referred to here is either Romans 2:11-16, which states:

“For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel”.

Or Romans 14:13-23, which says:

“Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. Let not then your good be evil spoken of: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.

Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin”.

Or quite possibly 2 Colossians 16:17 which states:

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ”.

Okay, in Romans 2:11-16, Paul is describing HOW Jesus Christ will judge souls on the Day of Judgement (in other words, Paul is describing Jesus’s judgement criteria as far as “spiritual hearts” go. So in other words, people who do things that are SINFUL according TO the law (but that had no knowledge of the law) will be judged accordingly. Those that only HEAR the law will NOT be counted as “justified” UNTIL they also start OBEYING the law (James 1: 22-25).

And when a person does NOT have the knowledge of the law of God but DOES things that are written in the law (i.e. honoring their elders/mother/father, taking care of their neighbors in time of need, helping to feed homeless people, putting other’s peoples’ needs above their own, etc.), THEY will be a law onto themselves (meaning, they will also be “justified”, just like the people who KNEW the law AND obeyed it will be justified?) There, Paul is not directly “against the law”. But is rather talking about HOW the law (in and of itself) is the “measuring stick” by WHICH we determine “sin”……if that makes any sense? 

In Romans 14:13-23, Paul is telling us that we are not to do anything to make fellow believers stumble. In other words, we are not to “judge” and “confuse them” when it comes to things like abstaining from certain meats, wine, etc. So in other words, if WE believe it’s forbidden to eat pork and another Christian does NOT, what Paul is saying in these verses is that we’re supposed to let them hash it out with God at their own pace, instead of trying to proverbially FORCE them not to eat pork anymore, since to do so wouldn’t be defined as true “Christian love” on our part, if that makes any sense?

We ALL come to God and come to a certain spiritual WALK with God at our OWN paces – therefore, to try to force EVERY believer to go at the SAME PACE as us is just – ungodly? You can’t FORCE it on them? Just like someone ELSE that knows that WE don’t eat pork should NOT eat pork in FRONT OF US! Etc. Also: If one knows pork is unclean and eats it anyways, etc. – what Paul is possibly suggesting there is that that particular person has then spiritually condemned themselves by their lack of faith *IN* THE (DIETARY) LAW(S?) Or is Paul talking about faith there in the last 4 verses and not food? 

And last but not least, 2 Colossians 16:17? Paul IS likely talking to the Gentiles there. Therefore, it DOES seem (at first glance) as though he’s saying that the Gentiles do NOT have to celebrate in the BIBLICAL holidays or BIBLICAL SABBATH. But is that REALLY what Paul is saying there? Let us examine this a bit further….Paul’s not directly telling Gentiles to NOT celebrate in the 7th Day Biblical Sabbath or Biblical Holidays. But rather, he’s likely telling the Gentiles to not let any Jewish soul judge them AS it pertained to the 7th Day Biblical Sabbath and Biblical holidays. (Or is Paul also addressing a “Jewish” audience, in which he’s telling Jews not to let any NON-Jew judge they, the Jew, IN their observing the 7th Day Biblical Sabbath and Biblical Feasts? We simply don’t know for 100% sure).

In other words, there were many over-zealous Jewish souls around the times of Paul that were more or less saying to all the Gentiles in their midst: “You HAVE to follow Jewish laws and precepts if you want to be saved/redeemed by God”. So what Paul was saying to the Gentiles is to NOT let those over-zealous Jewish souls judge THEM, the Gentile, AS it pertains to the biblical sabbath and feasts since to do so (on the Jewish soul’s part) would’ve been “ungodly” and “unrighteous”? 

On the flipside of that were likely some “over-righteous” Jewish souls that were NOT letting the Gentiles participate in the 7th Day “Jewish” Biblical Sabbath and the Biblical “Jewish” holidays. (As it still is to this day – many a Orthodox Jew today will label a “Messianic Jew/Judeo-Christian” as a SPIRITUAL CHARLATAN and will ESPECIALLY hate whenever a “Messianic Jew/Judeo-Christian” participates in “THEIR” *strictly Jewish* 7th Day Biblical Sabbath and Biblical Holidays! They will oftentimes be caught saying things such as: “Messianic Jews have NO SPIRITUAL RIGHT or REASON to participate in the 7th Day Sabbath and Jewish Biblical Holidays since they were made for JEWS, ONLY!” OUCH!) So perhaps Paul was addressing THEM, as well. But regardless, the whole point of Paul’s saying right there is that the Gentile was NOT supposed to let the non-Gentile judge THEM when it comes to “Jewish law” for ONLY Jesus Christ HIMSELF is the judge!

Paul was ALSO gently reminding the Gentiles that THE 7th Day Biblical Sabbath and Biblical Holidays were a shadow of things to come (i.e. Jesus was fulfilled IN some of the biblical feasts and WOULD someday be fulfilled in THE REST of the biblical feasts) and that ALL (Jew and Gentile alike) were the Body of Christ, the “church”, the “ekklesia!” So therefore, to HIGHLIGHT their differences was of “no effect” to the gospel and threw the gospel out of whack: “Love thy neighbor as yourself”. If that makes any sense. So in other words, Paul wasn’t telling them NOT to celebrate in “Jewish” biblical holidays, only that their FOCUS should be on Christ!  

But, regardless, I don’t really see any verses in the bible that would suggest that Paul is “against the law”. In fact, I see several verses to the contrary…..

In Acts 25:8, Paul says, “While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all”.

Romans 7:12 “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good”

Romans 3:31 “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”.

Romans 7:7-8 “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead”

Galatians 5:13-14 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”

Galatians 3:19 “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator”

Galatians 3:24-26 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus”.

25). “Paul says the law justifies, then says it doesn’t in the next chapter (Romans 2-3).

REBUKE: Romans 2:11-16 says: “For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel”

Romans 3:23-31 says: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law”.

Summary: In Romans chapter 2, Paul is saying that the law is what determines “sin” and that those who HEAR *and* OBEY the law will be “justified” and also that those people who do NOT have access to “the law” but of whom DO the law “naturally” in their lives (i.e. respect their elders/parents, put others’ needs above their own, helping people in need, etc.) will ALSO be “justified?” However, those who “sin” (without the law) and those who KNOW the law but still sin will be “judged” according TO the law. And in Romans chapter 3 in the next chapter, Paul is saying that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross FULFILLED the law and that faith IN Jesus’s propitiation FOR our “sins” on the cross is what “justifies” us, IN ADDITION to being to a hearer AND doer of the law? In other words, salvation comes by grace through faith PLUS “faith-filled obedience (to the law?)”

26). “Paul added to and took away from the WORD in stereotypical Pharisee fashion”.

REBUKE: We know from the scriptures that THE WORD of God is JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF! Therefore, the bible (in and of itself) is considered THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD! And true, various “scrolls” of written scriptures were around during the time of Paul’s time on Earth…..However, I’m not sure if what’s being alluded to here is the WRITTEN Word of God (the scriptures, in and of themselves) or if it’s specifically referring to THE WORD OF GOD (JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF!) But I’m gonna assume that what’s meant here is referring to JESUS/YESHUA, THE WORD OF GOD! 

Okay, first of all, before we dive into this one, we got to keep ONE thing in mind, here and that’s THIS: Acts 15 had them deciding that PETER should be LEAD APOSTLE to THE JEWS while PAUL should be the LEAD APOSTLE to THE GENTILES! PETER and all the OTHER apostles focused their “preaching” from the “Kingdom Perspective” of Jesus Christ (the point of time while Jesus was still on the Earth) while PAUL focused HIS preaching style from the “Resurrected Christ Perspective” (AFTER Jesus had been resurrected from the dead). Therefore, there’s a slight difference of preaching style/perspective that makes it APPEAR as though the two styles CONTRADICT each other but in essence, they really don’t, for they are both TWO pieces of the SAME GOSPEL PUZZLE! 

That being said, lets dig a little deeper into this. There are definitely some places in the bible where Paul’s words “seem” to “contradict” the words of Jesus. But lets examine this further:

• In 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11, 1 Timothy 2:7 and 2 Timothy 1:11, Paul uses the word “teacher” to describe various “offices” carried on within the “ekklesia”/”the church”/”the body of Christ”. 
• This “appears”, at first glance, to contradict Jesus’s words in Matthew 23:8 in which Jesus says, “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren”.

“Rabbi”, ofcourse, is the Hebrew word for “teacher” or “master”. However, Jesus and Paul are talking about two totally different concepts here, when it comes to the word for “teacher!” Paul is ofcourse using the term “teacher” in a very casual, loose sense. We all have different spiritual gifts, talents and “callings” in order to help spread the gospel of salvation upon the Earth, do we not? Some people are good at art, others are good at writing or philosophy. And yet others are good at preaching, teaching, caretaking, movie producing, etc. Therefore, what PAUL is referring to in those passages is the “spiritual GIFT/TALENT” of being a teacher, or of “being called by Jesus to become a teacher/instructor of the scriptures” and NOT the actual high, religious “TITLE” of being a rabbi/teacher! 

Jesus, on the other hand, IS referring to the high, religious “title” of any “human man” but HIMSELF being a “Teacher/Rabbi”, one who does so in order to “gain notoriety/prestige”, “to be seen as wise by others”, “to be seen/admired/highly respected by men”. (Book of Matthew, Chapter 23). Notice the difference there, folks? Nevertheless, Jesus more or less commanding people NOT to be called Rabbi or Master doesn’t “negate” the spiritual gift/talent of teaching, in and of itself but rather suggests that “teachers” of the written word are supposed to be HUMBLE about it, NOT calling themselves “Master or Rabbi” and NOT BEING LIKE the “rabbis” of Jesus’s day, clamoring for the official, RELIGIOUS “title” of “teacher”/”master” and what not (talked about in Matthew 23).

In 1 Timothy 2:7, Paul calls himself “a teacher of the Gentiles”, yes. However, Paul is NOT calling himself “teacher” in the official titled religious sense of “Rabbi” or “Master” but rather in the GIFT/TALENT/CALLING of teaching sense. In that passage, Paul is letting us know that he was ORDAINED by Jesus to teach. That is, he’s telling us right there that Jesus spiritually “gifted him” with the gift/talent/calling of “teaching” the Gentiles – though Paul means it more in a humble, loving, instructional way, NOT in a “holier-than-thou”/”Pharisee” type way…..Because please remember in liu of Acts 15, that Peter was put “in charge” of “teaching” the Jews, while Paul was put “in charge” of teaching the Gentiles. Make sense? Therefore, is it REALLY unfair that Paul “called” himself as such? He was only likely reiterating what the OTHER apostles/disciples were calling him around that time.  

Okay, lets examine a few more……

In 1 Corinthians 4:15, PAUL says: “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel”

In Matthew 23:9-10, JESUS says: “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ”.

In the above passage, Paul is suggesting that there are many, many, many “teachers/preachers” of the scriptures but that NOT very many OF those “teachers/preachers” are doing it for the RIGHT spiritual motives. In other words, I believe Paul is suggesting that MOST teachers/preachers of the scriptures back in THOSE days (and perhaps even today) was/are doing it for the “notoriety” and nothing more, putting their own selfish needs FOR notoriety/recognition/validation/attention/monetary gain ABOVE the “spiritual needs” of others to HEAR the gospel in its true, unadulterated FORM – and that ONLY those teachers/preachers who FOREVER HAD/HAVE THE “LOST SHEEP” IN MIND AS THEY PREACHED and that HUMBLY put others’ spiritual needs BEFORE their very OWN can be considered LIKE a “caring father” who cares for “his children”. 

In the 2nd part of the passage, I believe Paul is just letting us know that He was ORDAINED by Jesus Christ to “teach” the gospel unto to the Gentiles – and that LIKE a father “inherits” children (either biological, adopted or step), so has HE Paul “inherited” the Gentiles THROUGH the gifting/calling OF teaching that was ORDAINED by Jesus Christ! Paul is NOT referring to himself as “Father” in the OFFICIAL RELIGIOUS TITLE SENSE OF THE WORD! Otherwise, Paul would’ve said: “Call me Father Paul”. But NOWHERE in the bible does Paul say that! 

Jesus ofcourse, in the next passage, is telling us NOT to call any human man “Father” or “Master” in the SPIRITUAL SENSE for ONLY HE and The HEAVENLY FATHER are endowed to such spiritual “titles”. Think of the Catholics today that call their priests “Father”. Think of Buddhist Monks or Mormons or Masons who call their leaders “Master”. Those practices fly DIRECTLY in contradiction to the Holy Scriptures where Jesus tells us NOT to do that very thing!  

Okay, moving on…….

In 1 Timothy 5:17-18, Paul says, “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward”.

In 1 Corinthians 9:11-12, Paul says, “If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ“.

JESUS says in Matthew 10:7-8 “And as ye go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give”. 

In 1 Timothy 5:17-18, I do NOT believe Paul is taking about “monetary rewards” but rather, ETERNAL REWARDS! And in 1 Corinthians 9:11-12, Paul is saying that he and the other disciples have the “technical” power to “take money/material possessions from God’s people” as a sort’ve “occupational tribute”……However, Paul is saying that he and the other disciples have NOT used their power and influence to do so, since, if they DID, that would actually HINDER THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, which Paul and the other apostles DON’T want to do! And in Matthew 10:7-8, Jesus is saying that being payed to preach the gospel is NOT necessary since the gospel is FREE! This in no way, shape or form contradicts what Paul said about choosing NOT be paid for the gospel; it actually goes hand in hand with what Jesus said, concerning the matter! 

27). “Paul caused confusion and 50,000 Christian “denominations”.

REBUKE: In 1 Corinthians 1:10-15, Paul says the following: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name”. 

Here, Paul is CALLING OUT four different “factions” within the Corinthian church! So we can clearly see that Paul is AGAINST “factions!”  And sure, we could say that, at times, Paul appears somewhat to be “perplexing” in the bible at first glance. But he always expounds on what he means in later passages and further explanations. And much like Paul, Jesus was the same way! Jesus ALSO had to later explain what HE meant by things alot of times as well, as he spoke in parables!

Now…..that being said. Did Jesus and/or the Holy Spirit “purposely” design some of Paul’s sermons/letters as “minorly confusing” so that people would think and pray and meditate on them more, rather than just automatically taking them at face value from the get-go? Possibly. But we shouldn’t ever use the “Paul is confusing, therefore, he’s a false prophet” argument because please remember that JESUS HIMSELF was oftentimes “confusing” as well – SO confusing at times that even his OWN DISCIPLES didn’t know what the heck He was saying! (Matthew 24:3). 

As far as “Christian denominations” go, Paul was calling out FOUR “factions” in HIS day and DENOUNCING THEM! It was in fact, THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (IN AND OF ITSELF) AND THE REFORMATION DURING THE MIDDLE AGES that produced TONS OF DENOMINATIONS! The Roman Catholic Church didn’t really take off until 1097 or so A.D., while the apostle Paul is said to have been put to death by Emperor Nero in 64-67A.D.! And the Reformation happened during the Middle Ages! 

28). “Paul caused lawlessness among so many that it is added to him until this day“.

REBUKE: Okay, this one is kind’ve weird and I fail to see what actual scriptural passages this one is referring to….? Nevertheless, one of the things that Paul PREACHED ON was lawlessness (ESPECIALLY as it pertains to THE SON OF PERDITION/THE MAN OF LAWLESSNESS).

This is evident in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 in which Paul says: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God”. 

The passage goes on, verses 7-12:

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness“.

Lets take a closer look at 2 Thessalonians 2:9: “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders“.

That parallels Revelation 13:13-14 which states, “And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live”.

So in other words, Paul was preaching about THE LAWLESSNESS OF THE ANTICHRIST! In summary, Paul preached ON lawlessness and the “lawless one”/”son of perdition”, but didn’t HIMSELF embody it from what I can see from the scriptures. Did Paul maybe make mistakes from time to time? Sure. But then again, ALL apostles did, even Peter! Not to mention the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, David, Moses, Noah and Jacob! NONE of those guys were perfect, therefore, why does one expect Paul to be perfect? It begs of question! The only one who IS perfect is ofcourse, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF! All others fall short of “perfection”. Because unlike Jesus Christ/Yeshua who was born WITHOUT SIN, ALL the patriarchs were born into sinful human flesh! 

As for how lawlessness could be “added” unto Paul, EVEN TO THIS DAY? I believe Paul is being confused with none other than SATAN! For ONLY Satan is credited with “lawlessness for eternity” (“even unto this day”), as it were!  

29). “Paul doesn’t pass the prophet test of Deuteronomy 13”.

REBUKE: We all know that a “false prophet” is someone who preaches “another gospel” that is different from the gospel of salvation IN Jesus Christ. However, Deuteronomy 13 is all about the Old Testament laws that stated that the Jews were supposed to immediately stone someone if that person just merely “suggested” worshipping OTHER gods!

Anyways, in Acts 14:11-18, the scriptures DO record “Pagan worshipers” attempting to worship Paul AND Barnabus as “gods”. But lets read the ENTIRE verses IN CONTEXT:

“And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.

Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, THEY RENT THEIR CLOTHES, and ran in among the people, crying out, And saying, ‘Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should TURN FROM these vanities unto the living God,

which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness’. And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them”.

Translation? The people wanted to WORSHIP Paul and Barnabas and when Paul and Barnabas HEARD of it, they RENT their clothes. That means to say, they TORE THEIR OWN CLOTHES TO BITS! That’s what the Jews DID back in ancient biblical times when they were GRIEVED IN THEIR SOULS ABOUT SOMETHING! Therefore, both Paul and Barnabas were GRIEVED IN THEIR SOULS when they heard that the people wanted to “worship” them and acted accordingly! For if Paul and Barnabas had WANTED the people to worship them, they would’ve GLADLY accepted to be “worshiped” but they DIDN’T! They ONLY wanted the true, LIVING God (the God of the bible) to be worshiped! 

And in Acts 19:26-27, it says: “Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth”.

Translation? Paul was actually turning lots of people in Ephesus/etc. AWAY from IDOL WORSHIP/WORSHIP OF other “gods” (like “Diana”, etc.). 

So from what I can see in the scriptures, Paul in no way, shape or form encourages worship of ANY other “god”, other than JESUS CHRIST, the one true living God! So yes, Paul does INDEED pass the “prophet test of Deuteronomy 13!” 

30). “Paul’s doctrines can not be confirmed by 2-3 witnesses”.

REBUKE: I’m pretty sure what this is referring to is 2 Corinthians 13:1 which states, “This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established“. 

Okay, we first have to understand that there’s SEVERAL words/verses throughout the bible that have “double meaning”. And in THIS case, I believe the word “witnesses” to have double meaning. On the one hand, it could mean DIRECT HUMAN witnesses, yes. But on another hand, it could mean SCRIPTURAL WITNESSES! So for example: If there’s a passage about baptism being required and a person finds one or two other scriptures that say the same thing, that would mean there were 1-2 other “witnesses” about baptism and that the commandment of baptism would then be “established”. Does that make any sense?

And there’s quite alot of places in the bible that CONFIRM what Paul is saying. Let us examine a few……

In 1 Corinthians 2:13, Paul says: “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual”.

And in Galatians 1:12, Paul says: “For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ”.

In John 17:14 and John 17:17, Jesus says: “I have given them thy word……” and “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth“. Therefore, Jesus is CONFIRMING what Paul later said in Corinthians and Galatians! 

In Romans 13:9, Paul says: “For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”.

In Matthew 22:37-41, Jesus says: “…..Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”.

Therefore, Jesus is CONFIRMING what Paul later said in Romans 13:9! And I think the reason that Paul didn’t mention the first commandment is because by Paul’s time, it was well-established and well-determined in the “Christian” and “Jewish” community that they weren’t supposed to worship ANY other “god(s)”, and that there was only ONE true God, therefore Paul didn’t feel the need to mention it, since the people of God ALREADY KNEW?

However, in the Roman Empire Christian community, the main “sins” the people struggled with were apparently adultery, murder, stealing, lying, envy, etc. Therefore, that’s why Paul “zeroed-in” on THOSE “sins” and left others out? But then Paul gives them a summary about how all the “sins” the Roman Empire Christians struggled with was more or less summed up in ONE sentence by their FAILURE to do ONE thing: “….and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself“. 

So Jesus CONFIRMS what Paul later says on alot of things. But if JESUS HIMSELF isn’t a good enough 2nd witnesses for Paul’s doctrines, there’s more:

Galatians 2:7-10 states: “But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do”.

So there, Paul was CONFIRMED by Jesus AND all the apostles! So folks, there’s your 2-3 witnesses to CONFIRM Paul’s doctrines! 

31). “James 3 seems to be directly teaching against Paul personally”.

REBUKE: I can only surmise that this is talking about James 3:13-15, which states: “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish“. 

Okay, notice here that James is talking to the ENTIRE CONGREGATION when he says: “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your HEARTS….” In other words, James is calling out members of the entire congregation for their “envy” and “strife”, reminding them that it’s “earthy, sensual and devilish” while ALSO reminding them that any professed “wise men” endued with knowledge AMONG THEM must show forth his spiritual wisdom “humbly” with “meekness”/a “humble spirit”. That in no way, shape or form is a direct attack on Paul but rather, a general warning to anyone in the congregation who “thinks” he’s a “wise men endued with knowledge”. If that makes any sense? For please remember that MANY in the congregation back in those days thought themselves as “learned wise men”. 

In conclusion, I don’t think James chapter 3 is in any way, shape or form talking about Paul personally but is rather talking about what a true “instructor”/”preacher” of the gospel should BE LIKE! For remember that there were MANY FALSE TEACHERS floating around during the times of Paul and the apostles! Therefore, the apostles often preached ABOUT false teachers (in general) so the congregations would know what types of things to look out for in false teachers! (Not to mention that James was ALSO warning people that they needed to “bridle their tongue” for the tongue has the power of both blessings and cursings!) 

32). “Paul says that works are “useless” for salvation, James (one of the 12) says the opposite”.

REBUKE: Paul and James actually AGREE on the merits of faith and works for salvation when read in CONTEXT……In summary, they both agree that salvation is by grace through faith plus obedience. Let us examine….

Romans 3:28 says: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” [PAUL]

James 2:24 says: “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” [JAMES]

While Paul seems to be fighting against a wrong view of WORKS, James seems to be arguing against a wrong view of FAITH. James seems to be saying that we’re justified by faith AND works, while Paul seems to be saying that we’re justified by FAITH, only! However, what Paul is referring to there in the 2nd part of Romans 3:28 is “faithless works”; works that are done WITHOUT FAITH, or works that are done for all the WRONG REASONS/SPIRITUAL MOTIVES! Paul is not discounting the law or works (in and of themselves) but is rather talking about how one is justified by a faith completed in righteous works for all the RIGHT REASONS????? 

It’s interesting to note that BOTH James and Paul quote from Genesis 15 and 22 on the basis of Abraham’s FAITH. Genesis 22 talks about the point in time when Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac, while Genesis 15 focuses on God’s promise to Abraham to “multiply his descendants”. Yet, in BOTH of those examples, Abraham’s FAITH is COMPLETED by “righteous works”. In Genesis 15, Abraham doesn’t just merely “believe” God’s promises but ACTS in accordance to those promises (i.e. likely telling others and Sarah about the promises of God and ACTING as though he was a man who would soon have many descendants someday, etc.) And in Genesis 22, Abraham ACTED on his faith in God by PHYSICALLY PREPARING HIS SON ISAAC FOR SACRIFICE! 

So in other words, what both Paul AND James are both saying is that RIGHTEOUS FAITH THAT IS ACTED UPON is what “justifies” a person, and NOT just faith alone or works/the law alone! Make sense? 

33). “1 John Chapter 2 and 3 seem to warn against Paul as a false teacher”.

REBUKE: Though the apostle John briefly touches upon what type of spirit constitutes an “antichrist”, (for please remember that there were many antichrist “spirits” back in those days – as well as TODAY) his main points in those chapters seemed to be about “loving your neighbor as yourself” and “keeping the commandments”. 

But let us zero on the “antichrist qualities” that John talks about in 1 John 2:18-19, and verses 22-23, respectively: 

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” [verses 18-19]

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also”.  [verses 22-23]

And also in verses 1 John 3:14-15, respectively:

“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” [verses 14-15]

Okay, let us just once again zero in on ONE verse: 1 John 2-22 which states: “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son”.

Now WHERE in the bible do we see Paul DENYING Jesus or “hating someone without cause” AFTER his conversion? Anywhere? Anywhere in the New Testament a’tall? No? YES, the apostles CONSTANTLY WARNED about the “antichrist spirit” but I doubt they had a particular person in mind, other than “Simon the sorcerer”, perhaps. What’s IMPORTANT to note here is that John is very likely talking about “false teachers” IN GENERAL – He doesn’t name any off by name! If it WERE Paul that John was referring to, John would’ve no doubt NAMED HIM! John would’ve wanted to make 100% SURE that the people of God knew the “false teacher” BY NAME! 

And like I said, there is not ONE PASSAGE of scripture where Paul DENIES Jesus Christ or hates on someone (AFTER his conversion) that I can see. NOT ONE! Yes, there IS a case of where Paul doesn’t agree that a certain companion (John Mark) should come with him and Barnabas on a SECOND mission voyage (Acts 15:36-40). But nowhere did it say that Paul HATED that guy! It just implies that Paul was simply “unsure” about the guy going on the SECOND missionary trip, since, during an EARLIER mission trip (talked about in Acts 13), John Mark “abandoned” Paul and Barnabas and “returned to Jerusalem” (Acts 13:13). 

And what Paul was BEFORE he came to a saving knowledge in Jesus Christ DOES NOT MATTER! For IN the ressurected Christ Jesus/Yeshua, Paul was “made anew”. This echoes Isaiah 43:19 which states: “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert”.

34). “Paul taught that Messiah doesn’t come in the flesh, but in the “likeness” of flesh, a doctrine specifically stated to be an “antichrist” doctrine according to 1 John 4. “The likeness of men” and “the appearance as a man” are how Paul describes the Messiah”.

REBUKE: 1 John 4:1-3 states: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world”.

Okay, so in summary, John is saying that whoever does NOT confess that Jesus came “in the flesh” is that “spirit of antichrist”. So this is easy. Did Paul EVER say ANYWHERE in the bible that Jesus Christ did NOT come in the flesh? Let us examine what Paul DID say about Jesus coming – or not coming – in the flesh, shall we? Philippians 2:5-11 states: 

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

Okay, so right there in those passages, Paul is CONFESSING that Jesus Christ came in the flesh! And not only that but GLORIFYING JESUS TO THE FULLEST!

[Note: perhaps the anti-Pauliners are reading from a DIFFERENT bible version other than the King James Version? Because please remember that all the NEWER bible translations CHANGED, ERASED AND REMOVED THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF WORDS, from the NEW King James Version and on! Like, believe me, I GET the temptation to read “newer” bible versions, thinking that maybe they’re easier to understand than the King James Version, which is written in a type of Shakespearean-type format. But folks: if Revelation 22:18-19 warns AGAINST adding, removing [or changing words – if you read between the lines] and there were VERY, VERY dire warnings against all those who did/do so – ESPECIALLY bible PUBLISHERS – then doesn’t it stand to reason that we should ALL stick with the LEAST ALTERATED SCRIPTURES – the King James Version? If there’s a passage you don’t understand, fast and pray about it! The Lord will reveal the answer to you! The “newer” bible versions were PURPOSELY ALTERATED TO LEAD MANY ASTRAY! Satan knows no bounds, folks!!!]

35). “Paul testifies he was kicked OUT of the church of Asia (Ephesus). Ephesus was then rewarded in the Book of Revelation for kicking out a false apostle”.

REBUKE: In Acts 19-Acts 20:13, Paul is “stationed” at Ephesus, preaching onto the Jews AND Gentiles in those quarters. He stays there for a period of THREE YEARS! He is welcomed with open arms by the disciples in Ephesus and treated like a “brother and instructor in the faith”. In fact, some of the Pagans in Ephesus were starting to get PISSED at Paul FOR Paul’s preaching against IDOLS and IDOL WORSHIP (i.e. worship of other false “gods” made of stone, silver, wood, etc., SPECIFICALLY that of “Diana”….)

And towards the END of Paul’s stay there in Ephesus, they (THE IDOL WORSHIPPING PAGANS) wanted to round him up and kill/arrest/torchure him? (Acts 19:29-31). In Acts 20:16, it says, “For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost“.

Translation? Paul was NOT kicked out of the church in Ephesus. But rather, he PLANTED the church in Ephesus. He was there for a good THREE YEARS! At the end of the three years, he wanted to try to hurry and get back to Jerusalem for the Day of Pentecost! And folks, lets face it, Paul likely faced FAR MORE PERSECUTION POTENTIAL IN JERUSALEM THAN IN EPHESUS! For remember that the bible calls Jerusalem as the city that STONED THE PROPHETS! While Paul wasn’t considered a  “Prophet” or “one of the 12”, he was definitely one of the Lord’s messengers. Therefore, if the PROPHETS didn’t have an easy time in Jerusalem, what makes anyone think that the Lord’s messengers and/or Lord’s people would? Think about it. 

And in the first epistle to Timothy, Paul is more or less leaving Timothy as a “deacon” in the church in Ephesus. John was also a part of the church in Ephesus. So…..if Paul was declared a “false prophet”, wouldn’t Timothy and John have been declared “false prophets” as well, since they FELLOWSHIPED with Paul? Think about it folks…..Plus wouldn’t have Timothy and John have declared Paul a false prophet BY NAME? Several of the OTHER false prophets were “named” – therefore, why wouldn’t Paul be named, if he were a “false prophet?” Think about it, folks!  

36). “Paul taught the eating of food sacrificed to idols, an act CONDEMNED in the Book of Revelation, chapter 2”.

REBUKE: I believe what’s being referred to here is 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, which states:

“Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him. As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend”.

Translation? Paul is acknowledging that there were TWO groups of “Christian thought” at the time, AS it pertained to eating foods sacrificed to idols. One “Christian group” saw it as a “sin”, while the other “Christian group” was more “non-chalant” about it and didn’t think eating food sacrificed to idols was that much of a “big deal” since they KNEW there was only ONE true God and since they WORSHIPED the one, true God and saw the idols as “nothing of consequence”. 

And Paul, as we know, was CONSTANTLY trying to “keep the peace” between the Jewish AND Christian communities. So in the above passage, Paul seems to agree with BOTH of them. On the one hand, he’s agreeing with the Christians who see idols as “nothing”. But on the OTHER hand, he’s agreeing with the other group as well when he tells the “idols-are-nothing-in-and-of-themselves” group that they should NOT eat food sacrificed to idols, since they might cause the “weaker” brothers and sisters from either group A or group B to “stumble”. 

So….while one could possibly argue that Paul didn’t seem (at first) to make a CLEAR 100% stance one way or the other rather Christians should eat food sacrificed to idols or not, Paul DID tell them that they (in retrospect) should NOT eat food sacrificed to idols! Therefore, Paul is actually ALIGNED with Revelation 2, which FORBIDS the eating of foods sacrificed to idols. 

[Please continue on to PART THREE for the rest….]

Why ALL Statues are IDOLS (Biblically-Speaking)

Folks, there’s most recently been a controversy in which extreme leftists have wanted to TEAR DOWN all CONFEDERATE statues based on RACE, ALONE! 

And while many Christians out there in the South are PROTESTING taking down the statues, there’s a MUCH BIGGER picture here at play folks and that’s THIS:

ALL “STATUES” ARE **IDOLS!** Yes, you heard me. **IDOLS**. How we know this? Let us go no further than the 2nd commandment in the bible, which states the following:

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” – [Exodus 20: 4-5]

Okay, so let us define what a “graven image” is, biblically-speaking. It is simply an “image made by the hands of man”. And that “image” (in order to be classified as an “idol”, biblically speaking) must represent a thing or a person that is under the Earth, on the Earth or above the Earth.

Therefore, ALL STATUES comply with all the categories of an IDOL (biblically-speaking):

1. It’s an “image” or “representation” made with mans’ hands
2. It’s an “image” or “representation” of a person/thing that’s under/on/above the Earth
3. Mankind often “marvels” over such “statues” and “takes picture of it” or with themselves BY it, which qualifies as a form of “worship”, according to the bible. Because remember: to “marvel” over something is to “worship it”, biblically-speaking

Therefore, I think ALL STATUES should come down. Not so much because of the race or history thing, but because of the IDOL THING! Think about how many Catholics, for instance, BOW DOWN to “statues” of “saints” (DEMONS) or The “Pope” or what have ya. Many people say that statues of Catholic saints are IDOLS, yet statues of historical figures are NOT.

But HOW is that, folks? How is a man-made STATUE of an historical figure ANY DIFFERENT than all the statues of Catholic saints? Don’t people (in a sense) bow down to and WORSHIP statues of historical figures by TAKING PICTURES OF IT or taking pictures of themselves RIGHT BY IT? Think about it, folks! 

I’m honestly surprised that more Christians out there haven’t picked up on this and started more of a “fuss” about this. When the VERY FIRST “statues” (i.e. IDOLS) were put up of historical figures, how IS it that most Christians out there weren’t PROTESTING THEM, THEN? Answer: Because they were SPIRITUALLY BLIND! 

Satan had it SO EASY on this, folks! One little statue HERE, one little statue THERE and many Christians were NONE THE WISER! How sad, folks! How PITIFUL! What a SPIRITUAL SHAME that more Christians have not been able to open up their eyes and SEE THIS SIMPLE FACT!

Many Christians today even want to CLING to those statues as “vestiges of human history”. And while it’s true that human history should never be forgotten (lest it be repeated, once again), I just don’t think that clinging to STATUE IDOLS is the way to go about it, SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING! 

Most of us wouldn’t want or have idols in our HOMES! So why should we want any STATUE IDOLS in the PUBLIC SQUARE? Think about it, folks! A 10 commandments monument is ONE thing! A STATUE (i.e. GRAVEN IMAGE IDOL) of an historical figure is another thing, altogether! 

And folks, it’s NOT JUST statues of historical figures that are IDOLS/GRAVEN IMAGES (the statue of liberty’s DEFINITELY AN IDOL – like it or not), but it can also be things like statues of cats, dogs, fish, ANYTHING. It doesn’t necessarily have to BE a statue of a “Buddha” or the like to BE an “idol”, BIBLICALLY-SPEAKING. Do you read me on this, folks?????

Anyways, it just breaks my heart and makes me so, so sad that many Christians are BLIND as to exactly WHAT an idol is (it’s a heck of alot more than just a Buddha or a wax museum figurine of somebody famous). When are people gonna open up their eyes and see this fact? 

I pray that if you’re a Christian/Messianic Jew who doesn’t yet see the BIBLICAL TRUTH about statues, that you soon WILL. I also pray that ALL statues will start to come down, soon. Again, not for the LIBERAL REASONS stated but for BIBLICAL REASONS! Cause then, and only then might almighty God have just a little more “patience” with this nation if we start tearing down statues (IDOLS/GRAVEN IMAGES) for all the RIGHT reasons (BIBLICAL REASONS) instead of all the WRONG reasons!

Folks, we (America) are a nation of IDOL WORSHIPERS (statues at every which corner/public square), MURDERERS (abortion, etc.), WHOREMONGERS (homosexuality/transgenderism/pre or extra marital sex), BLASPHEMERS and THIEVES. But even if we (as a nation) were to get rid of just ONE of those things (for all the RIGHT biblical reasons), the Lord would be partially pleased. Did you know that, people? Do you CARE? 

But yet, the bible says that won’t happen anytime soon. America will have to FALL TO ITS KNEES before many of its own citizens will repent. And EVEN THEN, many will have a TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART towards Jesus and his commands in the bible!

Remember how all the ancient Greeks and Romans had STATUES at every corner and all over their “public squares?” Today’s times aren’t so different now, are they? True, people might not PHYSICALLY bow down and “worship” the statues of historical figures in the essence of: “Oh President Lincoln, I worship thee GREATLY“, but that’s because people do so IN THEIR HEARTS!

Like I said, they take PICTURES of the “statues” (graven images) or take pictures of THEMSELVES by the “statues”…..But again, exactly WHERE does that motivation truly come from? WHAT or WHOM gives them the very “thought” IN THE FIRST PLACE that they should take a picture OF it or with themselves BY it? Who or what, INDEED?

Can you IMAGINE Jesus back in the day telling any of his disciples (had the technology existed back then) to “snap” a pic of Roman statues or with themselves in front of one/by one? OFCOURSE NOT! Therefore, if a disciple HAD done that (had the technology existed back then), Jesus would’ve IMMEDIATELY denounced it as IDOLISM (which, it clearly IS!) 

And you don’t think Jesus Christ considers that a form of “worship”, folks? Trust me, he considers it WORSHIP…….And that applies EVEN TO STATUES OF HIMSELF…….He doesn’t even want us “worshiping” or “marveling” over statues of HIM…….Therefore, do you REALLY think he’d want any of us “worshiping” or “marveling” over a statue of historical figures or the like? THINK ABOUT IT, FOLKS!

[NOTE:  hope this post has both enlightened and informed you about THE TRUTH about all “STATUES”. May you NO LONGER be deceived by Satan and his demons! Amen.] 

 

 

 

 

 

Strongholds: What’s YOURS?

I’ve most recently come across a most powerful Christian sermon about strongholds.

“Ah”, I thought. “I know what a stronghold is……it’s this dire need to hold onto something……some sin or ‘indulgence’ that a Christian person refuses to give up in their lives”.

Well, that’s only PART of the definition……A stronghold is defined as “a place that has been fortified so as to protect it against attack”. However, there can be GOOD strongholds or BAD strongholds, depending. Therefore, which one do YOU have?

Let us examine. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. Translation? Nobody’s perfect. Which means we ALL have our “strongholds” in our lives……those things/sin(s)/people which we’re refusing to give up. And most of the time, we don’t even REALIZE it’s a “stronghold” to begin with!

Examples?

• A love of food or certain kinds of food (especially when it gets to the point of obsession)
• A relationship that doesn’t honor Yeshua/Jesus (e.g., premarital sex, abuse, one person’s not a believer in Jesus, etc.)
• A love of money or material things
• An obsession with sports, music, entertainment, social media, celeb gossip
• A holding on to hurt, resentment, anger and pain
• An obsession with a person, place or thing
• A REFUSAL to lay all your hopes, fears, dreams, resentment, anger, pain, and hate at Jesus’s feet (spiritually speaking)
• A REFUSAL to acknowledge there’s any sort of “problem” in our lives
• A REFUSAL to seek help for any and all “problems” in our lives
• A love of drugs or alcohol
• A love of lust and/or partying
• A REFUSAL to do the Lord’s will
• A REFUSAL to seek reconciliation with someone we’ve wronged or who has wronged US
• A REFUSAL to trust or believe in God/Jesus Christ and/or a REFUSAL to believe in HIS holy words in the bible
• The need for everyone’s approval
• ETC.

And when it comes to GOOD STRONGHOLDS, there is ONLY ONE good stronghold I can think of and that is 100% TRUST IN ALMIGHTY YESHUA/JESUS CHRIST, THE NAME ABOVE ALL OTHER NAMES!

Ofcourse, THAT type of faith is hard to come by. It doesn’t come easy and it sure as HECK doesn’t come overnight. It’s a PROCESS, people. It is a LEARNED faith, bit by bit and little by little.

Do you think Abraham [in the Old Testament] was BORN with the type of faith he had? Granted, there IS such a thing as predestiny, I believe, BUT…….Abraham likely didn’t, for theoretical example, yell up at the sky at 2 years old: “yes Lord, I’ll leave for the promised land TOMORROW!” Obviously, Abraham had to be shaped and molded INTO that faith, INTO that “righteous stronghold” of the Almighty God!

For EVEN Abraham himself apparently had some “unrighteous strongholds”, as we read in Genesis 12 that when there was a famine in the land, Abraham had “unrighteous doubt”/”fear” in his heart when he came near to the land of Egypt with his wife Sarai. Why? Because his wife Sarai was “stunningly beautiful” and Abraham feared that once the Egyptians saw how beautiful Sarai was, that they’d kill him to get to HER. So Abraham told Sarai to tell the Egyptians that she was his “sister”!

And sure enough, as it turned out, the Egyptians were overly generous to Abraham on the count of Sarai. HOWEVER, when the Lord plagued Pharaoh’s household and servants because of Sarai, that’s when Pharaoh realized that he had been “duped” by Abraham and told Abraham to take his wife Sarai and immediately depart Egypt!

This is just ONE example of when an Old Testament prophet displayed an “unrighteous stronghold”. Another example is Moses. When the Lord God told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, he was sore afraid. He made all sorts of “excuses”:

“And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee” – Exodus 4:1

“And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue” – Exodus 4:10

 ^“And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send” – Exodus 4:13

Think how YOU would feel if you were needing someone to do something and they kept protesting and making excuses! Pretty irritated, right? So it was with God when Moses kept making excuses (poor Moses, though! That must have been a very hard thing for him to do – face Pharaoh and the people with his implied *speech impediment*! But still……) 

Moses’s excuses/justifications and Abraham’s lack of faith when it came to traveling with his “stunningly beautiful” wife can serve as a message to us ALL. What type of “strongholds” do YOU have (if any) and how do YOU deal with them?

Not sure if this will help anyone out here but here it goes. These are the types of “strongholds” that I myself have been silently suffering from in 2015, not even fully realizing that they WERE “strongholds”, to begin with…..UNTIL the Lord opened up my eyes:

• Food (specifically, certain types of food in the middle of the day that I would “think” about buying the next day, then would buy in bulk the next day, and even then, that STILL wasn’t good enough. I would browse online menus from several different places, trying to decide what food I should buy each time. My cabinets and my refrigerator also became full of food oftentimes, and half the time, a part of the stuff would even go uneaten, until I was forced to throw them out. CRAZY, huh?)
• I seemed to have left my “first love” (spiritually), Almighty Yeshua/Jesus Christ [Revelation 2:4]
• I had somewhat acted out in anger towards certain things at work without stopping to think rationally first about the situation(s)
• I kept trying to tell myself in the back of my mind that that I didn’t really need to read the bible anymore, since I “already knew what’s in there”, while advising others to read theirs all the time (OUCH!)
• I REFUSED to do all the things the Lord told me to do/say in the year 2015, making excuses
• I struggled (and still struggle, somewhat) to keep my apartment clean (& organized)
• I seemed to have a “why me?” attitude many times
• I was seemingly overcome with fear and partial lack of faith (as in, I seemed to be struggling with the constant thought that maybe I wasn’t doing enough for God’s Kingdom, maybe the Lord wouldn’t consider me righteous enough to enter into the gates someday, etc.)
• I obsessed over this guy at work that I couldn’t have (Never dated the guy or anything, just obsessed over him, mostly)
• ETC.

Now, the POINT I wanted to make is that those “admissions” (to ourselves, to God and to others) are very, very personal and hard to make. But ONCE we make them, we’re one step closer to knocking down those castle walls of “unrighteous strongholds”.

“But how do I develop a RIGHTEOUS STRONGHOLD?“, one might ask. Well, first we have to have FAITH. How do we develop faith? The bible says in Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. Translation? Faith comes by hearing the written Word of God in the bible.

“But what about people that read the bible and STILL don’t believe?”, some might ask. My question: why NOT believe? For it takes FAR more faith to believe everything came from nothing than to believe that everything came from something (an Almighty Creator), don’t you think?

[For if you’re right and I’m wrong, I’ve lost nothing. But if I AM right, and YOU’RE wrong, you will have lost EVERYTHING, including your OWN SOUL! Is that an eternal chance you’d be willing to take, folks? I pray not!]

There’s many passages in the bible I like to read when I feel as though my faith is “weak” and they are the following:

“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word” – Matthew 28: 5-8

HE IS RISEN!

“And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day” – Matthew 28: 12-15

[[[[THE “JEWISH COUNCIL” PAYED THE ROMAN SOLDIERS ***LARGE SUMS OF MONEY*** TO LIE AND SAY THAT JESUS’S DISCIPLES STOLE HIS BODY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! However, that brings up several questions:

1. How did they roll away the heavy stone without anyone noticing?
2. Where is the body? All they’d have to do is find a body and no problem.
3. Why would Jesus’s disciples knowingly offer themselves up for torchure and execution/death for something they knew was a lie? Obviously, Jesus’s disciples believed the angel of the Lord with all their hearts, souls and might and that he was resurrected! Cause nobody on the Earth that I know of would be willing to be torchured and die for a LIE, right?
4. If Jesus didn’t truly resurrect, he would’ve been exposed as a fraud and “Christianity”/”Messianic Judaism” would’ve completely died within a day or two. But BECAUSE he resurrected and there were SEVERAL eyewitnesses to the fact (Christian AND non-Christian alike), Jesus’s resurrection has been proven as anything BUT a lie!]]]]

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” – Jeremiah 32:27

“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” – Mathew 19:26

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” – Mark 11: 22-24

“Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour” – Matthew 15:28

GOD PARTING THE RED SEA:

“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians. 

And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore” – [Exodus 14: 21-30 in Old Testament]

THE LIONS DEN:

“Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? 

Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. 

Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian” – [Daniel 6: 16-28 in Old Testament] 

THE FIERY FURNACE:

“Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up’. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 

Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.” [Daniel 3: 8-30 in the Old Testament] 

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” – John 16:33

———————

And that’s just a very small “sliver” of verses I am personally encouraged by. There’s SO many more, but for the sake of time and space, I must limit it to those few. But hopefully you will start to recognize and get rid of any unrighteous strongholds in your life. And as evidenced up above, even I myself (of all people) am not immune from having unrighteous strongholds from time to time.

Romans 3:23 expressedly states that we’re all sinners, who’ve fallen short of the glory of God! But when Almighty Yeshua/Jesus died on the cross for us, he died on the cross so that WE can be forgiven of our sins. But we have to ASK for that forgiveness and REPENT of sins in order to fully RECEIVE that forgiveness, folks! Jesus doesn’t extend his forgiveness to people who don’t want it. In other words, Jesus doesn’t FORCE salvation upon ANYONE…….he only graciously gives salvation to those who TRULY seek it. 

But in fact, imagine lava flowing down from a volcano. Imagine how HOT it is……visually focus on the mental imagery of the “lake of fire” pouring down out of the volcano. And then imagine being thrown alive into such a place……FOR ETERNITY! THAT is what Jesus died on the cross to protect us from, folks! (God’s Eternal Judgement). Who in their right mind, after knowing the FULL realities of hell and/or lake of fire would want to go there? Honestly? It boggles the mind, folks! 

On the other hand, read Revelation in the New Testament, chapters 21 and 22 to get a FULL PICTURE of what living in “God’s Paradise” is like. Who in their right mind, after reading that BEAUTIFULLY, HEAVENLY description wouldn’t want to go there? It boggles the mind, folks! It boggles the mind! And never ceases to amaze me! 

I oftentimes pray for my family, my coworkers and all my blog readers. But it’s very rare that I ask others to pray for ME. I guess it’s a pride thing. It’s hard for me to ask for help and to ADMIT to Almighty God and to others what my “unrighteous strongholds” are. But now that I HAVE admitted them to Yeshua/Jesus AND to you, please pray for me, folks! Please pray in the name of the Lord that I will be able to overcome the unrighteous strongholds that tried to take me down in 2015 and are still attempting to grab ahold of my spiritual ankle (sort’ve speak) in 2016! I need your prayers!

Thanks so much for reading and again, may Almighty Yeshua/Jesus bless you ALL in these last days! 😉 

 

 

 

 

“American IDOL”: Sign of a LOST GENERATION

Today’s Music & Entertainment Industry is OF THE DEVIL! And the TV show called “American IDOL” is no different! (In fact, who remembers the singer by the name of Billy IDOL back in the 80’s? Ring a bell?) The dark side (ever since the late 80’s or so) has basically, over time, started to become more BLATANT with its “agenda”, which is to deceive the masses into INADVERTENTLY worshiping Satan/demons. It’s just that no-one’s really noticed, until now.

Now that more average people are “in the know” (due to people making Youtube videos about it and EXPOSING it), the dark side doesn’t really care anymore. In fact, I think the dark side PURPOSELY gave Billy Idol his name and named the TV show called “American IDOL” as some sort of personal “test”, to see if any Americans (specifically, Christians) would be *spiritually* smart enough to pick up on it.

Sadly, many “Christian” people here in America weren’t! What’s the evidence? Facebook. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen the TV show “American IDOL” or “Billy IDOL” LIKED on Facebook by random people who “claim” to be “Christian”! But then again, this goes for ANY TV show that doesn’t glorify God! Wow! People are SPIRITUALLY BLIND, folks! Even I myself thought at one time that “music” and “TV shows” were harmless but boy was I wrong! They REALLY mess with a person’s psyche, rather people realize that or not! 

American IDOL…..THINK about what that name implies, folks (literally, spiritually and even *culturally!*). The 2nd commandment more or less says, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images or idols”, that’s WHY they named the show “American IDOL‘. And the dark side is secretly laughing behind the scenes, cause the SCREAMING/CHEERING audience (as well as those watching on TV at home) have NO IDEA about what’s REALLY going on, behind the spiritual scenes! 

There’s many out there that claim they don’t “believe” in the Devil and this and that. But tell me. If the Devil doesn’t exist, why do music and movie stars SELL THEIR SOULS TO HIM for money/riches/fortune/fame? Certainly, these “celebs” wouldn’t be able to do that if the Devil weren’t real, correct? And even still, why sell one’s soul to a so-called “imaginary entity” that one didn’t even so-called believe in, in the first place, for money, fortune and fame? Makes no logical sense, does it? Clearly, these celebs KNOW (and “believe”) the Devil is real.

Want proof? Look no further than the **4:04-4:25** mark in THE FOLLOWING EMBEDDED VIDEO

OR the 1:38, 2:45, 3:08-3:10, 3:31, 3:38-3:51 or **4:25-4:33** mark in THIS VIDEO:

And right underneath the 2nd embedded Youtube video, a viewer had THIS to say:

“Me too lol. I was just saying today to a friend of mine that she is a walking orgasm, musically. When I listen to Tori’s genius musical masterpieces, she takes over my body and soul. It feels really good and she sometimes makes me cry. Unfortunately, Tori Amos is HIGHLY underrated”

Further down, the same user stated: “So sexy, though. I’m a woman and she makes me wanna do her.“

Do you SEE what type of world we’re living in today, folks? Today’s music and entertainment industry is DESIGNED to “suck you in”, is DESIGNED to “take over your mind, heart, body and soul”, is DESIGNED to seduce you/make you LUST, is DESIGNED to take you away from the written word of God!

And that’s where you have TV shows like “The X Factor”, “The Voice”, “American IDOL” and even “Dancing With The Stars” come in. And do you want to know what the IRONIC thing is? “American Idol” became a TV show slightly after the time that I started noticing a “slight resurgence” or a “rise” in the number of people being “hungry” for “spiritual truth” (i.e. Jesus, the bible)…….

So it’s almost like this GODLESS TV show had to be created here in America in order to try to COUNTERACT the “resurgence” of people in America searching for “the truth” (i.e. Jesus, the bible), somehow. And boy, did it do its job! Many people will bend over backwards just to be on this show! And SOME people even go “crazy” before/during/right after auditioning for this show!

In fact, the Luciferian elite’s looking for the NEXT GENERATION of people to spiritually ruin others and to BE spiritually ruined! But then again, the Devil has to pick people who are “open” to being “destroyers” in the spiritual sense (though many of these people DON’T EVEN REALIZE they’re being “used” by the Luciferian elite to SPIRITUALLY DESTROY THEMSELVES AND OTHERS, to be fair).

Many people think these “shows” are just about fame and money. But it goes much, much deeper than that, folks! At its very CORE, shows like these are about SPIRITUAL DESTRUCTION OF MANKIND! Have you ever noticed the “hellish Luciferian background” of the TV show “American Idol”? WHY is that, do you think? Ask yourselves that, folks! 

And DURING the actual “X-Factor”, “American Idol”, “The Voice”  and EVEN “Dancing With The Stars” TV shows, the people in the audience are just SCREAMING and CHEERING and CRYING with excitement! Now tell me………when’s the last time that you ever heard of a person in today’s godless world getting THAT happy and exited over JESUS CHRIST ALMIGHTY? Because the last time a “society” or “group of people” treated Jesus Christ LIKE the “true Son of God” was in what’s known in Luke 19:35-40 as his Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem! People cheered and cried out with excitement, layed down tree branches and cloaks in his path and likely waved palm branches!

Now…….that was OK for the Judeo-“Christian” people to do with the actual SON OF GOD/JESUS CHRIST ALMIGHTY, FOR HE IS WORTHY OF ALL PRAISE! But that sort of “adoration”, “praise” and “excitement” is NOT okay for people to do with any other being in the universe! Because when people SCREAM, CHEER and CRY tears of “idol appreciation” for something or someone that ISN’T the TRUE Son of God, which is, always was and always WILL be Jesus Christ Almighty, they’re directly worshiping Satan/demons, rather they realize it or not!

[But what’s sad is that WHEN the Anti-Christ comes upon the Earth — which should be any day, now, quite frankly, CONSIDERING “the times” we’re currently living in, in today’s world– he’s going to falsely claim to be “The Messiah” and many, many people will actually “believe him”! WHY will they “believe him”? Because their names aren’t written in the Lamb’s book of Life!

What’s the Lamb’s book of Life? It’s the names of all of Yeshua’s/Jesus Christ’s FAITHFUL/OBEDIENT FOLLOWERS. Therefore, ALL whose names aren’t written IN Jesus’s Book of Life will have TWO things eternally happen to them. First, they’ll be SPIRITUALLY DECEIVED by the Anti-Christ and take what’s known as “The Mark of the Beast”, so that they’ll still be able to buy and sell. Secondly, BECAUSE they took the “Mark of the Beast”, they will then be ETERNALLY CONDEMNED by God and thrown into “the Lake of Fire”(Revelation 20:15!)]

For example, in the following video, Tori Amos is CLEARLY demonically possessed (even a NON-BELIEVER would be smart enough to figure that out), but what happens? The audience is still SCREAMING and CHEERING in the background, regardless of what’s OBVIOUSLY happening on stage! So what does that tell you, folks? People that idolize things/people/music/movies/books/TV shows are just OBLIVIOUS to the fact of what’s REALLY going on “behind the *spiritual scenes!*”

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. Satan and his demons don’t JUST go after Christians and Jews in their “spiritual warfare”, they go after ALL of mankind (EVEN those that proclaim THEMSELVES to be “Satanists/Luciferian”). Ever heard one guy say to another guy close by, “hey man, come party with us tonight, bro!” You think that’s NOT a demonic temptation of sorts? Or have you ever heard someone say, “Oh my gosh, I LOVE this person, they’re like, my IDOL or something!” and/or “I CAN’T WAIT to see the movie *Fifty Shades of Gray*, I’m like, SO, SO, SO EXCITED!” You also think THAT’S not some sort of demonic temptation of sorts?

Though the bible spoke of times such as these, we live in nothing but a LOST GENERATION, folks…..a generation that DESPERATELY needs to learn the truth, the ONLY truth in the universe, Jesus Christ Almighty! He’s the ONLY way to Salvation, folks! There IS no other way! It’s either Jesus or Satan, two options and two options, ONLY! And I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again: The “there’s many paths to Salvation” concept is a LIE! For there’s only ONE path to eternal truth (found in Jesus Christ Almighty and his Word), but there’s MANY “paths” to Satan!

Here’s a “list” of the many paths to Satan (rather directly/indirectly or knowingly/unknowingly, on an individual’s part):

• Satanism
• Wicca/New Age
• Mormonism
• Roman Catholicism
• Idol worship (in AND outside of the Catholic Church…..e.g. worship of “celebrities”, movies, books, etc.
• SIN, in and of itself
• Seances
• Communication with the dead
• Tarot cards
• Oujia boards
• Fortune-telling/Horoscopes
• LUST
• SODOMY
• Buddhism
• Hinduism
• Judaism
• Shintoism
• Paganized Christianity
• Islam
• Graven images (figurines, statues of Buddha, wood carvings of people/places/things, etc)
• Numerology
• Kabbalah
• Shamanism
• Paganism
• Atheism and/or “The Atheist Fight To Remove God from America”
• Feminism/Feminist Movement
• Abortion
• demon worship (in and of itself)
• The Occult
• Videogames (Although Christian videogames might be an exception)
• “Partying”
• Mind-altering drugs
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Mocking Jesus Christ
• Love of Money/Being Popular
• FEAR
• LACK OF FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST ALMIGHTY AND HIS WORD
• The Entertainment Industry
• Hollywood
• “Politically Correct”
• Gay/Transgender Movement
• ABORTION/Fighting for “Abortion rights”
• Hate/Terrorism
• FREEMASONRY
• “Newer bible translation” which water down the written word of God
• The mere “going-through-the-motions” faith in Jesus and the bible, NOT REAL, GENUINE faith in Him & His Written Word!
• Plus many, many more!

The point I’m trying to make is that Satan’s been at war with humanity FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF CREATION OF MANKIND! He hasn’t stopped! If anything, his attacks have ONLY gotten much STRONGER over the years and FAR MORE NUMEROUS!

Why? We get our answer in Revelation 12:12: “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”

In other words, Satan knows he ONLY has a certain limited time-frame in order to deceive the masses! So he knows he must get crackin’! That’s WHY today’s music, books and TV shows are becoming more and more sexualized, violent, blasphemous (towards Jesus Christ/the bible) & profane! The last “secular” movie I saw had the “F word” being said every other sentence, it seemed like! Not my type of movie and I don’t even know why I went to see that godless movie in the first place!

I’ve only seen 3 “secular” movies TOTAL within the last 3 years or so and I didn’t like ANY of them, personally! I also saw two “Christian movies”, which oddly enough, I didn’t like that much either, since I found them to be “not truthful enough to God’s Word”, etc. And ever since the last “Christian movie” I went to go see, (“Left Behind” starring Nicolas Cage), I haven’t stepped FOOT inside the movie theatre, since! No reason to, really. I know there’s recently been some NEW “Christian  movies” out there in the year 2015, but again, if they’re anything like the OTHER two……..that watered down God’s written word or put a slightly unbiblical twist to it…….??

But anyways, this generation is LOST! In fact, this generation is BEYOND LOST! In fact, I just feel OVERWHELMED sometimes at the RATE of evil/spiritual depravity I see in the world today! There are literally LOST SOULS ***EVERYWHERE***! At the grocery store, at the gas station, in line at the bank, etc…….

And it makes me wonder: WHO is telling these people about Jesus? WHO is telling these people about the ONLY way to Salvation? WHO is telling these people THE TRUTH about today’s Media and “Entertainment Industry” (e.g. Hollywood/American IDOL/etc.)? And just WHO is telling all these lost people THE TRUTH about “Today’s Christianity”, the TRUE HISTORY of Christianity and THE TRUTH about the TOTAL HELLISHNESS that is The Roman Catholic Church/Roman Catholic Church History/R.C.C. DOCTRINE?

Perhaps I should start making flyers or brochures exposing these things and start handing them out to people I see everywhere (those willing to take my materials, that is). Like, SERIOUSLY. We DON’T have alot of time left on this Earth, people! We’re living in the Last Days! Do any of you “Christians” or “Messianic Jews” CARE about all of the LOST SOULS around you? Because NOW’S the time to START!

Get the word out, people! Tell your friends, your family and your coworkers about all these things! For you may never get the chance again! Time is of the essence! We never know when we’re going to die! It could be 5 minutes from now or 50 years from now! Who’s to say, but God Almighty himself?

As 2015 wears down and the start of 2016 begins, you can bet your noodles it’ll be known among the elite as “The Year of Enlightenment”. But folks, it’s gonna be a “FALSE ENLIGHTENMENT”, a SATANIC ONE!

^“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” – Revelation 20:15

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” – Mark 8:36

In fact, if you haven’t already done so, please view this guy’s videos on Youtube. He does a MOST EXCELLENT job at EXPLAINING **how** and even **why** the elite is planning to bring the FALSE ENLIGHTENMENT ABOUT!

Satan’s Bride: The Roman Catholic Church & The Vatican, Part 2

In my previous post on the matter, I listed 20 things that the Catholic Church believed/practiced that went AGAINST the bible. In this post, I’m going to further expand on some things and even add a few things the Catholic Church believes/practices that proves they are a church of Satan in disguise!

1. The Sale of Indulgences.

In part 1, I mentioned there IS no such thing as “Purgatory”. You won’t find Purgatory ANYWHERE in the bible, whatsoever! During the years of the early 1540’s (give or take), there was something called the “Sale of Indulgences”. That more or less meant that if a person were willing to pay a big enough sum of money to the Catholic church, they could REMIT punishment of their sin(s) in “Purgatory”.

But according to the bible, there IS no “Purgatory” and a person can NOT “buy their way out of hell”. So sadly, instead of buying their way OUT of hell with their hard-earned and/or hard-saved money, Catholic lay-people around the time of the early 1540’s were instead buying their way INTO hell. Sadly, many Catholic people today (though they no longer participate in the sale of indulgences for the most part), STILL believe that they can pray dead people out of hell or have other people pray THEIR way out of hell. And we know from the bible that that’s simply not true for there is but one Earthly life on this Earth and one eternal judgement.

2. Relics.

It never ceases to amaze me just how many different “relics” the Catholic church has. They have the “relic” of this or the “relic” of that. But what most of people don’t realize is that all those “relics” are actually false IDOLS that are being WORSHIPED ***just like** the Golden Calf of Moses & Aaron’s time in history! But in fact, the Catholic Church carries around an “adorned skull” on a pillow (something that seems like an event at a Masonic lodge, somewhere). Does anyone else find this strange?

3. Walls, Ceilings, Chandeliers made of nothing but real-life human bones. (Does anyone else see the total eeriness in all this?) Note: The Catholic Church claims it’s the bones of “previous popes” and “Catholics”. But during the time of the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition, many hundreds of Jews and “true Christians” (those who prayed to Jesus and Jesus Christ, ALONE) were murdered.

4. Veneration of the Dead. (similar to #3).

5. The Catholic Church believes that Mary (mother of Jesus Christ) was “immaculately conceived”; in other words, they believe that Mary was born of a Virgin, just like Jesus. And we know from the bible that Jesus Christ is the ONLY one who’s EVER been conceived by a “virgin”. (This belief about “Mary” + “her parents” are nothing more than a complete mockery of the TRUE holy family comprised of Jesus, Mary & Joseph!)

6. Catholic doctrine says that the Holy Spirit is Mary’s spouse! (And we know from the bible that JOSEPH and Joseph ALONE was Mary’s spouse!)

7. Child molestation oftentimes goes unreported. Instead, they seem to transfer “child molesting” priests from parish to parish.

This is just an example of one of MANY child molesting priests who were transferred from parish to parish.

http://www.wlox.com/story/24705613/catholic-priest-who-worked-in-miss-goes-to-jail-for-m

8. The clerical dress of the Catholic church is Satanic, in and of itself. This is like something out of the movie “Eyes Wide Shut” and/or similar to the KKK! (Does anyone else find this strange?) 

9. The outside of the Vatican in Vatican city is shaped like a skull, plus there’s tons of Gargoyles (“sculptured witches/demons”) on Catholic churches everywhere. Anyways, these “sculpted witches/demons” seem to be visually “welcoming” demonic spirits INTO the church, for why would demonic sculptures “scare off” demons, as some claim? That’s honestly laughable at best! 

In my mind, they were put there as some sort of “show”. Demons are just like Satan, they want constant worship! People worshiping them in the name of so-called “saints” is not enough for them, no! They want even MORE worship…….in MORE sculpted form…….hence, “gargoyles”.

Many falsely claim they were there to “scare OFF” demons. Well, if that were the case, you know what would TRULY scare off demons? Jesus’s words and/or bible passages!!!!!! Why? Because those things have the bible’s TRUTH in them, whereas, gargoyles do NOT!!!!!! It’s almost like the demons themselves wanted something to try to scare people with, so people would actually fear/admire them and wouldn’t trust in the name of Jesus to cast them out or something!  

10. There are Masonic symbols all throughout the Vatican, not to mention that they worship the Sun. (Note: It’s not halos you see surrounding the painted figures on the walls, they’re actually supposed to represent Suns). Please note that other world religions ALSO have their “gods” depicted with this same general “halo” as the Catholic Church. Odd, isn’t it?

11. Not surprisingly, it is highly rumored that Satanic services/rituals go on, inside the Vatican. And some such “people” in the Catholic Church that have personal knowledge of this have now come forward, along with other true Christians out there who wish to shed the light on such matters.

http://www.vatileaks.com/_blog/Vati_Leaks/post/Satanism_in_the_Vatican/

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Roman%20Catholicism/satanism_in_the_vatican.htm

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The guy in the following video does a pretty good job of explaining my list of 11 in further detail.