tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15601836258275476422024-02-08T15:44:28.341-05:00Watchman FellowshipEzekiel was commissioned by God to be a watchman to warn His people when danger approaches. In the 20th Century we witnessed the fulfillment of many prophecies God gave thousands of years ago. One of those prophecies was that spiritual deception would abound. Another was that God would bring His people, the Jews, back to their land and the whole world would worry themselves with it.David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-38025035744073575082015-11-24T14:14:00.003-05:002015-11-24T14:14:33.810-05:00
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Was Katrina a Judgment of
God?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
Several students of prophecy
began to notice a pattern of events where US policy went counter to God’s
promise to Israel. Their books are listed below; <span class="textgen-15-18"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><b><i><u>Eye to Eye</u></i></b>
by William (Bill) Koenig. Bill is a White House reporter. You can read his
reporting at <a href="http://www.watch.org/"><span style="color: blue;">www.watch.org</span></a> where you can
also order his book.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><u>As America Has Done To
Israel</u></i></b> by John McTernan. John is a former investigator with the
Federal government. His blog is found at <a href="http://defendproclaimthefaith.org/blog/"><span style="color: blue;">http://defendproclaimthefaith.org/blog/</span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--><b><i><u>The Israel Omen</u></i></b>
by David Brennan. You can find his book at <a href="http://www.israelomen.com/"><span style="color: blue;">www.israelomen.com</span></a>.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]-->God promised Abraham that He
would bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel (Genesis
12:3). Genesis 15:18 says, “<span class="textgen-15-18">In the same day the </span><span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span><span class="textgen-15-18"> made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I
given this land, from the river of Egypt (the Wadi El Arish) unto the great
river, the river Euphrates.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span class="textgen-15-18">Everyone
has heard of The Battle of Armageddon mentioned in Revelation. However, what
people don’t understand about that battle is that it is a final attempt by the
whole world to “divide my (the Lord’s) land.” Joel 3:2 says, “</span><span class="textjoel-3-2">I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down
into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people
and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and
parted my land.” </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]-->Each of these men have pointed
out that within 24 to 48 hours of our government “making progress,” in moving
the process forward in the land for peace policy, some catastrophe has hit our
country. Nine of the ten biggest disasters listed on FEMA’s website occurred
within 24 hours of our efforts to “divide the land” of Israel. (* see below).
Here is a list drawn from their books. Exercise your own discernment in these
“coincidences”.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]-->#1 - <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>On Oct. 30, 1991,</b> George H.W. Bush announced, at the
Madrid Peace Conference, a change in US policy on peace in the Middle East. The
change was called land for peace. The US government was now advocating the
division of the land Israel “occupied” between Israel and a future Palestinian
State. As Bush was delivering his speech, the “Perfect Storm” flooded the Bush
home in Maine with 30-foot waves.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#2 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>On Aug 24, 1992,</b> round six of the Madrid Peace effort
began in DC. The Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin agreed to the policy of
land for peace. On that same day, Hurricane Andrew struck south Florida causing
$1.8 billion in damage.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#3 – <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>From April 1993 through August 1993,</b> a peace agreement was
being negotiated that would cede part of the Promised Land to the Palestinians.
During this same period, flood levels were occurring in the Midwest that had
not been seen in 500 years.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#4 – <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>On January 17, 1994,</b> President Clinton met with Syrian
President Assad to discuss the return of the Golan Heights. On that same day an
earthquake registering 6.7 hit Northridge, CA causing almost $7 billion in
damage. Why Northridge? Also scheduled that day, and in that area, was a gay
pride parade that had to be cancelled.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#5 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>On January 21, 1998,</b> Prime Minister Netanyahu is rudely
treated at the White House. Both President Clinton and Secretary of State
Albright refuse to have lunch with him. A few hours later the Lewinsky scandal
broke in the media, which crippled the Clinton Presidency for the rest of his
tenure.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#6 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>On September 28, 1998,</b> Secretary of State Albright
finishes the details of an agreement for Israel’s cession of 13% of Judea and
Samaria. On that same day Hurricane George hits the US Gulf Coast and stalls.
Also on that day, Clinton met with and Netanyahu to finalize the deal. After
the meeting, Arafat addressed the UN on the subject of declaring a Palestinian State
by May 1999. As soon as Arafat left the country Hurricane George subsided. FEMA
reported the total cost of damages at $2.25 billion.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#7 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>From October 15-22</b>, 1998. On October 15 Arafat meets
with Clinton and Netanyahu at the Wye River Plantation in Maryland again to
talk about the cession of 13% of Judea and Samaria. The talks were supposed to
last for five days. On October 17 torrential rains and tornadoes hit southern
Texas. The storms subside on October 22. Clinton declared that area of Texas a major
disaster area. Damage was estimated to be over $1 billion.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]-->#8 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>On December 12, 1998,</b> Clinton landed in a Palestinian
controlled section of Israel to discuss the “land for peace” policy. On that
same day Congress voted four articles of impeachment against him.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#9 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>On May 3, 1999,</b> Yasser Arafat was scheduled to declare a
Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital. On that same day the most
powerful tornado ever to hit the US swept across Oklahoma and Kansas. Winds
were clocked at 316 miles per hour. Clinton urged Arafat to delay his
announcement until December.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#10 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>During the week of October 11, 1999, </b>Jewish settlers were
evicted from the West Bank at the urging of the US in its land for peace
policy. During the same week the Dow Jones lost 5.7% of its value in the worst
week since 1989. On October 15 the Dow lost 266 points and a hurricane slammed
into North Carolina. On October 16, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocked the
California desert but did little damage.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#11 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> <b>On June 5, 2001,</b> George W. Bush sent George Tenet to
Israel to implement limits on the use of Israeli land. On the afternoon of that
same day Tropical Storm Allison formed off the coast of Texas and moved ashore
at Galveston and Houston. So much rain fell that it became known as the “Great
Flood of 2001.” FEMA said the costs of the storm came to almost $1.4 billion.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#12 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>On September 10, 2001,</b> George W. Bush prepared to announce
his plans for a Palestinian State. </div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
The New York Times of October 2,
2001 carried an article titled “Before Attacks, U.S. Was Ready to Say It Backed
Palestinian State.”</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
“<span style="color: #333333;">Before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the Bush
administration was on the verge of announcing a Middle East diplomatic
initiative that would include United States support for the creation of a
Palestinian state, administration officials said, and it is now weighing how to
revive the plan.”</span></div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
On September 11, well, you know
the rest.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#13 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>On April 30, 2003,</b> the “Quartet” (USA, Russia, the E.U.,
and the U.N.) kicked off plans for dividing off a large section of the Promised
Land to make room for a Palestinian State. According to the Wikipedia entry for
the first week of May, 2003, “<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">There
were 401 tornado reports in 19…. More severe weather broke out this week alone
than any other week in U.S. history. The old record for most tornado reports in
one week was 171 during the week of the May 1995 Tornado Outbreak Sequence.” </span></div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#14 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>On August 23, 2005,</b> the Israeli government completed the
removal of Israeli settlers from Gaza. This was done under pressure from the
Bush administration. On that same day Hurricane Katrina formed in the Atlantic
and before the hurricane subsided it had resulted in the removal of a
percentage of the American population from our Gulf coast equal to the Israeli
population that was removed from Gaza. The Bush presidency was never the same
after Katrina, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke from
which he has never recovered.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#15 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>During the week of July 23, 2007,</b> Quartet envoy Tony Blair
traveled to the Middle East to continue the peace process begun at the
Annapolis Conference to trade land for peace. During that week the world
financial system began its meltdown from which it has never recovered.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
#16 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>On April 19, 2010,</b> Israel celebrated its independence. The
Jewish lunar calendar does not coincide with our calendar so the observance of
their independence day, Passover, or any other Jewish holiday falls on a
different day in our calendar. On the same day Israel was celebrating its
independence, President Obama announced that the US would not “automatically”
support Israel in the UN. This was a fundamental departure from past American
policy. On the next day, the Deep Water Horizon oil well exploded in the Gulf
of Mexico, creating the worst oil spill in US history.</div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
These “coincidences” go on and
on. The authors named above have counted up to 90 “coincidences.” At some point
one must ask the question, “Is God telling us something?” Even Pavlov’s dogs
got his message. It is true that on any given day a weather, earthquake,
financial downturn, or other disastrous event will occur somewhere in the
world. However, the common points in these coincidences is that it happens
within 24 hours, it happens to the party “cursing” Israel, and it is a VERY
serious event.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--><br /></div>
<h1 style="margin: 0.67em 0in;">
* Top Ten Natural Disasters</h1>
Ranked By FEMA Relief Costs<br />
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 2.25pt 2.25pt 2.25pt 2.25pt; width: 95%px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Event<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Year<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b>FEMA Funding<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Hurricane Katrina<br />
(AL, LA, MS)</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
2005</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
$7.2 billion*</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Northridge Earthquake<br />
(CA)</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
1994</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
$6.961 billion</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Hurricane Georges<br />
(AL, FL, LA, MS, PR, VI)</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
1998</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
$2.251 billion</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Hurricane Ivan<br />
(AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, NJ, NY, PA, TN, WVA)</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
2004</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
$1.947 billion**</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Hurricane Andrew<br />
(FL, LA)</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
1992</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
$1.813 billion</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Hurricane Charley<br />
(FL, SC)</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
2004</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
$1.559 billion**</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Hurricane Frances<br />
(FL, GA, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC)</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
2004</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
$1.425 billion**</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Hurricane Jeanne<br />
(DE, FL, PR, VI, VA)</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
2004</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
$1.407 billion**</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Tropical Storm Allison<br />
(FL, LA, MS, PA, TX)</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
2001</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
$1.387 billion</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Hurricane Hugo<br />
(NC, SC, PR, VI)</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
1989</div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 2.25pt;">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
$1.307 billion</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
*Amount obligated from the President's Disaster Relief Fund for <strong>FEMA's
assistance programs, hazard mitigation grants, federal mission assignments,
contractual services and administrative costs as of March 31, 2006</strong>.
Figures do not include funding provided by other participating federal
agencies, such as the disaster loan programs of the Small Business
Administration and the Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency. <strong>Note:</strong>
Funding amounts are stated in nominal dollars, unadjusted for inflation.<br />
<br />
**Amount obligated from the President's Disaster Relief Fund for <strong>FEMA's
assistance programs, hazard mitigation grants, federal mission assignments,
contractual services and administrative costs as of May 31, 2005</strong>.
Figures do not include funding provided by other participating federal
agencies, such as the disaster loan programs of the Small Business Administration
and the Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency. <strong>Note:</strong>
Funding amounts are stated in nominal dollars, unadjusted for inflation.<br />
David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-64614932064161656192015-11-15T15:31:00.000-05:002015-11-15T15:31:06.856-05:00The Biblical Basis for the Trinity<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Deuteronomy 6:4<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 43:10<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 44:6-8<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">OLD TESTAMENT EVIDENCES OF THE TRINITY<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Genesis 1:1,26,27<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 6:1-10<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 48:12-16<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Zechariah 2:10-11<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
</ol>
<div style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">(Points I & lll are not contested by those who deny the Trinity,
therefore little space is given them here.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ol start="3" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">THE FATHER IS GOD<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">I Peter 1:17<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">John 5:17-23<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">THE SON IS GOD<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">He Is Called God Explicitly<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Matthew 1:23,
"Emmanuel-God with us."<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">John 1:1, "The Word
was God." (Note: There is no scholarly support for the NWT rendering
it "a god." For a thorough treatment of this issue request our
study on John 1:1)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">John 5:17-23, The Son is
"equal" to his Father<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">John 8:53-59, Jesus is the
"I AM" of Exodus 3:1-15<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">John 10:28-33, Jesus and
the Father are equal<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">John 20:28 "The Lord of
me and THE GOD of me."<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Romans 9:5, Christ is God
over all<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Colossians 2:9, All the
fullness of deity<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Titus 2:13, "our Great
God and Saviour."<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Hebrews 1:8, "Thy
throne O God."<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">I John 5:20, "The true
God."<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">He Is Described In Terms
Reserved Only For God<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Creator of ALL Things<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">John 1:3<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Ephesians 3:9<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Colossians 1:16,17<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Hebrews 2:10<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Revelation 3:14<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">The Almighty<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Revelation 1:8 with
21:5-7; and 22:12,13,16,20<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">The First and Last<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Revelation 1:17; 2:8;
22:13 (Compare Isaiah 44:6)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">The Exact Representation of
The Father<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Hebrews 1:3<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">John 12:45 and 14:6-11<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 46:9<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">He Is Worshipped As God.
(See Luke 4:8)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Revelation 5:11-13 (Compare
Revelation 4:9-11)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Hebrews 1:6<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">O.T./N.T. Cross-Reference
Proves Jesus Is God<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 40:3 with John 1:23
& 3:28<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 45:23 with
Philippians 2:10,11 and Romans 14:11<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 44:24 with John 1:3<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 6:1-5 with John
12:37-41<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 8:13,14 with I Peter
2:7,8<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 42:8 with John 17:5<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 60:19 with Luke
2:30-32<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Psalms 102:24-27 with
Hebrews 1:10-12<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Psalms 45:6,7 with Hebrews
1:8,9<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Psalms 23:1 with Isaiah
40:10,11 and John 10,11<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">I Kings 8:39 with
Revelation 2:23 <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Joel 2:32 with Romans
10:9-13<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Exodus 3:14 with John
8:58,59<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Malachi 3:1 with Matthew
11:10<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Exodus 19:18-21 with
Hebrews 12:18-26<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Zechariah 12:10 &
13:6,7 with John 19:34-37<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Zechariah 14:4,5 with
Matthew 24:29-31; Matthew 25:31; Jude 14,15; II Thessalonians
1:7-10; Revelation 19:11-21<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Jesus Is God Made Flesh<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Philippians 2:5-8: Jesus
"being in the form of God" (i.e., deity), did not consider it
something to cling to, but emptied himself of his divine glory and
perogatives, NOT his divine nature, and took UPON his divine form
"the form of a servant" (i.e., humanity), in order to suffer
death.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">John 1:1,14: "In the
beginning was (eternally) the Word and the Word was with God (i.e., the
Father and Holy Spirit), and the Word was God (deity)." "And
the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Hebrews 1:3 and 2:9-18:
Jesus is the "EXACT REPRESENTATION of His (God's) VERY BEING"
(NWT). No creature could possibly do that! But, Jesus set aside his
infinite glory to become one of us so that he could be to us an, example
in faith, the perfect sacrifice, our High Priest, Comforter, and
Saviour.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Who Is The "Angel Of
Jehovah?"<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Genesis 16:7-13<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Genesis
18:1,13,17,20-22,26,33; 19:24<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Genesis 22:11-18<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Genesis 31:11-13<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Genesis 32:24-30 (compare
Hosea 12:4,5)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Genesis 48: 15,16<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Exodus 3:1-15 (compare vs.
5 with Joshua 5: 14,15)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Exodus 23:20,21<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Judges 6:11-23<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
</ol>
</ol>
<div style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Note: In these passages the "Angel of Jehovah" speaks as
Jehovah, is called Jehovah, does the works of Jehovah, and is worshipped by
those to whom He appears. He is Jesus, the Son of God. "Angel" means
"messenger" and is applied to the angelic beings, men (evangelists),
and to God (see above)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ol start="4" type="1">
<ol start="7" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Answers To Common
Antitrinitarian Prooftexts<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">John 14:28 "My Father
is greater than I." Just as the husband is positionally greater
than the wife so the Father is greater the the Son. Both husband and
wife are equally human as the Father and Son are equally divine.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Colossians 1:15 "the
Firstborn of all creation." "Firstborn" (Gr. Prototokos),
not "first created" (Gr. "Protoktistos"). Firstborn
is term that means first in importance. These scriptures bear that out:
Genesis 41:51,52 with Jeremiah 31:9; Deuteronomy 21:15-17; Exodus 4:22;
and Job 18:13.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Revelation 3:14 "the
beginning of the creation of God." We derive many words such as
architect, archangel, arch-rival, from the Greek word "arche"
translated "beginning" in this verse. It means
"origin," "source," "chief," and
"ruler." Jesus is the origin of ALL, or the creator.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">He Is Called God<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Acts 5:3,4 Lying to the
Spirit is lying to God<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">II Corinthians 3:17
"The Lord is that Spirit." (compare this with Exodus 34:29-35)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">He Is Omnipotent<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Isaiah 40:12-14 (See Romans
11:34 and I Corinthians 2:16)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">He Is Omniscient<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">I Corinthians 2:10,11
Isaiah 40: 13,14<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">He Is Omnipresent<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Psalm 139:7<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">He Is Eternal<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Hebrews 9:14<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">He Has The Attributes Of
Personality<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Intellect<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Romans 8:27, "The
MIND of the Spirit."<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">I Corinthians 2:10-12, The
Spirit "KNOWS."<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Will<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">I Corinthians 12:11,
"The Spirit WILLS."<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Emotion<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Ephesians 4:30,
"GRIEVE" not the Spirit<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">His Self-Cognizance Is
Shown By These Actions:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">He Speaks<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="i">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Acts 8:29; 10:19; 13:2;
21:11<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Revelation 2:7,11,17,29;
3:6,13,22<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">He Teaches<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="i">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Luke 12:12<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">John 14:26<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">I John 2:26,27<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Says "I"<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" type="i">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">Acts 10:20<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
</ol>
</ol>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">If the Holy Spirit is a
self-cognizant personality, and is also eternal, then He must be God, for
God is the only eternal being.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
</ol>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11.5pt;">"So the
Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet there are not
three Gods, but one God." (from The Athanasian Creed)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-80863555244363833252015-04-17T22:37:00.004-04:002015-04-17T22:37:50.220-04:00The Trinity, the Gospel, the Church and the Resurrection in the Old Testament<div class="MsoNormal">
Types in the Bible are a form of prophecy. Here is one that
is central to the fundamental message of God providing the redemption price in
the Bible.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Genesis 15:2 - <span style="background: white;">And Abram
said, "My Lord, What can you give me seeing that I go childless, and the
steward of my house is the Damascene Eliezer?" Eliezer was more like a
business partner who would inherit Abraham’s estate if Abraham did not have his
own offspring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">Genesis 22:1-19<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">The offering of Isaac is a
recognized “type/prophecy” of God the Father (represented by Abraham) sending His
only begotten Son (represented by Isaac) to die for our sins. But there is far
more to this type acted out by Abraham of God’s plan of salvation which
demonstrates at the very beginning of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> as God’s Chosen People that
He would send Jesus to die and rise from the dead. Consider how could such a
plan be told in such detail 2000 years before the time of Christ? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">The plan of salvation, acted
out by Abraham, was fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus. After His
death Jesus appeared to many of His disciples and then ascended to heaven (Acts
2). Since His death the Church has been established by God the Holy Spirit
calling out those in the world, both Jew and Gentile, to be the Bride of Christ
(2 Corinthians 11 and John 14:16,17) </span><span class="textjohn-14-16"><b><sup>“</sup></b>And I will pray
the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (paraclete = helper,
comforter, advocate), that he may abide with you for ever;</span> <span class="textjohn-14-17"><b><sup> </sup></b>Even
the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not,
neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in
you.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">Genesis 22 (italics and
underlining mine)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-1">And it
came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him,
Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-2"><b><sup>2 </sup></b>And he said, Take now thy son, <u>thine only son Isaac</u>,
whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of <u>Moriah</u>; and offer him
there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
(<i>This mountain [ridgeline] has three
peaks, <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mt.</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Zion</st1:placename>
on the south, the <st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Mount</st1:placename>, and Golgotha to the north of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Mount</st1:placename></st1:place></i>).</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-3"><b><sup>3 </sup></b>And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his
ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the
wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God
had told him.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-4"><b><sup>4 </sup></b>Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw
the place afar off.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-5"><b><sup>5 </sup></b>And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the
ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-6"><b><sup>6 </sup></b>And <u>Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and
laid it upon Isaac his son</u>; (<i>typifies
Jesus carrying His cross to <st1:place w:st="on">Calvary</st1:place></i>) and
he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-7"><b><sup>7 </sup></b>And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My
father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the
wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-8"><b><sup>8 </sup></b>And Abraham said, My son, God will provide <u>himself</u> (<i>provide FOR Himself, or provide HIMSELF?</i>)
a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-9"><b><sup>9 </sup></b>And they came to the place which God had told him of; and
Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his
son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. (<i>Abraham KNEW God had to resolve this command by either resurrecting
Isaac, or providing an alternative, because God had promised descendents
through Isaac</i>.)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-10"><b><sup>10 </sup></b>And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to
slay his son.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-11"><b><sup>11 </sup></b>And the angel of the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> (<i>probably Jesus Himself</i>) </span><span class="textgen-22-11">called unto him out of heaven,
and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-12"><b><sup>12 </sup></b>And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do
thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast
not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-13"><b><sup>13 </sup></b>And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold
behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns (<i>not by his wool for that would have made the ram unclean for sacrifice</i>):
and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in
the stead of his son.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-14"><b><sup>14 </sup></b>And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as
it is said to this day, In the mount of the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="textgen-22-14">it shall be seen (<i>2000 years la</i>ter).</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-15"><b><sup>15 </sup></b>And the angel of the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="textgen-22-15">called unto Abraham out of heaven
the second time,</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-16"><b><sup>16 </sup></b>And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span><span class="textgen-22-16">, for because thou hast done this
thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-17"><b><sup>17 </sup></b>That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I
will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is
upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-18"><b><sup>18 </sup></b>And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-19"><b><sup>19 </sup></b>So Abraham returned unto his young men (<i>where is Isaac? Why is he omitted from the
story of Abraham coming down the mountain? Because Christ ascended to heaven
after His resurrection</i>), and they rose up and went together to <st1:city w:st="on">Beersheba</st1:city>; and Abraham dwelt at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Beersheba</st1:city></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-19">Continuing
the “type/story” in Genesis 24 Abraham calls Eliezer and makes him promise to
go to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Haran</st1:place></st1:city> to
find a bride for Isaac. Eliezer returns later with Rebekah. <u>The name Eliezer
means “helper</u>.” So Eliezer is a type of the Holy Spirit calling out a bride
(<i>Rebekah</i>) for Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-19">In these
events in the life of Abraham we see the Trinity (Abraham = Father; Isaac =
Jesus; Eliezer = the Holy Spirit), the Church (i.e., Rebekah = the Bride of
Christ), the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and on the very
ground God set aside for it long before. These “types” are prophecy in story,
in history, and even in people’s names. This is the kind of internal unity that
convinces me the Bible is from a divine author. The Jews, who killed the
prophets and even Jesus, would not even know they were writing God’s plan of
salvation when they lived this, and wrote this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="textgen-22-19">But the
above is just a tiny sample of many such “hidden below the surface” types.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-70776196452052656152010-07-09T11:19:00.005-04:002010-07-09T12:22:14.904-04:00My Story by David Smith<span style="color:#3333ff;">Note: Videos of David's story and others can be viewed at the end of this post.</span><br /><br /><br />I was born into a Catholic family, the son of a mother from the Caribbean island of Trinidad who was raised Catholic, and a father who was brought up Methodist and converted to Catholicism when he married my mother.<br /><br />There was really nothing out of the ordinary about my religious development at home, except that looking back I could point out that I was definitely taught about the importance of “The Church” as opposed to the importance of Jesus Christ.<br /><br />I was placed in Sunday School as a child, made my First Confession, then my First Communion, and later was part of the Catholic Life Teen Program in High School. I made my Confirmation my senior year, a little later than usual, but I took the initiative to have it done because I felt it was something important enough to me to pursue.<br /><br />I eventually left the Catholic Church in pursuit of an Eastern expression of Christianity. I was once again focusing on joining the right Church rather than knowing Christ personally. After some time at my local Greek Orthodox parish I was introduced to St. Anthony’s Monastery in Florence, AZ. I eventually became a disciple of the Abbot.<br /><br />After an initial period of a month or so, I began to be indoctrinated with teachings I was told not to reveal to anyone outside of the monastery’s inner circle. I was taught to believe in conspiracy theories (some of which were that man never landed on the moon, that America is made up of a shadow government that is run by Masons and Jews) and that the Protocols of Zion are an authentic document rather than a work of racist fiction.<br /><br />I was told that unless you give up sexual relations with your spouse, you cannot be holy in this life, while at the same time being taught that I should ceaselessly struggle to achieve holiness in this life no matter what the cost.<br /><br />I was taught to flagellate myself with electrical cord when I had sinful thoughts and that this was normal behavior that Saints indulged in.<br /><br />I was taught to be obedient to my spiritual father as if he were Jesus Christ and that without his prayers I would not make it through the toll-houses when I die (the toll-houses are demonic checkpoints after you die where demons assess your life and try to hold you from getting to Heaven because of your sins). This was the justification used to get me to be obedient to the teachings I have related.<br /><br />I was taught to believe that there is a “shadow government” that is supposedly in operation in the world that is made up of Masons, the Illuminati, and “the Jews”. This “shadow government” was said to control all of the governments of the world. I was told that part of their plan to do population control was to vaccinate the masses with immunizations that were deadly. Many of us were told never to immunize our children, that we should only use holistic remedies for our illnesses unless the doctor could be trusted, and avoid Jewish doctors whenever possible (because in the Protocols one of the plots to kill Gentiles was via Jewish doctors who killed Gentile babies and adults whenever possible).<br /><br />Elder Ephraim, the founder of St. Anthony’s, teaches in his book that elders are hierarchically the final successors of the Apostles through the Holy Spirit. Having been taught this, there was a while where in my mind he had Apostolic authority to teach that the demons will drag me to hell when I die because I won’t be able to ascend through the toll-houses without my spiritual father’s prayers if I disobey him. “Elder” Ephraim’s book also says that we should never tolerate anyone who speaks against an “elder” because such a person is an antichrist and we should oppose them immediately. I didn’t want to become an “antichrist”.<br /><br />I was told that television, except for nature shows and things like that, were evil and that the best thing to do was to get rid of my TV. I was told the same thing about literature and music. I was taught not to read any secular literature and was told that the Bible and the Fathers of the Church were all I needed to read. They said all music except for classical music and Orthodox Church music was a product of the Fall and not to listen to anything but that. Not having a television and not being able to listen to the radio, my main source of cultural information became e-mail and the telephone, or spending time with someone from the monastery.<br /><br />We had to get a blessing from our spiritual father for everything, whether it was dressing differently, changing jobs, selling our car, etc. I had to get a blessing even regarding what I could drink during the day and how many meals I could eat. All of this is called “voluntary” obedience by the way, except that you’ll go to hell if you’re not obedient because obedience fulfills all of the commandments of Christ.<br /><br />I was refused a blessing to sell my car even though it kept breaking down on me and was the only means of transportation for my wife and I to get to work. We missed time from work because of all the break-downs, which meant we missed pay. This also caused us to nearly get fired, and put us so far behind in bills that we lost all of our savings. We eventually had to quit that job since they were going to fire us. Even though we finally decided to get a new vehicle just before that, it was repossessed later on due to our lack of ability to pay since we had lost our income.<br /><br />The Abbot and I would talk a lot about the end of the world. He would mention it in confession often. He said all the monks would be martyred at St. Anthony’s by being hung from the telephone poles. He also told me one year that by the summertime Turkey would invade Greece over a dispute about the island of Cyprus and there would be a great war that Greece would win (I was given copies of these prophecies that the monastery had translated from the Greek text of St. Kosmas Aitolos’s book to put on a website I used to run with the Abbot’s blessing) and the city of Constantinople would be liberated and returned to the Greeks. When it didn’t happen I went to the Abbot and asked him why, and he said he told me that just to be cautious. He had seemed pretty serious at the time he told me, however. He also told me on one occasion that I would most likely be “martyred”, which stayed with me for a long time. I really believed that I should prepare to die.<br /><br />When my mother was homeless I was refused a blessing to go and help her over and over again. I finally decided to just go. My wife spoke to the Abbot about it in confession and he gave his blessing grudgingly.<br /><br />My wife and I had to confess all of our sexual activity including what went on, where we touched, and so forth. We had to confess any secular music we listened to, any TV shows or movies we watched, and anywhere that we went that wasn’t “approved”. I was even told once that I should never laugh, so anytime I found something funny I had to confess that I had "laughed frivolously".<br /><br />I was required to confess all of my thoughts, both good and bad, in confession. If I couldn’t confess directly, it had to be over the phone, and if I couldn’t confess by phone I had to write everything down and mail it to my spiritual father. It’s very humiliating sending your private thoughts through the mail, but with everything they teach about obedience the rationale was that it was a small price to pay for absolution and eternal life. In the case that my spiritual father was not available there were only certain “approved” priests I could confess to.<br /><br />It was a nightmare once we were in the inner circle of the monastery. Our lives deteriorated rapidly, our health was affected, and we were slowly being isolated from family and friends. Eventually, I decided to get my family away from their influence. Having moved to Florida after 2 years of going to St. Anthony’s weekly, I was able to spend 5 more years under their influence but out of their immediate reach. I thought I would be able to leave quietly and not tell anyone that I was leaving. I thought I would just disappear and never go back.<br /><br />It didn’t work. Because of some families whose children had been influenced by the monastery, I decided to speak out, even going on television in Tucson to talk on air about St. Anthony’s teachings. The backlash was very intense. I was called a liar, my life was threatened, and even Orthodox clergy who had never met me were calling me “demonic.”<br /><br />At the time, I didn’t realize that St. Anthony’s was a cult. I simply thought it was an Eastern Orthodox group that was not a healthy place to be. It was when leaving began to take a very heavy toll on my wife and I that I realized it might have been worse than I thought. I was having nightmares regularly, panic attacks, severe depression set in, I was having suicidal thoughts, trouble controlling my anger, and I started drifting toward atheism.<br /><br />It wasn’t until a parent who had lost their child to St. Anthony’s convinced me that it was a cult that I started to see any progress. He gave me literature showing what a cult is, pointed me in the direction of leading authors, and from there I found <span style="color:#ff0000;">Combating Cult Mind Control</span> by Dr. Steven Hassan.<br /><br />The process for recovery was long and hard. My wife and I endured setback after setback, lots of periods of suicidal thoughts, and constant battles with depression and wrestling with the idea of God.<br /><br />Through the contacts listed by Dr. Steven Hassan, I eventually reached out to the Watchman Fellowship. I’m very glad I did. I needed to know Christ; not a church, not religion, not the “right path”, but Jesus Christ, the Son of God.<br /><br />The <span style="color:#ff0000;">Spiritual Abuse Recovery</span> workbook allowed me to take what I had learned from Dr. Hassan’s material and face God again. It restored my faith in Christ’s message as good news, rather than a nightmare, and gave me the strength to help lift my family out of bondage to the cult once and for all. I feel like an empowered Christian again.<br /><br />It’s been a long, hard road out of the cult, a journey that took over 3 years and carried with it a lot of tears, self-doubt, and setbacks. I truly felt while I was going through it as if I were literally in hell. But the good news is Christ is greater than hell, so it wasn’t a place my family and I had to stay. He brought us out safely and we’ve been able to grow stronger than we’ve ever been.<br /><br />It’s not an easy path, but recovery is possible, and God is definitely with those who travel on it, always protecting, always guiding, and always loving. <br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxbLE8pfFgsq_sbrulN4T96IszDSEk__d4fJmHHizShgBOXDKWPbhjO3QUuWBGoVaJ9z8Y2B2hJ_CRwfLyw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx3-0A8xMVg1527ItaIRTfWZ6CAlkbKh5gQTa5ue1BGs6olQw5ye6PZflIOdrs3h0-p9uj0ZzK2-c-p6RlGlw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-9736885836175718902010-05-17T15:14:00.002-04:002010-05-17T15:22:04.497-04:00The Future Face of Evangelism?What if you lived in a country where your Christian faith was held by less than 5% of the population? How would that affect your methods of evangelism? And what if the religious views of the population at large were hostile to Christianity? It is hard for us in North America to conceive of this situation but it is reality in many countries of the world.<br /><br />The above description fits most of the nations of the world that are dominated by Islam, Hinduism, or, Buddhism. But, it is also becoming more the case in many European countries where Christianity used to be the dominant faith. What happened in Europe? Could it happen here?<br /><br />Perhaps the reason for Europe turning away from Christianity is the religious disillusionment resulting from two devastating world wars. This was a form of continental version of the question “Where was God when it hurt?” America was spared much of that. However, we are dealing with the moral relativism that has the effect of making all truth claims equal, or for the secularist, equally unimportant.<br /><br />Besides the effect of secularization and moral relativism we also face the unprecedented growth of alternative religions competing with Christianity. Americans in the past held to a Christian consensus, or worldview. Even the non-Christian in America would agree that the God of Christianity was the God they would put their faith in if they were going to be religious. Even though there were cults and alternative religions from the early years of our nation they were extremely small as a percentage of the population and had little influence.<br /><br />Since immigration has become a wide open door, both legal and illegal, we find ourselves in the company of immigrants who bring their native faith with them. Many of these immigrants come from countries that are Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, or something else. They have added their numbers to the religious pluralism that has grown exponentially in just the last few decades.<br /><br />Americans, on the other hand, have walked away from many of the basic tenets of Christianity as well as church attendance. George Barna in his research of religious trends in America has documented this dramatic drift away from our evangelical heritage. At a speaking engagement in Missouri I overheard part of a conversation at a restaurant on the subject of religion. The only statement I heard completely was, “I think you should just do your best, be a good person, and God will accept you.” There are so many a priori assumptions in that statement that it is hard to know where to begin. But it is commonplace today.<br /><br />In past decades Christian evangelism assumed a Christian consensus and got directly to the point of the sinner putting his faith in Christ. That may no longer be possible. We live in what is being called a “post Christian” America, where the Christian consensus is a memory. There has even been discussion among Christian leaders that one day we will find that evangelism is a hate crime because it says that another religion is false. But the Bible does not let us water down our message like that. We will have to defy laws that restrict the gospel. We will also have to present the gospel message as if the person had never heard of Jesus, or didn’t know God required exclusive devotion. There are no "religious buffets" in the gospel where one can take a little New Age, some relativistic "truth", while trying to keep "sweet Jesus."<br /><br />Jesus said of the Pharisees that they compassed land and sea to make one convert and when he was converted he was doubly a child of hell as before (Matthew 23:15). Why was he doubly a child of hell after his Pharisaical conversion? It is my opinion that commitment to a belief system has a binding effect on a person’s ability to process truth claims. No one lets go of a firmly held conviction without a struggle. Now this believer in “another gospel” is not like the American who would believe the Christian gospel if he were to be a believer at all. Now he must be pried away from that belief before he can be open to the gospel of Christ. This is the essence of counter-cult evangelism.<br /><br />In the future our evangelistic methods will have to assume that the non-Christian adheres to another faith that is contradictory to Christianity. That type of evangelism will call for knowledge of alternative beliefs, refutational information, relationship skills with people of non-Christian faiths, and most important, a good working knowledge of Christian doctrine and history.<br /><br />Watchman Fellowship offers training in such evangelism. We have been doing this sort of training across America in both large and small churches. There is a growing awareness of its need in many parts of the country where religious pluralism is the norm. There is less of it in the Bible Belt because we are still somewhat insulated. But, eventually even Georgia will feel these “winds of doctrine” blowing through the Church.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">If you wish to have Watchman Fellowship come to your church for training and awareness contact us<br /></span>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-71119026497724454922010-04-22T16:22:00.002-04:002010-04-22T16:35:11.918-04:00Watchtower Fulfills Endtime Prophecy!In Luke 21 Jesus tells His disciples there will be a number of signs to watch for when the “end” comes. One of these signs is in verse 8 which says, “And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, <span style="color:#ff0000;">I am Christ</span>; and <span style="color:#ff0000;">the time draweth near</span>: go ye not therefore after them” (KJV). The American Standard Version (1901) renders the second underlined phrase as, “<span style="color:#ff0000;">the time is at hand</span>.”<br /><br />The warning seems very clear for us. Is there anyone who has said, “I am Christ” and “The time is at hand?” It would make discernment of false Christ’s and false prophets very simple if we could just identify the people, or groups, that have said this.<br /><br />In the text quoted the word Christ is in Italics in the KJV to indicate that it is supplied by the translator to finish the meaning. Other translations will supply <em>he</em> to finish the meaning. The Greek simply says, “I am.”<br /><br />The second phrase is also rendered differently. In the Weymouth translation it says, “The time is close at hand.” The New English Bible says, “The Day is upon us.” The bottom line is that false spiritual leaders will claim a divine authority for themselves and point to an apocalyptic crisis to be avoided as a means of attracting followers.<br /><br />From its very beginning the Watchtower Society has pointed to the coming of Armageddon as the crisis to avoid. Charles T. Russell’s seven volume commentary <em>Studies In The Scriptures</em> are full of evidence of this apocalyptic message. And, of course, the means of avoidance is to join the Watchtower Society.<br /><br />A good example of Russell’s apocalyptic warning is found in Volume 2 of the <em>Studies</em> where he said, “Be not surprised, then, when in subsequent chapters we present proofs that the setting up of the Kingdom of God is already begun, that it is pointed out in prophecy as due to be begin the exercise of power in A. D. 1878, and that the ‘battle of the great day of God Almighty’ (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A. D. 1914, with the complete overthrow of earth’s present rulership, is already commenced” (page 101).<br /><br />Volume 2 of the <em>Studies in the Scriptures</em> is titled <em><span style="color:#ff0000;">The Time Is At Hand</span></em>. That is part one of the Watchtower’s fulfillment of Jesus predictive warning.<br /><br />But, what about the claim to be “Christ?” We know the Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the deity of Christ, and that they say Jesus became the Christ at his baptism. But, do they also claim to be the “Christ?”<br /><br />Jehovah’s Witnesses call the members of the 144,000, and more specifically the members of their Governing Body, the <em>Anointed</em>. ‘Christ’ means anointed in Greek. In <em>The New World</em>, published in 1942, this statement is made regarding the 144,000, “<span style="color:#ff0000;">These must all be anointed with God’s spirit, that is, officially commissioned as spirit-begotten witnesses of Jehovah God. Hence, the Christ, or The Anointed One, is a collective or composite company, Christ Jesus being the Head, and the 144,000 members of his church being the body</span>” (page 96).<br /><br />This is something the Watchtower has taught since it’s beginning but is little used by Christians witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is almost completely unknown by the rank and file Jehovah’s Witness. The Watchtower Society has placed the 144,000 and the Governing Body especially, on the same plane with Jesus Christ.<br /><br />There is much more to this subject but I will conclude with this last quote the most important parts of which I have highlighted.<br /><br />“It is thus seen that the <span style="color:#ff0000;">Church in the flesh (the Christ</span> in the flesh, Head and body) is the Elijah or forerunner of the Church in glory, Jehovah’s Anointed. Not the nominal church, but the really consecrated Church, which on the other side of the tomb will be <span style="color:#ff0000;">the great Anointed Deliverer</span>, - these constitute the Elijah…. <span style="color:#ff0000;">Our Lord Jesus and the Apostles, and all the faithful in Christ Jesus since, are</span> of this great antitypical Elijah, prophet or teacher – the same class (Head and body) which shall shortly compose <span style="color:#ff0000;">the King of Glory</span>…. Let us not be misunderstood: We have heretofore shown that God’s plan does not extend to the converting of the world during the Gospel age. He did not intend it to do so, but merely designed the selection and trial of the Church now, and the blessing of the world through <span style="color:#ff0000;">the Church, the Christ</span>, in an age to follow this” (page 252).<br /><br />That last quote came from Volume 2 of the <em>Studies in the Scriptures</em>, which is titled <em>The Time Is At Hand</em>. There you have in the very title of the book part two of Jesus predictive warning.David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-82722586183251901862010-03-12T14:05:00.002-05:002010-03-12T14:12:01.625-05:00BrainwashingThere is a psychological term for this gradual acceptance of something that would not otherwise be believed. It is cognitive dissonance theory. Leon Festinger described it in his book When Prophecy Fails. Festinger described three elements of social psychology, and behavior modification techniques, at work in group dynamics, and in the case described in his book, a cult milieu.<br /> <br />He said that if you can control <span style="color:#3366ff;">Behavior</span>, <span style="color:#3366ff;">Thought</span>, and <span style="color:#3366ff;">Emotions</span>, and, you can get a group of people to do very bizarre and wrong things. Festinger said that if one of the three elements is changed the other two would be powerfully influenced to come into agreement with it. People don’t like being hypocritical, after all. Steven Hassan, author of Combating Cult Mind Control, added a fourth criterion, <span style="color:#3366ff;">Information</span>, for the acronym <span style="color:#3333ff;">BITE</span>.<br /><br />When someone is recruited into a mind-controlling cult their behavior and personality begin to change dramatically. Someone who has known this person for years will be struck with the significance of the change and comment that “they are just not the person I used to know. What happened?” It is commonly called brainwashing, but is also known as mind control and thought reform.<br /><br />New recruits to totalistic groups experience this “thought reform” as the starting point in behavior modification. It begins with acceptance of a totally new premise underlying the cult worldview. That premise could be that all of current Christianity is apostate necessitating a restoration. Or, it could be that God only speaks to and through a particular chosen leader and you must listen to him to hear God. This premise then becomes the foundation that must be laid for the acceptance of the teachings and practices espoused by the group. If you have accepted the premise then follow-through on the secondary teachings and life style practices must follow or the recruit will be in a continual state of cognitive dissonance, or hypocrisy, in layman’s terms.<br /><br /><div align="left">The elements of thought reform or mind control were laid out in the research of Dr. Robert J. Lifton who studied the returning POWs after the Korean War. <br /><br /><br /><strong>Robert J. Lifton’s Eight Criteria of Mind Control<br /></strong><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Milieu Control</span> – the control of the environment including information, associations, time, and energy work to exclude any opportunity for opposition while also promoting the ‘party line’.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Mystical Manipulation</span> – this is the ‘higher calling’ for the follower to be a part of a utopian goal which requires his full devotion. The followers see the leaders as having achieved this higher calling hence they are worthy to be followed.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">The Demand For Purity</span> – the utopian goal can only be achieved by purity of devotion. Any failure to succeed means impurity exists somewhere and will be searched out by those in control.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">The Cult of Confession</span> – Failure to succeed means confessions must be made. Any weakness or failures, real or perceived, are to be confessed for the sake of the group. Even confessions where no wrong was actually done can spur the group to more purity.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">The Sacred Science</span> – The ideology, doctrine and mission of the group are so sacred that they must not be doubted or questioned. To do so is one of the worst offenses possible. However, without the option of questioning, a lie cannot be uncovered.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Loading the Language</span> – Certain words and phrases are so loaded with meaning that stark choices are implied leading to the end of critical thinking.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Doctrine Over Person</span> – What you see, hear or think is irrelevant in the face of the group’s doctrine. You must submerge your opinions in the group’s worldview.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">The Dispensing of Existence</span> – Only those who are committed to the group are valued. Those who oppose or betray the group can be dismissed, defamed, disfellowshipped, or killed.<br /><br />Conclusion:</div><div align="left"><br />The antidote to this process is truth, unimpeachably presented. When a cultist sees the truth as truth then a similar process by which he was recruited begins to set him free. He doesn’t want to by a hypocrite after all.<br /><br /> </div>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-17730779406019263792010-02-26T13:26:00.003-05:002010-02-26T13:40:17.723-05:00Arianism and Jehovah's Witnesses<div>Arianism, as it is called, was first promulgated by Arius, Presbyter of Alexandria, in the Fourth century AD. In his motivation to understand the nature of God Arius began with the Gnostic assumptions common to his time and place. One of the common assumptions of Gnosticism is that God, Who is spirit, is utterly holy but the material creation is utterly unholy. Gnostics held that these two could not come into direct contact. Therefore, when God wanted a “savior” for the world His solution was an “emanation” from Himself, that was sufficiently distant from Him that is wasn’t Him, but His emanation, that made contact with the unholy world. This Gnostic assumption therefore required that Jesus could not be fully God. He must therefore be a created god.</div>
<br /><div><br />This view, minus the Gnostic assumptions, is held today by two modern cults, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and all their splinter groups, and The Way International.</div>
<br /><div><br />Arianism was one reaction to the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity. Another heresy in the theological stew of that time was the Sabellian, or modalist, view of the Three in One nature of God. The Trinity is a mystery and therefore generates attempts to solve the mystery. The Sabellians concluded that the Three Persons were simply three manifestations of One Person. At one time God is the Father, at another time He is the Son, and at another He is the Spirit. But this heresy says that God is not three Persons simultaneously. Modalism is held today by the United Pentecostals and is commonly called the "Jesus Only" doctrine. This is a denial of the Unity of God in favor of the Oneness of God. The Arians were at the other end by denying the Oneness of God in favor of the three. The Son and Holy Spirit were held by many Arians to be lesser deities, and hence, they ceased to be monotheistic.<br /></div>
<br /><div>The Trinity was the view of God held by the vast majority of believers since the time of the Apostles. Various heresies came along to challenge orthodoxy but did not have the staying power of truth itself. When Arianism came on the scene it was quite successful in capturing the belief of many people.<br /></div>
<br /><div>It also came at a time when a new Roman Emperor, Constantine, was trying to unify his empire and religious division was one of the large problems he wanted resolved. This set the stage for some great theological debates between Arius and Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. At different times Arius was in the ascendancy and had the favor of Constantine who sent Athanasius into exile. At another time it was the reverse. It finally came to the Church Council at Nicaea and the Nicene Creed adopted in 325 AD. This creed rejected Arianism and affirmed the Trinitarian orthodoxy.<br /></div>
<br /><div>Arianism divided the Church for half a century. After its defeat at the Nicene Council it faded in influence. Today the Jehovah’s Witnesses are the chief proponents of the Arian view that Jesus is a created, or lesser, god. The Way International goes further than either Arius or the Watchtower Society. They hold that Jesus did not pre-exist his earthly life, nor do they affirm the lesser deity of Jesus.<br /></div>
<br /><div>The Bible is clear that Jesus is fully God with the Father and Holy Spirit. Nothing could be more explicit than John 1:1, which says, “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus existing eternally with the Father in eternity past) and the Word was with God (the Father and Holy Spirit, two Persons of the Trinity, and showing plurality of Persons in the Godhead) and the Word was God (deity, of the same divine substance with the Father).”</div>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-9331957147587137632010-02-19T13:21:00.001-05:002010-02-19T13:24:05.751-05:00Book of Mormon Contradicts BibleJoseph Smith called the Book of Mormon “the most correct of any book on earth” (Introduction to the Book of Mormon). That means it is superior in its accuracy to the Bible, according to the LDS church. When confronted with a contradiction between the Bible and the Book of Mormon a Latter-day Saint will prefer the Book of Mormon. However, there is one contradiction that Mormons recognize but try to justify. That pertains to the place of Jesus’ birth. Was he born in Bethlehem? Or, in Jerusalem? Christians and the Bible agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. History corroborates this as well.<br /><br />Micah 5:2 says, “<em>But thou Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting</em>.”<br /><br />In the Book of Mormon, Alma 7:10 says, “<em>And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel</em>…”<br />This is a clear contradiction between the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Mormons will try to say that Bethlehem, just five miles from Jerusalem, is “in the land of” Jerusalem, a major city. But the Bible calls Bethlehem “in the land of Judah,” not the land of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, too, was “in the land of“ Judah.<br /><br />Matthew 2:1-8 describes the meeting between Herod and the Wise Men from the East. Herod, upon hearing that the Messiah, the “King” of Israel, was born asked religious leaders where this was to occur. He was told “Bethlehem, in the land of Judah” (vs. 6).<br /><br />In this same passage you have both Jerusalem and Bethlehem mentioned. There is no confusion or mixing of the locale as if to generalize the location. They are discussed as different places in the context of Jesus’ birth. It is very specific. The question for a Mormon is which is he going to believe? The Mormon will most likely believe the Book of Mormon because he has been taught that the Bible has been tampered with and is not fully reliable. However, in this case the Bible is the valid record because of Old Testament prophecy that specifically identified Bethlehem as the Messiah’s birthplace, not Jerusalem.<br /><br />In a historically Christian nation where we all sing the words “O little town of Bethlehem” from the Silent Night Christmas carol the sense of contradiction is abundantly obvious.David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-11267483868682149752010-01-25T10:45:00.002-05:002010-01-25T10:53:30.363-05:00Why Samaria?“…<em>and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, <span style="color:#ff0000;">and in Samaria</span>, and unto the uttermost part of the earth</em>” (Acts 1:8).<br /><br /> Have you ever wondered why Jesus included Samaria in this text? Probably not. It is easy to assume that Jesus is simply expanding the geography of the disciples’ witness of Him. And that is true. The gospel began with the Jews but was quickly taken to the Gentiles as well. The Apostle Paul would go first to the synagogue to present the gospel to the Jews then to the Gentiles. But why did Jesus include the Samaritans? Is there some reason they are listed rather than some other nearby ethnic group or geographic direction?<br /><br /> Here is another thought to consider. The Samaritans were a cult arising out of Judaism. They were Jews who had intermarried with non-Jews in the eighth century BC. They also moved their worship of God from Jerusalem to Mt. Gerizim against the commands of Yahweh. They still exist today in a village called Kiryat Luza on the side of Mt. Gerizim. They are a small sect of seven hundred adherents who hold to the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. Like most cults they claim to be the true followers of Moses and the Jews returning from the Babylonian captivity brought back with them a corrupted Judaism. Most cults claim to be this pure “one true” version of the group from which they split.<br /><br /> To some extent Jesus was telling his disciples to carry the gospel to those from whom they were alienated, heretics of their own faith. Today Christians have the same situation with the pseudo-Christian cults. Besides the fact that they are sinners like everyone else they are also exerting great efforts to convert people to their “one true Christianity“ with “another” Jesus and “another” gospel.<br /><br /> They come to our doorstep with God’s Name on their lips and God’s Word in their hands. What will we do with them in our effort to reach the world with the gospel? In Jesus’ day the Jews would take the long route around Samaria to avoid the Samaritans. Today Christians don’t answer the door or say they are happy in their faith but fail to give a witness. Will we take the long route around this modern “Samaria” to avoid them as the Jews did in Jesus’ day? Or, will we face the cultists as Jesus would have us do?<br /><br /> Watchman Fellowship exists to guide Christians through this modern Samaria rather than around it. We publish our literature and present our seminars to help you through these difficult encounters. Contact us if you want more information.David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-1562122820679256232009-12-21T16:47:00.002-05:002009-12-21T16:50:10.350-05:00Who Joins Spiritually Abusive Groups?I regularly check for cult related news at a rather unique website. You can check it too at this link. <a href="http://www.cultnews.net/">http://www.cultnews.net/</a><br /><br />One of the things I hate to see when I go there is under the title “Clergy Abuse.” Most of the news in this category is sexual abuse but other forms also show up occasionally.<br /><br />If you have not experienced spiritual abuse personally thank God for it. You probably wonder how people get caught in something so obviously bad for them. Its not easy but it extremely common. Spiritual abuse grows out of a seedbed of legalism, a performance-based relationship with God. This leads to a focus on the external, or what is visible and can be checked by others. This is what Jesus referred to in the Pharisees as “whited sepulchers.” When our relationship with God can be reduced to the external it is probably accompanied with a person or group that reinforces that view.<br /><br />Anyone who has experienced this abuse needs to know three things. First, recovery can be found. Second, when you have recovered, give from your experience to others who are struggling with abuse and legalism to help them find hope again. And third, thank God for your experience (and the recovery) because you will then be a much stronger, and wiser Christian whom God will use to heal His wounded sheep.<br /><br />My workbook on Spiritual Abuse Recovery was dedicated “to the ‘Wounded Sheep’ who just wanted to serve God and please Him.” I have excerpted part of Chapter Two below to provide some insight into why this is a growing, and unrecognized, problem.<br /><br /><br /><strong><em>Chapter Two: Who Joins Abusive Groups?</em></strong><br /><br /><br /><em>“Most modern freedom is at root fear. It is not so much that we are too bold to endure rules; it is rather that we are too timid to endure responsibilities.”<br />G.K. Chesterton<br /><br /><br />The question of who joins high control religious groups seems like it would have a simple answer. It does not. Nor is there a simple answer to how it happens.<br />The starting place should be the question of what disposes a person to spiritual abuse? Why is a person vulnerable? What differences in people make one vulnerable and another not so vulnerable? I would love to know your answers to these questions but here is a list that may help you think it through.<br /><br />Which of these statements fit you?<br />1) I had a lack of knowledge of the Bible.<br />2) I was raised in an abusive family or church so I didn’t know the difference.<br />3) I was not sufficiently strong in critical thinking skills or will power.<br />4) I came to Christ through the abusive group’s influence.<br />5) I was like the frog in the kettle where things changed so gradually I didn’t notice until it was too late.<br />6) I am easily led, or I want someone to take the lead for me….<br /><br />…. People who were raised in families where dysfunction was the norm may gravitate toward a church that is like their family of origin. It’s all they know. It’s the familiar rut with an accepted comfort level. The way to break out of such a rut is exposure to a much more gracious culture. Hopefully the contrast will stir a hunger for grace and not performance. This is what the people in the Bible who knew they were sinners saw in Jesus. They contrasted Him to the self-righteous Pharisees and knew instantly that Jesus was someone to listen to.<br /></em><br />If you would like to obtain a copy of the Spiritual Abuse Recovery workbook send me an email at the address on this blog. I will tell you how you can receive it.David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-69382462141505237032009-12-04T15:59:00.002-05:002009-12-07T16:09:21.151-05:00Questions to Ask a Mormon<div> A scene from a Star Trek episode finds Captain Kirk posing questions to a computer that is determined to exterminate all carbon-based life forms. Kirk poses a question to the computer that the computer cannot resolve. Finally, the computer begins repeating the phrase, “More data please. It does not compute. It does not compute….” Kirk’s questions cause the computer to lock up in a never-ending struggle to resolve the logical conflict.</div>
<br /><div><br /> Mormons are not computers or Star Trek aliens. They are not like the Romulans, Klingons or Ferengi. I have already linked those alien species to other cult groups. :-)</div>
<br /><div><br /> On the other hand the use of a question can highlight a logical fallacy for any cultist. It can send the mind into what is called cognitive dissonance, a state of confusion caused by the perception of two conflicting truths. The resolution is found only in the acceptance of one and the dismissal of the other.</div>
<br /><div><br /> There is a significant problem, however, in using logical arguments with Mormons. They do not decide what is true on the basis of logic. They determine the truth of Mormonism by prayer. In the Book of Mormon (Moroni 10:4) an “investigator” is challenged to read the book of Mormon and pray that God will show the truth of it. To a Mormon the proof is in a subjective “burning in the bosom” response to their reading. This is a physical/emotional/spiritual experience. Those Mormons who have experienced it have a stronger resistance to objective evidences. That is not to say that objective evidences, or logic, are worthless because God opens the closed mind. We are simply to present the truth and leave its impact to Him.<br /><br /><font color="#ff0000">The Objective Challenge<br /></font><br /> Though Mormons test truth by prayer Joseph Fielding Smith, the tenth President of the LDS church, gave an objective criteria for determining the truth or fallacy of Mormonism. He said in his book Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, page 188,<br /><br /> “<em>Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned, or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground. If Joseph Smith was a deceiver, who willfully attempted to mislead the people, then he should be refuted, and his doctrines shown to be false, for the doctrines of an impostor cannot be made to harmonize in all particulars with divine truth. If his claims and declarations were built upon fraud and deceit, there would appear many errors and contradictions, which would be easy to detect. The doctrines of false teachers will not stand the test when tried by the accepted standards of measurement, the scriptures</em>.”<br /><br /> The “accepted standards of measurement” have always been objective. They include the written revelation of God in the Bible, the natural revelation in His creation, and a rational mind that can logically weigh evidences. When the Holy Spirit speaks to the human heart His words will always be in agreement with those objective evidences. Though prayer is good it is not one of the “accepted standards of measurement” because Satan can impersonate the Holy Spirit through what the Bible calls “seducing spirits”. This presents us with the first question to ask a Mormon.<br /><br /><br /><font color="#ff0000">Questions About The Book of Mormon<br /></font><br />If you have a “testimony” of the truth of the Book of Mormon how do you know it is not from a “seducing spirit” (see 1 Timothy 4:1)? Would not a “seducing spirit” be seductive, or in other words, feel good?</div>
<br /><div><br />Why rely on a subjective test when the Biblical test of truth claims were always objective? Isaiah 8:20 “To the law and to the testimony (scripture up to that time) if they speak not according to this word there is no truth in them.”</div>
<br /><div><br />Aren’t the scriptures “the accepted standards of measurement” according to Joseph Fielding Smith in Doctrines of Salvation (quoted above)?</div>
<br /><div><br />Do you know that the Muslim scripture, the Koran, is not scripture? How do you know? Have you read it and asked God sincerely whether it is true or not? Or, is it not true because you know it teaches doctrines that are not true? Isn’t that why the Book of Mormon should be tested by the same criteria, the “accepted standards of measurement,” the scriptures?<br /><br />Next time you have a couple young missionaries at your door thank them for coming and say, “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve had some questions I have wanted to ask. Let me get them (print this out and put it in your Bible).</div>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-21180498154496369202009-11-13T15:53:00.000-05:002009-11-13T15:58:28.629-05:00May The "Force" Be With You?The Watchtower Society teaches that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force, not having the three attributes of personality intellect, emotion, and will. Nor do they believe the Spirit is deity. They compare the Holy Spirit to a radar beam or electricity, a force, hence the title of this piece.<br /><br />The Watchtower can accept the eternal existence of the Holy Spirit because “it” is Jehovah’s power. Since Jehovah is eternal and His “power” or “active force” has been His eternally then the Holy Spirit is also eternal. By the way, the Watchtower never says “the” Holy Spirit. They always say Holy Spirit without the definite article.<br /><br />Since Christians firmly hold to the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit it would be useful to pose a few questions to focus the Witnesses mind on a contradiction their belief presents. According to the Watchtower all “spirits” have the attributes of personality, intellect, emotion and will, except the Holy Spirit. Why? My opinion is that to accept the personality of the Holy Spirit would be to take a step toward the Trinity, which they hate. The Holy Spirit is, according to the Bible, eternal (Hebrews 9:14), and if He is a “person” then He must also be deity for only God is an eternal Person, having no beginning and no end.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">First Question</span>:<br /><br />Is Jehovah a spirit and is He a “personal” being having the three attributes of intellect, emotion, and will?<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Answer</span>: The Jehovah’s Witnesses will say “yes.”<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Second Question</span>:<br /><br />According to the Watchtower is Jesus a spirit today in heaven? Does He have the three attributes of personality?<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Answer</span>: Again, the JW will agree.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Third Question</span>:<br /><br />Are angels spirits? Do they have the attributes of personality?<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Answer</span>: Yes.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Fourth Question</span>: Is Satan a spirit? Is he a being with the attributes of personality?<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Answer</span>: Yes.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Fifth Question</span>: Are demons spirits? Do they have the attributes of personality?<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Answer</span>: Yes.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Sixth Question</span>:<br /><br />Is the Holy Spirit a spirit? Does He have the attributes of personality?<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Answer</span>: No.<br /><br />Why not? Why are all spirits personal beings but not the Holy Spirit?<br /><br />Another objection by the Watchtower to the personality of the Holy Spirit is that they believe a person cannot indwell another person. This objection has no logic to it in my opinion because the Witnesses believe you can be “indwelled” (possessed) by a demon. So if a demon can get inside you why not the Holy Spirit? This belief of the Watchtower is borne out in their mistranslation of many passages of scripture where believers are said to be “in” Christ, or Christ “in” us. They translate these verses as being “in union with” Christ.<br /><br />Further, if the Holy Spirit is not a personal being how can an “it” carry on a personal conversation as in Acts 8:29; 10:19, 20; 13:2; 21:11; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; and 3:6.<br /><br />The Holy Spirit has the three attributes of personality.<br /><br /><span style="color:#009900;">Intellect</span>:<br />Romans 8:27 “The MIND of the Spirit.”<br />1 Corinthians 2:10-12 The Spirit “KNOWS.”<br /><br /><span style="color:#009900;">Emotion</span>:<br />Ephesians 4:30 “GRIEVE not the Spirit.”<br /><br /><span style="color:#009900;">Will</span>:<br />1 Corinthians 12:11 “The Spirit WILLS.”<br /><br />Conclusion:<br /><br />“Let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit SAYS…” (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-25009179098245779542009-11-04T14:00:00.000-05:002009-11-04T14:27:10.335-05:00Scientology Takes a Licking?In the past the Church of Scientology (COS) intimidated its foes outside the church to silence their criticism. They threatened Watchman Fellowship a few times to no avail. However, now the COS is facing a new and very high level of criticism from former high-ranking members who have “blown”, i.e., left the church.<br /><br />In the 1980’s Time magazine published an extensive article describing Scientology as “A Cult of Greed.” They were sued by COS. Now The St. Petersburg Times is publishing extensive print and video testimony of a number of former Scientologists. What they have to say reminds me of the movies Enemy of the State, and The Firm. Interesting stuff to watch.<br /><br />Go to the <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/">www.tampabay.com</a> website and click on the banner “Chased by their church” to find the stories of escape and intrigue. One escapee constructed a tool similar to a rolling pin to slide down a ships hawser to the dock to escape his confinement. Another rolled his motorcycle near the iron gates and waited till a car left the compound. When the gates were open he gunned his cycle and got through the gates before they closed. The videos can’t be uploaded to this blog so go to their site and watch.<br /><br />Meanwhile a court in France found the COS guilty of fraud. “Wednesday, 28 October 2009 was branded an "organised fraud" by a French court yesterday and fined €600,000 (£545,000) for preying financially on vulnerable believers.”<br /><br /><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/scientology-fined-163545000-in-first-conviction-for-fraud-1810519.html">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/scientology-fined-163545000-in-first-conviction-for-fraud-1810519.html</a><br /><br />Elsewhere in Europe, “The German domestic intelligence service keeps the Church of Scientology under surveillance as a potential threat to democracy. Belgian prosecutors have been building a blackmail case against it for 11 years.”<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/scientology-religious-sect-or-money-making-cult/article1340903/">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/scientology-religious-sect-or-money-making-cult/article1340903/</a><br /><br />The Church of Scientology “has taken a licking, can it keep on ticking?”David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-27445162448858547132009-10-02T13:37:00.000-04:002009-10-02T13:39:46.285-04:00Characteristics of a Spiritually Abusive Group(<strong>Note</strong>: <em>This article is a summary of the latest issue of The News & Views, our monthly Watchman Fellowship newsletter. It will be sent free to any who request it. Click the email link to the left.)</em><br /><br />In a high control group the most important control factor is the flow of information. We have all heard the saying that “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” but the converse of that is that the lack of knowledge can be even more dangerous. The prophet Hosea said, “My people perish for lack of knowledge.”<br /><br />If you don’t have the knowledge of how to survive a trek in a rain forest you probably won’t be heard from again. Such an environment is hostile to almost all life forms. Human survival in such an environment is based on knowledge of the dangers and being able to adapt to them.<br /><br />Interestingly, at least to me, religion can be like a dangerous environment where knowledge and adaptability are the two most important survival skills. For the sake of putting my analogy in a Christian context let me say that some environments are not very dangerous, if at all, while others on the opposite end of the scale are deadly. It should also be stated that the Christian gospel is not dangerous to anyone, but the message of radical Islam is very deadly as witnessed recently in the beheadings of three pastors in Nigeria who refused to recant their faith in Christ.<br /><br />Http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2009/aug/06/national-06-08-2009-01.htm<br /><br />Having set the scale of measurement between the extremes what are the telltale signs to look for in any group that might be problematic? In my workbook on Spiritual Abuse Recovery I list thirteen characteristics of a high control group. An analysis of the reasons for each of the abuses will help you to understand why they exist.<br /><br />There are essentially two reasons for high control mechanisms to exist. First, the “truth” of the group is not the truth at all and must be defended with lies. Second, the leader is a narcissist, or a controlling personality, and feels insecure or threatened by anyone around him who does not submit to his will. I think you will see this with each of the abuse symptoms.<br /><br />A Spiritually Abusive Group Will:<br /><br />1) Claim a Superior Status With God<br /><br />2) Focus on the Leaders Position of Authority<br /><br />3) Provide No Accountability For Leaders<br /><br />4) Try to Control Your Time and Sources of Information<br /><br />5) Close You Off From Outsiders<br /><br />6) Put You on a Performance Treadmill<br /><br />7) Emphasize Conformity to Legalistic Rules<br /><br />8) Use Fear and Guilt to Manipulate You to Comply<br /><br />9) Blame Misfortune on Lack of Faith<br /><br />10) Wound People Spiritually and Emotionally<br /><br />11) Shut Off Discussion About Forbidden Subjects<br /><br />12) Label Those Who Dissent<br /><br />13) Label Former Members as Unspiritual<br /><br />Conclusion<br /><br />According to Jeff vanvonderen, author of <em>The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse</em>, the symptoms manifested by a serious spiritual abuse victim are identical to those of a victim of incest. The ability to trust spiritual leaders is lost. Religious jargon can trigger anger for many years afterward. Therefore avoidance of the sources of their trauma is the only recourse left. Evangelical churches are not immune either. Scores of thousands leave evangelical churches every week according to William Hendricks in his book <em>Exit Interviews</em>.<br /><br />We should be aware of the controlling tendencies of fallen man. We should also stand up for God’s truth while practicing the same grace toward others that He showed to us while we were still sinners.David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-49464046408493904042009-09-17T13:44:00.000-04:002009-09-17T14:07:04.494-04:00The Bible is TrustworthyMy favorite Christian apologist is Dr. Ravi Zacharias. I urge everyone to go to YouTube and type in his name and watch a few segments.<br /><br />In the video below Dr. Zacharias briefly describes why the Bible is a trustworthy document and has survived thousands of years against the attacks of skeptics and critics.<br /><br />It is in reality not one book but sixty-six. So when you quote the Bible to defend the Bible it is not circular reasoning. To quote Isaiah to defend Matthew about the birth of Jesus is to quote two people separated by hundreds of years.<br /><br />The Bible has an internal unity that is not matched by any other religious scripture. The Quran can be divided into two contradictory parts. Mohammed wanted the favor of Christians and Jews and spoke favorably of them as “people of the book.”<br /><br />"Not all of them are alike; a party of the people of the Scripture stand for the right, they recite the Verses of God during the hours of the night, prostrating themselves in prayer. They believe in God and the Last Day; they enjoin Al-Ma'rûf and forbid Al-Munkar ; and they hasten in (all) good works; and they are among the righteous. And whatever good they do, nothing will be rejected of them; for God knows well those who are Al-Muttaqûn." (Sura 3:113-115).<br /><br />However, when the Jews and Christians rejected Mohammed as a true prophet he in turn rejected them. Afterward his attitude toward them was hostility and aggression. For example, the Quran says that Allah has cursed the Jews and turned them into swine and apes (Sura 5:60-64). This is an example of internal disunity, a conflict or contradiction, within the Muslim scripture.<br /><br />The Book of Mormon has horses on the North American continent many centuries before they were first brought here by the Spanish Conquistadors. It lists places, events, tribes, religious beliefs and practices, and coinage that have absolutely no evidence in history. This is an example of an external disunity, or conflict with the evidence outside the Book of Mormon.<br /><br />The Quran is a book of sayings similar in style to Proverbs.<br /><br />The Book of Mormon claims to be a history similar in style to 1st and 2nd Chronicles.<br /><br />The Bible, however, is a variety of literary forms. It contains history, poetry, apocalyptic, legal, biographical, letters, and the prophetic.<br /><br />It was written in widely separated locations including Babylon, Rome, Asia Minor, and of course Israel.<br /><br />It was written by forty authors from the whole spectrum of Jewish society. They included kings, shepherds, prophets, priests, and even a tax collector.<br /><br />It was written over a period of 1500 years and despite this diversity of time, place, and authors, it is a unified message that is non-contradictory either internally or externally.<br /><br />Most of all the Bible has changed lives. But it has also changed cultures, nations, and the world. The Bible’s central character, Jesus, is the dividing point in history, the years being BC (Before Christ), or AD (anno domini, year of our Lord). Western civilization is based upon the heritage of the Judeo-Christian Bible.<br /><br />Watch Ravi and I think you will find yourself watching his other clips on YouTube.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pHRP0I2SrVs&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pHRP0I2SrVs&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-11403721281216685472009-08-28T12:20:00.000-04:002009-08-28T14:22:54.685-04:00A Spiritual Abuse Testimony<div>A couple months ago I published the testimony of “Jennifer” in the <em>News & Views</em>. I had heard from Jennifer months before about her struggle to find peace with her past experience of spiritual abuse. I sent her five copies of my <em>Spiritual Abuse Recovery</em> workbook and suggested she write down her story as a form of therapy in her spiritual and emotional recovery.<br /><br />The workbook is set up with thought provoking questions to facilitate reflection. Later Jennifer sent me her story in print. With her permission I published it in our newsletter. If you want a copy email me at the address on this blog site and I will send it to you.<br /><br />What I find repeatedly in cases of spiritual abuse is the gradual twisting of one’s perspective on reality. It is seldom a sudden change. Some basic assumptions about the group, its leader, or worldview usually precede the twisting of one’s thinking. To illustrate I have clipped several paragraphs from Jennifer’s testimony and pasted them below.<br /><br /><em>At this point the leader of this cult told me to quit my job, sell everything I owned, put my house up for sale and leave everyone behind. I was to ex-communicate myself from everyone who was not involved in the cult. He used scripture to back up everything he told me to do – such as “let the dead bury their dead” “ anyone who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of me” etc,…<br /><br />So I sold everything I had, clothes and all, put my house up for sale, moved to another town and quit my job.<br /><br />I know as you are reading this you might think how could I have not seen the red flags but all I can tell you was that it was so subtle so gradual and he used the Word to back up everything he did and because I was a baby in the Word I could not discern the half truths. Not to mention the fact that he told us if we left we would go to hell.</em> </div>
<br /><div><br /><br />Now watch Jennifer tell her story as broadcast on CBN's The 700 Club.<br /><br /></div>
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<br /><p>This video illustrates the nature of spiritual abuse. It is a problem in our society that goes far beyond the cults which are by nature legalistic and controlling. Anywhere you have people in a religious setting this kind of abuse can happen. Knowing the way it manifests itself is your first defense against it. In the next issue of the News & Views I will be discussing the characteristics of abusive religion. These characteristics are listed on the back cover of the <em>Spiritual Abuse Recovery</em> workbook. In the next newsletter I describe one of those characteristics. It is that they,...</p>
<br /><p><font color="#000099"><strong>Provide No Accountability For Leaders<br /></strong><br />This commonly occurs as a “cult of personality” where the leader allows his adoring followers to elevate him to a pedestal where it is considered rude to question him. Some groups have their leader on such a pedestal as a matter of doctrine, i.e., a prophet of God, or the above described “chain of command”. In either case the leader can impose his will with little resistance because it is considered as coming from God. Frequently he will surround himself with a Board of “Yes men” who will provide him cover from genuine accountability.</font></p>
<br /><p><font color="#cc0000">If you wish to receive my newsletter you can click on my email address in the upper left of this blog. The subscription is free.</font></p>
<br /><p>You can also obtain a copy of the <em>Spiritual Abuse Recovery</em> workbook. Send $20 to Watchman Fellowship, PO Box 7681, Columbus, GA 31908 with a written request for the workbook and I will send it to you. I will also send you Jennifer's testimony as printed in the <em>News & Views</em>.</p>
<br /><p><br /></p>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-7034767486924407632009-08-21T13:40:00.000-04:002009-08-21T14:58:39.397-04:00A Mormon Absurdity?<div>Mormons believe we all existed before this life as ‘spirit children’ of a heavenly father and one of his goddess wives. In Mormon doctrine they expect to progress on to one of the three levels of heaven, for Mormons that is the highest level, the Celestial Kingdom, after this earthly life. But between the pre-existence as ‘spirit children’ and the afterlife comes being born into ‘mortality’ or this earthly existence.<br /><br />Mormons believe all of humanity pre-existed this life on earth. At this point you are probably wondering why you don’t remember it. Orson Pratt can explain it.<br /><br />Orson Pratt was one of the original Mormon Twelve Apostles ordained by Joseph Smith in 1835. Though he apostatized in 1842 he was re-baptized in 1843 and reinstated to the Council of the Twelve Apostles. He died in 1881. He made the following Statement that has not been changed in Mormon understanding since 1854.<br /><br />“When Jesus was born into our world, his previous knowledge was taken from him; this was occasioned by His spiritual body being compressed into a smaller volume than it originally occupied, … when this spirit was compressed, so as to be wholly enclosed in an infant tabernacle, it had a tendency to suspend memory; …So it is with man. When he enters a body of flesh, his spirit is so compressed and contracted in infancy that he forgets his former existence…” (The Seer, February 1853, 1854, p. 21).<br /><br />When you are in the business of inventing a religion absurdities such as the above will inevitably occur.</div>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-79692181190192480712009-07-20T15:19:00.000-04:002009-07-20T15:26:39.762-04:00Jehovah's Witnesses and BloodJehovah’s Witnesses are known for their refusal of blood transfusions. But they also will refuse to eat meat that has not been properly bled, or even to use any product, food or otherwise, that contains blood.<br /><br />What they fail to understand is that blood as used in the Bible is a symbol; it is not sacred, in and of itself. That which it symbolizes, life and redemption, specifically the life and redeeming blood of Christ, are what are sacred.<br /><br />God saw to it that Israel gave high respect to blood because it was an essential part of His redemptive work, i.e., the shed blood of Jesus. But when the pharisee types get their hands on what God has said there are some strange “rules” that can result.<br /><br />An example is the Watchtower Society answer to a question I asked in 1979, back when they sent their answers on their letterhead. I asked about the blood seepage into the mouth when a tooth has been pulled. Their answer was that “…a Christian, while he is conscious, would be able to spit out what blood has accumulated in his mouth…” (letter to me dated January 12, 1979).<br /><br />Another question I asked them regarded the storage of one’s own blood for use in a future operation. This is called an autologous transfusion. Their reply was that it “would be a violation of the Scriptural principles that govern the handling of blood) (letter to me dated September 5, 1977).<br /><br />This lead to questions regarding the use of kidney dialysis machines which take the blood out of the body, clean it, and put it back into the body. What is the essential difference between this process and an autologous transfusion? The difference, as I understand it, is that the dialysis machine maintains an unbroken flow of blood from the body to the machine and back into the body again. However, what would they say if a nurse pinched the tube?<br /><br />The Watchtower (2/15/64, pages 127, 128 and 6/15/82, page 31) said that Christians should not knowingly feed, or allow, blood to be fed to animals over which they have control. If this reasoning is followed does a Jehovah’s Witness allow himself to enjoy his back yard in the summer knowing that mosquitoes are going to drink his blood? And what about Jehovah creating such creatures who don’t drain the blood before they eat the flesh? Or, why did He create bloodsucking critters?<br /><br />But Jehovah’s Witnesses will be glad to know that now there is a kosher sausage they can eat. An enterprising Spaniard came up with a bloodless sausage according to this report…<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/16813/bloodless-black-sausage-created-for-jehovahs-witnesses">http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/16813/bloodless-black-sausage-created-for-jehovahs-witnesses</a>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-8638622422951373222009-07-08T14:44:00.000-04:002009-07-08T16:26:30.126-04:00An Attitude Adjustment<div>When I was in Bible college I heard students talk about coming up with “spiritual gems” to discuss in their class. The professor made that a regular part of her class. It was a practical way of getting students to focus on wisdom and understanding that they would have to draw on when they were in day-to-day ministry later in life. In the mid-1990’s I read Randall Arthur’s book <em>Wisdom Hunter</em> and I found a treasure trove of insights into the dark side of Christianity, legalism and spiritual abuse, the opposite of grace.<br /><br />Randall Arthur (his real name is Randy Dodd) was sent as a missionary to Norway by a legalistic mission agency. He said his attitude when he arrived was that he and his wife were probably the only Bible believing witness in the whole country. Thirteen years later he returned home a very changed man. He had found Christianity alive and gracious in Norway. His book is fiction but the lessons learned by the leading character, Jason Faircloth, are very real. Randy has written two other books. His second book, <em>Jordan’s Crossing</em>, focuses on the problems with liberal Christianity. His third book, <em>Betrayal</em>, returns to the legalism and abuse theme. I have strongly recommended Randy’s books for people who are exiting legalistic and abusive religion because of their teaching and therapy value.</div>
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<br /><div>In all high control religious groups the authority of the leader is emphasized. It is the first characteristic of any high control system. This authority is not the moral authority exemplified by Jesus but is that of controlling authority. To disagree with, or worse, confront such 'authority' is to bring down wrath upon oneself. This is not the kind of spiritual authority described in the New Testament.<br /><br />In the telling of Jason Faircloth’s story you learn important and practical lessons in wisdom. Wisdom is what Jason is hunting for as a way to make sense of his terrible experiences. His first lesson is that of a <strong>Student Attitude vs. Authoritarian Attitude</strong>.<br /><br />He says, <em>“All my Christian life I was taught both directly and indirectly, both professionally and nonprofessionally, that a preacher should be an authority, and that he should clearly, and forcefully if necessary, display the attitude of an authority. ‘No one’, I was told, ‘should ever develop the idea that the preacher is weak or doesn’t know the answers’.<br /><br />“After having succumbed to that philosophy and being driven by it for fifteen years, I am now convinced that there are few things more counterproductive, self-defeating, and utterly destructive than a mortal preacher with an authoritarian attitude.”<br /><br />“I realize now that my attitude was the cause of countless and uncalled-for offenses. The number of people who left my ministry because of it was almost equal to the number of people who joined it for other reasons. For the first time I now understand that those who could not tolerate my attitude, and thus decided to leave, were people who had more potential for dynamic Christian growth than those who stayed. The ones who stayed were the simple-minded ‘yes’ people. The ones who left were the ‘thinkers’, the people whose active, creative, and hungry minds were being suffocated by my style of leadership.”<br /><br />“Never again will I be characterized as one who has an authoritarian attitude. For as long as need be, I will purposely work at suppressing that kind of flagrant attitude and will work at cultivating a student attitude in its place.”<br /><br />“It’s now clear that I actually know very little. Therefore I’ve resolved to open my mind and let the world be my classroom. So that I don’t swing to the other extreme and become a philosophical anarchist, I’ll let the Bible, objectively interpreted, be the filter that governs what I soak up in my quest for true wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and insight.”<br /><br />“Though I am no longer in the ministry, and have no desire to be, I am somehow convinced that God takes sides with me and is maybe even the one who helped me learn this lesson. After all, the only group of people whom Jesus could not and would not tolerate were the self-righteous and know-it-all Pharisees. Even Jesus, God-in-the-flesh, could not enlighten them and expose to them their extreme and distorted beliefs. Their authoritarian attitude prevented him from penetrating their minds with the facts. Fed up with their foolish know-it-all attitude, Jesus told them outright that they had discarded knowledge. They had locked up the room where real learning takes place, and thrown away the key. And both they and their followers were on the outside of that room. They had closed their minds to learning because they already ‘knew it all’.”<br /><br />“Never again will I be pharisaical and lock myself and those I influence out of that room. From this day forward, I will have an open mind and a student attitude”</em> (Wisdom Hunter, pages 130 and 131).<br /><br />If you have experienced the damaging effects of legalism or spiritual abuse you are probably seeking ways to understand what happened and to sort out your emotions. Seek wisdom from God. Don’t let anger turn to bitterness and cynicism. You will only injure yourself further by it. Because of your injury you may be that one lost sheep that Jesus leaves the ninety and nine to find and return to His safe fold. Think of Him as the Good Shepherd Who is looking for you. Let Him find you by seeking His wisdom as a way to understand your experience and find healing.<br /><br />My <em>Spiritual Abuse Recovery Workbook</em> is a resource I can offer to you. If you, or someone you know, needs it send me an email (<a href="mailto:dhenke@watchman.org">dhenke@watchman.org</a>).<br /> </div>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-43133974331755578832009-06-30T11:52:00.000-04:002009-06-30T11:56:29.464-04:00Michael Jackson and Jehovah's WitnessesPaul Blizard has been a longtime friend of Watchman Fellowship. He is a former third generation ex-Jehovah’s Witness who today preaches the gospel as the pastor of one of West Virginia’s largest churches. His comments on the recent death of Michael Jackson are not only very interesting but also will give you insights into life as a Jehovah’s Witness.<br /><br /><br /><strong>"There but for the Grace of God go I”</strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">This past week a great talent and a giant in the music industry died at fifty years old. What a tragic loss! Yes, I’m talking about Michael Jackson. Like many of you, I grew up with his music that spanned almost forty years. I realize that cable news is giving his death wall-to-wall coverage. But I also have some things to say about him. You may not know this, but those of us who are former Jehovah’s Witnesses have some insight into his life and know why he was so strange. The Jackson children were all taken to the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall when they were young. As far as I know, only his sisters, Latoya, Janet and Michael became official Jehovah’s Witnesses. If it hadn’t been for their mother Catherine they would not have been exposed to the religion. Their father, Joseph, was not a Jehovah’s Witness and was the driving force who pushed them into the music industry. They were torn between two worlds. Imagine the life. Jehovah’s Witnesses prohibit any kind of lifestyle or career in the arts, yet here they were, totally involved in the music industry. Their lives caused quite a stir in the Jehovah’s Witness religion. In fact, as teenagers we would always point to Michael and the contradictions of his life. On one hand, he claimed to be a Jehovah’s Witness on the other he was doing what we could not do. It was not only hard on the Jehovah’s Witness leaders; it was difficult for every family within the community. Parents were always trying to explain why we could not be recording artists and performers. Yet, Michael was the problem they could not escape from.<br /><br />The Watchtower officially took no stand because of the notoriety of Michael and of course his money. I remember in the late 1970’s when Michael was a becoming a superstar. I was at the Watchtower headquarters in New York. He and his family came through the headquarters on a tour of the facilities. It was all the buzz. We were ordered not to ask for autographs, but many did. I only saw him from a distance as his group passed through our building. Years later, when I was a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show, she asked me during the commercial break about some of the things I was saying about the restrictions in the Jehovah’s Witness religion. Oprah asked me, “Paul, I know Michael Jackson, he is a Jehovah’s Witness, he gives birthday gifts and celebrates Christmas. What about that?” I said, “Well, Oprah, I wouldn’t say this on the air, but it has to do with his millions and what he gives to the organization. He lives by a different standard. That’s the hypocrisy of the religion.” As soon as we came back from the break, in front of millions, Oprah put me on the spot by asking me the same question. I framed my answer carefully and made a hand gesture about money rather than directly making that claim. I certainly didn’t want to be sued by the Jacksons. A few months later, Catherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, wrote a book, My Life With The Jacksons, where she made reference to my comments as being false.<br /><br />The weirdness of Jackson came later. He never did have a childhood because of the religion and his contradictory life in the music business. Not many know this, but being a good Jehovah’s Witness, he would put on disguises and go from door-to-door selling Watchtower magazines and books. He had several outfits he would wear. On the set of “Thriller” he had a Watchtower elder present who would approve of every move. Of course the occult themes were certainly over the top and we protested. The original “Thriller” album had printed warnings stating, “I do not endorse or promote the occult. “ Again, the contradiction. Finally, because of the tremendous pressure, Michael resigned from the Jehovah’s Witness religion. I prayed for him often to find Jesus Christ as Savior, yet it did not happen. Contrary to the rules, he kept in touch with his mother and other family who were Jehovah’s Witnesses, again the hypocrisy. If any of us who have left the religion had contact with our families they would be disfellowshipped (shunned).<br /><br />I have observed his life and have prayed for him often. Again, the weirdness was due to his involvement with the religion and the constant guilt he lived with. Without Jesus Christ we are empty. He is the only One who gives us fulfillment and peace. Michael did not have it. He gave millions to causes, probably trying to relieve the guilt of trying to please the God of his mother, yet could not. Last year, for whatever reason, he finally converted to Islam. <br /><br />What would his life been like if he knew Jesus? We can only say he would be in heaven today. He also would not have had to live through the torment of trying to serve a god and a religion, which demands so much. He would have been able to live life knowing that God loved him just the way he was. Jesus makes all the difference.<br /><br />Yet, we dare not judge…”There but for the Grace of God go I”<br /></span><br /><br />Paul’s is the senior pastor of Memorial Baptist Church in Beckley, West Virginia.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.memorialbaptistbeckley.com/">http://www.memorialbaptistbeckley.com/</a><br /><br />Paul’s testimony and many resources on the subject of Jehovah’s Witnesses can be read at his website. I highly recommend you read his testimony.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.paulblizard.org/">http://www.paulblizard.org/</a>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-8006297770677368842009-06-25T13:39:00.000-04:002009-06-25T13:48:00.982-04:00Scientology Getting Bad PressIn the early to mid 90’s Watchman Fellowship ventured into the subject of Scientology and caught the attention of that “church.” Reprinted below is an article outlining the resulting legal skirmishes with them.<br /><br />Scientology Threatens Watchman with "OT" Lawsuit<br /><br />In a letter dated 9 February 1996, Helena Kobrin, an attorney representing Scientology's "Religious Technology Center" renewed legal threats against Watchman Fellowship. Kobrin alleges that Watchman is in possession of, and thereby could theoretically distribute copies of, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's top-secret Operating Thetan (OT) literature. Thus, Kobrin claims, Watchman is in violation of the US Copyright laws, as well as "trade secret and unfair competition laws."<br /><br />In her original threat dated 13 June 1995, Kobrin warned of immediate legal action including "damages, an injunction, and impounding of materials and equipment used in perpetrating the infringing acts."<br /><br />Kobrin's February 9th letter is the latest of six letters written to Watchman Fellowship or attorneys representing our ministry concerning this issue. In one letter dated 29 June 1995, Kobrin gave a detailed description making it appear that Scientologists or agents of the church may have gained access to Watchman Fellowship's Texas office without our knowledge.<br /><br />Watchman Fellowship has not violated any copyright or trade secret laws - nor do we have any plans to violate such laws. We are not engaged in "unfair competition" with the Church of Scientology or any of its corporate entities. This attack, we believe, is one more example of Scientology's long history of using the legal system to persecute those who disagree with their theology.<br /><br />Perhaps Scientologists are trying to use this issue as a pretense to search and seize Watchman's files, computers, and confidential counseling correspondence. Or perhaps their motive is found in the words of their founder, L. Ron Hubbard, who said, "...beware of attorneys who tell you not to sue...the purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than to win." (Time, 6 May 1991, p. 38)<br /><br />Earlier Lawsuits<br /><br />Scientologists have already sued Watchman Fellowship on two earlier occasions. In 1992, Watchman Fellowship's Southeastern director Craig Branch, the Cult Awareness Network, and several others were named in a $9.5 million lawsuit filed by Sterling Management Systems (SMS). Sterling was named by Time magazine as one of Scientology's "front groups and financial scams." (Ibid., p. 54) Watchman's portion of the suit was quashed by a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge. Last year, Sterling Management System lost the whole suit. (Cult Awareness Network News, September 1995, p. 1)<br /><br />Again in 1992 the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology filed another lawsuit against Watchman Fellowship. Among other claims, the suit accused Watchman Fellowship of involvement in a conspiracy of illegal activities including detaining a client of the Church of Scientology, Glover Rowe, against his will and forcing him to breach his contract with Scientology. Of course, no one at Watchman Fellowship endorses or engages in any form of kidnapping or involuntary "deprogramming." Ironically, Glover Rowe claimed that it was Scientologists, not Watchman Fellowship, that were guilty of falsely imprisoning him and his wife and intentionally inflicting emotional stress on his family. (Cherokee County Herald, 12 December 1990, pp. 1A, 5A)<br /><br />As far as we know, the two lawsuits in 1992 represent the first time the Church of Scientology or its related businesses have sued a Christian organization.<br /><br />Scientology's 1992 legal attacks against Watchman Fellowship were reported in Christianity Today. In their article, an attorney defending Watchman, Eric Johnston of the Rutherford Institute, stated, "this kind of case carries significant implications of censorship on the freedom of religion and freedom of speech guaranteed for religious organizations." He explained, "One of the questions is whether Christian organizations have the right...to publicly speak out against groups that are in conflict with their faith and/or who fraudulently represent themselves as compatible with Christianity." (Christianity Today, 24 February 1992, p. 60)<br /><br />Speaking of lawsuits, here is a link to a segment from Boston Legal that will give you an entertaining explanation of Scientology beliefs.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wfial.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=resources.scientology">http://www.wfial.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=resources.scientology</a><br /><br />The St. Petersburg Times has published a multi-faceted report of the recent exit of four high-ranking Scientologists. This is perhaps the biggest story to come out on Scientology since Time magazine ran their expose’ in the 90’s. You can read, or view, their stories at this link;<br /><br /><a href="http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/project/">http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/project/</a>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-45510674385024316932009-06-17T15:00:00.000-04:002009-06-17T15:08:03.892-04:00Deliverance? Ministries, Not The Movie.I was asked, “do you believe in deliverance/healing ministry?”<br /><br />My reply was…<br /><br />“<em>I think 90% of deliverance ministries are fear based, and devil-centered. Let me explain. Once we become Christians our focus thereafter is always on Christ. We are not given a spirit of fear of the devil, demons, curses, etc. We are to keep our eyes on Christ and keep our life moving toward Him. If we take our eyes off Jesus and start looking for demons and curses we become like Peter when he walked on the water. He took his eyes off Christ and sank.</em><br /><br /><em>Christ is our Protector. If we have any sin problem (curse, demonic oppression, etc.) He will address it in our heart through His Spirit and His Word.</em><br /><br /><em>Deliverance ministries lead to fear because they are not focused on Jesus. They are focused on the enemy and his ways. That is why Romans 16:19 tells us regarding evil “be simple." We should not be overly interested in the devil or his activities because we are not equipped to fight him. Only Jesus can fight that battle for us and that is why we must stay focused on Him.</em><br /><br /><em>I hope I answered your question</em>.”<br /><br />The emailer wrote back and said,…<br /><br /><em>This makes all the sense in the world. I have never heard this before. After I was saved 10 years ago, I felt freedom, peace, and joy I had never known. When I got involved in ministry at (church name withheld), my relationship with the Lord subtly changed into one of fear because of this very thing. We were constantly having prayer meetings... binding, rebuking, "casting out", yelling at the devil. I never had a pure feeling about this but was taught it was our "responsibility" and if you were being oppressed it was because you weren't "warfaring" as you should. This brought in a lot of fear and strife. You are right, now I see how much the devil was being glorified over the Lord. My eyes turned to the power of Satan and away from the power of the Christ.<br /><br />Thanks again for your answer. The Lord has been so good to use your ministry to get me back on track and like Peter, when the Lord restores me, I will turn back and help restore my brother (and sister).<br /></em><br />In my reading on the subject I found an article by Bob DeWaay describing the problems with deliverance ministries. Bob was one of them in the past, a deliverance counselor. He had “cast out” many demons from Christians but came to realize that he was addressing the wrong problem. He describes the problem as being one of worldviews. Is your view of spiritual realities one of warfare with evil spirits, or is it that God is sovereign and evil can’t touch you unless it is in God’s sovereign purpose? It makes a world of difference.<br /><br />DeWaay described his work in deliverance counseling as being knowledgeable and proficient in the "rules" of spiritual warfare. As I read the article I had images in my mind of deliverance counselors being analogous to shamans and witchdoctors. In animist religions the shaman and witchdoctor knows the special rules, incantations, and potions that will fight off the evil spirits. Just as the Liberian children whose parents put the Juju strings around them to protect them, so the deliverance counselor prescribes practices, rules, and prayers that will protect the Christian from evil spirits.<br /><br />Deliverance ministries teach that we open the door to demonic possession/oppression by our willing contact with evil things. Well, if that is the case what can I say about my library? I have hundreds of books from cultic, occult, and New Age sources. Also, our family brought back lots of souvenirs from Liberia. Among them are African masks which were probably used in animist religion. I saw those masks in my Dad’s back yard years ago and asked him about them. He said he put them out there because he was going to burn them. He said they represented an open door for Satan to attack. I told my Dad what Paul said about idols in 1 Corinthians 8:4, that “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.” My Dad said, “Well you take them then.” I’ve been fine ever since.<br /><br />Here is the link to Bob DeWaay’s article. It is a bit long but worth every minute.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cicministry.org/commentary/issue78.htm">http://www.cicministry.org/commentary/issue78.htm</a>David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-38178269788067370172009-06-12T11:10:00.000-04:002009-06-12T11:50:48.108-04:00Doctrine QuizA test very similar to this was given to a class on Christian apologetics at a Christian high school. The results revealed serious misunderstandings at the most basic levels. Research in recent years by the Barna Research Group has shown many Christians hold views discordant with historic Christian orthodoxy. For example, they recently asked whether absolute moral truths change according to the circumstances. Only 22% believed in the existence of absolute moral truth. That is a significant drop from 38% at the beginning of 2000.<br /><br /><br /><br />DOCTRINE QUIZ<br /><br />1. Is the word “Trinity” in the Bible? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br />2. Is the Father alone God? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br />3. Is Jesus Christ God equally with the Father? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br />4. Is the Holy Spirit God equally with the Father? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br />5. How many Gods are there? ______<br /><br />6. Jesus today is…, ___ A man only ___ Divine only ___ Divine and human<br /><br />7. Are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit the same Person? ___Yes ___ No<br /><br />8. Is the Holy Spirit a personage like the Father? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br />9. Which of the following is a correct statement?<br /> The Trinity is defined as,<br />___ Three Gods in one?<br />___ Three Persons in one God?<br />___ Three Persons in one Person?<br /><br />10. Which of the following are omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent?<br /> ___ Father ___ Son ___ Holy Spirit (Mark all that are correct)<br /><br />11. Is the Father “greater” than the Son? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br />12. Is the Father “better” than the Son? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br />13. Did the Father create the Son? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br />14. Is Jesus Almighty? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br />15. When Jesus became man He…<br /> ___ Set aside His divinity ___ Added humanity to His divinity<br /><br />16. How did Jesus rise from the grave?<br /> ___ In the same crucified body ___ A spirit ___ A different body<br /><br />17. Who raised Jesus from the dead? (Mark all that are correct)<br /> ___ Father ___ Jesus ___ Holy Spirit<br /><br />18. How important is the doctrine of the Trinity?<br /> ___ Most ___ Very ___ Somewhat ___ Not very ___ Not<br /><br />19. Do you believe the Trinity can be proven from the Bible? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br />20. Can you show the Trinity from the Bible? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br />Bonus Question. Would you like to know more about the Trinity? ___ Yes ___ No<br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Answers and Discussion<br /></span><br />1. Answer: No. However, it’s absence is irrelevant because the doctrine of the Trinity is there. The word was coined to express the concept of three within one. Many other words that express biblical doctrines do not occur within the text of scripture such as theocracy, millennium, and rapture.<br /><br />2. Answer: No. See Isaiah 48:12-16 where Jehovah (speaking) says He is being sent by Jehovah (the Father) and His (Holy) Spirit.<br /><br />3. Answer: Yes. If Jesus were not fully divine, or equal in His nature with the Father, then His sacrifice for us on Calvary would be insufficient. Also, Jesus said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). No finite, or created, being could ever compare themselves with the infinite God.<br /><br />3 and 4. Answer: Yes. All three Persons of the Trinity are equal in their nature and attributes. Each is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. The Holy Spirit is a personal being, having the attributes of personality, and is also eternal (Hebrews 9:14). Example; If the Spirit is an eternal Person then He necessarily must be divine and equal with the Father for only God is eternal.<br /><br />5. Answer: One. The ‘threeness’ of the Trinity refers to the Persons. The unity of the Trinity refers to the essence, nature, or, that which makes God be God. The essence or nature of God is not divisible into three parts which many of the analogies to the Trinity imply (i.e., egg, water, etc.).<br /><br />6. Answer: Divine and human. Philippians 2:6 and 7 says of Jesus that He was, “…in the form of God…. But…took upon himself the form of a servant.” The word “upon” is a word indicating addition to what He already was. Also, I Timothy 2:5 says there is “one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” So, today in heaven our mediator is a man who is also eternal deity.<br /><br />7. Answer: No. The three Persons of the Trinity exist simultaneously. This is illustrated in the baptism of Jesus described by Matthew 3:16,17 which says, “…and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son….” All three Persons are in this event proving they are not the same Person. Also, refer again to Isaiah 48:12-16 where all three Persons of the Trinity are represented in an Old Testament passage.<br /><br />8. Answer: Yes. The Holy Spirit has the attributes of personality, intellect (I Corinthians 12:8), emotion (I Thessalonians 1:6) and will (I Corinthians 12:11) just as does the Father. <br /><br />9. Answer: Three Persons in one God. Heretical groups teach three persons in one person (United Pentecostals teach modalism and Jesus Only), and three gods in one god (Mormonism).<br /><br />10. Answer: All Three. Each Person of the Godhead is all powerful, all knowing, and everywhere present.<br /><br />11. Answer: Yes. However, the term ‘greater’ must be understood in their positional relation to one another. The Father is the “first” Person of the Trinity, the Son is the “second” and the Spirit the “third.” However, each is equal in every attribute of deity. Just as a President is ‘greater’ than a Vice President so the Father is “greater” than the Son.<br /><br />12. Answer: No. The term ‘better’ implies superior in some fundamental way as in a superior being. Jesus is “better” than the angels (Hebrews 1:4) because is a superior being to them.<br /><br />13. Answer: No. The Father “begat” the Son which is an eternal relationship but He did not create the Son in any sense of the word.<br /><br />14. Answer: Yes. Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”<br /><br />15. Answer: Jesus added humanity to His divinity. Many Christians incorrectly assume that when Jesus left heaven to be born of Mary He set aside His deity for the time He was here. That is not the case. He “Made himself of no reputation” (Philippians 2:7) which means that He set aside the shekinah glory and His prerogatives as deity to relate to us on a human level. In that way we can follow His example because He relied upon the Holy Spirit as we are supposed to.<br /><br />16. Answer: In the same crucified body. Jesus said at John 2:19-21, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up…. But he spake of the temple of his body.” When Jesus said these words the body He was referring to was the one He lived His life in, the one the disciples knew. Therefore, the term “it” in the above verse must refer to that same body. To interpret it otherwise would mean Jesus was lying to His disciples.<br /><br />17. Answer: All Three Persons in the Trinity raised Jesus from the dead. In the verse cited above Jesus said He would raise His own body from the grave. Acts 2:24 says, “Whom God hath raised up….” Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”<br /><br />18. Answer: Most. The doctrine of God is the foundational doctrine in any religion. In Christian doctrine everything flows from the nature of God. Understanding any doctrine of the Christian faith begins with understanding the Trinity and the attributes of God. It is the foundation of our faith and Christ is the Chief Cornerstone.<br /><br />19. Answer: Yes. The method to use to demonstrate the Trinity is fourfold. First, to show there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). Second, to show that the Father is called God (1 Peter 1:17). Third, to show that Jesus is called God (John 1:1). And finally, to show that the Holy Spirit is called God (Acts 5:3,4). The conclusions possible are 1) That the Bible is hopelessly contradictory, or 2) That the three Persons are the One God.<br /><br />20: Answer: You can now!<br /><br />Bonus Question: Answer: YES.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Conclusion<br /></span><br />Without a solid understanding of our doctrinal basics our ability to discern truth from error is severely limited. This is why so many “winds of doctrine” blow through the church and lead people into error and bondage.<br /><br />Your comments on this quiz are very welcome. We believe such a quiz as this can be an instructive tool. First to learn about our foundational doctrines, and second to show us where we need to grow.David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1560183625827547642.post-33369614092077676922009-06-08T14:03:00.000-04:002009-06-08T14:25:05.722-04:00The Motivating Power of FearWhen dealing with anyone from a cult it is important to understand that they are not as free as other people. They are under the bondage of fear. Their minds have been captured by techniques of mind control that allows them to declare black to be white apparently without seeing a problem. Dr. Robert J. Lifton described eight mind control techniques used by the communists against our Korean War POWs. Each of the eight criteria is based on some element of fear.<br /><br />One might ask, “What is it that would cause a person to remain in an organization that produces so much tension, so many struggles, and frequent doubts? Why don’t they just get out?” Well, for many the answer is FEAR. The fear of losing everything that they hold dear to them, including their friends, family, and salvation.<br /><br />For Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Watchtower organization acts as the “voice of Jehovah” for them. The fear of being “disfellowshipped” threatens them with losing everything they have come to know as a way of life, and the thought of being ostracized by friends and family is simply too much for many of them to risk getting out.<br /><br />The thought of turning one’s back on God and receiving His judgment for it because of some temporary struggles is too great a price to pay. They will resort to a form of equity rescuing to avoid that decision.<br /><br />In his book <em>Behind the Watchtower Curtain</em>, David Reed, an ex-Jehovah's Witness, explains the effects of this fear. “There are also broken homes, youngsters deprived of a higher education, families separated by mistrust, and millions of people living lives of guilt and fear. There is a whole ‘nation’ of people living under a totalitarian ‘kingdom’ government that denies them freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of conscience."<br /><br />Jehovah’s Witnesses, like all other cultists, will vigorously deny these allegations. Their reasoning is much like the 'doublethink' in George Orwell's book, <em>1984</em>. The chains that bind them are fastened on the mind, instead of on the wrists. Mind control can function like the person put under a spell by a hypnotist, when they open their eyes they will be ‘wide awake, happy, and refreshed,’ not realizing that a mind controlling 'post-hypnotic suggestion' planted in their minds must remain there to control their conduct.”<br /><br />Psychologists really are on target in pointing out fear as a motivator. Dr. Jay Adams in his pamphlet, “<em>What Do You Do When Fear Overcomes You</em>?”, says “…fear may get such a tight grip upon you that at times it may seem to be some powerful force from the outside that takes you captive. Because of fear, people have changed jobs, moved from one city to another, sealed themselves in houses, killed, and fled to mental institutions. Because of the fear of cats or bridges or elevators or other people, people have developed styles of life that are weird and unfruitful. Fear of this sort, fear out of control (or would it be better said, fear in complete control), is the fear that you have come to fear.”<br /><br />It is necessary for Christians who witness to Jehovah’s Witnesses, or anyone in such a high control group, to remember that they are under such bondage. Unconditional love and a non-judgmental attitude will help to soften their heart to you as a person who is interested in them personally. Sharing information with a respectful attitude may give them reason to begin thinking for themselves again. But in the final analysis it is the Holy Spirit Who will open their eyes and heart. So pray for them as you “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).David Henkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13807506735772773371noreply@blogger.com