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Prophe-Zine Issue 092
PropheZine #92
April 3, 2000
Bob Lally Publisher
Mimi Nila Senior Editor
Lori Eldridge Asst. Editor
Bob Ippolito Asst. Editor
ARTICLES
Lori Eldridge.....New Movements
Tricia Tillin.....The New Thing - Global Revival as the Key Element in
Deception
BIBLE STUDY
Terry Denbow....................... Psalm 100 - Responses to Others
COMMENTARIES
Berit Kjos......... How Human "Rights" Crush Individual Freedom
POEMS, etc
Ray Gano...............God's Promises to Memorize
****************************************************************
Hi Everyone!
I want to thank everyone for their support with the Petition that will be
presented to the Jewish community in the next 2 weeks or so. I received a
letter from someone who attended a Bar Mitzvah last weekend. The Rabbi
mention this new resolution and described how it was a wonderful thing. You
may read about how the Reform Rabbi's may now perform same-sex marriages
from the home page: http://www.prophezine.com
I will need some help in locating as many Reform Temples in the US as
possible. If you have any ideas on how to locate their addresses let me
know.
PropheZine has recently been rated in the TOP 100 CHRISTIAN WEB SITES in the
WORLD! This is truly amazing as we do not do any advertising whatsoever -
it is just to costly. So, visit the site and send your friends over as well.
http://www.prophezine.com
I will be attending the International Prophecy Conference in Orlando Florida
this week. PropheZine will not have a booth this year as 1) I want to enjoy
the conference, and 2) I want to spend time speaking with other ministry
heads to discuss having them join the Prophecy Alliance.
May the Lord richly bless you and May the Holy Spirit work through you:
Bob Lally
PropheZine
****************************************************************
New Movements
By Lori Eldridge:
I have been studying up on some new movements called City Church, CitiReach,
DAWN, World Evangelism Fellowship, AD 2000 Ecumenical Evangelism Program (AD
2000 International Coalition of Christian Leaders & Global Consultation on
World Evangelization), etc., which all have one agenda--to promote
world-wide evangelism under the guise of Evangelicalism. However, it appears
that these folks are sacrificing doctrine for the sake of unity, i.e., they
are not only joining up with such non/semi-Christian organizations as the
RCC but members of the RCC are in key positions of leadership in some of
these organizations, and they encouraging assimilation with Hindus,
Buddhists, Atheists, etc., which gives a clear indication of their
theological bent. This makes my current ministry of exposing false prophet's
look like child's play.
I have only been researching this for a few weeks but my preliminary
understanding of this movement appears to be that the AD 2000 Ecumenical
Evangelism was the first organization to get the ball rolling big time. Then
the other groups joined suit and now we are hearing about City Church, City
Reach and DAWN which are catching on like wildfires.
One thing I am beginning to sense is that this is so wide spread, and so
innocuous (looks so good), that almost every evangelical denomination and
religious group is involved in it or will be soon. It's almost to the point
that the true Bible believing Christian will have nowhere to fellowship very
soon.
One other very sinister aspect of this whole movement is that they are
turning from Pre Trib/premillennialism to amillennialism, i.e., they must
evangelize the world before Christ returns and he won't return for a long
time, and in the meantime they intend to rule the political as well as the
religious systems of the world--this is Kingdom Now folks (Dominion
Theology, Manifest Sons of God, etc.).
Following is just a "partial" list of those who have bought into this
movement:
--Billy Graham
--Pat Robertson--Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN)
--Paul and Jan Crouch-- Trinity Broadcasting (TBN)
--Dr. Jack Hayford
--Bill Bright--Campus Crusade for Christ
--Luis Palau-Luis Palau Evangelistic Association (unity for unity's sake)
--Kyun Chik Han of Korea
--David Bryant, President Concerts of Prayer International
--Dr. Joe C. Aldrich, President Multnomah School of the Bible
--Dr. David B. Barrett, Editor, World Christian Cncyclopedia,
--Dr. Joe A Harding Vision 2000, United Methodist Church,
--John Dawson, Youth with a Mission,
--Dr. Paul Cedar Evangelical Free Church of America
--Fr. Tom Forrest, C.Ss R. --heads the Roman Catholic
Evangelization 2000 program.
--Jay Cary--founder of "Bimillennial Global Interaction Network
(BEGIN) and wrote "The Star of 2000--Our Journey
Toward Hope (promotes the joining of all religions).
--Jean Campbell, Gen. Sec. of the National Council of Churches.
--Dr. Eugene Stockwell, Dir. of world mission and evangelism for the
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES.
--Michael Green, wrote "The Futures of Christianity", promotes learning
from Jews, Muslims, Hindus, animists, atheists, etc.
--Ralph D. Winter, wrote "Thy Kingdom Come" promotes strategies
for world evangelization that are unscriptural.
--Baptist General Conference
--Bethany Fellowship Missions
--Christian and Missionary Alliance
--Christian Business Men's Committee International
--Evangelical Presbyterian Church
--Evangelical Free Church Mission
--Global March for Jesus
--International Bible Society
--International Institute for Christian Studies
--Jews for Jesus
--Kids Alive International
--Navigators
--Operation Mobilization
--Ravi Zacharias International Ministries
--The Evangelical Alliance Mission
--The Salvation Army
--United States Center for World Mission
--United World Mission
--Wesleyan Church, Department of World Missions
--World Thrust International
--Youth for Christ International
--Jim and Lyn Montgomery--founders of DAWN
My research is far from complete so don't take my word for what I have
written here. Check it out for yourself. Here are a few URLs to facilitate
your search:
A statement by World Evangelism Fellowship (WEF) Church & Society Dept (a
real eye opener as to their theological purpose):
http://www.worldevangelical.org/noframes/2chsoc.htm
World Evangelical Fellowship Member Organizations:
http://www.worldevangelical.org/noframes/2membody.htm#affiliates
DAWN founders:
http://www.jesus.org.uk/cgi-local/searchdawn.pl (search for DAWN and
CitiReach and whatever other term you want).
- - - -
Articles exposing the unscriptural basis of a world wide revival for the
Church:
"A Second Coming of the Holy Ghost?" by Larry Thomas
Http://www.surefoundation.org/Revival.htm
"Ten Reasons to reject Kingdom-Dominion Teachings" by Tricia Tillin
http://www.fardistant.demon.co.uk/res/tract2.htm
"Gnosticism: You will be as God" by Zenith Merrill
http://www.bloomington.in.us/~lgthscac/gnosticism.htm
"Kingdom Now: Recent History Amos 3:3 "Can 2 walk together except they be
agreed?" by Zenith Merril (soon to be uploaded on same site)
"the New Thing: Global Revival as the Key Element in Deception in 20th Cent"
by Tricia Tillin
http://www.banner.org.uk/res/newthing.html (very long, get parts 2 & 3 also)
The web site Deception in the Church has a plethora of articles on false
teachers and false revival and false ecumenicalism:
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/ecumenism.htm
"AD 2000 Ecumenical Evangelism-A Warning" by Pastor M. H. Reynolds, Jr.
http://www.tcsn.net/fbchurch/fbcad200.htm
"Kingdom Theology" and other articles by Albert James Dager
http://www.geocities.com/hebrews928/dager.html
Lori Eldridge
****************************************************************
|==========================================
|
| THE NEW THING:
| Global Revival as the Key Element in Deception in Twentieth
| Century Pentecostalism - The Gnostic Path.
| by Tricia Tillin
|
INTRODUCTION
The Need to Grasp the Overall Picture
We have a situation today where most of the world and much of the Church is
heading straight into the antichrist delusion. That is a bold statement, as
well as a BALD statement, and it will need much fleshing out before you can
see it as true. But starting from that premise, my task as a watchman is not
only to alert you to what is happening, but also to give you the tools for
understanding the apostasy, so that you can avoid falling into the devil's
snare yourself.
The task of any watchman is to alert to danger; but unless you can grasp the
fact sufficiently to arm yourself against harm, you will not benefit from
any warning. God wants you to survive. He does not want you to fall - that
is why he appoints watchmen to sound the trumpet of alarm, and also why he
offers you the tools for understanding the danger.
There are so many different aspects of this deception that we can only focus
on one or two at a time. But in writing here, I want to make you see how
wide this antichrist agenda is, and what it involves. I want the scales to
fall from your eyes, and for you to say, "I SEE it now" I want you to see
the foundational errors that lead to all these things - to thus to have the
keys to understanding what is to come.
THE KEY IS THAT THE ANTICHRIST DOCTRINE IS BASICALLY A GNOSTIC ONE
For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist
[2 Jn 1:7]
Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that
spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even
now already is it in the world. [I Jn 4:2-3]
At first sight, these verses look so familiar that we ignore them. But God
has taken the trouble to tell us plainly in His Word just WHAT is the spirit
of antichrist. This is what we need to know. In what sort of spirit will the
antichrist come, and how will he appear, and what will be his doctrine? If
we know this, we can avoid it.
I believe John - or the Holy Spirit speaking through John - was identifying
for us the spirit, the essential nature and being, of antichrist both at
that time and eventually when he is embodied in a human body in the future.
So this is a valuable verse because it tells us what is the spirit of
antichrist.
John says - it is already in the world. What was he talking about? What was
this antichrist that he could already identify? John was referring to a
heresy known as Gnosticism.
Gnosticism
The "Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church" defines Gnosticism thus:
A religious movement in which central importance was attached to the
gnosis, or revelation knowledge, of God and of the origin and destiny of
mankind. The source of this special gnosis or knowledge was held to be
either the Apostles from whom it was derived by a secret tradition, or by a
direct revelation.
GNOSIS is a Greek work that means knowledge, in particular, "Revelation
knowledge", hidden truths that are revealed supernaturally to the initiate.
The Gnostics of old had certain central beliefs and these are now coming to
the surface again today.
The goal was to attain self-awareness a spiritual being, and
god-consciousness.
The true world is spirit, and the material realm is a snare from which we
must escape.
All men possess a divine spark, a part of the divine being, which fell
from the transcendent realm into the material universe, and was imprisoned
in human bodies.
Reawakened by knowledge, the divine element in humanity can return to its
proper home in the transcendent spiritual realm. Gnostics knew nothing of
the redemption of the body. Their hope was in the transformation of the
soul!
Characteristic of the gnostic teaching was that the material creation was
antagonistic to what is truly spiritual, but that each man had a spark or
seed of the divine substance within. Through the secret doctrines and the
rites associated with them, this divine spark might be rescued from its evil
material environment and be reunited with the divine.
Hymns and magic formulas were recited to help achieve a vision of God.
Wine and drugs were used to open up the mind to the spirit realm.
Gnosticism existed before the time of Christ's birth, but afterwards there
was Christian Gnostics. They explained the phenomenon of Jesus Christ in
this way:
The Christ spirit simply inhabited the body of the man Jesus. The Christ
spirit had come to teach man the gnosis whereby he could free himself from
bondage to the evil material world. Some even taught that Jesus did not
actually have a body of flesh, but was pure spirit. Thus the ideas of
physical death and resurrection were denied by the Gnostics.
Now we see what John was speaking of in his letter. It is the antichrist
spirit who denies that Jesus is come in the flesh. The antichrist and his
followers seek redemption (that is, spiritual transformation) by means of a
spirit-being and by becoming a spirit-being!
Bible-believing Christians do not look to a mere spirit-being for salvation.
We look to a Man who bled and died, in reality, in agony, upon a wooden
cross. We do not receive redemption from a spiritual emanation that infuses
us with "revelation" from some unknowable Supreme Being out there! We have a
Savior, the sacrificed Lamb of God, who died in our place, rose again as a
flesh and bones person, who ever lives to intercede for us! Jesus is very
REAL! If you met him today you could place your finger in the nail scars of
His hand, just as Thomas did years ago. He is no "it", he's not a spirit,
but a real (but divine) Man.
How did so-called "Christian" Gnostics deal with scripture, and the reality
of God Almighty?
Gnostics rejected the literal and traditional interpretations of the Gospels
Gnostics rejected the God of the Old Testament as a despot trying to keep us
in bondage to this world. The Creator God, to the Gnostics, was not the
Supreme Being, but a secondary being who had fallen from the pure
spiritual realm of the Supreme Being. This creator god (the demiurge, or
craftsman) was the architect of the universe but his mistake was to imprison
men in earth-bound bodies and apply to them the bondage of Law.
Gnostics sought to escape, through superior wisdom, the rule of this god,
and rise to spiritual intimacy with the Supreme Being, the centre of all
being. Thus, they did not accept the Law of God. They were in essence
lawless.
Back to the page contents
LINKS WITH MASONRY
It may already have dawned on some reading this that Masonry enshrines a lot
of the old Gnostic teaching. Their god is also called the Architect of the
Universe, at least in the lower orders. Those who "progress" by initiation
into the darker secrets discover that the TRUE Masonic god is the
light-bringer, or Lucifer, who (they believe) enlightens all with divine
knowledge. The word that the Greeks used to describe the fallen creator-god
was DEMI-URGOS, which meant a craftsman, a maker, an author, and since this
being had made the universe he was the maker or architect of the physical
creation. Lower Masonic orders are allowed to worship this Being and obey
his laws, but the higher initiates purge themselves of such ignorant notions
and come into relationship with a spiritual being in a spiritual reality.
This is where the supernatural takes over!
However, as we shall see, today we have a new gnostic awakening that is
taking place all over the Christian Church!! It is being called "renewal"
and even "transformation" and it is as far from scriptural redemption as the
gnostic doctrine of old. Once you grasp the enormity of this, you will never
be the same. You will also be prepared to withstand the antichrist deception
that will overtake the entire world shortly.
How Gnostics Dealt with the Material World
Gnostics had a problem in that they were undeniably living in fleshy bodies,
and on a physical earth! This did not fit with their ideals of spiritual
transformation. They had to subdue the flesh, and they did this in one of
two ways:
(1) Asceticism - Some would renounce all things of the flesh, such as
marriage and procreation. They adopted ultra strict diets, embraced very
harsh regimes of living, and denied themselves every earthly comfort. Like
the later Catholic monks and nuns, they mortified the flesh in all kinds of
unpleasant and extreme ways. They did so in order to liberate their divine
spark, and rise to the spiritual level. The Bible speaks of this sort of
self-mortification, condemning it:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a
hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which
God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and
know the truth.[1 Tim 4:1-3]
(2) Libertinism (or, Licentiousness) - Other Gnostics held that because the
world is evil and their bodies were fallen, it did not matter what they did.
They considered the Old Testament law as the fallen god's snare to entrap
them in this world, so they were a-moral- they accepted no laws.
While the former group became the "saints" of Christian mythology, the
latter lawless group has evolved into Satanists who break the law
deliberately. Satanists openly worship Lucifer and believe, like the
Gnostics, that the God of the Old Testament is repressive and despotic.
Of course the Bible condemns both groups, and it speaks of the lawless in
this way:
Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own
deceivings while they feast with you; For when they speak great swelling
words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much
wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of
corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in
bondage.[2 Pet 2:13, 18-19]
TWO WAYS OF ACHIEVING LIBERATION INTO THE SPIRIT REALM
The essence of Gnosticism's that the inner spirit of humanity must be
liberated from a world that is basically deceptive, oppressive, and evil.
How this could be achieved was a bit of a problem, but eventually two main
ways of attaining spiritual transformation were developed. They were (1)
MYSTICISM and (2) ILLUMINISM.
(1) Mysticism in which knowledge of the true self and the true secret
doctrines are attained by a mystical experience of the divine. The
scriptures refer to this in Colossians:
"Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility
and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen,
vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind...These things indeed have an
appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect
of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh".
[Col 2:18-23]
EXAMPLES OF MYSTICAL RITES:
Catholic mysticism, with trances states, levitation and visions of angels.
New Age mysticism, meditation, trances, sleep and sensory deprivation, etc
etc
Yoga, chanting, dancing, - tribal rites
Rock music, other forms of trance-inducing music, disco-dancing,
head-banging, shaking,
Drugs, especially hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD
Apparitions, visions, encounters with aliens from UFO's
Prolonged fasting and prayer, with meditation
And now by the Toronto Blessing. - TB uses many of these techniques! In
churches where the Toronto blessing and its offshoots are practiced, people
are led to the very same type of hypnotic trance states, catalepsy, and
other physiological conditions that would be familiar to those studying
tribal rituals. They are (whether they know it or not) copying the Gnostics
in seeking spiritual transformation by mystical rituals. And the result is
the same as it was for the Gnostics! They do achieve communication in the
spirit realm with various beings ranging from demons, angels, to
(supposedly) Jesus himself: vivid visions are seen and words are heard,
physical sensations are experienced that open up a new vision of the
spiritual realm, and give a sense of unity with the divine.
(2) Illuminism in which "enlightenment" is sought, where those who have
moved on to higher levels pass on the secret doctrines to lower initiates.
"O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane
and idle babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge--by
professing it some have strayed concerning the faith." [1 Tim 6:20-21]
Illuminism proposes that man, and ultimately mankind, can free himself from
the curse of the Fall by gaining revelation knowledge, secret wisdom, known
only to higher, or ascended masters who can teach this to you. Disciples
often have to undergo initiation in order to become worthy to receive this.
EXAMPLES OF ILLUMINISM:
Mystery cults such as the Egyptian, (the worship of Isis, the veiled
goddess)
And also Greek Mystery religions
Freemasonry and suchlike orders. EG Templars, Rosicrucians, Priory of Zion
Alchemy and the search for the Grail: In the book, "A Dictionary of
Alchemy" by Mark Haeffner, he says this: "The old view of alchemists as
seeking after the elixir of life, or touchstone for transmuting metals into
gold is totally inadequate.
Alchemical roots go back to primitive mythology; and its adepts treated
alchemy as both a scientific, experimental tradition and a mystic wisdom
tradition in which there was a confluence of gnostic ideas about man and
nature Alchemy always has a strong element of magic and of mysticism.
The experimental physical aspect seems to be an introduction to mystic,
magical secrets about the transformation of the spirit."
Also in New Age Theosophy, based on Mdme Blavatsky and Alice Bailey
Later, found in the doctrines of "New Thought" which led to Christian
Science and Word of Faith doctrines:
WORD OF FAITH TEACHINGS
This latter statement, about Word of Faith teaching, may startle and worry
some readers who are not altogether familiar with the doctrine. However,
although there is no space for a full analysis, it can be shown that Word of
Faith does hold to gnosticism in some degree:
the true man is spirit, not flesh
we can rise above sin, sickness and even death, to a life of the spirit
we can overcome this fallen world - not by the life of Jesus, the Tree
of Life, but by the Tree of hidden Wisdom, through the possession and use
of words - which have creative power to release us from the material world
ultimately we become so glorified that we are transformed into
spiritual-beings
THE NEW AGE DOCTRINES
It is easy to see where new-agers get their beliefs, because all the
doctrines of Gnosticism are there. Gnosticism of old is basically the same
as the modern New-Age Movement, and teaches spiritual evolution and god
consciousness in the same way.
TORONTO IS A SYNTHESIS OF BOTH ILLUMINISM AND MYSTICISM!
Mystic cults offered inner revelation that came by an encounter with the
divine, such as the yoga and meditation of Buddhism.
Illuministic cults such as Rosicrucianism offered study of the hidden
doctrines that led to enlightenment. BUT NOW, for the first time, we have a
movement that combines both elements of Gnosticism! The Toronto experience
utilizes both the doctrine and the mystical experiences of the Gnostics.
WHY DO THEY ASK FOR MORE?
Jesus Christ came to SATISFY. He offered the water that, once tasted, would
leave the disciple completely sated, no longer thirsty and hungry for
"more". Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water
shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give
him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him
a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:13-14)
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me
shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
(John 6:35)
It's a pity people don't sing the old songs. In days gone by we really knew
how to proclaim our satisfaction in our all-sufficient Lord. For instance,
who remembers...
"I'm feeding on the Living Bread
I'm drinking at the Fountain Head
And whoso drinketh, Jesus said
Shall never never thirst again
What! Never thirst again? - No, never thirst again!
What! Never thirst again? - No never thirst again!
For whoso drinketh Jesus said
Shall never never thirst again"
Knowing Jesus is in fact the ONLY way on earth to know contentment, and
spiritual satisfaction.
"Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His
wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul,
and fills the hungry soul with goodness" (Ps 107:8-9)
Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what
does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let
your soul delight itself in abundance. (Isa 55:2) Illuministic, gnostic
religion preaches a never-ending journey wherein the initiate has to attain
higher and higher levels of spiritual knowledge and perfection, ever
straining to achieve transformation and renewal, but somehow always falling
just short of the goal.
Gnostic religion, like the Toronto Blessing, is at best a temporary
spiritual "high", but is just one step on a long ladder that never reaches
an end. Jesus Christ said, "never thirst again" but the Toronto leadership
says "More! More!"
TORONTO AND BROWNSVILLE A COMBINATION OF GNOSTIC DOCTRINES
It has now been firmly established that many of the teachings and practices
of the Toronto movement have the Latter Rain movement as their foundation.
However, there are differences. Whereas the Latter Rain pioneers taught that
fullness and transformation was achieved as an eschatological event, Rodney
Howard Browne and others teach that it can be attained by both Illuminism
and mysticism:
Rodney-Howard-Browne, initiator of the Toronto Blessing, and a Word-of-Faith
believer, writes this in his booklet (The Coming Revival, pg. 23) "The power
of God is not going to flow through those that have a theory; it's going to
flow through those who have revelation" (ILLUMINISM) In a video tape aired
on TBN in May 1994, Rodney Howard-Browne laid hands on a woman and
encouraged her to "Step over, step over, step over, step over into the
realm of the supernatural. Step over out of the realm of reason into the
realm of glory." (MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE) The hallmark of the Toronto Blessing
has become:
(A) ILLUMINISM - That the written word is for the old age and we must pass
on into a spiritual age, in which our knowledge comes by prophecies, dreams,
visions, trances, etc. This seeking after the hidden wisdom, the inner light
that transforms, is gnosticism.
The leaders of the Latter-Rain revival soon discovered that Illuminism
brought new revelations that went beyond the scriptures of old: A letter in
the archives of the Assembly of God written by George Hawtin, says this:
"Soon we found that the familiar doctrines previously taught and the
subjects studied had a strange sense of being removed from us, as though
they had become past truth instead of present truth."
The cry of the Toronto leadership is "God is bigger than his Word". They
say: "Don't put God in a box; don't limit him to his revealed will for
mankind; God can do anything he wants, even contradict his own written
word". The eldership of one British church justified their adopting the
Toronto blessing by saying: "We must have church growth - we must have
revival - the Bible has failed us; so now we must have the Spirit, the new
anointing to do the work".
If you dare to look at your Bible to check out Toronto, you are derided and
rebuked - you are just a book person, you don't have the new revelation.
This is also how the teachings of the Latter Rain came about -through
prophecies, visions, and revelations, words that people heard inwardly and
that were elevated to a higher place than the written word of God.
(B) MYSTICISM -At the same time it is taught that mystical encounter is
needed. Devotees must get the anointing that opens the inner eye. Doubters
are encouraged not to analyze the Blessing in advance but simply receive the
anointing regardless, and when they do so it will open them up to the inner
meaning it contains. They will be "converted" to the new thinking by the
anointing.
So by means of ecstatic trance states and the power of spiritual encounters,
a mystical union with the divine, you can rise above this mortal realm into
an altered state; -this is true whether you are a Christian or not -the
anointing 'works' whether you are saved or not saved. Whether Buddhist,
Hindu, Catholic, Pentecostal - it doesn't matter, this power will zap you
and open your mind to the new paradigm. You will be changed! You will see
things differently!
DISCARDING THE OLD PARADIGM
There are so-called prophecies and words from God that call for a radical
change in thinking, a new way, a new thing - a break from the old paradigm
and a new thinking for a new paradigm:
This prophecy was sent From: "Barry C. Linville" to the New Wine Vineyard
Bulletin Board:
"Change...change...change! Your ways are old ways, your thoughts are old
thoughts, your prayers are old prayers, your cries are old cries, your
worship is old worship, your way of doing church is an old way of doing
church. Renewal is not pouring new energy into old ways; it is bringing
new ways. Let Me change you...let Me change you inside and out. Let go of
yourself! Let me have you! I don't want a little bit at a time, I want all
of you, NOW! Desire change! Desire it because it is what I am doing in
you! Hunger and thirst for my changing in you. You must change!
I cannot equip you unless you change. Remember, this is a wholesale, not a
partial, change. Don't focus on equipping...it is not time for equipping.
It is time for change! You will not be used in the harvest unless you
change."
Thus, the present revival, involving the powers of Toronto, Pensacola and
similar experiences, is basically a gnostic one. But if you recall the point
at which we started, it was shown from scripture that the ANTICHRIST
doctrine is basically GNOSTIC in nature. We could therefore conclude, as
many already have, that the spirit of antichrist is the one behind the
supernatural experience loosed at Toronto!
THE ASCENDING PATH
The Ladder That Leads to Heaven
Gnostic illumination achieved by esoteric knowledge is often portrayed as an
ascending path up the mountain of enlightenment: It is called in many
religions, the ladder. Disciples rise step by step through higher
revelations, discarding the inferior teachings of the lower initiates along
the way.
In the works of St. John of the Cross, a Roman Catholic mystic, we find an
elaborate drawing of Mount Carmel, the Mount of Perfection that symbolizes
the ascent to mystical union with God on the top of the mount.
Eastern mysticism often portrays spiritual life as an arduous ascent of the
mountain - Hinduism for example. The pyramids of Egypt, and the Aztec
temples were artificial mountains in and on which the gods were worshipped.
Glastonbury, a pagan site in the British Isles, is a high mound with an
ascending path. To this day pilgrims of all kinds - including some
Christian groups - go out to ascend the path to the summit of Glastonbury,
symbolizing their ascending path to the divine.
THE HORDES OF HELL ARE MARCHING
Rick Joyner's Mountain
Despite the obviously unscriptural nature of this esoteric ascent up the
symbolic mountain, Rick Joyner has presented a vision of his own ascent in
his (now) four-part vision printed in successive issues of his Journal:
The Morning Star. The entire vision was published in a book called "The
Final Quest".
In this vision he says he ascends different levels of a huge mountain
accompanied by an army of warriors warring against evil. On the way he
discovers treasures, and doors leading to secrets that will revolutionize
his Christian life. It is a masterpiece of gnostic teaching.
He even meets an angel called WISDOM, who teaches him to rise to the third
heaven. To personify "wisdom" as a god or goddess has ever been the forte of
the gnostic religions. Christians, too, are not blameless. "Sophia" the
Greek word for wisdom was adored by some, and the church of Santa Sophia
(Holy Wisdom) was built in Constantinople in the 6th century. Remembering
that the gnostic ascent is to discover the Christ-spirit within, read this
quote from the vision. Wisdom tells him:
"You are still lacking something very important. You must yet have a great
revelation of the King. Even though you have climbed to the top of the
mountain, and received from every truth along the way, and even though you
have stood in the Garden of God, tasted of His unconditional love, and have
seen His Son many times now, you still only understand a part of the whole
counsel of God, and that only superficially."
Yet the Word of God tells us another story. It says that, with the Holy
Spirit as our Guide, we know all things. We do not need to discover inner
wisdom by some esoteric route. "But ye have an unction from the Holy One,
and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the
truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth." I Jn
2:20-21
His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and
virtue: 2 Pet 1:3
This supposed angel of God goes on to tell Rick Joyner that Christ dwells
within him, like the divine spark of the Gnostics. "The Lord dwells within
you. You have taught this many times, but now you must live it, for you
have eaten of the Tree of Life." The angel then began to lead me back to the
gate [out of the Garden of Paradise].
I protested that I did not want to leave. Looking surprised, the angel
took me by the shoulders and looked me in the eyes. That is when I
recognized him as the angel, Wisdom. "You never have to leave this garden.
This garden is in your heart because the Creator Himself is within you" (The
inner Christ) Yet when we look in occult literature, we find the self-same
teachings. This extract from "The Secret of the Illuminati" by Elizabeth Van
Buren, a famous occultist, illustrates the point:
"The Mystery Religion is the One from which all the great religions of the
world have obtained their basis, though not the dogmas which were added
later. More important than any other teaching is the one that states that
only by his own efforts can man attain to Paradise, for this holy place is
within himself."
RESTORING THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS
Rick Joyner later sees a great cloud of white eagles. These turn out to be a
great company of prophets that comes to support and teach the warriors.
They began landing on the mountain, taking their place on every level beside
the companies of warriors. Later on his special eagle gives him objects that
make him more spiritual. Joyner asks who the eagles are:
"You want to know who we are. We are the hidden prophets who have been ept
for this hour. We are the eyes of those who have been given the divinely
powerful weapons. We have been shown all that the Lord is doing, and all
that the enemy is planning against you. We have scoured he earth and
together we know all that needs to be known for the battle."
But again, from "The Secret of the Illuminati" by Elizabeth Van Buren,
occultist:
"Shamash (a Semitic god) was Captain of the Eagles, so was Shu (his
Egyptian counterpart) Commander of the Eagles. Shu, like Shamash, was
consciousness, pure thought which can soar higher than any eagle or hawk
into the far reaches of space".
ASCENDED MASTERS
The Apostles And Prophets Of The Latter Rain
The doctrines of Gnosticism are taught by a ruling caste, an elite who have
ascended above the mere mental realm and who possess the wisdom of the
ancients - newagers calls them Ascended Masters.
The Latter Rain calls them the Apostles and Prophets, but they have the same
end in view - a teaching of the hidden secrets of God, the revelations that
will lead us to liberation. In the case of the Latter Rain and Toronto
teachings, these "masters" are the conduits through which the anointing
flows, as well as the verbal mouthpieces of the hidden wisdom. Thus they
become both guru and shaman at once.
THE WHISTLER MOUNTAIN MEETINGS
Rick Joyner's mountain trek took the form of a vision, but recently,
Christians have literally been going up mountains to wait on the power of
God for this inner revelation to come to pass that will take them to a
higher spiritual level - or as they say - "take them beyond the veil".
>From June 28th to July 2nd 1995 there was a "Gathering of the Nations In His
Holy Presence" at Whistler Mountain Resort, BC. and the organizers announced
that it would be used by the Lord to "kickoff the second stage of the
awakening."
WHISTLER NOTORIOUS FOR ITS EAGLES
Bob Jones, notorious leader of the Kansas City Prophets, and at one time
removed from the public platform because of his sexual indiscretions and
bizarre sayings, is one of the key participants in the Whistler Gatherings.
Before the event, Jones said that "this will be a gathering of the eagles in
the Kingdom" Interestingly, within a week, over 4000 eagles were gathered at
an airport close to Whistler (so many that there were concerns about
aircraft operational safety). This was such an extremely unusual event that
the CBC and CTV networks in Canada featured it in their newscasts. It was
seen as a confirmation in the natural of the significance of the Gathering
in the spirit.
Some quotes from promotional literature:
It is believed that the Lord will release the Apostolic and Prophetic
Mantles upon those gathered. This will take the Awakening into the Prophetic
stage
Our bold confidence is that the Holy Spirit will remove the veil from our
minds so that: "We all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory
of the Lord..." (II Cor. 3:18) Notice that the promoters did not dare to
finish off this scripture quote, perhaps because it too blatantly displayed
the organizer's belief in the glorification of Christians on earth, before
the Second Coming of Christ.
(A latter-rain belief.) The entire quote is:
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the
Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord".
EDEN: THE ROOT OF GNOSTIC DOCTRINE THE TWO TREES
In the Garden were not one but two trees. These can be described as Jesus,
the Tree of Life, and Satan the Tree of False Wisdom. Jesus is the Tree of
Life, for He is the Truth, He is the Life. The Life is IN THE SON. Eternal
life is not in Man. Therefore we need to be united to the Son in order to
know true life.
The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil represents Satan, the enemy of God
and Man. Satan preaches that you can know wisdom and life in yourself, apart
from God. Satan possesses a kind of wisdom - the hidden knowledge, or
gnosis, that enlightens mankind to his own divinity, that gives man power to
rule over his own life, over other's lives, over his planet and eventually
over the universe. The life of Jesus submits to God the Father, and
therefore also defers to other people. The life of Satan is selfish life. It
is rebellion and domination.
GOD AND HIS SON ARE WISDOM PERSONIFIED:
Prov 8:1-36 - reading esp. 22-23 and 35-36
1 Cor 1:23-25
MAN CANNOT "KNOW", EXCEPT BY UNION AND SUBMISSION TO GOD:
Job 11:4-8
Job 28:12-28, esp 13
Ps 111:10
WISDOM = SATAN, THE DECEIVER, SOPHIA.
Ezek 28:1-26 Satan in his original perfection, perverted by his pride in
his own wisdom, wanted to achieve godhood by his own devices. Lucifer, the
light-bringer, offers illumination to open the eyes of the soul and give
inner light, enlightenment
"For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be
opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.(Gen 3:5) Looking at
scripture, we can see that, indeed, the eyes of Adam and Eve WERE opened,
but at what price!
Gen 3:7 -And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they
were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Their eyes WERE opened (Satan can tell the truth!!) and they DID have
knowledge - he was correct! But Adam and Eve knew they were naked. They were
living in guilt, ashamed, sin-conscious and fearful. Then came lies,
hypocrisy, pretense, loss of relationship with God, and judgement, and
death. However, Adam and Eve DID eat the fruit,- so secret wisdom is still
available to Man.
THE RESULTS OF KNOWLEDGE
Just as the Lord had warned, tasting the hidden wisdom of Lucifer meant
spiritual death. The light of God in man's spirit died out, and left an
empty and bitter darkness in its place. Communion with God, that brought
satisfaction, was ended. Now man has a soul that is seeking for meaning and
life, but without God. Man is still trying to mend the damage that Luciferic
wisdom brought to himself and the world, but the methods are doomed to
failure, because they are not according to God's will. The Fall has brought
a universal sense of division, rejection, loss, and insecurity. Thus mankind
is chasing after a remedy that will bring the perfection of Eden back into
his life.
Transformation for both man and his world is the aim of many or most
religions today. Especially in 20th century religion, the main effort is to
"Heal the World" and achieve universal love, harmony and peace with justice
for all. These are the conditions that we knew in Edenic perfection - they
can NEVER be known again, outside God. Even so, new-agers, and even some
Christians, chase this elusive dream.
In order to overcome our sense of loss, and the loneliness of life on this
planet without God, religions try to end wars and bring down personal and
national barriers. They promote forgiveness, repentance and reconciliation
between nations and cultures - all good things, but unobtainable. Man is
fallen and under judgement. He can do nothing to save himself.
The only practical way to achieve a transformation is by domination.
Dictators like Hitler control the masses by indoctrination, subjugation, or
threats. In Hitler's case, he hoped to bring about a thousand years of
peace. Alternatively, schemes like the Babel tower project attempt to unite
the world through false religion and a common purpose. This is what the New
Age is all about.
THE SPIRITUAL FALLOUT FROM EDEN
True spiritual life is knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and being born again.
Our spirits are alive to truth and wisdom only through Jesus Christ - for in
him is life. Satan on the other hand promises spiritual energy and power,
and the means to rule others, and ourselves, a method of achieving spiritual
transformation without submission to God. Satan's way proposes that you can
"know yourself" in such a way that you can set yourself free and experience
the bliss of 'nirvana'- union with the sublime, the eternal.
Becoming one with the "whole" is what Satan offers us in order to heal the
longing we have, because of our separation. However the downside is that,
given a substitute, people will no longer seek after God. I would suggest
that Toronto seekers are being sold short. They are being offered a
quick-fix solution to their problems without a true, lasting, sound, sincere
and scriptural relationship with God.
THE GNOSTIC DOCTRINES IN LATER HISTORY CATHOLIC MYSTICISM
During the long years of Roman Catholic domination, things became
progressively less biblical and more mystical, with the common people sunk
into either traditions or superstitions. Without the plain teaching of the
Bible to keep them straight, religious people sought ways to find God that
conformed to the Church's dogma but introduced at least some form of
personal release from sin and shame. It was a situation absolutely wide open
for gnosticism, for firstly the hermits, then the monks and nuns of the
middle ages spent hours in meditation seeking enlightenment. They practiced
mortification of the flesh, trying to spiritualize their existence by
retreating from the world.
Teresa of Avila (1515-82)
This well-known and now rediscovered lady was the Spanish founder of the
religious order of the Barefoot Carmelites. In 1555, after many years marked
by serious illness and increasingly rigorous religious exercises, she
experienced a profound awakening, involving visions of Jesus Christ, hell,
angels, and demons. This eventually involved a "mystic Sacred Marriage" in
which Teresa experienced divine union with Jesus, (as she believed) with
blissful sensations, manifestations, levitation, and trances. Teresa of
Avila is now being promoted through the Toronto movement as an example of
one who experienced manifestations of the Spirit, though it is much more
likely that she fell in love with a deceiving spirit. Teresa never abandoned
the teachings of the Catholic Church. John of The Cross, (1542-91)
St. John was a Spanish mystic and poet. He experienced what he felt was an
awakening of the spirit by renunciation of the world and flesh. He, like
Teresa, thought he had achieved "Union with the Divine". The themes of his
poetry concentrate on the reconciliation of human beings with God through a
series of mystical steps that begin with self-communion, and renunciation of
the distractions of the world. One of his books was called: "Living Flame of
Love". The French Prophets or Camisards of 17th and 18th Centuries
The Camisards (from the French dialect word camisa, "shirt"), was a name
applied to the French Huguenot (Protestant) peasants of the Cévennes
mountain region of France who rose in rebellion in 1702 against King Louis
14th. The Camisards, so called because of the black smocks they wore during
night raids, had sought refuge in the Cévennes after Louis 14th in 1685 had
revoked the religious freedom granted to them by the Edict of Nantes. Though
not all were violent, a portion of the Camisards conducted guerrilla warfare
from mountain strongholds against the royal troops.
Roman Catholic churches were burned, and their priests were killed or forced
to flee.
However, they saw themselves as a prophetic group, a millennial
manifestation, bringing in the kingdom of God on earth. They experienced
many spiritual manifestations similar to the Toronto believers. Here is a
description of their prophetic power:
"The first occurrence [of revolt] grew out of the prophetic utterance of a
ten year old girl...she called for repentance...soon children all over the
Cevennes were seized by the spirit and prophesied. Children as young as
three were known to have exhorted the people in religious discourses.
Adults, too, were seized by the spirit and spoke in tongues - their
physical actions were quite excessive. They fell backwards with the body
extended at full length on the ground, their bodies went through contortions
including heaving of the chest and inflation of the stomach - afterwards
they would prophesy, exhorting the people to repent and denounce the RC
Church" (Quotes from various historical sources) This sounds familiar to us.
The manifestations are identical to those seen under the Toronto spirit. Was
this of God? Plainly not. For all the exhortations to denounce the Catholic
Church, the result was to stir up rebellion, armed warfare and bloodshed.
Hardly the work of the true Spirit of God.
The book "Occult Theocracy" by Lady Queenborough quotes sources who call the
Camisards "theomaniacs" and says:
"It is certain that all the armed troops never took to the field except at
the instance of some inspired celebrity. And it is certain that the words of
the prophets were listened to as if they had emanated from the mouth of the
Holy Spirit; that the inspirations from them habitually decided either the
life or death of the Catholics who fell into their power"
This means, the spirit motivating the inspired prophets decided your fate
according to prophecy! If you were a Catholic, this spirit could inspire
somebody to kill you! The above account goes on to state that the same
person would be both a prophet and an army commander.
The Camisards were early "Restorationists". They believed the Church would
be triumphant over the world system and would reign in power in the
endtimes. They were calling in their prophecies for Christians to rise up
like a mighty man and to defeat their enemies, in their case by killing the
priests and burning down their churches! They felt they had a right to do
that. They believed God have given them the authority to defeat their
enemies! This is a sort of Liberation Theology that you see in Africa today.
It's OK to kill people as long as it's in a good cause.
SHAKERS, (1774)
The group known to us as the Shakers was influenced both by the Quakers and
the Camisards. They give us a good example of a group who had plenty of
physical and spiritual manifestations, but entirely the wrong doctrine!
They were led by Mother Ann Lee, who. believed she was the second coming of
Christ as a female principle.
The Shakers began as a sect first heard of about 1750 in Great Britain. They
were then called the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming.
The first leaders were ex-Quakers James Wardley (or Wardlaw), a tailor, and
Jane his wife, dropouts from the Society of Friends who had come under the
influence of the "French Prophets." (The Camisards)
In 1774, Ann Lee of Manchester, England, introduced the sect in the United
States, having been influenced by both the Quakers and the Camisards. She
was known as Mother Ann Lee to her followers. She taught that the Church was
in the endtimes; the gifts of the Spirit were being restored; and she had
been sent by God to set up a millennial rule, which would lead to Christian
perfection. The group organized themselves into close communities that held
property in common, practiced asceticism, and honored celibacy above
marriage.
They experienced tongues, healing, visions, prophecies, and all sort of
manifestations. However, as can be seen from their beliefs, they were
heretical. (It is interesting to note how many times throughout history a
deceiving spirit has tried to introduce the ideas of restoration to an
earthly millennial perfectionism.)
QUAKERISM
The Friends were the followers of George Fox, an English lay preacher who in
about 1647 began to preach the doctrine of "Christ within"; this concept
later developed as the idea of the "inner light." (It was not just Christ!).
Quakers thought that the Divine Spark of God exists in everyone. Thus all
persons may receive revelation if they try.
Quaker meetings are intended to help members to feel God's presence as a
guiding spirit in their lives, not to read the Word. Early Quakers also
experienced spiritual manifestations, which is how they got their name.
They shook as the spirit of revelation hit them. Quakers like many other
gnostic cults practiced withdrawal from this evil world (asceticism) and
they emphasized simplicity in dress, manners, and speech.
WIMBER AND SPIRIT VERSUS WORD
John Wimber came from Quakerism. Is this why he has traces of the belief in
the supremacy of the inner revelation over and above the written word? In
his book, "Power Evangelism", Wimber explains:
"God uses our experiences to show us more fully what He teaches us in
scripture, many times toppling or altering elements of our theology and
world view".
>From "Testing The Fruit Of The Vineyard" By John Goodwin, Former Pastor of
Calvary Chapel San Jose [1990], who traveled extensively with John Wimber:
It is a common statement of Wimber's that "God is greater than His word"
This means two things. First, that there is essential truth in
extra-biblical sources, and secondly that the phenomena experienced by
attendees of Vineyard seminars and church services do not need to be
validated by Scripture. They could, according to Wimber, contradict God's
Word and still be "from the Lord"(3).
A fact sheet on the Vineyard, published by Christian Research Institute
(CRI) states:
"There appears to be little emphasis on teaching the Bible per se. This
lack stands in contrast to the very strong Bible teaching at Calvary Chapel,
a church with which The Vineyard was once associated . .
While Bible teaching is not emphasized enough, the role of experience in
the Christian life appears to be somewhat over-emphasized. People in the
Vineyard frequently seem to be willing to allow their spiritual experiences
be self-authenticating".
THE NEW THING IS THE KEY
One of the common strands holding together all these sects, cults and
movements is their belief that God has initiated a NEW THING through them.
A "new wave" or a "new teaching" has been launched following gnostic
revelations. The Latter Rain Movement was just the same. It was launched on
supposed revelations from the Spirit that introduced new doctrine, and
sought to overthrow the old order with a "New Order" leading to perfection
and fulness on earth, with dominion for the Church.
Toronto is not a new phenomenon! Most of these sects believed God was doing
a new thing through them. In Part Two we will develop this theme and show
just how Toronto is using hidden wisdom and mystical experiences to set up
the Church for their New Order. People are changing, just as the prophecy
demanded. People are undergoing a "paradigm shift" in their beliefs. The old
views are now hackneyed, and the "new thing" is what we must all adopt.
John Wimber wrote in the introduction to "Signs and Wonders & Church
Growth", (1985, published by the Vineyard Ministries International) :"at
this date, January 1985, we have had in excess of 700 students take the
course at Fuller Seminary school of world missions. The results have been
astounding. Better than 90 percent of these students have indicated a
paradigm shift in which they are now ministering in an altered world view."
You can find PART TWO at: http://www.banner.org.uk/res/newthin2.html "The
Latter Rain Roots of the Present Revival"
Banner Ministries: webmaster@banner.org.uk
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Commentaries
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The Inter-American Court of Human Rights "United Nations House"
Belize [1]
International Courts Mock Sovereignty
How Human "Rights" Crush Individual Freedom
by Berit Kjos <www.crossroad.to>
"...a country does not have the right to place conditions on the terms
of its acceptance of the Court's jurisdiction." http://www.oas.org/[2]
".we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny.
We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on
respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture
of peace." The Earth Charter -http://www.earthcharter.org/draft/charter.htm.
[3]
"I applaud the Organization's achievements under his [Secretary-General
Gaviria] stewardship in strengthening the inter-American human rights
system, monitoring elections, consolidating democracy, combating illegal
drugs, and promoting sustainable development." Victor Marrero,U.S.
http://www.state.gov/www/regions/wha/980121_marrero_oas_perm.html
Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States, 1998.
Consider this scenario: A boy lives with his divorced mother and stepfather.
Rude to his mother and jealous of new baby, he apparently threatens his
little sibling with a knife. The stepfather spanks the boy. Angry, the boy
tells his biological father, then sues the stepfather in a British court.
The case is dismissed. The boy, with his father's help, appeals to the
European Court of Human Rights.( http://www.echr.coe.int/eng/general.htm) He
argues that "Britain had failed to protect his right to freedom from
degrading punishment" - and wins.
This actually happened.[4] British law, with its emphasis on individual
rights and freedom, is drowning in a flood of international treaties aimed
at reinterpreting "human rights," enforcing UN ideology, and replacing
national sovereignty with regional governance.
Could it happen in the USA, the land of the free? Yes, it could. Some of the
human rights treaties already ratified by Congress can be interpreted in
ways that will threaten the freedom of all who oppose the new ideology. And
it surely will happen if our U.S. Senate ratifies the American Convention on
Human Rights,
(http://www.oas.org/en/prog/juridico/english/Treaties/b-32.htm )which we
signed in 1977.
The USA is a member of the Organization of American States (OAS) but has not
officially yielded its legal rights to this inter-American regional
government answerable to the United Nations. Since few are aware of this
danger, a covert attempt to pursue ratification might face little
resistance. According to the Congressional record, only five senators
attended the ratification of the The International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights [5] late in the evening of April 3, 1992. As Dr. James
Hirsen explains in The Coming Collision, this virtually private meeting
chaired by Jay Rockefeller [6] turned a subversive treaty into a U.S. law
that requires child registration "immediately after birth" and sets
open-ended limits on religious freedom and "peaceful assembly."
While nations to our South cheer the growing power of the OAS, the US media
is strangely silent about this rising giant of the Western hemisphere.
Children don't learn about this regional government in their schools. Few
adults understand the power of its Human Rights Court, which is casting a
dark shadow over individual rights and sovereignty in South and Central
America. Consider a recent case reported in the last OAS newsletter of 1999:
"The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in decisions on two
pending cases involving the Peruvian government, has ruled that Peru's
announced withdrawal from the Court's compulsory jurisdiction is
'inadmissible.' The Court said a country does not have the right to place
conditions on the terms of its acceptance of the Court's jurisdiction. The
only way for a state to withdraw from its obligations would be to formally
denounce the American Convention on Human Rights, according to the
Court."[7] (Emphasis added)
When the Court ruled last May that four convicted terrorists from Chile be
retried, Peru refused to accept its compulsory jurisdiction. President
Alberto Fujimori argued that Peru had the sovereign right to fight
terrorism. He explained that the Court's ruling would open the door to new
trials for thousands of prisoners, thus threaten national security.
In today's political climate, such national concerns draw little sympathy
from regional leaders. Many know well that national insecurity will
strengthen support for international controls. The Inter-American Court,
based in San Jose, Costa Rica, is currently made up of judges from Chile,
Brazil, Ecuador, Barbados, Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia. Some of these
nations have done little to stem their own government corruption and
terrorist forces.
The details of the above case -- as reported by the OAS or as argued by the
Peruvian leader -- is not the issue here. The main concern is the fact that
a regional, international Court has been granted jurisdiction over national
courts in sovereign nations. If we ratify this treaty, it will override the
U.S. Supreme Court. While the history of the Inter-American Court shows a
far more conservative record than the European Court for Human Rights, that
could change with the next selection of judges.
Human Rights legislation has become a political smokescreen for enforcing a
global ethic around the world. [8] The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) -- the basis for the American Convention on Human Rights -- touts the
hollow promises of the rising global reign. Therefore it sounds good, as do
all the intrusive UN human rights treaties. Article 18 of the UDHR upholds
"the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion..." Article 19
affirms "the right to freedom of opinion and expression... and to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers."
But Article 29 states that "these rights and freedoms may in no case be
exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations." In
other words, these "rights" or "freedoms" don't apply to conservatives who
refuse to conform to UN policies. The UN, with its regional hierarchies, has
shown zero tolerance for those who oppose its goals. Even so, President
Clinton, with a stroke of a pen, made Executive Order 13107
http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-res/I2R?urn:pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/1998/12/1
1/4.text.2 (The Implementation of Human Rights Treaties) the law of the
land. Based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it gives the
Federal Government authority to establish a massive management system that
would implement all human rights treaties whether ratified or not. (See
Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules
http://www.crossroad.to/text/articles/turfur12-98.html)
Look again at the "human rights" agenda of the European
Council(http://www.coe.fr/cm/reports/cmdocs/1998/98cm140.htm). With the
technology to manipulate minds and monitor every family -- and with the
European Court to prosecute non-compliance -- genuine freedom is far more
endangered than the spotted owl. "Towards a Child-Friendly Society," the
theme of the 1999 Conference of European Ministers Responsible for Family
Affairs (http://www.coe.fr/dase/en/cohesion/fampol/stockholm/communiq.htm),
may sound good to Europe's diverse citizens. But its final report offers a
preview of the worldwide shift from individual rights to collective
responsibilities -- ordained, monitored, and enforced by the state -- for
every family. It would...
Encourage women to work outside the home: "Most women would like to have
a choice of whether to continue working after their child is born. In many
families two incomes are necessary to attain a decent standard of living."
Train parents and children for 21st Century solidarity
. "Gender equality
is a prerequisite for the parents' shared responsibility for their children.
Although great strides have been made towards equality in the work-place,
the pace of change has been significantly slower in the allocation of the
domestic tasks associated with child-rearing in the family. In many
families, the result can be that the father works very long hours in his
place of employment, whilst the mother has in effect two jobs, her paid
employment and housework. This situation can mean that neither parent can
devote enough time to their children...."
Force everyone to conform: "The framework of the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child provided an important guideline . Major changes in the
attitudes of adults and authorities are a prerequisite for fulfilling the
principle of the best interests of a child.."
Base education standards on compliance with the UN vision for social
solidarity. "The principal aims of education should be to prepare for
democratic citizenship, and to facilitate social inclusion." (Remember, the
goal is solidarity -- the opposite of what President Clinton and Al Gore
decry as separatism. As Al Gore said: "Seeing ourselves as separate is the
central problem in our political thinking."[9]
Train, manage and monitor every family: "Ministers agreed on the need for
a broad family agenda to meet the challenges preventing the realization of a
child-friendly society. This agenda might include a system of indicators for
family policy.."
Intervene and remediate before problems occur -- before children learn the
uncompromising beliefs and attitudes of their parents. ". this positive
agenda should go hand in hand with effective preventive policies.. An
important goal of child policies is to break the inter-generational cycle of
social exclusion.." (25-26). (Social exclusion refers to the sin of
separatism. See Clinton's War on Hate Bans Christian Values)
Gather more personal information for regional databanks: Ministers noted
that much research into questions concerning families and children does not
have adequate data ..."
Promote "coherent and integrated family and child policies," including
"local and national knowledge and information centers which could be linked
together in a Europe-wide network;
"community networks covering the fields of social welfare, child day
care, education and health for young children;" [See The UN Plan for
Your Mental Health]
"preventive policies for action against social exclusion ...."
Support "the current process of change in attitudes among adults"
fostering the dialogue between the generations" and "giving children the
right to participate in the planning and delivery of care services,
including the right to complain about quality" and participate in "community
based leisure time activities..."[10]
While "the Americas" trail behind the EU in implementing this
revolutionary social agenda, its regional legal system, like that of
Europe, is almost in place. Like the EU, the OAS has based its human
rights agenda on UN treaties.
The net has been cast. The uninformed masses will surely be caught in this
web
-- a tangled network of globalist managers that would regulate
child-raising and squeeze family values into the new mold.
Biblical Christianity won't fit. A visit to the United Nations House in
Belize (formerly British Honduras) shows the UN influence over this little
country south of Mexico. Its United Nations Development Programme works with
the OAS, and its UNICEF office provides the latest information and
propaganda on children rights. Schoolchildren, who are taught a politically
expedient version of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, are trained
to share and discuss their "rights" and feelings with others. Ignorant of
the agenda behind their promised rights, they become eager accomplices of
globalist change agents determined to train children in the new ideology .
"I think my country should build more youth enhancement centres," said
12-year-old Errol, whose statement was quoted in a UNICEF book called
Caribbean Children's Opinions Concerning Their Rights. [11]
"I think there needs to be a youth U.N. with two children from each
country, a boy and a girl, who will discuss the problems of their
countries and seek for solutions... and bring these solutions into reality,"
added 13-year-old Ferranto.
Belize held its First Children's Election in 1998. Students across the
country voted on issues, not politicians. But their voice -- reflecting
the views of their teachers -- was heard and heeded by their politicians.
The children had their way, or so it seemed. They had become useful puppets
in the hands of their facilitators. Trained to tear down the old ways and to
build the new world order, the children had become partners in the cultural
demolition of Biblical faith and family life.
This process is changing children around the world. God's age-old warning
fits us well: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6)
Our rights and freedoms -- two precious gifts from the God who blessed our
nation -- will fade unless His people wake up, see what is happening, warn
others, and pray for guidance to the only One who can save us.
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray
and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
2 Chronicles 7:14
[1] The "United Nations House" in Belize works with the regional
government of the OAS and the national government to coordinate the
implementation of various facets of the fast-growing global management
system. We gathered much of our information for this article in the UNICEF
and UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) offices.
[2] OAS News, November-December 1999.
[3] The Earth Charter outlines the goals of the global management system
being implemented in the name of peace, unity and sustainable development.
It shows the new global absolutes that would replace Biblical absolutes.
Everyone must learn -- and live with -- three basic beliefs: evolution
(everything is constantly evolving and changing), pantheism (everything is
sacred or joined to a universal spirit), and monism (all is one). However,
the wording of this last draft is more ambiguous than earlier drafts. These
three beliefs provide a useful justification for the planned totalitarian
controls behind this system of world socialism. The regional governments
such as the OAS and the EU are part of this vision. "Human rights"
legislation will be a major strategy for changing the way people think,
believe, a live together. (See The UN Plan for Your Mental Health)
[4] Some of the details are provided in The Coming Collision by James L.
Hirsen, PhD. (Lafayette, Lousiana: Huntington House, 1999), page 156.
Since the EU doesn't offer access to decisions of its Court, we cannot
supply a link to the court's decision. But its statutes and conventions
state the laws concerning family life and "social cohesion." For example, in
1990, the Council of Europe, declared that "under the terms of Article 15.b
of the Statute of the Council of Europe ... bearing in mind the proceedings
of the Council of Europe's 4th Criminological Colloquy..." and "considering
the need for a change in the consciousness of the whole of society, whereby
everyone would recognize the unacceptability of the phenomenon of violence
both in the family and in society as a whole..." it "recommends that
governments of member States... encourage...
"The general condemnation of corporal punishment and other forms of
degrading treatment as a means of education, and of the need for
violence-free education should be emphasized .
"Particular attention should be paid by the social and health services
to individuals and families known to be particularly at risk as far as
violence against children is concerned.
"The specific problems that may be encountered in families where there
are step-children, or foster children or disabled children should be taken
into consideration." [Section B, V, 14-16]
[5] The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which
implements specific elements of the Earth Charter, includes:
Article 20:"Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that
constitutes incitement to discrimination... shall be prohibited by law."
Article 21: "The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No
restrictions may be placed... other than those imposed in conformity with
the law and which are necessary... in the interest of national security or
public safety, public order, the protection of public health or morals or
the protection of the rights and freedoms of others."
Article 24: "Every child shall be registered immediately after
birth...."
[6] Hirsen, page 25-26.
[7] OAS News, November-December 1999.
[8] See Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules
[9] Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson, Spiritual Politics (New York:
Ballantine Books, 1994),147.
[10] http://www.coe.fr/cm/files/1990/90r2.html
[11] During his White House Conference on Hate Crimes (November 10, 1997),
President Clinton said, "There would almost have to be some sort of club or
organization at the school -- because if you think about it, your parents
are still pretty well separated. Most neighborhoods are still fairly
segregated. Most houses of worship are still fairly segregated. ...We have
to find a disciplined, organized way out of this so that we reach every
child in an affirmative way before something bad happens...." Clinton's War
on Hate Bans Christian Values
Email: andy-berit@crossroad.to
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Bible Study
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Psalm 100 - Responses to Others
By Terry Denbow (biblebabe@earthlink.net)
David gives instruction as a leader to turn all of their attention and
adoration on to the King of Kings. There is a progression of intimacy that I
see in these 5 verses. Intimacy does not happen all at once (or shouldn't).
It comes with trust and love and faithfulness. Embracing truth and forsaking
falsehood. Be honest with yourself! You're not fooling anyone but yourself.
"From Thy precepts I get understanding (not my own way of thinking);
therefore I hate every false way." Ps 119:163
Can people tell you are intimate with God?
Intimate-intrinsic [intrinsic-belonging to the essential nature or
constitution of a thing] marked by very close association, contact or
familiarity.
Progression of Intimacy
So the first thing he is encouraging others to do is to shout joyfully. Be
enthusiastic about God. Serve with gladness, not as if you're unhappy about
serving.!
Sing to your King-don't wait to be entertained The next progression of
intimacy that David encourages is to know God and know that He is God. You
must believe that for it is essential to any relationship with Him. This
comes from spending time with Him (training, devotion, habit). Studying His
word, talking with Him, relying and clinging to Him and realizing that you
are nothing but dirt apart from Him. And realizing too His great love for
you has no equal.
"I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well." Ps 139:14 "But he
who boasts, let him boast in the Lord." 2 Corth. 10:17
v4 Then will you enter His gates with thanksgiving. Then will you come to
"His place" to live with Him forever. Knowing He has prepared a place for
you beside Him.
v5 And He will do as He has promised "Let not your heart be troubled;
believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling
places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a
place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for, I will come again and
receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:2&3
Personal Growth David somehow always managed to keep His zeal for the Lord.
He was an inspiration and an encouragement to others to worship and know
God. He exalted God to His rightful place and then said, "Look. Worship the
King.
Know Him. Give thanks. Enter in."
Father may I never reach a place of complacency and dullness about knowing
and loving You. Continue to flood my heart with Your love and may I tell
others of Your wonderful faithfulness and the relationship of intimacy I
have with You. Lead me in the paths of righteousness for Your namesake.
Thank you Lord Jesus, Amen "Let us consider how to stimulate one another to
love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the
habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the
day drawing near." Hebrews 10:24&25
I have never known a time in which I have ministered (been a servant to the
body of Christ) and not received ministering by the Spirit.
http://home.earthlink.net/~biblebabe/psalm100.html
biblebabe@earthlink.net
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POEMS, etc.
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God's Promises to Memorize
Ray Gano
God had given us many promises to claim. They bring God's actions that allow
us to partake of His divine nature, avoid sin, and escape the corruption in
the world. They give action we are to take to have living faith. They
influence our lives to be dependent upon God.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to
his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible,
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you 1 Peter
1:3-4 We can memorize many promises to bring us closer to God, and allow Him
to intervene in our lives to make them successful. When memorized, they are
instantly available as the situation requires. I encourage you to do so.
What would happen if you did not have access to your Bible? Learn the lesson
taught to us by those POWs who only had the verses they learned in Sunday
School to keep them going while they were prisoners of war. 1Peter 3:15
tells us to always be ready to give an answer for the hope in us. By
memorizing these verses, you to can equip yourself so that you can always be
ready.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt
meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to
all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous,
and then thou shalt have good success. Joshua 1:8 For the eyes of the LORD
run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the
behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done
foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.2 Chronicles 16:9
Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of
thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall
bring it to pass. Psalms 37:4-5 .
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his
way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD
upholdeth him with his hand. Psalms 37:23-24 What time I am afraid, I will
trust in thee. Psalms 56:3 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put
confidence in man. Psalms 118:8 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and
lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and
he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 I love them that love me; and
those that seek me early shall find me.
Proverbs 8:17 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies
to be at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7 But they that wait upon the LORD
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they
shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah
40:31 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with
the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10 Call unto me, and I will
answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Jeremiah 33:3 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 Ask, and it shall
be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and
to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek
and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,
believing, ye shall receive.
Matthew 21:22 And we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans
8:28 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but
God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are
able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be
able to bear it.1 Corinthians 10:13
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is
made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.2 Corinthians 12:9
