Podcasts about Charles Taze Russell

In Episode 6, we discuss Jehovah's Witnesses.A relatively modern movement established in the 1870s, and developing out of the 'Bible Student movement' founded by Charles Taze Russell.Today, there are 8-9 million members, who are often seen distributing literature outside train stations or around university campuses.In this episode, we consider a brief history of the movement and examine what JWs really believe.

Some modern day religions claim to be Christians...but are they really? Go through this series with a small group or mentor, and let's take a closer look at some religions that may actually be cultish. This week: Jehova's Witnesses.--The Unveiling Mormonism podcast pulls back the curtain on Mormon history, culture and doctrine. Join us for new episodes every Monday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org/mormonism.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --In the last episode we talked about what is a cult (how to identify a cult, etc.). If you missed that one, be sure and go and check that out. In today's episode we will focus our attention on a group that claims to be the real Christians, but as we will show today the Jehovah's Witnesses are not Christians. The Jehovah's Witnesses originated in the late 19th century with Charles Taze Russell, an American preacher deeply interested in Bible prophecy. Here's a concise history of the organization:Part I: The HistoryOrigins and Founder:Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916): Russell was influenced by Adventist teachings, particularly their focus on Christ's second coming. Disillusioned with mainstream Christianity, he began his own Bible study group in the 1870s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.1870s The group now known as Jehovah's Witnesses was initially called Bible Students or International Bible Students Association (IBSA) during its early years. This name reflected their focus on studying the Bible and disseminating their teachings.Publication of Zion's Watch Tower (1879): Russell launched this magazine to spread his interpretations of the Bible, emphasizing end-time prophecies and the imminent return of Christ.Why was it called Watchtower? The name "Watchtower" comes from the Bible, where watchtowers were used as places to keep watch and warn of danger. In ancient times, people would stand in tall towers to look out for enemies or protect their vineyards from animals.Jehovah's Witnesses use the name Watchtower because they believe they are like spiritual watchmen. They think their job is to warn people about the coming of God's Kingdom and the end of the current world system (what they call Armageddon). They see themselves as sounding the alarm and helping people prepare for what they believe is God's judgment.The name also reflects their focus on being alert and vigilant about spreading their teachings, which they view as essential for saving others. The magazine The Watchtower became their main way to share these warnings and spread their message worldwide.Formation of the Organization:Incorporation as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (1884): Russell formally organized his followers under this name, focusing on mass publication and distribution of literature.Today's Stats and Organizational Structure8.6 million members today (2023)Governing Body: A centralized leadership that claims exclusive authority in interpreting the Bible.Emphasis on door-to-door evangelism, distribution of "Watchtower" and "Awake!" magazines.Rutherford's Leadership (1916–1942): After Russell's death, Rutherford took control....

This episode is Ryan Russell's story of growing up in Jehovah's Witnesses and his theology exploration and moving into Biblical Unitarianism. We mention Charles Taze Russell, William Miller, Nelson Barbour, Joseph Rutherford, and more. The Cost of Truth - https://www.amazon.com/Cost-Truth-Biblical-Unitarian-Christians/dp/1736918052

Some modern day religions claim to be Christians...but are they really? Go through this series with a small group or mentor, and let's take a closer look at some religions that may actually be cultish. This week: Jehova's Witnesses.--The Unveiling Mormonism podcast pulls back the curtain on Mormon history, culture and doctrine. Join us for new episodes every Monday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org/mormonism.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --In the last episode we talked about what is a cult (how to identify a cult, etc.). If you missed that one, be sure and go and check that out. In today's episode we will focus our attention on a group that claims to be the real Christians, but as we will show today the Jehovah's Witnesses are not Christians. The Jehovah's Witnesses originated in the late 19th century with Charles Taze Russell, an American preacher deeply interested in Bible prophecy. Here's a concise history of the organization:Part I: The HistoryOrigins and Founder:Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916): Russell was influenced by Adventist teachings, particularly their focus on Christ's second coming. Disillusioned with mainstream Christianity, he began his own Bible study group in the 1870s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.1870s The group now known as Jehovah's Witnesses was initially called Bible Students or International Bible Students Association (IBSA) during its early years. This name reflected their focus on studying the Bible and disseminating their teachings.Publication of Zion's Watch Tower (1879): Russell launched this magazine to spread his interpretations of the Bible, emphasizing end-time prophecies and the imminent return of Christ.Why was it called Watchtower? The name "Watchtower" comes from the Bible, where watchtowers were used as places to keep watch and warn of danger. In ancient times, people would stand in tall towers to look out for enemies or protect their vineyards from animals.Jehovah's Witnesses use the name Watchtower because they believe they are like spiritual watchmen. They think their job is to warn people about the coming of God's Kingdom and the end of the current world system (what they call Armageddon). They see themselves as sounding the alarm and helping people prepare for what they believe is God's judgment.The name also reflects their focus on being alert and vigilant about spreading their teachings, which they view as essential for saving others. The magazine The Watchtower became their main way to share these warnings and spread their message worldwide.Formation of the Organization:Incorporation as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (1884): Russell formally organized his followers under this name, focusing on mass publication and distribution of literature.Today's Stats and Organizational Structure8.6 million members today (2023)Governing Body: A centralized leadership that claims exclusive authority in interpreting the Bible.Emphasis on door-to-door evangelism, distribution of "Watchtower" and "Awake!" magazines.Rutherford's Leadership (1916–1942): After Russell's death, Rutherford took control....

Part 10 Jehovah's Witnesses have long been a cult that has aggressively opposed the doctrine of hell, as can be seen in their literature and publications. Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, was himself an ardent opponent of this doctrine, as has been every presiding president over Jehovah's organisation since.  Though beginning within the ranks of conservative orthodoxy, by the time Russell had outgrown his teens, he had left both Presbyterianism and Congregationalism because he could not reconcile the idea of a loving and merciful God sending billions to an eternal hell. To this day, after nearly a century and a half, Russell's disciples continue to hold to his beliefs and teachings.  In this teaching, we examine the beliefs of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society as they relate to the doctrine of hell and contrast this with what the Bible teaches.  Download teaching notes (pdf) https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bethesdashalom/10_The_Doctrine_of_Hell.pdf

At long last, here is Part Two* of our latest conversation with UK evangelist Vince McCann—host of the Chenzo1969 YouTube channel—on his long-time ministry of speaking with Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons (and others) on the streets of UK towns and cities in the prayerful hope of reaching people for Christ. Drawing upon his extensive experience of such street ministry, Vince shares with us some practical advice that might help us in our own conversations with people caught up in New Religious Movements that claim the Bible as a foundational text. (*I decided, for reasons explained in Part One, to publish this interview in two parts.) [For show notes please visit https://themindrenewed.com]

Part 2 As one traces the history of the beginnings of Jehovah's Witnesses, two names are indispensable to the formation and development of this cult: Charles Taze Russell and his successor, Joseph Franklin Rutherford.  In the 1830s, a Baptist minister from New York by the name of William Miller began sharing his new-found belief, that Jesus Christ was going to return around the year 1843.  This belief began to gain momentum across denominations, and by 1840 it had become a nationwide campaign. This was the birth of what became known as Adventism and it was from this influence that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society would emerge. In this teaching, we examine the history of the Watch Tower cult from its beginnings until the present day. We review some of its teachings that have changed during this period and critique its peculiar version of the Bible, the New World Translation.  Download PDF notes: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bethesdashalom/2_History_of_Jehovahs_Witnesses.pdf

This is message 20 in the Seven Churches of Revelation. Revelation 3:7-13 The Philadelphia church age, covering the years 1700 to 1900, was a dynamic period marked by a surge in missions work and spiritual revival. This era witnessed the influential efforts of the Moravians, who pioneered the mordern missionary movement under the leaders like Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf. Their global missionary activities were complemented by spiritual awakenings across Europe and America, notable through figures like John and Charles Wesley and the impactful preaching of George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards. This period also saw the rise of significant cult movements as a counterforce, challenging the orthodoxy of the expanding Christian faith. Don't forget to download our app for more from the Riverview Baptist Church. http://onelink.to/rbcapp Find more at https://riverviewbc.com/ Donate through Pushpay https://pushpay.com/pay/riverviewbc

Hey there, welcome back to another episode of Salty Saints Podcast. In this episode, Randy and I dive deep into the world of Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower movement. We start off by discussing the history of Jehovah's Witnesses, tracing back to Charles Taze Russell and the founding of the Bible Student Movement. We explore the split that occurred after Russell's death, leading to the establishment of the Jehovah's Witnesses under Joseph Rutherford. Moving on to their beliefs, we uncover some interesting facts. Jehovah's Witnesses reject the Trinity, viewing Jesus as a created being who attained a form of godhood. They have their own translation of scripture, The New World Translation, which alters certain passages to align with their beliefs. When it comes to salvation, Jehovah's Witnesses have a works-based approach. Salvation is achieved through knowledge of God, obedience to God's laws, membership in the Jehovah's Witness organization, and active participation in spreading their doctrine. We also delve into their unique beliefs about the afterlife, with the 144,000 anointed individuals receiving a spiritual resurrection, the great crowd receiving a physical resurrection on a new paradise earth, and the rest facing annihilation or soul death. One intriguing aspect we discuss is their annual memorial of Christ's death, where only the anointed are allowed to partake in communion. This practice highlights the exclusivity within the Jehovah's Witness community. Overall, we dissect the key elements of Jehovah's Witnesses' beliefs and practices, shedding light on their distinctive doctrines and the implications they have on salvation and the afterlife. Join us as we unravel the complexities of this religious movement and explore the implications of their teachings. Tune in to this episode for a deep dive into the world of Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower movement. Stay salty, my friends. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

What You'll Discover in This Episode: The shocking allegations surrounding the founder's past. The unorthodox theological beliefs that challenge traditional Christianity. The strict practices and controversies within the organization. Today, Jim, John, and Lonaiah peel back the layers on the Jehovah's Witnesses, one of the most influential yet controversial religious movements of modern times. Founded in 1879 by the enigmatic Charles Taze Russell, this organization has amassed a global following through its distinct biblical interpretations. But who was the real Charles Taze Russell? This week, The Final Hour Podcast delves into the murky claims about Russell's alleged ties to Freemasonry, a questionable "miracle wheat" business deal, and how a pivotal court case cast doubt on Russell's abilities as a biblical scholar. At the heart of episode #109 is an exploration of the Jehovah's Witnesses' unorthodox beliefs that stand apart from mainstream Christianity. From rejecting the Holy Trinity to the mind-bending notion of Jesus as the archangel Michael, Jim, John, and Lonaiah analyze these teachings' foundations and implications. What led to their stance against specific medical treatments? How have their recurring doomsday predictions impacted followers? And what is their controversial view on the fate of the wicked? Join TFH today as they unravel the fascinating history, unorthodox doctrines, and controversies surrounding the Jehovah's Witnesses.  #JehovahsWitnesses #ReligiousMovements #BiblicalInterpretations #CharlesTazeRussell #Apocalypse #Afterlife #TheFinalHourPodcast

Bienvenidos a un nuevo programa sobre simbología donde volveremos a tratar temas que serán de su interés. En esta ocasión vamos a tratar: Los testigos de Jehová y más concretamente de su fundador Charles Taze Russell y la simbología que los relaciona con la masonería incluido el que este enterrado en un cementerio masón. Lucis Trust una organización luciferina INTEGRADA en la ONU. Y de su creadora, la teósofa Helena P. Blavatsky y su relación con la New Age. Repasaremos la creación de los primeros sindicatos y de donde proviene la celebración del 1 de mayo que rememora los mártires de Chicago. Hablaremos por ultimo de los oscuros orígenes del comunismo, la revolución rusa y su relación con grupos de poder discretos como la masonería o los jesuitas. En la introducción y los seis programas anteriores tratamos sobre estos símbolos: El 9-11 (11 de septiembre o IX-XI, MA Auspice Maria) Las columnas masónicas Jaquim y Boaz La sexta letra del abecedario hebreo, la letra vav o el 666 El Ojo que todo lo ve y la pirámide truncada illuminati El culto solar o la posición de manos al Sol y la entrega de niños al dios Moloch La frase “de la cuna a la tumba” El ajedrezado masónico y el número 33 Espirales, la mariposa y algunos símbolos de los más utilizados por los pedófilos Peter Pan y los faunos El culto a las diosas y más concretamente el culto a la virgen María Símbolos pedófilos dentro de la iglesia católica Algunos secretos de los papas como Pablo VI y Juan Pablo II La masonería, los jesuitas y el culto a Mitra, el significado del IHS Astroteologia en las tres religiones monoteístas Las estrellas de 5 puntas invertidas, las hojas de acacia y el 11 El satanismo en el arte moderno Saludos masónicos, mano al pecho o “hidden hand”, “garra de león”, saludo a tres o “golden chain” El signo del silencio o de Harpocrates Sacerdotes llamados Kohanim y posición de manos Kohen o Cohen Posición de manos de la pirámide y el ojo de Horus Mudras satánicos, el cornuto, posición de manos con el 666 Osiris rising, el signo de Osiris, el signo de la X o las manos cruzadas en el pecho Abejas y su simbologia sagrada y dentro de la masoneria El signo de la V de Aleister Crowley que popularizó Sir Winston Churchill. El ouroboros y la simbología que ha utilizado el partido Podemos como sus círculos de Borromeo. La diosa Isthar y la estrella de 8 puntas. Parte de la simbología que se utilizó durante la Tragipandemia y algunas fotografías icónicas para que no se vuelva a repetir aquello. Falsa liberación de la mujer apoyada por los Rockefeller y la CIA pero a nivel profundo como esta por detrás, entre otros, la masonería y los oscuros rituales satánicos de antifertilidad. Satanismo en la iglesia católica y le daremos un buen repaso al actual papa Francisco. Una breve historia de los Alfabetos mostrando como derivan de los jeroglíficos egipcios y glifos fenicios. Hablamos sobre las Alas y más concretamente de las estatuas del Angel caído o Lucifer. Nos detuvimos en la historia de las runas y como sirven para la adivinación, viendo como se ha malinterpretado el significado real de la esvástica o del triskel celta. En el sexto video terminamos con la glándula pineal y como tiene que ver con la vesica piscis y la flor de la vida. ………………………………………………………………………………………. Invitados: …. Dra Yane #JusticiaParaUTP Médico y Buscadora de la verdad. Con Dios siempre! No permito q me dividan c/izq -derecha, raza, religión ni nada de la Creación. https://youtu.be/TXEEZUYd4c0 …. …. UTP Ramón Valero @tecn_preocupado Un técnico Preocupado un FP2 IVOOX UTP http://cutt.ly/dzhhGrf BLOG http://cutt.ly/dzhh2LX Ayúdame desde mi Crowfunding aquí https://cutt.ly/W0DsPVq ………………………………………………………………………………………. Enlaces citados en el podcast: UTP237 Iniciación a la simbologia Video Odysee https://odysee.com/@tecnico.preocupado:7/UTP237-Iniciaci%C3%B3n-a-la-simbologia:3 Video UGETUBE https://ugetube.com/watch/utp237-iniciacio-n-a-la-simbologia_AHtEo2kZQfjcyzU.html Audio https://www.ivoox.com/utp237-iniciacion-a-simbologia-audios-mp3_rf_112919859_1.html UTP238 Simbología 1 Video Odysee https://odysee.com/@tecnico.preocupado:7/UTP238-simbologia-1:0 Video UGETUBE https://ugetube.com/watch/utp238-simbologi-a-1_n748XqWdLa5V6hU.html Audio https://www.ivoox.com/utp238-simbologia-1-audios-mp3_rf_113351896_1.html UTP240 Simbología 2 Video Odysee https://odysee.com/@tecnico.preocupado:7/UTP240-Simbolog%C3%ADa-2:d Video UGETUBE https://ugetube.com/watch/utp240-simbologi-a-2_2WRrrQot8vq3vOk.html Audio https://www.ivoox.com/utp240-simbologia-2-audios-mp3_rf_113705681_1.html UTP241 Simbologia 3 Video Odysee https://odysee.com/@tecnico.preocupado:7/UTP241-Simbologia-3:7 Video UGETUBE https://ugetube.com/watch/utp241-simbologia-3_Th4J45YM1HbYgIs.html Audio https://www.ivoox.com/utp241-simbologia-3-audios-mp3_rf_113972795_1.html UTP247 Simbologia 4 Video Odysee https://odysee.com/@tecnico.preocupado:7/UTP247-Simbolog%C3%ADa-4:9 Video UGETUBE https://ugetube.com/watch/utp247-simbologia-4_ugapPJczo9s8FcD.html Audio https://www.ivoox.com/utp247-simbologia-4-audios-mp3_rf_115415549_1.html UTP250 Simbología 5 Video Odysee https://odysee.com/@tecnico.preocupado:7/UTP250-comp:6 Video UGETUBE https://ugetube.com/watch/utp250-simbologia-5_FjgtVlCw3oGkZTV.html Audio https://www.ivoox.com/utp250-simbologia-5-audios-mp3_rf_116113471_1.html UTP262 Simbologia 6 Video Odysee https://t.co/IphoAvYV6j Video UGETUBE https://ugetube.com/watch/utp262-simbologia-6_zglMoPuWp8cbTew.html Audio https://www.ivoox.com/utp262-simbologia-6-audios-mp3_rf_118957748_1.html UTP267 Simbologia 7 Video Odysee https://odysee.com/@tecnico.preocupado:7/UTP267-Simbolog%C3%ADa-7:1 Video UGETUBE https://ugetube.com/watch/CTsBQBqCwQsnSKD Audio Charles Taze Russell https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taze_Russell Knights Templar – In Hoc Signo Vinces https://cemeteries.wordpress.com/2006/09/23/knights-templar-in-hoc-signo-vinces/ SOCIEDAD DEL TRACT DE LA TORRE DE VIGILANCIA DE SION. https://mail.biblestudents.com/htdbv5/r707c.htm Corporaciones de los testigos de Jehová https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporations_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses Testigos de Jehová(En 1919 la WT ordenó erigir una Pirámide masónica en la tumba de Russell) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWWH6JTFBFU VIDEO TUMBA DE CHARLES T. RUSSELL - MASONERIA - TESTIGOS DE JEHOVA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbgijPf8acQ Lucis Trust una organización luciferina INTEGRADA en la ONU https://twitter.com/Jadouken10/status/937340835875737602 LA SATÁNICA DERIVA DEL FEMINISMO QUE SACRIFICA LA FERTILIDAD FEMENINA https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2019/07/28/la-satanica-deriva-del-feminismo-que-sacrifica-la-fertilidad-femenina/ 67 Jiddu Krishnamurti La verdadera revolución 1966 Liberese del miedo ok audio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTmYyYDW4-s TEOSOFÍA: ELIPHAS LEVI, KRISHNAMURTI Y LA RELIGIÓN DEL NWO I https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2016/11/22/teosofia-eliphas-levi-krishnamurti-y-la-religion-del-nwo-i/ TEOSOFÍA: ELIPHAS LEVI, KRISHNAMURTI Y LA RELIGIÓN DEL NWO II https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2016/11/25/teosofia-eliphas-levi-krishnamurti-y-la-religion-del-nwo-ii/ GNÓSTICOS Y LO QUE SEGÚN ELLOS ES EL CRISTIANISMO https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2017/08/02/gnosticos-y-lo-que-segun-ellos-es-el-cristianismo/ GNÓSTICOS ¿ÁNGELES O DEMONIOS? https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2017/08/08/gnosticos-angeles-o-demonios/ GNÓSTICOS LA CRUDA Y OSCURA VERDAD https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2017/08/10/gnosticos-la-cruda-y-oscura-verdad/ estrella invertida en el comunismo https://twitter.com/Jadouken10/status/916765999138996225 https://twitter.com/EIconfidente/status/929367571752767497 https://www.abc.es/historia/abci-karl-marx-verdad-fundador-comunismo-vida-burdeles-borracheras-y-criadas-201812200306_noticia_amp.html?__twitter_impression=true Orden de Mecánica Americana https://www.worthpoint.com/dictionary/p/fraternal-political-organizations/union/order-of-united-american-mechanics https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Order_of_United_American_Mechanics LA «BUENA» ESTRELLA ROCKEFELLER QUE BRILLÓ DE LA CUNA A LA TUMBA https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2018/01/18/la-buena-estrella-rockefeller-que-brillo-de-la-cuna-a-la-tumba/ 1º de mayo (hilo que Twitter corto) https://twitter.com/tecn_preocupado/status/726688038961745920 https://twitter.com/tecn_preocupado/status/726688408719003648 SIÓN, NWO Y SIONISMO https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2015/02/11/nwo-sion-sionismo/ Partido Laborista Socialista de América https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Labor_Party_of_America Partido Comunista de Estados Unidos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_USA Huevos Fabergé: piedras preciosas, desapariciones misteriosas y un chatarrero que ganó 23 millones de euros https://www.elmundo.es/loc/celebrities/2021/04/05/6061f166fc6c8345568b45bd.html ¿Sabía usted que La Habana es una de las pocas ciudades del mundo donde existe un monumento al Diablo? https://www.cubacute.com/2022/02/19/sabia-usted-que-la-habana-es-una-de-las-pocas-ciudades-del-mundo-donde-existe-un-monumento-al-diablo/ Revolución cubana, masones y falsos comunistas https://twitter.com/tecn_preocupado/status/761239894081540100 José Mujica https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mujica SUJ entrega Doctorado Honoris Causa a ‘Pepe’ Mujica https://ibero.mx/prensa/suj-entrega-doctorado-honoris-causa-pepe-mujica Ceremonia de investidura Honoris Causa || José Mujica https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=337sjAYUBOg&feature=youtu.be Defensa del señor Mujica de la liberarización de la Marihuana http://www.burbuja.info/inmobiliaria/burbuja-inmobiliaria/687150-jose-mujica-llama-a-gobierno-mundial.html George Soros, el magnate detrás de la legalización de la marihuana en Uruguay https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2013/12/131216_george_soros_marihuana_jgc MUJICA APELA A UN GOBIERNO MUNDIAL Y HABLA SOBRE LA MARIHUANA TRANSGÉNICA DE MONSANTO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-kOeWaie8 Mujica tomó mate con Rockefeller: "Usted es símbolo de una realidad" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj3juK7oWZE&feature=youtu.be https://web.archive.org/web/20130929165544/http://www.laverdadoculta.com.ar/2013/09/mujica-tomo-mate-con-rockefeller-usted.html Premio Jerusalén Mujica 2010 https://www.jerusalemaward.com/ Nelson Mandela https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela Joe Slovo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Slovo Carta de Libertad https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carta_de_Libertad Lionel Bernstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Bernstein Canvas (otra forma del puño de OTPOR) https://canvasopedia.org/who-we-are/ Convertirse en Héroe de los Residuos (modelo de negocio canvas) https://sustainability.indoramaventures.com/storage/content/document/waste-hero-education/level-6/es/circular-business-model-canvas.pdf Umkhonto we Sizwe (grupo terrorista donde milito Nelson Mandela) https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umkhonto_we_Sizwe Construyendo un formidable colectivo de la sociedad civil https://www.news24.com/citypress/voices/building-a-formidable-civil-society-collective-20181130 Magia y ocultismo en la Cheka https://es.rbth.com/blogs/2014/06/08/magia_y_ocultismo_en_la_cheka_40699 ¿REALMENTE SABES QUIÉN FUE KARL MARX? I https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2015/05/07/realmente-sabes-quien-fue-karl-marx/ ¿REALMENTE SABES QUIÉN FUE KARL MARX? II https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2015/05/08/realmente-sabes-quien-fue-karl-marx-ii/ Tierno Galvan https://twitter.com/tecn_preocupado/status/1578060425396101121 Construyendo la gran máquina roja https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/rockefeller_file/rockefeller03.htm Cyrus S. Eaton https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_S._Eaton Antes de la batalla - Yanis Varoufakis https://www.parismatch.com/Actu/Economie/Avant-la-bataille-Yanis-Varoufakis-725030#5 ¿PABLO IGLESIAS DE «PODEMOS» EL NUEVO ISIDORO 2.0? https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2014/05/28/pablo-iglesias-de-podemos-el-nuevo-isidoro-2-0/ ¿PABLO IGLESIAS DE «PODEMOS» EL NUEVO ISIDORO 2.0? II https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2014/05/30/pablo-iglesias-de-podemos-el-nuevo-isidoro-2-0-ii/ PODEMOS: HACER LO QUE YO DIGA PERO NO LO QUE YO HAGA https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2014/11/23/podemos-hacer-lo-que-yo-diga-pero-no-lo-que-yo-haga/ PODEMOS, LOS PITUFOS Y EL GORRO FRIGIO https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2014/11/27/podemos-pitufos-gorro-frigio/ SUICIDIO POLÍTICO DE PABLO IGLESIAS AL COMPRAR EL CHALET, ¿ORDEN DE SUS CONTROLES PARA AUTODESTRUIR PODEMOS? https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2018/05/20/suicidio-politico-de-pablo-iglesias-al-comprar-el-chalet-orden-de-sus-controles-para-autodestruir-podemos/ «PODEMOS» Y EL NUEVO ORDEN MUNDIAL (PARTE 1) https://todoestarelacionado.wordpress.com/2016/11/27/podemos-y-el-nuevo-orden-mundial-parte-1/ “PODEMOS” Y LA REBELIÓN DE LAS BASES https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2015/09/04/podemos-y-la-rebelion-de-las-bases/ EL ESCÁNDALO QUE AUPARA DEFINITIVAMENTE A PODEMOS https://tecnicopreocupado.com/2014/12/28/arnau-de-la-nuez-pederastia-podemos/ Invocando a Pablo Iglesias https://youtu.be/-kgs0bmDAXA?feature=shared documentales rojos https://www.youtube.com/@documentalesrojos4738/videos ………………………………………………………………………………………. Música utilizada en este podcast: Tema inicial Heros ……………………………………………………………….. Epilogo Los Monstruitos - Tres tristes trotskistas picaban piedra en un gulag https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxojIxxu2H4 Video 1 Tumba de Rusell 10 1:38 Video 2 Mario Saban 21 2:20 Video 3 Willy Toledo 45 1:42 Video 4 Fidel Castro 57 2:10 Video 5 Feministas Uruguay 66 0:08 Video 6 Malcom X 81 1:40 Video 7 Invocando a Pablo Iglesias 88 0:38 Video 8 Beatriz Gimeno 97 0:39 Video 9 Audio Prohibido 100 2:31

Founded by Charles Taze Russell (of the Illuminati Russell Bloodline), the Jehovah Witnesses have infiltrated the world with their theology, predictions and mass publications. But, who are they, what do they believe and what of all these predictions that have not happened? Are they tied to the Masons, the pyramids in Egypt or secret societies? This week we look into the history of this group.Email us at: downtherh@protonmail.comSend in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nwczradios-dtrh/message

Founded by Charles Taze Russell (of the Illuminati Russell Bloodline), the Jehovah Witnesses have infiltrated the world with their theology, predictions and mass publications. But, who are they, what do they believe and what of all these predictions that have not happened? Are they tied to the Masons, the pyramids in Egypt or secret societies? This week we look into the history of this group. Email us at: downtherh@protonmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nwczradios-dtrh/message

Jehovah's Witnesses have had a lot to say about the Bible book of Revelation. Starting with Charles Taze Russell, who claimed he was 'the mouthpiece of God', they have written and claimed as fact FIVE publications interpreting a book that God wrote himself. Listen in as we take a look back at those five books, including claims that Revelation prophesied about vacuum cleaners, that angels blowing trumpets is about Ohio U.S.A …. and much more!TWITTER: @exjwpodcastINSTAGRAM: survivingparadisepodcast

2 John 1:7-13Rev. Erik Veerman5/7/2023The Truth about DeceptionOur sermon text this morning is 2 John verses 7-13. You can find that on page 1214 In the church Bibles.Last week we considered the first half of this short letter. Even though it's written to the elect Lady, we discussed how John was likely writing to a specific church. Given the letter's emphasis and language, that understanding makes sense.John opens the letter with a warm salutation. It's very focused on truth and love. And it turns out that truth and love are the main themes of the first half. He calls on them to walk in truth and love. Not just truth, alone, and not just love, alone, but both truth and love. God's truth and agape love, which comes from God's unconditional covenant love for his people.And that brings us to verse 7… where John makes a shift to now address a specific situation. False teachers, whom he calls deceivers, had been traveling around spreading false beliefs about Jesus. In these verses, he gives this church guidance about their teaching and what they should do about it.Let's now come to God's Word.StandReading of 2 John 7-13.PrayerA few years ago, a famous Vermeer painting was on display at the High Museum of Art. So, we went to see it. It's named The Girl with a Pearl Earing. It's probably Johannes Vermeer's most famous painting. He painted it in 1665. It's worth something like $100 million dollars. One of the reasons is that there are only 36 known Vermeer paintings in the world.In fact, back in 1937, a new painting was found. They named it Supper at Emmaus. Art critics were amazed. One well known famous expert called it “the masterpiece of Johannes Vermeer.” A famous art society purchased it for a very large sum of money – millions in today's dollars.The interesting thing is that over the next few years, 5 more Vermeer paintings were found. And all of them found by the same person. Han van Meegeren. But it all came crashing down. Van Meegeren had sold one of the paintings to a high-ranking Nazi official. Because of that, the Dutch government arrested him. At which point he confessed that that they were all forgeries. Van Meegeren had duped all the art experts. The paint was authentic to the period. He had perfected the style. He slightly baked the paintings in an oven and rolled them on a roller to make the paintings appear old with cracks.It's known as one the greatest art forgeries in history. In a word, Van Meegeren was a deceiver. The thing is, the paintings looked so real. People swore that they were authentic. When you compared the brush strokes, the colors, the style, the lighting and shadows on the painted faces, the background, and the paper, it all looked authentic, but it was a great deception.And that is the warning that the apostle John is giving this church. There were teachers who claimed to be Christians. They sounded good, looked good, and had an aura of authenticity. In fact, many of the words they spoke were probably true. But in the end, they were merely deceivers peddling false teaching…. Or to use John's words, their “wicked works.” verse 11.And I would say, this is still very relevant to us today. Every generation, false teachers arise who claim to be teaching truths about Jesus or the Bible or Christianity, yet the heart of their teaching is a false Gospel.These verses answer two questions for us:1. How do we determine when someone's teaching is true or false? And just to be sure, John is not talking about secondary matters. No, John is referring to essential matters. How do we evaluate when someone's teaching undermines the heart of Christianity? That's the first question.2. The second question is, how should we relate to these false teachers? You see, John doesn't just give them a warning about false teaching, but he also gives them clear guidance. So, what should they do? That's the second question these verses answer.To give us some organization this morning, we'll take those questions in that order. First, how do we identify false teaching? And second, how should we deal with false teachers?Identifying False TeachingThe reason John had just emphasized walking in truth and love is because these teachers were not walking in truth and love. They claimed to be a part of the church, but their teaching contradicted their claim.So, how should we determine whether someone's teaching strikes at the heart of Christianity? That's what we are talking about: a perversion of the central truths of Christianity. Beliefs that invalidate the teaching and the teacher. Notice the words that John uses to describe them at the end of verse 7. They are deceivers and antichrists. In fact, those words are not plural. He writes, “such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.” He's basically calling them the devil. He's not saying there's just one deceiver, he's already said there are many. Rather, their deception originates from the great enemy of the faith. They are each the anti-Christ. He could not use a stronger word to describe them.That word, in fact summarizes their false teaching: anti-Christ. Opposed to Christ. Their teaching undermines the Christian faith – Christ himself. This is the main problem with their teaching.Look down at verse 7. It says, “many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.” Right there, he hones in on exactly the problem. These teachers do not confess that Jesus is the Christ. In other words, they do not believe that the man Jesus is the promised Messiah. Oh, they believed in Jesus, the man. They believed he was a good teacher. After all, they identified themselves as part of the church. But they did not believe in Jesus' deity.We talked a little bit about this in 1 John. At the time, Gnosticism was on the rise. That was a human philosophy that focused on higher spirituality. To a gnostic, all matter was evil, which included our bodies. For that reason, they did not believe that Jesus was the Christ in the flesh. How could God become something evil – flesh and blood. That was their line of thinking. Therefore, they rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah. They rejected the incarnation, God becoming flesh. They did not believe that Jesus was the son of God in the flesh.Let's go back up to verse 3. In the salutation, John gave a preview of this central issue. Notice in that verse 3 blessing, he emphasizes that Jesus is the Christ and that he is God the Father's Son. That's very intentional because the truth and love of God centers around Jesus as the Son of God - God in the flesh. If you take that part away, you strip the Gospel of its power. In other words, redemption from sin requires Jesus' fullness as God. In order for the death of Jesus on the cross to be effective as a payment for sin, Jesus needed to be fully and truly God. He also needed to be fully and truly man. Being the mediator between God and man for our sin requires a God man. Able to atone for us as a perfectly righteous man, and able pay the depth of the penalty for sin, as God himself. That is the heart of the Gospel.Notice in verse 9… that is the teaching of Christ himself. It says, “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.” Jesus himself testified over and over that he was God's son, in the flesh. He demonstrated that. It's why the religious leaders hated him. Jesus claimed to be God, claimed to be the Christ. Therefore, to them, he was a blasphemer and deserved death.Let me put it this way, when someone claims to be teaching the truth of God, but denies or twists an essential element of the Gospel, that teaching is not just false in that one area, rather the whole Gospel is undermined.Let's set aside forged paintings. Let me give you a real example.You've probably never heard of Charles Taze Russell. He grew up in the 1850s and 60s in a Presbyterian church in Pennsylvania. As a teenager, he was described as loving the Bible. When he was 18, he started a Bible study with his father. But soon thereafter, Charles Russell began questioning central tenants of the Christian faith, including questioning the validity of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He still considered himself to be a Christian, but he denied that the Holy Spirit was God and he denied that Jesus was God in human flesh. To be sure, he believed in Jesus the man – a special created man, at that, just not Jesus' divine nature. Russel began teaching these things. He also started a magazine and an association called The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Maybe you've heard of that. These false teachings began to spread rapidly. By the 1880s, 16 million copies of his literature had been published. He became very well known all throughout the eastern and northeastern United States. The movement grew. Even after Russell's death, his disciples and other false teachers continued on. In 1931, The Watchtower Society was renamed the Jehovah's Witnesses. It continues today with about 8 million adherents. They have a presence in Tucker.The teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses are the modern-day parallel to the deceivers in John's day. They claim to have the truth, but they do not believe that Jesus is the incarnate eternal Son of God. Rather, they believe Jesus is a created being with special powers given but not the eternal God. For that reason, as John puts it, “they do not have God.” They are deceivers. Their works are wicked. That is strong language! That's because it is anti-Christ, as John says. The apostle Paul said it this way in Galatians 1, “if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” He repeated that twice in Galatians 1.The Jehovah's Witnesses are just one example today. How can these deceivers be identified? The answer is if any part of their teaching undermines the person or work of Christ. • That would include denying either Jesus as truly God or truly man. • A false teacher would also include anyone who denies the need for the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross• …or who denies the bodily resurrection of Jesus • …or who denies that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.• it would also include any kind of denial of the Trinity.Any one of those denials, just one, would go against the teaching of Jesus himself and the apostles as recorded in the Scriptures.And what does the apostle John warn? He writes, “watch yourselves,” verse 8, “so that you may not lose what we have worked for.” They were in a fragile time. The church was in the first few decades of growth. John was the last living disciple of Jesus. And the New Testament was not yet available. In other words, this antichrist teaching threatened to unravel the work which had begun. That is what John is referring to. These false teachers, often unknowingly, were being used by the devil to attack the church. Besides the content of their teaching being heresy, it threatened the unity and spread of the church, which they had worked for.So, this was a matter of utmost importance. In summary: These teachers were denying core beliefs about Jesus and true faith in him, and they therefore threatened the church.Dealing with False TeachersAnd the natural next question is this: what should they do about it?That is the second question this morning. How should they, how should we, deal with these false teachers?Well, John answers that. But before considering what he says, a little context would be helpful. In that time, it was very common for pastors to travel around to different congregations in their region. Small churches didn't have the means to have full-time pastors. These churches were scattered around in villages and towns. Remember, this was before the New Testament was complete. They had some New Testament letters and Gospel accounts but it was limited. At that time, the teaching of Jesus and the apostles was passed down orally. Apostles like John, Peter, and Paul taught their disciples, who would then teach the people. In other words, there were more congregations than there were trained pastors and elders. So, they shared. It was a common thing for a teacher to come into town. The church was expected to greet them and provide for their needs.And by the way, that happens today all over the world. Especially in rural settings. In fact, the seminary that I went to, RTS, has a campus in Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson is a decent size town, but when you get outside the city, it becomes very rural very fast. It's not like Atlanta. And one of the ways that the seminary supports the smaller churches in the area is to send their divinity students to preach. It both helps the small churches and gives the students experience.So, there's nothing wrong with the idea of preachers or teachers travelling around. The issue was the content of their teaching.That background helps us understand verse 10. It says, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting.” They should not be supporting these travelling false teachers. The word “house” could either be hosting them (not giving them a place to stay), or it could be referring to the houses where they worshipped. Whatever the case, the church was not to accommodate them. Don't help them. Don't even greet them with the customary greeting as a brother. Doing either would be supporting their deception. Instead, they were to make a very clear statement that these teachers were not teaching the truth about Jesus nor his Gospel.Now, maybe you're thinking, “ok, but how is that loving? After all, John just said to walk in truth and love. But now he's telling them to not do loving things!” That's a legitimate question. I think the answer is, it would be unloving to receive them. By doing so would cause confusion among the believers. Remember, these were false teachers travelling around. He's not talking about your regular person on the street who is not a Christian, or who may have beliefs contrary to true faith. For them, the call would be to sit down and teach the truth of the Gospel… to reveal Jesus in the fulness of who he is and in the Gospel of grace.But for the teachers, they were propagating false beliefs. In the book of James, chapter 3, it says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” That is a humbling and dauting reality for any teacher of God's Word and truth.Perhaps the Holy Spirit would use the rejection to shake them. To reveal to them their wicked words that they may come to know the true truth of Christ. But the main purpose in rejecting these deceivers is to protect and love the church and clearly call out their deception.What would that look like today?Well, here's one example. Maybe you've seen the two Jehovah's Witnesses women who are often on Main Street. They are there a couple of times per month. Sometimes right outside our office. If I were to invite them in and let them use our office as a base of operations, that would be a problem. In other words, if we support them in any way, we are participating in their false teaching. Now, that's different than wanting to talk to them and open up God's Word and share the truth in a loving way.Another example would be platforming false teachers. That could be inviting a false teacher to teach or preach. It could be endorsing them, or encouraging people to read their books or listen to their podcasts and sermons. We should not do those things. Instead, we should give clear guidance on what is faithful and true versus unfaithful and false.In fact, over the last few months, our youth group has been studying just that. They've been guided through false teaching in the broader American church. That has included a comparison and a contrast of faithful Biblical teaching verses teaching that has gravely strayed from the truth. The thing is, to go back where we started, false teaching can look and sound authentic. It can be packaged in the latest cultural words and ideas that may come across as winsome and relevant and good, but which merely lead people astray.Do not receive them or greet them or platform them. Call out their wicked works.ConclusionBeloved, instead, “abide in the teaching of Christ,” end of verse 9. Believe in Jesus as the “Son of the Father,” verse 3. Confess that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh,” verse 7.Why?• Because as the author of Hebrews put it, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”• As we learn in Colossians 1, “For…all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” And then it says this: “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”• As John writes in his Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” And “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”• As Jesus himself declared, “I and the Father are one.”• As the Angel declared in Luke 1 at Jesus birth, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”• As the Lord himself revealed in Revelation 1 “I am the Alpha and the Omega… who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”• Really, all of the book of Revelation declares that Jesus is reigning as Lord. Seated on the throne. The heavenly hosts declared day and night, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” He is the great victor. The multitude rejoiced over the lamb who was slain but who is now reigning. They sang, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.” On his heavenly robe and thigh, written “King of kings and Lord of Lords”This is who we worship! Christ Jesus, the eternal God who has come to us in the flesh. As the apostle Paul writes in 1 Tim 2, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” He is our hope, our mediator, he has accomplished in his death as God and man, redemption.Beloved, May we lay hold of the precious truth of our Savior. May we reject anything that maligns him or twists the truth about him or his Gospel. Instead, may we believe and confess him in truth and love. Amen

Who was Charles Taze Russell? How, why, and when did Charles Taze Russell start the Jehovah's Witnesses?

After being appointed by means of holy spirit ...by Jesus Christ himself, Tony Morris was 'fired' from his kingly post as a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. Let's take a look back at his life at the top, including his connection to Charles Taze Russell, the rare ex Governing Body Hall of Fame he is now a part of, as well as some supposition, predictions and 'guesses'... and as always, we got questions!TWITTER: @exjwpodcastINSTAGRAM: survivingparadisepodcastTWITTER: @exjwpodcastINSTAGRAM: survivingparadisepodcast

On this episode of Rightly Dividing, we are concluding our current series comparing well-known and popular religious movements with the doctrines and teachings of biblical Christianity, rightly divided and dispensationally correct. Journey with us to the founding of the Jehovah's Witnesses group, formed in the shadow of the ‘Great Disappointment' of 1844. It is here that a young Charles Taze Russell, spellbound under the false teachings of William Miller, waits in vain for the end of the world to occur on October 22, 1844. But young Charles remains upbeat and optimistic, trudging ever onward to create his own religion movement today known as the Jehovah's Witnesses. On this episode of Rightly Dividing, we show you more than you ever wanted to know about the JW's, their teachings, their literature, and their accuracy on the volume of prophecies they've made over the years. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society was founded in 1886 and quickly became the vehicle through which the “Millennial Dawn” movement began distributing their views to others. The group was known as the “Russellites” until 1931 when, due to a split in the organization, it was renamed the Jehovah's Witnesses. The group from which it split became known as the “Bible students.” So the question comes up, are the doctrines and teachings of Jehovah's Witness compatible with biblical Christianity?

The Watchtower Organization and its members, Jehovah's Witnesses, reject the deity of Christ, the deity of the Holy Spirit, the doctrine of Hell as well as other core Christian doctrines.  The origin of their theology does not date back to 1870 with Charles Taze Russell, it actually dates back nearly two thousand years, to the 4th Century. How was this theology viewed by the early church? Listen to find out.  

Week two of heresy month is all about Jehovah's Witnesses. On this episode, Jens and Lukas explore the lives of Charles Taze Russell and Joseph Franklin Rutherford, perhaps the greatest figureheads of this movement. They also discuss key aspects of JW theology and explain why it is errant.   Find us on: Email: doxologypodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @doxologypodcast Instagram: @doxologypodcast

Saddle up, all you cowboy scientologists, because Juicy Clanger's (that's Stacie's new spy name) personal mission is to educate you on scientology! Then Rachel tells the tale of Operation Snow White from conception to downfall. Plus the Arc Reactor AND Hydra in the SAME episode? Whaaaaat?ilovelibraries.org - check it out!Music NotesNight Prowler by Psychronic via PixabayLet the Games Begin by Psychronic via PixabayWorks ConsultedUnrecognized charisma? A study and comparison of five charismatic leaders: Charles Taze Russell, Joseph Smith, L Ron Hubbard, Swhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/24644839https://www.jstor.org/stable/24644760https://www.jstor.org/stable/24644837SCIENTOLOGY: THERAPEUTIC CULT TO RELIGIOUS SECThttps://www.jstor.org/stable/24644842https://www.jstor.org/stable/20872853Timeline of Scientology - WikipediaA Timeline of New Scientology Organizations Dedicated from 2010-2020L. Ron Hubbard - WikipediaL. Ron HubbardScientology Creeds and CodesMore Break-Ins Revealed In Scientology Spy Case - The Washington PostScientology Catechism - What is the Office of Special Affairs?Office of Special Affairs - WikipediaScientology's Secret Service: 2. The Guardian OfficePiercing the corporate veil: the true structure of ScientologyThe “Snow White” Program and the Church of Scientology: The True StoryTimeline of Scientology versus the IRSCalifornia. Court of Appeal (2nd Appellate District). Records and Briefshttps://www.xenu.net/archive/osw/Section%20001-04.pdfU.S. Charges Scientology Conspiracy - The Washington PostBurglaries and Lies Paved a Path to Prison - Los Angeles TimesChurch of Scientology, IRS Settle Dispute for $12.5 Million - WSJSupport the show

Saddle up, all you cowboy scientologists, because Juicy Clanger's (that's Stacie's new spy name) personal mission is to educate you on scientology! Then Rachel tells the tale of Operation Snow White from conception to downfall. Plus the Arc Reactor AND Hydra in the SAME episode? Whaaaaat?ilovelibraries.org - check it out!Music NotesNight Prowler by Psychronic via PixabayLet the Games Begin by Psychronic via PixabayWorks ConsultedUnrecognized charisma? A study and comparison of five charismatic leaders: Charles Taze Russell, Joseph Smith, L Ron Hubbard, Swhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/24644839https://www.jstor.org/stable/24644760https://www.jstor.org/stable/24644837SCIENTOLOGY: THERAPEUTIC CULT TO RELIGIOUS SECThttps://www.jstor.org/stable/24644842https://www.jstor.org/stable/20872853Timeline of Scientology - WikipediaA Timeline of New Scientology Organizations Dedicated from 2010-2020L. Ron Hubbard - WikipediaL. Ron HubbardScientology Creeds and CodesMore Break-Ins Revealed In Scientology Spy Case - The Washington PostScientology Catechism - What is the Office of Special Affairs?Office of Special Affairs - WikipediaScientology's Secret Service: 2. The Guardian OfficePiercing the corporate veil: the true structure of ScientologyThe “Snow White” Program and the Church of Scientology: The True StoryTimeline of Scientology versus the IRSCalifornia. Court of Appeal (2nd Appellate District). Records and Briefshttps://www.xenu.net/archive/osw/Section%20001-04.pdfU.S. Charges Scientology Conspiracy - The Washington PostBurglaries and Lies Paved a Path to Prison - Los Angeles TimesChurch of Scientology, IRS Settle Dispute for $12.5 Million - WSJSupport the show

In April 2022, an anti-Message YouTube video series accused William Branham of plagiarizing his teaching on the Seven Seals from Charles Taze Russell and Clarence Larkin. This podcast proves this accusation is false through numerous citations from the books of Russell and Larkin. Brother Branham's only Seal teaching that closely matched Russell or Larkin was the Sixth Seal, which matched Larkin's teaching. But Brother Branham never claimed his teaching was not from Larkin during the Sixth Seal sermon. Brother Branham was transparent that he was reading many books during the Seven Seals series. Then in July 1964, Brother Branham shared that he had read Larkin work about the Book of Revelation. This proves Brother Branham did not plagiarize Larkin, nor Russell. The final conclusion is that Brother Branham did receive daily, divine visitations from the Holy Ghost as he preached the Seven Seals. Brother Branham's accusers are either honest, deceived, and lazy researchers, or they are dishonest deceivers trying to purposely destroy the godly character of God's prophet, William Branham. We will pray for their correction and genunie repentance. Visit www.pastorjessesmith.com for free Bible resources, books, and videos.Pastor Jesse Smith 330-929-2037jesse.smith11@sbcglobal.net

In April 2022, an anti-Message YouTube video series accused William Branham of plagiarizing his teaching on the Seven Seals from Charles Taze Russell and Clarence Larkin. This podcast proves this accusation is false through numerous citations from the books of Russell and Larkin. Brother Branham's only Seal teaching that closely matched Russell or Larkin was the Sixth Seal, which matched Larkin's teaching. But Brother Branham never claimed his teaching was not from Larkin during the Sixth Seal sermon. Brother Branham was transparent that he was reading many books during the Seven Seals series. Then in July 1964, Brother Branham shared that he had read Larkin work about the Book of Revelation. This proves Brother Branham did not plagiarize Larkin, nor Russell. The final conclusion is that Brother Branham did receive daily, divine visitations from the Holy Ghost as he preached the Seven Seals. Brother Branham's accusers are either honest, deceived, and lazy researchers, or they are dishonest deceivers trying to purposely destroy the godly character of God's prophet, William Branham. We will pray for their correction and genunie repentance. Visit www.pastorjessesmith.com for free Bible resources, books, and videos.Pastor Jesse Smith 330-929-2037jesse.smith11@sbcglobal.net

Starting off a 3 week series on the founders of popular "pseudo-Christian" heretical churches is Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Watchtower Society and Jehovah's Witnesses Support The Master's Dog by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-master-s-dog

Episode 61 Series: What Do You Believe - 1 In this episode of the Removing Barriers podcast, we explore the religion of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Joining us is pastor Gary, one whom the Lord had graciously saved out of a nominal Jehovah's Witness home many years ago. He shares his understanding of the faith from a personal point of view, helping us to understand what the religion actually believes, how to witness to them, and what pitfalls to avoid. Join us on this episode as we learn more about this religion, in whose grip are millions who need the true saving faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. Check us out at: https://removingbarriers.net Listen to the Removing Barriers Podcast here: Spotify: https://cutt.ly/Ega8YeI Apple Podcast: https://cutt.ly/Vga2SVd Google Podcast: https://cutt.ly/Rga25WD Stitcher: https://cutt.ly/GgP1L46 YouTube: https://cutt.ly/mga8A77 Vurbl: https://cut.ly/81QOTAT See all our platforms: https://removingbarriers.net Contact us: Leave us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/removingbarriers/message Email us: https://removingbarriers.net/contact Financially support the show: https://removingbarriers.net/donate Affiliates: Answers in Genesis Bookstore: https://shrsl.com/2tu8i Design It Yourself Gift Baskets: https://shrsl.com/2m64o Ivacy: https://shrsl.com/2jz3c Use Coupon Code "RemovingBarriers" for 20% off Crossflix Faith & Family Movies: https://shrsl.com/2jz3i Share a Sale: https://shrsl.com/2jz4f See all our affiliates: https://removingbarriers.net/affiliates Notes: Pastor Gary, How Were Your Barriers Removed?: https://removingbarriers.net/rbp_60/ Charles Taze Russell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taze_Russell --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/removingbarriers/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/removingbarriers/support

I'm guessing you know of the Jehovah's Witnesses. You've heard of them. Maybe you've noticed their "Kingdom Halls." Maybe they've knocked on your door. But - do you really know anything about them? Before this week, I didn't. Now that I do, I will NEVER look at them the same way again. The Jehovah's may not live on a compound, but, in my opinion they are a dangerous doomsday cult. Their continual focus on impending Armageddon has hurt so, so many lives. And so has their "Two Witness Rule." The Governing Body of the Witnesses pressure congregations to not go to the police with criminal accusations, including rape and sexual abuse. Instead, Witnesses are told to take accusations to congregational elders who record the accusations confidentially. And elders are told that if two or more people didn't witness the crime occur, then it essentially didn't happen. These policies have led to the creation of what's believed to be the largest database of pedophiles ever - pedophiles the organization has provided a safe haven. Known predators have even been paired with future victims to go preach the "truth" door-to-door. The truth is, the Jehovah's Witnesses are an incredible unlikable organization. I lay out their history, their beliefs, and their most shameful policies on another Cult! Cult! Cult! edition fo Timesuck.  We're donating $15,400 this month to the American Nurses Foundation Coronavirus Response Fund for Nurses. This Covid response fund provides mental health support, direct financial aid, education, and evidence-based information, and overall advocacy for nurses. To learn more: https://www.nursingworld.org/foundation/programs/coronavirus-response-fund/ Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oJBO7qetpKk Merch  - https://badmagicmerch.com/   Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89v Want to join the Cult of the Curious private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" in order to locate whatever current page hasn't been put in FB Jail :) For all merch related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste) Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcast Wanna become a Space Lizard? We're over 10,000 strong! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast  Sign up through Patreon and for $5 a month you get to listen to the Secret Suck, which will drop Thursdays at Noon, PST. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. You get to vote on two Monday topics each month via the app. And you get the download link for my new comedy album, Feel the Heat. Check the Patreon posts to find out how to download the new album and take advantage of other benefits. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Sheep's Clothing Episode Thirty-One Part one of four, looking at the history of the Jehovah's Witnesses cult... Thanks for listening! Be sure to like and subscribe for more from Sheep Among Wolves. Connect with us from our website: www.sheepamongwolves.org, facebook/instagram/twitter @sheepamongwlvs, or email chuck@sheepamongwolves.org If you have been blessed by this content and would like to help support me in my undertakings, you may do so by visiting: https://www.sheepamongwolves.org/support #sheepamongwolves #discipleship #apologetics #christianity #jehovahswitnesses #charlestazerussell

I got to share some info about Martin Luther's history, which they eventually tried to compare with Charles Taze Russell. This was particularly interesting as earlier in the same chat we had talked about some of Russell's crazy teachings in The Finished Mystery, which I had with me. One of them even brought up Russell's obsession with pyramids in The Divine Plan of the Ages! And yet, they still wanted to defend him as if he was some kind of new Luther. 

A few facts and lots of speculation on Charles Taze Russell. Hope that you enjoy it!

Many years ago the cults were on the outer fringes of society. Today they are next door to us. Some of them may be members of what's known as the Watchtower Society, an organization that believes they are God's visible representative on earth and should be obeyed as the very voice of God. Beginning with their history and founder Charles Taze Russell, Ron explains why they have a different Jesus and a different gospel and unfortunately because of this deception, they are headed into a Christ-less eternity.

Many years ago the cults were on the outer fringes of society. Today they are next door to us. Some of them may be members of what's known as the Watchtower Society, an organization that believes they are God's visible representative on earth and should be obeyed as the very voice of God. Beginning with their history and founder Charles Taze Russell, Ron explains why they have a different Jesus and a different gospel and unfortunately because of this deception, they are headed into a Christ-less eternity.

The year was 1916. We remember Charles Taze Russell. The reading is from Anna Kamienska, “Lack of Faith.” — FULL TRANSCRIPTS available: https://www.1517.org/podcasts/the-christian-history-almanac GIVE BACK: Support the work of 1517 today CONTACT: CHA@1517.org SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Overcast Google Play FOLLOW US: Facebook Twitter Audio production by Christopher Gillespie (gillespie.media).

In this episode, we cover the different Russell's connected to the Illustrious Council and give a brief overview of Charles Taze Russell, creator of JW WacthTower Society, who was a satanist. As always we provide tips for building long-term generational wealth and a free book. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/truthandwealth/support

I den anden del af historien om Jehovas Vidner gennemgår Jakob Kylman Lautstsen og jeg hvem Joseph Rutherford var som person og hvorfor vi mener at han var den der skabte Jehovas Vidners troslære, fremfor den første præsident, Charles Taze Russell.Vi kan ikke få alle detaljer med, men jeg vil opfordre alle til selv at lave deres egen research.Alene om Rutherford er der hundredevis af frit tilgængelige dokumenter på internettet.

Denne podcast handler om Jehovas Vidners egen historie. Hvor og hvordan startede hele bevægelsen og hvordan er det gået til at Jehovas Vidner har de doktriner som de har i dag? Det vil jeg og Jakob Kylmann Vestergaard Laustsen forsøge at give et svar på og det er lidt af en opgave og der mange ting at tale om!Vi har derfor koncentreret os i denne podcast om manden der startede det hele: Charles Taze Russell. Senere vil der komme flere podcasts der handler om de øvrige mænd der efter Russell udviklede Jehovas Vidner til den trosretning de er i dag.

Die Zeugen Jehovas sind eine der bekanntesten Religionsgemeinschaften in Deutschland - sie klingeln an Haustüren und stehen mit ihren Zeitschriften still an öffentlichen Plätzen und in Fußgängerzonen. Für viele sind sie der Prototyp einer "Sekte" - ich habe mit ehemaligen, aktiven und inaktiven Zeugen Jehovas gesprochen und mir ein eigenes Bild gemacht. Was genau verbirgt sich hinter dieser Gruppe?

In this video, we will critically examine the teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses that only 144,000 people will go to heaven. According to the Watchtower, there has only been the Heavenly Calling for anyone who became a Christian from the 1st century up till the 19thcentury. This would mean that Jesus Christ had less than 144,000 […]

Higher Education has been discouraged by Jehovah’s Witnesses from its very beginning in the 19th century.  Even before this group came to be officially  known as JW in 1931, their founder Charles Taze Russell was advocating that even finishing High School had little value and a waste of time. Despite living in the technological  21st […]

The Tendency Toward Hero Worship Turning your Bibles the 1 Corinthians, Chapter 2, we'll be looking this morning at Verses 1-5. Now, all of us I think has a tendency toward hero worship, it's in all of our hearts, we tend to idolize great men and women and build monuments and museums to them, to honor them. And it occurs to me that I indulge in this myself. This past summer, Christy and I went on a 30th anniversary trip, to England, and we went to a Jane Austen Museum and they had all kinds of artifacts from her life and I think a life size cut-out of her, and all kinds of things, and I enjoyed that, the great author of Pride and Prejudice. Then when we went to Oxford we went to the pub where C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and other great authors (they are Christian authors) used to meet. And we went to the very booth where they sat where there was a plaque and I just felt something special about that. And then after that I went to meet up with some missionaries in the Balkans and I went to a museum for Nicholas Tesla in Belgrade, the great Serbian physicist, and they had artifacts from his life and probably a cardboard cut-out of him too and I just enjoyed that. And then I went to Prilep, Macedonia and there it was just amazing, it was over the top. In downtown, Prilep in 2006, they've renovated the whole area and they have no joke, 250-300 statues of great men and women from Macedonian history, culminating in this great warrior on a rearing horse waving a sword, who they say is the Macedonian warrior. But they wouldn't tell us who it was, because Macedonia is in somewhat of a conflict with Greece over where Alexander the Great really came from. So there he was a great Macedonian warrior wink, wink, but we're not saying who he is. And so there's all of this kind of greatness in this hero worship, and there's, to some degree, nothing wrong with that, but as you study the Bible and you begin to realize what the Bible says about every man and woman boy and girl in the world, and you understand the wickedness in our own hearts you start to realize that hero worship is completely inappropriate. For Romans 3-23, says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." There's only one perfect man there only has ever been one perfect man and that is Jesus Christ, and the Bible exposes the moral weakness, the failures of every individual. Even more dangerous than kind of general nationalistic, or literary hero worship is that that zeros in on religious movements. A hero worship centered on religious movements are especially dangerous, where the founder of that religious movement makes him or herself the focus of everything. That's the essence of a cult. Everything's about that leader, it's all about Muhammad as he starts Islam, it's all about Joseph Smith as he starts The Mormons or Charles Taze Russell as he starts the Jehovah's Witness movement or Sun Myung Moon as he starts The Moonies or Jim Jones as he leads the people to drink the purple Kool-Aid, David Koresh with the Branch Davidians or L Ron Hubbard with Scientology. I was reading a website that talked about the mentality of these kinds of cult leaders who make themselves the focus of everything religiously. And it went on with 50 traits of these kind of cult leaders. But the first eight, I thought were interesting. These kinds of coercive cult leaders have a grandiose idea of who he is, what he can achieve. He is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success power of brilliance, he demands blind unquestioning obedience from his followers. He requires excessive admiration from his followers and from outsiders. He has a sense of entitlement expecting to be treated special at all times. He's exploitative of people, of others, especially concerning their money, demanding their money and absolute loyalty. He is arrogant and haughty and interpersonal relating and he has an exaggerated sense of power that enables him to skirt the law or even break it. That was just eight of 50 traits of these kinds of individuals. Now, hero worships is always going to let us down, but especially that kind of religious cult-like hero worship. But God through the Gospel, wills to expose human sinfulness and to level human pride. He wants to humble the human race while he saves a multitude from all over the world from their sins. And in the second section of 1 Corinthians, Paul speaks of his own experience in preaching the Gospel in Corinth. He shows them that God was humiliating him and indeed all humans by the simple act of preaching the Gospel of Christ crucified. Paul was not preaching himself, he was not a cult leader. He was not starting a cult, centered around himself by the act of preaching Jesus Christ in him crucified all human wisdom and power is leveled, is humbled. God's wisdom and power and grace are exalted, and sinners are saved by that grace. So today we're going to talk about the center of evangelism. Jesus Christ and him crucified. We're going to talk about the humbling of the Evangelist in weakness and fear and much trembling, and we're going to talk about the power of evangelism, the Holy Spirit of God and we're going to talk about the product, the ultimate product of Evangelism and that is faith in the power of God, not in human power. I. The Center of Evangelism: Jesus Christ and Him Crucified So let's look at the first of those, and that is the center of evangelism. Jesus Christ and him crucified. Look at Verse 2 of Paul's resolution, he says there, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." Paul goes back to his mindset when he first came to Corinth. Remember the context, he had been rejected by the philosophers, the geniuses on Mars Hill and Athens. They had mocked him, and scorned him and said, "What is this babbler trying to say?" They especially mock the idea that a dead Jewish man on a Roman cross was a savior of the world, and that he having died would take on a physical body, again in resurrection that was utter foolishness to them. Paul then left Athens and made the 50-mile trip along the Greek coast line to Corinth pondering the experience that he's had of humiliation and scorn at their hands, and he said, I resolved that I was going to approach the ministry, this certain way. Look at Verse 1-2, "When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed you the testimony about God, for I resolve to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." So here we have the center of the Gospel, Jesus Christ and him crucified Paul calls it "the testimony of God," as though Paul were a witness at a court trial, and God is on trial. In the hearts of sinners, the whole thing is reversed, like Jesus standing before Pilate. God is being evaluated and judged by us and Paul's a witness to that. Someday, though, that's going to be reversed we're going to stand before God, and give him an account. But right now, the witnesses are making a case for God to unbelievers and so as I proclaim to you the testimony about God. Paul said he rejected eloquence and superior wisdom for these things could never humble and subdue a proud rebellious heart make it submissive to a king, to King Jesus. Chapter 1, he's already told us that there's a limitation to all human philosophy, and wisdom. "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" So Paul resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Listen, he's not being anti-intellectual here, as though he hated deep thinking. Some of our critics say that about Christianity. They want to make it like, we're stupid people or anti-intellectual. That's not at all. Paul had one of the most brilliant minds in history, Paul wrote the Book of Romans. On one of his trials, someone said, "Your great learning is driving you insane." Paul, was not anti-intellectual. That's not what's going on here. But he had seen through all human wisdom and brilliance and saw the limitation and how it was essentially in opposition to the grace of God. He wanted to focus his mind on nothing except Jesus Christ. The infinite mystery of who Christ is, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for by him, all things were created, things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible. Whether thrones or powers, or rulers or authorities. All things were created by him for him, he is before all things, and in him all things hold together…" The greatness of Christ. I resolve to focus on Jesus. From the moment that the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus filled with murderous threats against the Lord's disciple, on the road to Damascus the resurrected Christ showed him some of his glory on that road. And from that moment, he could never get enough. Philippians 3, said, "I just want to know Christ." I want to know Christ. I want to know Christ every day. I consider all of the things I used to live for rubbish that I might gain Christ, and be found in him. All I want to know is Christ. So when Paul came to Corinth, his mind was focused entirely on Jesus Christ. But not primarily Christ as the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe, the King of Kings and Lord of the Lords. Yes, all of that. But primarily Jesus Christ in him crucified. God in the flesh, whose flesh was nailed to the cross. A God who had blood, whose blood was poured out at the cross. That's what he wants to zero in. So is embracing the shock and horror, of the cross. Foolishness to the Greeks, a stumbling block to the Jews, but salvation to the called. That's what he resolved. Application: Focus your mind on Christ and him crucified So I'm going to just stop through this sermon. I'm just going to make applications as we go. And so what's the application for us? Well, Paul's determination needs to be ours as well. We've got to focus our minds this week on Christ and him crucified, as we seek to win lost people around us. And if you're a Christian, that's your mission, this week. Not just mine as a Pastor, we have lost people who are around us who don't know that they're lost. They're without hope and without God in the world, and it's our task to tell them about Christ and you need to do the same resolution. I'm resolving to focus on Jesus and him crucified. We must teach clearly in this church, the doctrine of the incarnation, that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, did all these incredible miracles, walked on water fed the 5000, healed every disease and sickness among the people. Raised the dead. This is Jesus, this is our savior. We also need to teach the doctrine of the Substitutionary atonement that this Jesus took on a human body so that He might die in our place. And take in himself the just wrath of God we deserve for breaking God's laws. We have violated God's laws and we need to teach Christ and him crucified. And I just want to stop right now and apply it to any of you that are here today that just you know you've come in here as non-Christians. You've been invited by a friend to be here today and you're here today as a favor to a friend or maybe you're just interested or somehow you found yourself at church today. And I just want to plead with you, I want to reach out to you now, and plead with you to be reconciled to God, through faith in Christ. All you need to do is trust this Jesus Christ, this son of God who died on the cross, who shed his blood and your sins will be forgiven. You'll be set free from these invisible chains that have been on your soul or around your heart, you'll be set free. And you'll be forgiven of all your sins, past, present or future not by works, but by faith and by grace. So we've got to do this and we've got to embrace the fact that without the shedding of blood, there's no forgiveness of sins and not shrink back from that. This bloody cross. The church is always under pressure to conform to societal norms on this. And give up this awkward, embarrassing offensive message of a bloody cross. I heard a story some time ago of a seeker sensitive church. Seeker sensitive churches of those that are trying to be evangelistic at every moment. In the Sunday morning service, their whole service is set up for seekers, for people who are interested in the Gospel and there's nothing wrong with having a yearning to have people come in. We want to have lost people coming to our services and we want to welcome them in, but seeker sensitive churches go beyond that to try to remove offensive things from the service and from the preaching that would cause people to stumble. And sometimes they go too far. And I heard this story about a new worship leader at one of these churches, and he did a series of blood hymns like "Nothing but the Blood" and "The Old Rugged Cross" and all that and afterwards he didn't know the mentality of the strategy of the church and so the pastor got up and apologized to the assembly there for all the blood language and said it would never happen again. Now, that's the very thing that this church must never do, there's no getting away from "without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins." John McArthur also gives an illustration of this from this very passage. You heard the story of a church and it had on the side of the church, we preach Christ and him crucified. This came right from the text I'm preaching on today. But there was a leafy vine or something growing up on the side of the building and little by little, it started to cover over the sign. And it preached over the last part, and so all you could read was "We preach Christ." The crucified part was blocked by the vine and then the vine kept growing and all you could see was, "We preach." And then it covered over the word preach and just said, "we." And then the whole thing was covered over. A church that turns away from preaching Christ and him crucified, signs its own death warrant it's only a matter of time before Christ will sovereignly remove that church. That local church is done. So we have to make this commitment, we have to resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Now, what does that mean? It means to prioritize the cross over every other issue in life. It shouldn't be taken literally that Paul knew nothing about marriage, and parenting, and money. And politics and properly relating to the Roman Empire or the topic of slavery, or issues of justice in his... He knew all of these things, his Epistles are filled with these topics. But within the context, he's saying, "When I want to see sinners made right with God, I want to know that they are going to be forgiven of their sins. I am focused on this one thing." Jesus Christ and him crucified. And secondly, I'm going to see all of those topics: Marriage, parenting, money relating to the Roman Empire. Issues of social... I'm going to see all of that through the cross. We're going to see this in... In Corinthians again, and again, he addresses very practical issues in that dysfunctional church, through Christ and him crucified. So, that's what he means by that. So first and foremost, we see the center of evangelism is preaching Christ and him crucified. II. The Humbling of the Evangelist: Weakness, Not Eloquence or Brilliance Secondly, we see the humbling of the evangelist. Weakness not eloquence, or brilliance? Now this is the third in a series of surprising humblings that Paul illuminates what God is doing to the human race through Jesus Christ and through the church. And the first, of Christ is just a message itself. Christ crucified is foolishness to the Greeks and it's a stumbling block to the Jews and so just by saving the world that way, that's a humbling of the world. Secondly, as you remember, God is humbling the world by the church, by who he chooses because the Corinthians weren't that awesome. "Not many… [of them] were wise, not many… influential, not many… of noble birth, but God choose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise," he says. This is the third in a series of how God works to humble human pride and he does that by choosing Paul as a messenger preaching that particular message in that particular way. Very humbling to the human pride. Now Paul was not a polished speaker anyway. He wasn't really good at public speaking. Some of his opponents said in 2 Corinthians 10:10, "For his letters, they say are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech is contemptible." In other words, he doesn't have his gestures down, he doesn't look like much. And he's just not good at speaking. Apollos on the other hand was a much more polished speaker than Paul was. We learned of him in Acts 18-24, he was an eloquent man who was powerful in the Scriptures. So, Apollos was trained in the skills of public speaking, the Greeks made much of eloquence of excellent language techniques, there are whole schools that taught rhetoric. The science of moving people with speech with sequencing your arguments and with skillful transitions and rhetorical techniques there were just a whole ways to go about it. Now look, Paul knew about these things and he could have made a go of it. You could say, "Paul, you got to brush it up a little bit here. Tell you what I'm going to give you 10 weeks at our rhetorical school and we're going to brush you up a little bit and just make you a better public speaker. What do you say Paul, we'll pay for it." And Paul, would have rejected this. Like, I could do that. I could get better in rhetorical skills. But look what he says in Verse 1. "When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaim to you the testament about God" and then Verse 4, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power" So anyway, Paul normally was not a great speaker. But he was at his worst I think there in Corinth it seems. Now, look what says in Verse 3. "I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling." Paul was struggling, I think, with a high level of human anxiety as he began his ministry in Corinth. Some commentators try to say it's a fear of the Lord, and it's trembling in the presence of God, don't do that. Paul was weak and trembling and afraid as he got up to speak. Unusually difficult. He's wrestling with something we all struggle with in evangelism don't we, fear of man. Let's be honest, the number one reason the spirit-filled Christian people, do not witness is they're afraid what the people will say, or do when they witness. If you could have your fear of man completely removed, you would be a river of evangelism this week. And so he struggled, like we all do with fear of man, he was afraid of their reactions. What would they do? Would they turn away in indifference and just walk away? Would they stay there and mock him, like they did in Athens, even worse would they attack him physically, as it happened more times than he could count. Would he actually be in prison or maybe even killed? These are reasonable fears and the proof of what I'm saying is in Acts 18 when the Lord Jesus appears to Paul, in a vision and say to him... This is Acts 18:9-10, "Do not be afraid. Keep on speaking, and do not be silent for I am with you. And no one is going to attack you and harm you for I have many people in this city." Doesn't that prove what I'm saying? Paul was afraid of these things. Paul's not some preaching machine. Just push the "on" button, and he's like a man of steel, just going through situations... He's flesh and blood just like any of us. He would wince if you raised a fist toward him. He would flinch. He's just a normal person. So when he came there in Corinth his presentation of the Gospel was weak and fearful and trembling. He was afraid. But here's the key, he preached Christ anyway. He was afraid, but he preached Christ anyway. Can you do that by the power of the Spirit this week? Can you feel afraid and proclaim Christ and him crucified, anyway. That's the challenge for all of us. He put his hope in the message and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, if you'd been there at that moment in Corinth and you heard him preach. You might have been tempted to mock his stammering voice, his trembling voice. Maybe his hand was shaking a little bit, he's nervous. It's even worse if you have a paper in your hand, it makes it obvious that you're shaking. Maybe his eyes are darting and maybe he had beads of perspiration on his forehead, he was afraid. But there was a hidden power, in this man and his message. There was something powerful about the Jesus, he was proclaiming and the story of who he was and what he did on the cross and how he was raised from the dead and how he came to save sinners like you and me. There is a hidden power, that changed their worlds. Those that believed. And so God is in the business of humbling the evangelist. If you want to be humbled get involved in evangelism. It's like, "Oh Pastor, why would I want to be humbled?" Well, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. You want a journey of grace, then get humbled go see what God can do through people like you and me. We are in way over our heads. You have a sense of that? We're in way over our heads, the forces that raid against us are almost undefeated, the world, the flesh, and the devil, they just win day after day all over the world, in every language and culture they just win. The message itself of a Jewish man, dead on a cross, a bloody cross is the salvation of the world. If you just believe that's offensive to people. We're calling on people to repent, from a whole lifetime of sins to turn their backs on habits that they have in-grade since childhood, and not only that but to turn their backs on all of their religious schemes that they were holding on to, that their parents and grandparents and ancestors believed. Or their own world view, that they've come up with, it's working just fine for them. They're own moral-ism, we're calling on people to turn their backs on all of that and trust in none of it. But to turn to Christ and Christ alone the impulse as people hear that is to mock or turn away in indifference or even more to lash out in anger sometimes. As we go out with this message, we're going to be, if we proclaim it clearly we're going to be a smell. We're going to be an aroma of life to some. But we're going to be a stench of death to most. It's just the truth. And so Paul says when he's describing all this who is equal to such a task. And so, we are humbled. Look again at verse 3, "I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling." Paul's converts were one despite his performance, not because of it. Not by superior logic or dazzling technique, but by the true power of evangelism, the Holy Spirit of God. So here's the thing, feel your own weakness, as evangelists. Feel that reaching the hundreds and hundreds of people that are pouring into the Triangle Region most of whom are unchurched, probably lost, is so far beyond what we could do. Feel that your own efforts to convert worldly Americans at the workplace tomorrow or on the college campus tomorrow is just beyond you. Feel your own weakness and fear. Feel the fear you have. And by the power of the Spirit, act boldly anyway and share the Gospel. The fear that you have before you do it, is your gift to God, that's your sacrifice to God, if you act faithfully. If you overcome your weakness. I will never forget. Told a story a number of years ago. A workplace evangelism situation. I was a engineer, just out of MIT, I was working and trying to be a faithful witness and sharing the Gospel. And there were different people, different reactions up their Massachusetts in Beverly, Massachusetts. And there was this one guy I used to interact with from time to time. He was the foreman of the assembly workers there. A tough man he was in his mis, silver grey hair. Never saw him smile once. People were afraid of him. I was afraid of him. His name was Ron. I won't say his last name. I still remember, but I won't say it. But the Lord laid Ron on my heart. It's like, "Oh God, why him. Not him." "I want you to share the Gospel with him." "When Lord?" "At lunch today." Ron usually didn't take lunch, he didn't have time for lunch, lunch is for weaklings, but occasionally he would sit at his work bench and eat a sandwich then get back to work. "Alright, Lord, I'm going to put a fleece in front of you. If he's sitting there eating a sandwich I'll go share with him. But if he's not there, I'm not going to track him down. I'm not." It's like that's what I'm going to do. So, I prayed. Peeked around the corner and there he was eating his sandwich. I'm like, "Oh God, no." No. And I have never preached the Gospel with so much weakness and fear and much trembling, in my life. I said, "Ron." "Yeah." I said…I don't know what I said. My mind was a blank. I was like, "Do you know about Jesus?" "Yeah, I know about Jesus." Then I said "I just think you need him" and I gave him a tract and walked away. That was it. Look, don't enroll in my evangelism school. It's not how to do it. I have no indication that Ron came to Christ. I wish I could tell you that He came to me at the end of the work day and said, "Andy, I have needed to hear that message for decades. No one ever had the courage to tell me, but I prayed to receive Christ, at 2:30 this afternoon. And I want to know, is there a church that you guys are starting? Is there some this... " That did not happen! III. The Power of Evangelism: The Holy Spirit Thirdly, the of power evangelism, is the Holy Spirit. Look at Verse 4-5. "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on man's wisdom but on God's power," as Jesus said plainly, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth." The power does not come from human resources, but from the Holy Spirit of God, that overwhelming sense of humbling that you feel as an evangelist that should not be the end of the line. It should drive you to prayer and a seeking of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit of God. It is true that Paul said when I'm weak, then I'm strong, but that's only true if you turn your weakness, up to God and prayer by faith and rely on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit delights to show his power on weak frail, men and women, boys and girls. I think about David Brainard who was a missionary to the Native Americans in the colonial era, in America, and he was continually sick with many illnesses but especially tuberculosis, which eventually took his life at age 29. He was beset with cyclical patterns of depression, he was terribly lonely and he was incredibly effective. Or I think about Lottie Moon, who was a missionary to China, stood all of 4ft three inches tall, was 50 pounds when she died, because of starvation as a result of the famine, there in China, but was incredibly powerfully used to mobilize Baptist missions. And God can use weak people, frail people. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. And he sovereignly is sent out by God the Father and God the Son, he is sent out to apply the blood shed on the cross. You remember the story of the exodus, the night of the Passover when all of the Jewish families had to slaughter the Passover lamb, and produced a bowl of blood, but that wasn't enough. They had to take hyssop and paint it on the door post and on the lintels and when the angel of death saw the applied blood he passed over. The second person of the Trinity, Jesus, it was his job to provide the blood of redemption, but it's the third person of the Trinity's job to apply it all over the world in every generation. And he is as effective at what he does as Jesus was at what he did. So if you're a Christian today, you owe your salvation, as much to the Spirit as you do to Jesus. The Spirit sovereignly overcame all of your obstacles and won you to Christ. And he's the only one that can do that. The Holy Spirit's work, in evangelism is awesome and powerful, and as you, a Christian, just application point just begin by thanking God for sending the Spirit if you're a Christian. And then pray for the spirit to be out-poured on us here at FBC to reach as many people as we can in Durham with the Gospel. And especially this flows right from the text. Let's turn away from pragmatic man-centered approaches to evangelism. The Folly of Pragmatic Man-Centered Techniques American evangelicalism is rife with these pragmatic man-centered evangelism techniques. Charles Finney with his new measures, reduced revival and conversion to a science where if you can get the recipe right, you're going to get revival and you're going to get conversions, every time. He called it the new measures. And there are a lot of preachers like him out on the American frontier. There was a man, a Methodist preacher named Lorenzo Dow, this guy was straight weird. What an incredible, interesting man. He was turned out of every church, no church would... But it was okay. He did camp meetings, tent revivals, he would show up at a locality crowded like a theater or something like that, and he would call out in a loud voice, "One year from today, Lorenzo Dow will preach at this place" and then walk away and he kept all those appointments. Interesting advance notice. He was his own PR firm. He then would orchestrate techniques like he had this one young man climb a pine tree with a trumpet and at the right point, talking about the second coming of Christ, He did a gesture and the guy blew a trumpet. And people are like, "What was that?" And people were techniqued into an emotional reaction. In 1959, a man named C. S. Lovett, wrote a book entitled Soul Winning Made Easy. What? Didn't seem like the spirit of 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, but that's... It was all about techniques and he took the techniques of the sales, sales approach, the sales force in 1950s American business world and applied them to evangelism with really Hokie photos of him there and he said that all you need to do at this key point having shared the Gospel you then want to lead them in the Sinners prayer. Prayer does not matter what they're thinking, it matters what they do. You put your hand on their shoulders, and you say, in a semi-commanding voice, pray with me. And then you push down on the shoulder and the psychological pressure of seeing you begin to pray, he will buckle. Friends, that's garbage. That man-centered technique is garbage. We need to realize that the power of evangelism and have conversions, and the Holy Spirit of God, there's no technique. Just like Elijah on Mount Horeb. He's not in the wind and he's not in the earthquake and he's not in the fire, he's not in the technique. IV. The Product of Evangelism: Faith in the Power of God Finally, the product of evangelism is faith in the power of God. This is the ultimate end of all this. "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with the demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on man's wisdom but on God's power." In Corinth, God used an unimpressive Jewish messenger displaying weakness fear and trembling, preaching a foolish and offensive message to change their world. Only God could do that. And so for the rest of your lives, we need to live out the truths of this message. Our entire lives and our witness in this community must follow the same pattern, the centrality of proclaiming Jesus Christ and him crucified. The humbling of all human evangelists who are going to go out throughout the Triangle Region this week in weakness and fear much trembling. You can do that part. The question is, can you, by the power of the Spirit over comment and share the Gospel of Christ and him crucified? Can you do that? Because by the power of the Spirit of God alone is this message advance. And then the final result is people who are converted to that power and rely on God. Not on you, as some cult leader, or some significant person who found the technique but on somebody who relied on the spirit and shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified. Close with me in prayer. Father, we thank you for the time that we've had to study your word. God, I pray that you would work deeply in our hearts. This message, help us O Lord, to know that we were saved by Christ and by him crucified. And the techniques and the approach that the messengers, used to it with us is not important. Help us ourselves to get over our fear, our fear of man. Help us, O Lord, to be willing to suffer rejection and scorn and reverses at work and not getting a raise. And people who used to be our friends, they're not friends anymore. Help us to be willing to pay the price so that we actually share this message this week, and that we can see people saved. Lord, that we can even hear their testimonies in the baptistery behind me, O God, of people who turned from darkness to life, we pray in Jesus's name, Amen.

On today's edition of the Bible Answer Man broadcast, Hank discusses a USA Today article, "Schoolgirl kidnapped by Boko Haram refuses to convert to Islam, family says." Leah Sharibu was the only Christian among the 110 girls kidnapped on February 19, 2018, and was not released as she refused to deny Christ and convert to Islam. During this discussion, Hank notes the failure of main-stream media to identify as Islamic terrorism, those Muslims who attack "infidels" around the world. Hank also discusses the reliability of the resurrection of Jesus Christ using the acronym F.E.A.T. Also, Hank discusses the Jehovah's Witnesses who teach that the historic Christian Church apostatized, and taught heretical doctrines that were countered by the Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and their publishing organization, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Hank also answers the following questions: There are many that claim to be Christians, but the Lord said the road is narrow that leads to eternal life. What assurance of salvation do we really have?Who wrote the 119th Psalm? Moses? Also, could you describe the new covenant with Jesus. Are we required to live according to the 119th Psalm?When I hear theologians of high caliber say that God hates sinners, it drives me crazy. I believe God loves everybody. What are your thoughts?Do you think Christians should be celebrating Passover?When Pontius Pilate asked the crowd what to do with Jesus, and they said, "Crucify him," and "His blood be upon us and our children," was that actually a blessing upon them, instead of being a curse?

The 1800s was an exciting time for Christianity in America. At the same time that secularism and liberal Christianity made huge gains, several renewal movements occurred throughout the land, including the Second Great Awakening. In this episode you learn about the birth of the Protestant missionary movement with the Moravians and the Baptists, how the Read more about 130 Missionaries, Adventists, and Mormons (Five Hundred 14)[…]

The 1800s was an exciting time for Christianity in America. At the same time that secularism and liberal Christianity made huge gains, several renewal movements occurred throughout the land, including the Second Great Awakening. In this episode you learn about the birth of the Protestant missionary movement with the Moravians and the Baptists, how the Read more about 130 Missionaries, Adventists, and Mormons (Five Hundred 14)[…]

Introduction There are a number of major cults which attract large numbers but remember the Bible speaks of a wide road leading to destruction and a narrow road that leads to eternal life. In this series I shall give seven studies concerning "Jehovah Witnesses: right or wrong?" Each day I come across people I want to introduce to Jesus Christ and I have a certain place I visit most days of the week to meet such people. I often come across Jehovah Witnesses after they have concluded their morning's diligent visitation from house to house. They arrive for their coffee break and I sometimes have the opportunity to speak with one or more of them. It will take several lessons to put you in knowledge of their beginnings, their teachings and what the Bible has to say about their doctrines. Part 1 - Early Beginnings This particular cult was founded by a wealthy draper from Pittsburgh USA. His name was Charles Taze Russell. His birth was in 1852 and he was born to parents who were members of a Congregational church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Until the age of sixteen he followed his parents teachings and beliefs unquestionably. One day, however, while he was still sixteen he tried to explain the doctrine of eternal punishment to his friend. On hearing this truth he turned on Charles and ridiculed him for believing such 'unreasonable doctrine' This confrontation to his own beliefs had drastic consequences. Within weeks he had rejected the orthodox Christian faith and began a search for a more reasonable and acceptable creed. Two years later he received the stimulus and encouragement he was looking for. When attending a Seventh day Adventist meeting he was delighted to hear the speaker advocating the annihilation of unbelievers at death and scorning the doctrines of hell. Just as intriguing for him was to learn of attempts to fix the precise date of The Lord Jesus Christ's return Russell was happy to join this new group for a while until differences emerged on other issues and he left to begin studying other religions such as eastern religions including Buddhism. Later he returned to the study of the Bible and began producing Bible Study Notes in a magazine called "Food for thinking Christians" This later became the "Watchtower". In 1879 he founded the "Watchtower Society" He sold his business and founded this new sect. One important event needs to be mentioned concerning this man and his character. He got himself into trouble when selling what he described as "miracle wheat" he said it would outgrow other seed by as much as five times. He lost a libel case action against a newspaper which levelled charges against his claims. This was checked out at the highest level and his claim was found not to be justified. He also claimed to be a competent student of Greek. However in court under oath, it was discovered that he was ignorant of the Greek Language. He knew nothing and not even the letters of the Greek alphabet. He also made a prediction that Christ's return would take place in 1914 but it would be invisible! Is this the kind of man you could trust? Someone you could trust your soul's destiny to? Again would you want to put your trust in an organisation which to this day in 2011 has made many forecasts and predictions which have not taken place. Russell died in 1916. Rutherford followed him as leader, predicting the end of the world in 1925. In 1931 the official name of the movement was then changed to "Jehovah Witnesses".  Rutherford died in 1942 and he was succeeded by Nathan Knorr. Between 1950 and 1961 he produced the "New World Translation of The Holy Scriptures" aided by Frank Franz, Albert Schroeder and George Gangas. This production was so arranged as to support their theology in crucial areas that had posed problems for earlier witnesses using the King James Authorised Bible. (It wasn't the old fashioned language that caused the problem it was certain fundamental teachings they could not agree with.) Under Nathan Knorr the movement took shape and grew more rapidly. He died in 1977 from a cancerous tumour. Like Russell before him and Rutherford he did not see the end of the world predicted in 1975. So we have seen the early beginnings of the Jehovah Witness Movement. Tomorrow I shall explain and show how their teaching conflicts with the Bible on vital issues. Right mouse click here to download as a MP3 file ** Disclaimer: The author of this article, Jim Allis, is a guest podcaster and Partakers Ministries may or may not agree with his opinions and writings, either in their entirety or part thereof. Click or tap on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!

Introduction All over the world, thoughtful people of various cultures and languages take time to reflect on life, asking common deep questions. Questions of life and of origins: Where did the world and all that is part of life come from? Questions of meaning: Why are we here? Questions of purpose, direction and destination: Is there a purpose for my life and life in general? Is there an unfolding purpose in history, a bigger story that I am a part of? Where am I heading; where is humanity heading? Questions of suffering: Why are there natural disasters such as hurricanes that destroy even kill people? What about evil, like an individual, lone gunman shooting in crowds, or attacking nation states invading other countries? Why is there so much suffering? Questions of eternity: What about death and life after death? What happens when we die? All over the world, people who do not know Christ turn to religions or philosophical systems to find answers; often they find nothing and end up with feelings of depression and despair. As Christians, we believe the Bible has the answer to all of these ultimate questions. Regarding origins, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and personally, God knit us together intentionally in our mother’s womb. We are here for a reason; it is not a random accident. Regarding meaning, we were created to know and worship the God who made the universe. That purpose, that reason is enough. It is enough that we can know Him, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one that he sent. He gives meaning to life. Regarding evil, He brings to light the meaning and purpose of evil. We understand why there is evil and death in the world. God created the world beautiful and good. Sin entered the world, and death came in through sin, which has polluted the entire human race. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Regarding purpose and direction, we have a destination. There is a purpose to the history of humans who have led purposeful lives, who have handed the baton of the world to us. Now it is our time to lead purposeful lives. There is a story unfolding in our lives that is bigger than us; it extends to the nations of the world in every individual. We are heading somewhere. Eternity is real. It is appointed to each one of us to die once, and after that, to face judgment. Those who have faith in Christ will live eternally, filled with joy, free from all death, mourning, crying, and pain, that will be worth living. Those who have not had their sins forgiven are condemned to Hell, separated from God for eternity. The true answers to all these questions flow from Scripture. Other religions have prophets and teachers that answer these questions differently. There is a vast system of lies from the mouths of false prophets that people have believed to provide answers to these ultimate questions. False prophets and teachers have been a plague from the beginning of redemptive history. Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses during the time of the Exodus. Balaam the false prophet enticed Israel to sin with the Moabites and led many of them to death because of it. Elijah came against the false prophets of Baal who were leading Israel to worship false gods. Hananiah, the false prophet, contradicted Jeremiah’s clear prophecy of the exile of Babylon with false prophecies. There are many more than I can recount here. False prophets have plagued the people of God. In the church era, the church has been plagued by false teachers as well. All the famous religions and cults of our world have been started by false prophets and teachers. If you know what to look for, you can see a supernatural, demonic element to many of them. For example, Muhammad had visions of an angel in a cave in Hira in 610 that began the Koran. Joseph Smith was a con man, a dowser who used seer stones to try to find hidden treasure. He then used seer stones to write the Book of Mormon and begin the false religion known as Mormonism. Charles Taze Russell, a 19th century false teacher, retrieved Aryanism from Satan’s deep freezer, microwaved and re-served it through the Watch Tower of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, teaching that Jesus is a created being rather than God. Mary Baker Eddy, from my hometown of Boston (not proud of the fact), started Christian Science, denying that physical existence is real, including pain and death. She went so far as to have a phone installed in her mausoleum so she could call someone to get her out of there if she was ever falsely buried, because death is not real. My systematic theology professor Roger Nicole got the number and called it. Strangely, it was busy. Make of that what you will. Cults rise up, deceiving many. They have given rise to some expressions in our culture like “Do not drink the Kool-Aid,” which came from James Jones’ cult in Jonestown, in Guyana. 909 of his followers drank poisoned Kool-Aid and died. The effects of false teaching and false prophecy are horrific. Satan has three main fronts of attack on the church: false teaching, persecution, and pleasure, or sin. False teaching is the most common and most devastating single method of his efforts against the Gospel. It is worse than allurement to the flesh, worse than persecution. False teaching is the worst because it destroys the truth, the message that the church purports. That is why Peter says in 2 Peter 2, “…blackest darkness is reserved for them.” In the second half of Revelation 13, we meet the final false prophet, who will proclaim the final false religion. This will be the most successful false religion in history. We are in a sequential exposition of the book of Revelation. To sum up what we have experienced thus far, Revelation, the final book of the Bible, is so named from the Greek word apokalupsis, which means an unveiling, pulling back that which we could not see if God did not show us. First and foremost, the Apocalypse, the book of Revelation, reveals Jesus Christ and his greatness. As we read every section, it is helpful to ask, “How does this show me the greatness of Jesus?” Second, it is a revelation of the future. God gave the author, the Apostle John, these words to show His people “what must soon take place.” “Soon” means next in the order of redemptive history, not in the way we would measure the concept. “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, a thousand years is like a day.” [2 Peter 3:8] Most of the events described were future to John’s era. and many are likely future to us as well 2000 years later. The events John describes find recapitulation in every era of redemptive history. 1 John 2:18 is a key text in eschatology. “You have heard that one, [an Antichrist] is coming and even now many antichrists have come.” We will have repeated attacks of antichrists, plural, that are not the final Antichrist, but there is one coming. The book of Revelation can generally be read sequentially, though not in every detail. We see a heavenly court with God seated on a throne; we see Jesus, the Lamb that was slain for the sins of the world, take a scroll sealed with seven seals from the right hand of God. He begins, in Revelation 6, to break open the seven seals. As he breaks open each seal, events occur on earth. The seals seem to be preparatory, as Jesus says in Matthew 24, “…the beginning of birth pains,” implying that will be increasing agonies and suffering — wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes in various places — until the birth occurs. A set of judgments, the seven trumpets in Revelation 8 and 9, follows the seal judgments. It is a new and different set of events, not a recap of the previous events. The trumpets unleash assaults on planet earth that are definitely future to us. They are clearly not metaphorical — they are too specific. A third of the green grass and vegetation and trees burns up; a third of the sea turns to blood; and a third of the living creatures in the sea die; a third of the drinking water becomes polluted, unable to be consumed; and a third of the celestial beings are reduced in luminosity, or total celestial light is reduced by a third. A demonic plague follows, an assault of demons billowing up from the nether reaches of the earth, like smoke out of a furnace. They plague people for five months; people long to die, but are not able to. Then a demonic army, 200 million strong, runs roughshod over the earth and kills a third of the population of the Earth, up to two or three billion people. History has never seen anything of that nature or to that scale. Revelation 12 shows us behind the scenes, revealing the activities of Satan and his angels, warfare in Heaven, Satan’s banishment from Heaven, thrown to the earth, and his subsequent assault on the people of God on earth. He is portrayed as a dragon. He hates the children of God, those who believe in Jesus, following the testimony of Jesus and obeying God’s commandments, Jews and Gentiles both. Revelation 13 unveils Satan’s masterpiece, called the Beast from the Sea. Though the word Antichrist does not appear anywhere in the book of Revelation, he seems to be the same individual, a world ruler, who will come and dominate the earth, referred to as the Antichrist in 1 and 2 John, and the man of sin or the man of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2. He will be given power over the entire earth. We have never seen that; the largest empire in history claimed a quarter of the earth’s surface. The Beast from the Sea was called up by the power of the dragon Satan and given power over the earth for a short time — 42 months, or a time, times and half a time, or 1260 days, or three and a half years. Today we consider a second beast. He is called in Revelation 16:19-20 the false prophet; here he is called the Beast from the Earth. Revelation 13 gives a grotesque parody of the Trinity — Father, Son, Spirit are mimicked by the dragon, the Antichrist and the false prophet. Together they parody the actions of God. The Person of the False Prophet We begin with verse 11 to learn about the Beast from the Earth. “Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth.” He is called a beast and is directly compared and connected with the Beast from the Sea. He is another of the same kind; his origin, however, is from the earth, not the sea. As a beast, he exercises a destructive effect on all who come under his sway. He comes to steal and kill and destroy. The words the false prophet speaks, more than anything else, is what is destructive. “He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.” This is most likely an individual, a person, not a system or a philosophy. Many who interpret this as a system see it as the Roman Catholic system. Certainly the Reformers battled against powers from Rome and Catholicism. But this is still future to us, not in the past. Also, a system or a philosophy cannot be thrown into the lake of fire, but this individual, like the Beast from the Sea and the dragon, is capable of being condemned to the lake of fire, and thus he will be when Christ returns. The Beast from the Sea had ten horns, but this one has only two. His appearance, like a lamb, points to an outward winsomeness and gentleness. He is not terrifying in appearance like the first beast, but he is a soul-killing monster. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” False teachers tend to appear beautiful and attractive on the outside, like their master Satan, who masquerades as an angel of light. We should not be surprised that his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. He is appealing, attractive, religious, perhaps gentle in some way, but like the Scribes and Pharisees whom Jesus condemns in Matthew 23 as white-washed tombs, he is righteous on the outside, but full of dead men’s bones, unclean on the inside. He may be appealing, but when he opens his mouth, he speaks like a dragon. His language is that of the dragon Satan; he speaks the devil’s words. He is a charismatic speaker and a skillful liar. The Purpose of the False Prophet Verse 12 says, “He... made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast.” Satan’s ultimate goal, as Isaiah 14 tells us, is to supplant God and be worshiped, so he was cast down. The ultimate purpose of the Antichrist is the same as Satan: to be worshiped as God. Many world-conquering tyrants have had the same megalomaniac tendency, yearning to be worshiped and adored by the people they dominate, to be seen as a god. Many rulers, such as Alexander the Great, have believed in incarnations, that gods took human form. He believed he was the descendant of gods. Roman emperors held the same polytheistic world view. They commonly sought to be worshiped, which was a major issue in that era in which the Apostle John was writing and would be for another century or more, because that is one thing Christians do not do. We see even with a small-time ruler like Herod in the book of Acts. Wearing splendid robes, he gives audience to people who want him to supply them with food and are willing to worship him for it. After he speaks, the people say, “‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man.’ Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.” He was a small fish, but he had megalomaniac tendencies. How much more will the final ruler, the Antichrist be. It is the job of the Beast from the Earth, the false prophet, to cause people to worship the Antichrist. In 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Paul paraphrase (nearly quotes) Daniel 11, but ascribes it to the man of sin who is coming: “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” Therefore, the ultimate goal of the false prophet is false worship of the Antichrist. He will be the worldwide champion, advocate, mouthpiece of the beast from the sea, like the Holy Spirit is for Jesus. The Power of the False Prophet Political Authority The false prophet has power. In verses 12-14, we see the political, governmental coercive authority of the Antichrist, which he places at the false prophet’s disposal. Verse 12 says “He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.” The Antichrist is the first ruler in history to wield world-wide power; his power is described in verses 7-8: “…he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast-- all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.” The false prophet is instrumental in causing the worship to happen. He will use the full power of the state in all matters, including religion — no separation of church and state in that final system. The false prophet will use Antichrist’s governmental power to force the inhabitants of earth to worship the Antichrist. It will be illegal not to do so. He will be able to unleash the military to compel worship. Beyond that, he will be able to unleash the police state — local governing officials — to compel everyone in that community to worship the Antichrist. No one will be able to resist. The intelligence apparatus will also be available to search out who is resisting, who will not submit. False Miracles The second power is miraculous, supernatural, spiritual. The focus will be foremost the Antichrist’s miraculous recovery from the wound that he receives. Verse 3 says “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.” The astonishment of the world is the root, the heart, of the worship. The people are not reluctant; rather, they are astonished and amazed and eager to follow the beast. Verse 12 says, “He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.” It is supernatural, a miracle in the world’s eyes. The false prophet will point “the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived” [verse 14] to seal the belief that the Antichrist is God. He will use false, satanic miracles and signs and wonders of this nature, as verse 13 says: “And he performed great and miraculous signs, [the false prophet] even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men." This calls to mind the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. The nation of Israel was going after a false religion, the worship of the Baals. God raised up Elijah to confront these false prophets. He had them set up a contest between Baal and Yahweh the true God. Each set up an altar for sacrifice. The rules of the game were clear: the prophets of Baal should cry out to their god to send down fire to burn up the sacrifice, and Elijah would call out to the one true God to send down fire. The one who answered by fire would be acknowledged as God, The prophets of Baal cried and screamed and went on for hours, cutting themselves until the blood was flowing, but no one answered. No fire came down from heaven. Was it because Satan cannot do fire from heaven? No, he can do far more than that. Was it because Satan did not want to do it? No, he would have desired to do it. Why then? It was because God was showing grace to the nation of Israel, restraining Satan and his demonic power so that they would not be able to show that miraculous sign at that key moment, which would have the affections of the Jewish people. Elijah prayed a simple prayer, and fire fell down from heaven and burned up not only the sacrifice but the stones and everything on Elijah’s altar. The people all fell down on their faces and said “The Lord, he is God.” At the end of time, God will step back and allow Satan free reign for a time. He has been restraining these false prophets and the demons that they unknowingly represent from showing supernatural power that they possess. But at the end he will allow this false prophet to work signs and wonders. This is the very thing the Apostle Paul predicts in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” He will allow Satan and the demons perform lying signs and wonders so that people will believe and follow that false system. Do you not see the grace of God throughout centuries in which he restrained the demons from doing this precise thing? How good God has been? But in the end, he's going to pull back and give them over to what they want. They will worship Satan in the end. Worldwide Effectiveness The false prophet is effective worldwide. Verse 14 says, “Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.” We saw in verse 8 that “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast…” Statistically, this will be the most successful religion in history, with more followers than any other religion has had in history. More people will worship the Antichrist during that short amount of time than ever worshiped Christ or Buddha or Allah or any deity. The combination of the terror of coercive governmental power and a winsome attraction because of the Antichrist’s miracles and signs and wonders will guarantee success. He will set himself above every god. Every other religion — Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and even atheism and agnosticism — will be instantly obsolete and illegal. But they simply exchange one satanic lie for another more compelling one. But there is one group that will refuse to bow down. And I believe only one group. That is those whose names are written in the book of the lamb of God, who is slain from the foundation of the world. Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ will be empowered through the Holy Spirit to say no at the cost of their lives. They'll be given power to refuse, to stand up. The Elect Are Not Deceived Verse 8, again, says, “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast-- all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.” The elect will be able to resist, because, as 1 John 2:18, 20 tell us: “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. … But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” Praise God for that. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of God, resulting in spiritual discernment of truth. 1 John 2:21 continues, “I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it.” This does not mean we have nothing more to learn. It means that when we hear the truth, we know it because of the anointing from the Spirit. In the same way, when we hear falsehood, we can identify it as such and determine not to follow it. Jesus said of his followers in John 10:4-5, “…[my] sheep follow [me] because they know [my] voice. … they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” He said in Matthew 24:24-26, “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect — if that were possible [it is not because we are warned and we have the Spirit]. See, I have told you ahead of time. So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.” We will be able to resist and withstand the lies. This enrages the dragon and the Antichrist. Not satisfied with the majority, they will go after those remaining who will not bow down. The mind of the tyrant cannot allow even one to resist his orders, especially related to worship of himself. Nebuchadnezzar was not satisfied with the fact that all the officials in Babylon bowed down to his idol in Daniel 3 except Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He commanded them to bow down or be thrown into the fiery furnace. In his rage, he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. Those who threw the three into the fire were instantly incinerated. Haman was not satisfied with all the honors and accolades given him in the empire of Persia. Because Mordecai the Jew would not show fear or bow in his presence, none of the honor meant anything to him. This mind of the tyrant is stirred up by jealousy for worship. Antichrist and the false prophet will have this mind. The Program of the False Prophet The Image of the Beast In verses 14-17, they enact a final solution to weed out resistance and compel all to choose worship or death. The final solution has two steps — the image of the beast that everyone must worship, and the mark of the beast, required for anyone who wants to buy or sell. Verse 14 says, “Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.” Throughout history, people following false religious systems have set up physical representations, idols, as a focus of their worship. This is forbidden to the Jews in the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:4 says, “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” This wicked final world religion will have an idol, the most compelling that has ever been made in history. An idol is an object of worship crafted by skill, ingenuity, and imagination; it is artistic. That is the problem: it makes God in man’s image or imagination in opposition to what God did when he made us in His image. The Image Comes to Life Verse 15 says, “He was given power [implying it was given by God] to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak [it comes to life to become the focus of this new perverted worldwide demonic religion in parody of God breathing life into Adam] and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.” This is the compulsion of the state, the threat of execution for all who will not worship, but also the control of all commerce on the earth. The Mark of the Beast We come at last to this detail, this number 666. I cannot preach a whole sermon about the mark of the beast without speculating. Some of you would like me to speculate about implanted chips and devices that will give off your GPS position to the government or scan your forehead or your hand. This is one of the most famous details in the whole book of Revelation. Verses 16-18 say, “He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.” Six hundred sixty-six is a more accurate translation. This number is the source of endless speculation, but let us stick to the text and read it in context. It is in the context of the final era of history, when Antichrist is ruling the earth and the false prophet sets up a world religion compelling people to worship the beast and his image, seeking to weed out those who will not do so. Everyone must receive this mark of the beast. The requirement extends to everyone on earth, no matter what their socio-economic level, whether small or great, rich or poor, free or slave. It affects their bodies,; it is a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. Without it, people cannot buy or sell, especially food, most likely. The mark of the beast is the mark of his name. It is a brand, like on cattle, indicating ownership by the Antichrist. Those with the mark are his slaves. It is another unsettling parody of the sealing that we have of the Holy Spirit, as in Revelation 7:3, “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Every time an individual buys or sells anything, he or she acknowledges loyalty to and worship of the Antichrist The Call for Wisdom “…the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.” An internet search on this topic will yield various theories of conspiracy and identity of the beast. I believe there is truth behind these theories, not as these websites posit, but in that Satan runs schemes and conspiracies as the unseen puppet master. As with any key issues in the book of Revelation. We must combine current events with exegesis. Scripture alone is not enough. Specific events must happen in space and time on earth for fulfillment of these things. Jesus gave us permission to do this; saying we need more information does not disparage Scripture. Jesus said, for example, in Matthew 24:16-17, “So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel-- let the reader understand — then [when you see that with your eyes] let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” He gives other examples and sums up in verse 33: “Even so, when you see all these things [starting, perhaps, with the seven trumpets], you know that it [Jesus’ return] is near, right at the door.” “This calls for wisdom. [It also calls for information.] If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast…” Those who attempt to make this calculation join a long line of people who have sought to do so. Using the practice of gematria, assigning numbers to letters to get a number, people have come up with Nero, Caesar, and even Ronald Wilson Reagan when he was president, because his three names had six letters in it. None of these qualify —anyone who is dead while the world continues is not the one. Isaac Newton tried — his treatises on the Book of Revelation are online — but he was not able to calculate it because he lacked information. If we are not living in that final generation, we will be missing information. But through John, one generation will have the information and will know what it means. It will be one more final clear proof that this man is the Antichrist. Furthermore, the mark will be voluntary. There will be no ninjas in the middle of the night, putting this thing in your forehead or your hand, sentencing you to eternal Hell without your consent. Revelation 14:11 says that anyone who receives the mark of the beast will be condemned forever. This condemnation is linked to receiving of the mark of the beast. It is a volitional act of will, an act of desire to worship Antichrist. The elect will never give in to it. Applications Thank God for His Grace Thank God for His grace in forewarning us, that you have been told ahead of time what to look for and that you will be ready. Thank God for his grace in restraining Satan and his demons from false religions and from supernatural displays. Thank God for His protection from following these. Realize that the ones who will be sucked in are those who refused to believe the truth and wanted to believe a lie. Do Not Be an Unbeliever Do not be an unbeliever. Today is the day of grace, the day of salvation. We are in the middle of one of the hardest chapters in the Bible to interpret. If you have no idea what this whole story is about, let me make it clear. Ultimate questions are answered in Jesus. The universe was made for his glory, by his intentional power, by his word. You were knit together in your mother’s womb so that you might have a relationship with Almighty God and love Him, and serve Him. Sin entered the world through Adam but we took on his nature, and as soon as we understood rules, we violated God’s laws. We deserve to die, not just a physical death, but eternal death. We deserve Hell, but God sent his Son to deliver us from condemnation. With the Lord’s Supper, we celebrate that deliverance, a foretaste of joy because Jesus delivered us from condemnation. All you need is to trust in Him, not by works, but by faith. Teach Your Children Teach your children. Spend time telling them what is coming. This is not the most important facet of theology, but it has been given us many, many times in many ways that we need to know about this. Be Discerning In the meantime, be discerning. Local churches are responsible for the kind of teaching they get. You are responsible to get rid of false teachers. Paul was put out with the Galatians that they put up with the Judaizers, he was put out with the Corinthians that they put up with people who pushed themselves forward, and slapped them in the face, 2 Corinthians 11. Be Bereans. Study Revelation 13:11-18 to see if I have been faithful to the text. I do not know the exact right interpretation, but there is a difference between stating an idea and false teaching. Go beyond that; look at the character and the life of your teacher. Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them.” Grapes do not grow on thorn bushes. Tim Challies published an article on the Gospel Coalition website identifying patterns of false teachers to help us be aware of their presence. The Heretic teaches doctrine that blatantly contradicts essential teachings of the Christian faith. Cults like Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses or Oneness Pentecostals deny things clearly taught, such as the Trinity. Challies calls Pope Francis a false teacher. Every pope since the Reformation denies justification by grace alone through faith alone, but he advocates, beyond that, a mushy form of universalism. He said,“You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don’t believe and who don’t seek the faith. I start by saying—and this is the fundamental thing—that God’s mercy has no limits if you go to him with a sincere and contrite heart. The issue for those who do not believe in God is to obey their conscience. Sin, even for those who have no faith, exists when people disobey their conscience.” It is false teaching to say that one does not need Jesus or repentance or faith, that one’s conscience is an adequate guide. The Charlatan is only interested in the Christian faith to the extent that it can fill his wallet. Famous TV preachers like Benny Hinn and Creflo Dollar con people into sending them millions of dollars. The Prophet tells new revelations and insights from his or her mind. People end up following him or her more than anything else, even Scripture, looking for new revelations and insights. He warned Christians about Sarah Young, who wrote a daily devotional book, Jesus Calling, in words as if spoken directly by Jesus Christ himself directly to the reader. That is dangerous. It creates, in a sense, a new canon of Scripture, a new direct revelation of words of Jesus speaking through the prophetess Sarah Young. The Abuser uses his position of spiritual leadership to take advantage of other people, claiming he is tending souls. As in 2nd Corinthians 11:20, “…you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face.” False teachers in general take advantage of people in various ways; the abuser manipulates and domineers women and children and even men to take advantage of and control them financially, sexually, emotionally. The Divider leaves a wake of factions and divisions, stirring up strife and controversy wherever he goes. The Tickler tickles people’s ears with things they want to hear. He keeps a positive so he does not offend anyone. When Joel Osteen was asked in an interview why there was no Scripture in his recent book, he answered, “I'm just trying to keep things positive.” When asked about the exclusivity of Christ, he would not assert that Christ alone is Savior. The Speculator is obsessed with novelty and originality, and loves to speculate about the end times, exact dates of the Lords return, and more. Be on your guard against such as these. Closing Prayer Father, I thank you for this time we have had in your Word. I ask that you would please enable all of us to be warned and aware of what Satan is trying to do. As we turn to the Lord’s supper, we pray that you would strengthen each of us to partake in a way that is honorable, in a way that feeds and strengthens us in our work with you. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

After leaving the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses we learned even more eye-opening things about it. Then we applied the same scrutiny to the book that everything we ever believed was based on. Where did we end up? How is our life now? How will I end this last episode of my story? Listen to find out. Direct Download Here [expand title="Click Here To Show Transcript"] [00:01:59] I'm going to break down the nearly two years since my wife and I left the call in different sections to tie up some loose ends and and report on what life has been like after the call. So let's just jump right in. First section we're going to talk about is what I've learned since leaving the cold about the cold admittedly Jehovah's Witnesses know very little about the religion that they pledged their loyalty to. As far as history goes and they also honestly don't know a lot about what is involved in it. Presently you see a good magician only shows you what they want you to see. They don't slow things down and show you the sleight of hand used to make the allusion appear seamless to your naked eye. I've had time now to slow things down to get away from the indoctrination and to get that detailed look at things that I never even had any clue were going on. Around the time that I was coming out there were two big events that happened in the Colts. First the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses. Again these are the leaders of the cult. They started coming out from behind the curtain. Now when I was growing up. One of the selling points of the cult was that our leaders were unknown to us. So it couldn't be a call right. You know these people were behind the scenes they weren't doing it for personal glory. So it wasn't like we were following some man. Well those men have now decided to make themselves known. And it is glorious. [00:03:28] Now I'm just going to sit here and take shots at them unnecessarily. But if you've ever seen a picture of them or if you ever hear them speak the mental illness in them just drips off their words one of them looks like a caricature of Cecil the turtle from the old Bugs Bunny cartoons and speaks about like him. It is so creepy. Others have he's really flat facts as though they are dead inside something that kind of tends to do anyway to people by robbing them of their humanity. But they are truly caricatures. Now one day around when I left there was a huge meeting that was broadcast throughout all the congregations. This was a big deal. [00:04:11] It was a special thing and everyone flocked to their kingdom halls to watch this live stream on video screens of the governing body during a special meeting. This [00:04:21] wasn't something that the average Jehovah's Witness ever got to see. [00:04:26] There were these annual meetings that were held up at Bethel or the headquarters in New York in New York City. But this wasn't something that the average person got to participate in. But they took the opportunity to come out pretty much to great fanfare to be seen on these video screens that each congregation would either buy or rent so that they could show the members this live stream now this is a great chance. [00:04:58] The governing body could speak to anything they wanted anything in the world. They had their subs subjects were captive they could encourage them in any way they wanted. Would you like to know what the highlight from that meeting was Anthony Morris one of the governing body members used his 15 minutes of fame to go on a rant about tight pants tight pants. [00:05:25] In fact he is no now as tight pants Tony he could have talked about anything he could have encouraged single parents that were going through tough times. He could have encouraged young people that had to live a messed up life in the cold. But instead he chose to harp on things like how tight the pants were that people were wearing. And if you don't like it as he is so fond of saying take it up with God because you know that's right there in the Bible in the book of fashion you know the chapter about how tight your pants should be. He he talked about those Spanx as he called them just to show how out of touch he is. He talked about those Spanx as he called them that women used to work out in. And how appalling it was that they would ever wear those out of the house. Then he went on to talk about how the homosexuals that design men's pants want to see you in those tight pants the more slender dress pants as opposed to the pleated pans that looked like balloons were. Remember those as I remember when I was younger you'd wear these pleated pants a little balloons in your crotch when you sit down. Well you know these homosexuals they're just making you wear these tight pants so they can see your bold young men. That's what it's about. You could see how out of touch these human beings are what their world view is like in just a few statements. It doesn't take a lot. [00:06:51] You don't have to get to know these men. This man is a God. A G O D or a guardian of doctrine as they literally referred to themselves as at one point. What a shame that instead of helping people. All he did was put more burdens on them like the Pharisees in Jesus day that Jehovah's Witnesses liked to poke fun at that talk helped to wake a lot of people up. He even went on a rant about the socks that brothers wore with crazy colors on them or designs really now also around that time was the live streaming online of the Australian Royal Commission. The FARC is investigating religions in Australia and how they deal with childhood sexual abuse in their organisations. Now it isn't just Jehovah's witnesses that were being investigated but it was the Jehovah's Witnesses that got special attention not just from those of us that were watching. Ex Jacob's but from the commission itself you see ANGUS STEWART Now a hero among us ex SJ Dubbs was not fooled by the court's appearance and persona. He went in prepared in part because the ex Jehovah's Witness community reached out and gave him things that helped him to prosecute the witnesses in his court. I'll let you in on a little something regarding Jehovah's Witnesses and child sexual abuse or honestly abuse of any kind. Let's say that Little Susie claims that a relative molested her she tells her Jehovah's Witness parents first her parents will go to the elders not to the police but to the elders as that is pretty much how everything is handled in the creation's. [00:08:38] Then once they're little Susie would have to sit down in front of men elders and tell them what happened. Faced probing questions into it again. I think I mentioned earlier they want to know all the details. Then the elders would call the legal department at Watchtower headquarters for advice on how to proceed. Now Jehovah's Witnesses will deny that this is the case but the case is that Jehovah's Witnesses have always been discouraged from going to the police. As a general rule remember they're concerned more about appearance than anything and they will avoid the courts because they don't want the organisation to look bad publicly just like they'll encourage people that seek psychiatric care. So then please don't disclose that you're one of Jehovah's Witnesses because it reflects badly on them. So Susie has now been through this ordeal and the elders would then go confront the relative in the congregation that was accused of molesting her. Often it would come down to a judicial hearing and the little girl would have to face the person that she accused often an adult and likely a man in this scenario in front of three men in the end unless the accused confessed. There could be nothing done unless there was a second witness. Now how many times do you think someone witnesses such predatory behavior. So the relative goes free to molest others and only if another person comes forward later. Will they then have their two witnesses. They have what's called the two witness rule. They take it from one particular verse in the Bible out of the mouth of two witnesses and they use it in this particular scenario. [00:10:27] And because people aren't going to the police it really causes a lot of problems and there's a lot of behavior that has repeated There was an elder that was being shaken down by Angus Stewart that was on the stand in the course of questioning Mr. Stewart asked him what he was doing to protect the general public. Her he got all indignant and was like well you know of course we care about other kids but how could we protect everyone. Well Mr. Stewart beautifully pointed out that by keeping everything in-house and avoiding taking matters like this to the police they were at best only trying to protect those in their own cult and that even if the abuser confessed and was disfellowshipped that did nothing to protect the community at large from a predator. The elder as if thinking about this for the first time in his life thinking about other people he turned blood red and was humiliated. You see Jehovah's Witnesses are so full of themselves that they don't even consider outsiders. This was an eye opener. In the end over 1000 cases of pedophilia were documented and not one was ever reported to the authorities. Jehovah's Witnesses have a policy of also destroying notes taken during such questionings of abuse cases and when questioned on the stage on the stand as to whether or not they would continue doing so. They said yeah that's our policy because again it's policy over people. Now people have even been threatened with disfellowshipping if they were to take these accusations of abuse to the police. Justice McClellan who was presiding over that court pointed out that Jehovah's Witnesses were the worst organization that he had seen in dealing with this. [00:12:22] And the quote was defiance at every turn in areas where they were expected to cooperate. They even hired an outside expert to sing their praises. That was snowed by them as to what the reality was. [00:12:36] And then when this woman gets up on the stand she looks like a complete tool because she had to admit as their own hired expert that they were not doing what they should be doing at all. [00:12:49] She didn't realize what the real situation was and so she got on the stand. She had gone by what the organization had told her. All the flowery things about how wonderful they are and then when she got confronted with the reality of it she had to admit what that reality was she was absolutely taken apart on the stand. [00:13:11] In fact it's also funny that they have a woman up there as an expert in the first place. [00:13:16] We all know as the Jehovah's Witnesses at least know that only those with a male appendage know anything of use. They're the only ones who could be an expert for them to actually put a woman up there. It's just so counter to who Jehovah's Witnesses are. In fact the court was hoping that the court would allow women to hold a role in these types of abuse cases particularly where girls or women were being abused so that they didn't have to go speak to men about it. And of course the court declined to consider that I could go on and on. I could do an entire podcast about the RCC alone but I'll leave it there. The organization of Jehovah's Witnesses actually has a database of thousands upon thousands of such accusations of pedophilia and even known pedophiles who have confessed to what they did. They have a database of thousands upon thousands of these situations around the globe that they keep secret. The court is not co-operative and holds those databases close even redacting basically any information they want when forced to cooperate by the judicial system. Further showing how little Jehovah's Witnesses regard outsiders was another event that happened at the time there was a massive earthquake in Nepal that killed thousands and injured tens of thousands. It was a nightmare it was all over the news well the way the witnesses react it bothered me so much as I was waking up. That actually put a post up on one of the SJW forums in a thread entitled they only care about themselves. [00:15:02] I said I've watched the reaction to the Nepal disaster for the first time with eyes open. What do I see. [00:15:09] Lots of comments about praying for the brothers and sisters affected the official release on the Web site because the witnesses main web site they actually have kind of like a media section where they address things that happen in the world regarding them. [00:15:26] So there is this official release on their Web site references only the sister and her two children that died along with the impact on the brothers there. That's it for an organization that is supposed to be marked by love for all of the gum flapping about how much love for neighbor they show. They can't even be bothered to shout out to the thousands killed and their families and friends. Would it be too much to even acknowledge that other people you know the ones that you supposedly love so much that you go and preach to them door to door even exists. [00:16:00] I understand taking care of your own but you don't have to ignore everyone else like calous Narcissus. [00:16:07] So that's the end of my post that I had made. I just couldn't believe how they wouldn't even acknowledge that other people were impacted. There was literally no mention of those other people. It shows again how little they care about anyone that is outside their group. Here's some other random things that I've learned since being out. I came to realize that there is now no concept of grace in the Colts. They don't use the term grace. That's something that I heard for the first time outside of Jehovah's Witnesses Instead they use the term undeserved kindness so that you always know that you're not really worth anything. I also realize that they they use a lot of weasel words like the word evidently when about to make a point that requires a huge leap and has no real basis. They like to make leaps tobacco whatever ridiculous thing that they're about to posit. So they'll use a word a use word like evidently to get you to make that leap with them. On that. No. They often use the term present truth and the other does speak term present truth to let you know that you have to obey because whatever they're telling you is true but that truth is subject to change. [00:17:29] I learned that they are involved in all kinds of things that they would never allow their members to be a part of or even given the appearance of association with. The biggest example of this is the United Nations now. Jehovah's Witnesses are not even supposed to join the local YMCA because it is a Christian organization not affiliated with the cult and thereby it is false religion because remember they and they alone have the truth. But the colt which claims that the United Nations will eventually cause the nations to turn on and shut down religion and which they see as the scarlet colored wild beast in Revelation. They Jehovah's Witnesses actually became an associate an NGO or a non-governmental organization of the United Nations in 1992 the Guardian and the United Kingdom actually broke the news in October of 2001 that the Jehovah's Witnesses were a member of this organization that they claim to be the scarlet colored wild beast of Revelation. [00:18:38] And that very same month the cult withdrew and disassociated as an NGO member of the United Nations. They are hypocrites of the highest order. If you look up the company of Rand cam that's R.A. in the space s.a.m Aranda cam if you look at their SCC or Securities and Exchange Commission information as a traded company in the United States you'll see that the Watchtower holds a large stake Rand's cam makes engines and is involved in the defense industry the war machine something that Jehovah's Witnesses are opposed to. [00:19:16] Do they think do you think that they would have let you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses do anything that even sniffs such an industry of course not years ago Jehovah's Witnesses aligned themselves with the well-known televangelist Jimmy Swaggart and listing themselves as a quote friend of the court during his case regarding sales tax on books sold. You see Jehovah's Witnesses used to sell their books and magazines from door to door. We would go and we would sell them we would collect money for them. Well one day we got a notice from the top at one of our meetings that we were so blessed by Jehovah that we were going to start relying on him to make this organization go. [00:20:01] We would show our trust in him by going to a donation arrangement instead of charging for the literature we were given suggested donations and proof that Jehovah was backing us would be demonstrated as the organization would have an abundance materially under this new system of getting funding through voluntary donations instead of charging for our literature. [00:20:22] This was God ordained right. Well what they didn't tell us and what I found out later was that the government decided that selling books like this should be taxed and they didn't want to pay taxes. [00:20:34] So that is the real reason that the donation arrangement came about it wasn't blessing from Almighty God. It was prompting by the almighty dollar. In the end it is the members of the congregation that donate the money for the literature that they then go out and give away for free. Most of the time they jilted their members into funding all of it. Well-played colt. Well played another great play is this. It used to be that every congregation was its own entity and own its own property including the building the local brothers and sisters would donate money to the upkeep of the building. They donate money to pay the mortgage or eventually save money for a down payment on a new building if needed. Well the organization often funded those mortgages and the local congregations would get a loan for their Keenum hall that they would you know them be so proud of well Watchtower headquarters decided that they were going to be nice a few years ago. They sent out a letter only part of which was read to the creation and part of which was for the elders eyes only and which they forgave all the mortgages those congregations that had a loan with the organization we're now debt free. That's awesome right. [00:21:53] I mean really how can you mess that up. Well as with just about anything. Read the fine print. What they actually did was to forgive the loans to be sure but they had all of the properties turned over to them. They now owned everything including Keenum halls that were long since paid for. They scarfed up all the properties. [00:22:17] They also told the Koreans that since they were taking care of everything now there was no use in the individual congregations having much money in the bank. So they took everything over a certain amount of basic operating costs. There are creations that had tens of thousands of dollars saved up and earmarked for a new building and all that money was just taken to sweeten the deal for the cold even more. [00:22:42] They told the members that you know what since you've proven that you can pay X amount for your mortgage over these years you know whatever they had previously been paying for the mortgage you could just keep donating that amount through a pledge. And what they did is they handed out slips of paper for everyone to write down how much money they would commit to giving each month so that they knew that they would still be getting their money. In other words don't think you can relax and not keep donating just because you don't have a mortgage anymore. They weren't about to take that foot off the throat of their members. [00:23:15] This new arrangement is forever. So yeah you don't have a loan anymore but you have a commitment in perpetuity to pay at least the same amount. And oh yeah that's took all of your money out of the bank and they took your property too. Again well. [00:23:32] Well played in fact one of the things that Jehovah's Witness has always bragged about was that every month we would have this accounts report that was read from the platform. A brother would get up the account servant who took care of everything. And you know so how much money was donated he'd tell how much you know went to the electric bill the gas bill the water bill it's maintenance on the creation. And I mean you know to be honest to you know give them props for this. [00:23:59] They were very transparent on the local level and when they go to conventions they have a much less detailed accounts report that they go over. [00:24:11] But has anybody ever seen an accounts report for the entire organization. Has anybody ever seen where all of that money goes. Because all they would ever say at the local level is we had X amount that was donated to the quote worldwide work a catchall for the money that was given to the organization. [00:24:31] And you know this was beyond the money that was given to the local herniation. So there was a lot of transparency locally. [00:24:39] But all of the funds that went to Watchtower headquarters said he didn't know where all that money went. [00:24:46] But not until 1961. [00:24:51] Changing the subject. Jehovah's Witnesses could say blood transfusions without penalty. [00:24:57] There were brothers and sisters who you know got a blood transfusion that maybe even save their life. In 1961 it was made a disfellowshipping offense. Eventually as I stated in an earlier episode it was deemed to be an automatic disassociation so that they could put the entire blame on you for being out. [00:25:18] If you took a blood transfusion that saved your life instead of looking bad themselves for kicking you out for taking such a life saving measure over time they have now decided that certain blood fractions are OK to say how many died or were disfellowship during their changes in beliefs. And yet no apology was offered. [00:25:39] And if you are disfellowshipped for taking a fraction to save your life prior to their change in doctrine you would still remain disfellowshipped because ultimately the real problem is that you didn't submit to their wishy washy doctrine. I always wondered when they would start letting sex fractions be OK. There are a lot of witnesses who question that fun fact at one point Jehovah's Witnesses considered organ transplants to be cannibalism. [00:26:08] Here's some other fun facts. The cult was started by Charles Taze Russell. He was associated with the millwrights and the Seventh Day Adventists and he bought into their predictions of the end of the world with specific dates. He is rumored to have had involvement with the Knights Templar Freemasons. He used pyramid ology to try to predict things like 1914 using the dimensions of pyramids. Speaking of 1914 they arrive at that date for the beginning of the end of this system of things based on calculations starting from the fall of Jerusalem in 6 0 7 BCE only do a quick Google search and you'll see that Jerusalem wasn't destroyed in 6 so seven BCE 587 is the accepted date. For its fall for any exodus out there that haven't looked that one up yet. Take a look at that that dates 1914 that Jehovah's Witnesses hold so dear as the date that Jesus took his invisible reign in heaven. Just waiting to come and crush this this world or at least the non Jaida on it. That day was based on 6 0 7 BCE and then other speculative ridiculous calculations but six so seven BCE. Pretty much according to Jehovah's Witnesses they're the only ones who say that that's when Jerusalem fell. I mean it doesn't really take much research. Anyway back to Russell. Charles says Russell is buried in a cemetery adjacent to Masonic property and there's a large pyramid monument nearby his grave that Rutherford the second president of the call is rumored to have put their Russell was involved in something that was a scam a called Miracle Wheat as well. [00:28:00] At one point it was said that God lived on a star in the Pleiades constellation Jehovah's Witness has purchased two properties under the direction of Rutherford the second president one called Best Seram and one called Beth Shan. Both I believe were in San Diego. Best Seram meant the house of princes princes and these properties were supposedly purchased because they believed that the faithful men of old these princes like Abraham or Mose's they believed that these men would be resurrected to the earth and they wanted to have a nice place for them to stay. Yes I'm serious. It is well-documented. You see photos of the place. There was rumor that Beth Shan How's the bomb shelter some sort of bunker for the impending Armageddon. Most Jehovah's Witnesses don't know anything about these matters. I never did. Another thing they don't realize is that they are being played in the literature often the use of an ellipses. [00:29:05] Those few dots you'll see something said then dot dot dot and then some more things said. Usually when you see one of those ellipses those few dots indicating that part of something usually a quote we're left out there often hiding some very real lies and manipulation of quotes for instance Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe that Jesus died on a cross. They believe it to be an upright stake like a pole. Here is a partial quote that the cult gives to support its position on this upright stake taken from the Imperial Bible Dictionary. Now first I'm going to read what Watchtower's says in their book. Reasoning from the Scriptures on the subject and then I'm going to read what the actual dictionary says. So here's what Watchtower's says that this book says the Greek word for cross rose properly signified a steak and upright pole or a piece of paling on which anything might be hung or which might be reused in impaling or fencing in a piece of ground. Dot dot dot dot. Even amongst the Romans the crux from which our cross is derived appears to have been originally an upright pole. All right so if you read this. Sounds like the Greek word for cross-bow star rose. It was a stake and so that would be used in impaling right. Even the Romans appeared to have used a cross that originated from an upright pole. All right. It's a pole. It's not a cross Well let's see what the quote actually says. [00:30:42] It says the Greek word for cross star rose properly signified a stake an upright pole or a piece of paling on which anything might be hung or which might be used in impaling or fencing in a piece of ground. Now here's the dot dot dot dot. The ellipses but a modification was introduced as the as the Dominion and usages of Rome extended themselves to Greek speaking countries even amongst the Romans. The crux from which the word crosses derived appears to have been originally an upright pole and always remained the more prominent part but from the time that it began to be used as an instrument of punishment a traverse piece of wood was commonly added. Not however always then there can be no doubt however that the later sort was more common. And that about the period of the Gospel age crucifixion was usually accomplished by suspending the criminal on a cross piece of wood. Honestly if you continue going through the dictionary there there are several places where it talks about the cross and how it was a cross. But the witnesses have manipulated the quotes to mean something else. [00:31:53] In fact I remember one time this isn't actually in my notes. I tried to find it but at one time there was an expert that they used. You know he was some scientist that they used to explain something. [00:32:11] I don't know about how you know things were really here by creation not by evolution. You know this former evolutionist or something. What they failed to mention was the person that they quoted was one of Jehovah's Witnesses who used to be a science as that's what it was. [00:32:28] And then when caught on it they took the entire part about that out. So you know they have no qualms in bending the truth and claiming to have the truth if they are changing the words of others to fit what they want they will do the same in their own publications. If you were to go look at their publications today the cult keeps them online for easy access part of that easy access that they can change things in their own written word without anyone noticing. In fact if you go look at what they allow people to see now they only allow you to go back to like the year 2000. Everything before then is gone as though it didn't happen. All the crazy things that they said are just gone. [00:33:18] In fact they often will try to get rid of older books and try to destroy them so that the average person can't come across them you see with all the books that they've produced over the years. [00:33:32] They were caught on a lot of things that they predicted and got wrong. For example the cult said over and over and in many ways that the world would end in 1975. There was even a saying stay alive till 75 people were encouraged to give up their worldly possessions and to spend more time preaching the message of salvation. Door to door because the time was near for Armageddon the biggest increases the organization ever had were during the years leading up to this. People sold off everything. They quit their jobs they quit basic education like high school and devoted everything to the cause. I'm guessing you realize that since we're still here they were wrong yet again. Let's look though at how they change the past through their written word. [00:34:22] There was a book released in 1968 around the time when they kind of started pushing the rhetoric about this 1975 thing and the book on page 88 paragraph 11 says during and after World War II widespread. Now I should say first sorry the title of this chapter. [00:34:46] This book is called the truth that leads to eternal life. The title of this chapter is God's Kingdom comes to power. OK. So supporting the when God's kingdom will come in. And of course God's Kingdom coming in means Armageddon the end of this current system of things subparagraph 11 says that during and after World War 2 widespread food shortages added to the distress. [00:35:09] Shortly after the war look magazine observed a fourth of the world is starving today. Tomorrow will be even worse. Famine over most of the world now is more terrible than most of us can imagine. [00:35:22] I wonder what it says there anyway. There are now more people hunting desperately for food than at any other time in history. More recently the book entitled famine in 1975 said concerning today's food shortages. Hunger is rampant throughout country after country continent after continent around the undeveloped belt of the tropics and subtropics. [00:35:45] Today's crisis can move in only one direction toward catastrophe. Today Hungary Nations tomorrow starving nations by 1975 civil disorder Anarky military dictatorships runaway inflation transportation breakdown and chaotic unrest will be the order of the day in many of the hungry nations. [00:36:08] So you see there they were already starting to point to 1975 is this time when all these bad things are going to happen right. Well and I think it was like 1980 they revised this book. So let's look at what it said after 1975 during and after World War 2. [00:36:31] Well I'll just skip the first part. Shortly after the war. [00:36:35] Look magazine observed and then it goes on about how the world is starving today. And to me it just goes. More recent reports have shown that a constant lack of adequate food resulting in chronic malnutrition has become the major world hunger problem today. [00:36:49] The London Times reported and then it just goes off into some you know random quote having nothing to do with 1975. [00:36:59] So the previous the original iteration there was a quote from a book entitled famine 1975. And in that book it actually pointed to 1975 as when chaos would ensue. So they will do anything they can to try to avoid admission of being wrong even changing their own written word. [00:37:21] And now they can do it with impunity because they can do it online on their own Web site where they control everything. [00:37:30] Now I initially they blamed the members of the organization for making up the whole 1975 thing on their own and they blame them for running with it when it was actually them the organization that mentioned it over and over suddenly putting it out there like the manipulative people that they are. Speaking of books through a crisis of conscience by Ray Franz the former Governing Body member I learned that beliefs and policies are actually voted on now. I mean he kind of makes some sense is not a huge revelation you know but let's play that out. That means that there are members of the governing body today that don't even believe their own teachings. If you or I believe something different and others found out it could be grounds for a ruling of apostasy and we could be disfellowshipped. [00:38:19] However those men are voting on things that impact people's lives their real everyday lives the decision not to allow the brothers and sisters in Malawi to purchase a party card because of their stand on political neutrality cost thousands their lives and they were brutally raped and mutilated and tortured because the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses would not allow the brothers and sisters in Malawi to purchase this party card. They said it would not be showing neutrality as it turns out. Malawi only had one party so they wouldn't have been taking sides. And this car costs very little it was like getting an ID and the brothers pleaded with Jehovah's Witness headquarters because the ruling made no sense. In the end a lot of people were slaughtered. Lives were ruined. People were tortured and Jehovah's Witnesses have a lot of blood on their hands. I came to realize that that whole field service work that we always did it's not to make converts. [00:39:26] It's to keep you the publisher going from door to door so that you stay in the colt. [00:39:33] You see human beings have a need for internal consistency we need our thoughts and our actions to align or or we'll start going a different path because they don't match up. But if they can get us to go knock on doors investing so much time and energy when they're teaching can't come up in our head that maybe it makes sense or or the cold asks us to do something ridiculous. We were more inclined to just brush it aside because we were investing so much into this. In fact the Jehovah's Witnesses and I looked this up. I forgot about it just now come to mind. But there's a quote in a recent magazine where essentially the governing body has written that there's going to likely come a time in the future when the governing body is going to ask Jehovah's Witnesses to do something that may not seem prudent or may not seem to be the smartest decision given the circumstances. But it's a matter of obedience and salvation to go ahead and follow that direction. [00:40:46] They they basically have set them up to tell their people anything they want and people can't question it. They're supposed to just go along with it. I mean how sick is that. Additionally there are a lot of people that leave the cold that end up going Buchwald. Why. [00:41:09] Well you might think it's because they've been pent up for so long in a restrictive call and you know you'd be at least partially right in some cases. [00:41:16] However if you think about it the cult tells people that those on the outside are basically having sex with anything that moves taking every drug getting drunk constantly just leaving and living the the life of every sort all the time so when a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses leave the Colts they think that's what's expected of them to fit in. They often go far wilder than anyone around them because they've been told that's how it is and they're just trying to fit in and they've been given a false vision of what that means. The hope is that yeah they'll go wild and ultimately they'll implode and come back to the Colts. So coming and going they've got you brainwashed. They then use those people on convention parts as examples of of the person that went out into the evil world and found that there was nothing good out there for them. Well it's a self-fulfilling prophecy inserted into the consciousness of members that is then played out when they leave. If you want to know what it's like to live in a cult I would encourage you to read the book 1984 by George Orwell. [00:42:29] I'm not going to spoil it for you but there are so many phrases that are used in daily life like Big Brother is watching those phrases come from this book. If you are an ex Jehovah's Witness you have to read this book. It is a very dystopian novel. [00:42:45] And honestly once I was done reading it I felt dirty like I needed a shower. [00:42:51] Realizing that it was largely the life that I had lived didn't quite help that feeling a whole lot. It's just gross. The manipulation of human beings all right now we're going to move on to Section 2. This is something that that people actually often ask me and that's all you know where are you now spiritually or you know what do you believe now. So I'm going to talk about where I am spiritually and how I got there. In fact if you think about it just the end of last episode when I came out I was seeing God's praises I even said that I was closer to Jehovah then than I'd ever been in my entire life. [00:43:34] I saw I thought I saw God's hand in so much of what was changing my life for the better. I thought I was being blessed and it blew my mind that I was doing things differently than what I had been told I needed to do in order to be blessed. The coach said that I could be blessed for things that I was doing that were now turning out in my favor as my life was changing dramatically for the better. [00:43:58] Jehovah's Witness who can quote quote scripture the scriptures as they've been shown and the narrative that has been woven through disparate verses is something that they're very good at. [00:44:08] However they don't know much about the book itself or at least I didn't and I know a lot more now than I ever did as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Just like with with the cold itself. I have gone deep on a lot of things after leaving. So after taking apart the cult that I pledged my allegiance to for so long I realized that my faith was all built upon the Bible which you know makes sense. [00:44:35] But the same thing that was true of my religious faith was true of this book that it was all founded upon. [00:44:42] I never really examined the book itself. And so I sat down and looked at it with fresh eyes. Now while I woke up in large part because of how the cult was so unloving and harsh and how it was mentally and emotionally unhealthy my wife if she was telling her own story right now she would tell you that it was actually the Bible itself that woke her up while I was diving deep into the side of things. [00:45:07] She was trying to double down on her Bible reading so that she could prove the truth to herself and God's word. We really approach things differently. But there's a saying that atheists are atheists because they've never read the Bible. They are atheists because they actually did. [00:45:24] Now this is where I'm going to relate a part of my journey that could be somewhat uncomfortable for some of you. It's not my goal to attack anyone's faith. [00:45:34] You have a right to feel or believe anything that you want to believe or look at the evidence however you want to look at it. [00:45:47] I'm going to keep this somewhat brief because my goal isn't just to tear down the beliefs your beliefs but this is a part of my journey. This is my story. This is real and I'm going to share it. This is this is the progression of everything for me. [00:46:02] For those of you who are out there that feel a need to save me through your faith I will respectfully tell you that although I appreciate where you're coming from and your intent because we've had many people since we left to have something else that they want us to get in I'm not really interested unless you can come to me with evidence. [00:46:20] You see I lived a faith based life for three decades and then it was actually different facts that started waking me up to things that I actually had faith in so it was now time for me to really take a look at this book and the facts of what it contained and the facts surrounding its composition. These were things I never really looked. [00:46:42] I just kind of accepted on faith that the Bible was true from day one. I mean that was a foundation that was something that was given to me. And I mean I never even had a chance to look at that. [00:46:55] So I'm going to be blunt. I'm going to be quick here and then we'll move on to my life after the cold and what my life afterward has been been like including some key events that happened there. [00:47:06] So these are the things that my faith in the Bible the way first of all in Genesis the plants are created before the light sources. That's bass ackwards God. That's kind of the wrong way. There is a literal talking snake but the creative days were supposed to be figurative. When Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden there was an angel placed to guard it with a flaming sword swords weren't even invented back then if you take Bible History is written if all of the scientific evidence is right and man has been here much longer than 5000 years. Then there was no Adam and Eve according to Bible chronology and thus no original sin and no real need for a redeemer. And the whole narrative falls apart. The Marians also had very similar stories before the Bible was written and the Bible is very similar to many of those because I was curious as to how I had always been told basically that the Bible was the original not necessarily the facts Noah's Ark. I mean come on. [00:48:15] There are too many species of animals to take them all and not only to but to you. But if you read on some were taken by sevens it depended on clean versus unclean. [00:48:25] Really they all fit on that ark. What about the dinosaurs. Where were they in any of this. How did all of the aquatic life not die. [00:48:36] Because if the waters really rose above the entire surface of the earth as stated then the mixing of salt and fresh waters would have killed everything in the sea and destroyed their habitat. [00:48:49] Afterward where did all that water go. So they had to go somewhere and the last time I checked I'm not living in Atlantis underwater. Why did God kill all of his creation that wouldn't fit on the ark. Isn't that cruel. Why are we supposed to respect his creation when he doesn't. Why is there no fossil record of kangaroos anywhere but Australia to know a swing by there and drop them off at some point. [00:49:14] Or how did they get there. [00:49:17] Another thing that woke me was that Scripture were 40 something kids make fun of a Lycia was saying go up you baldhead. [00:49:24] And then God sends two she bears out of the woods to tear the kids to pieces. Really God really was that really necessary it let's face it. The old testament god wasn't very kind. He ordered his people to dash the children of a conquered nation on the rocks they would conquer and take the virgins as their own. I'm pretty sure they weren't taking them just because they wanted to give them a better life. Women were concubines and those with God's favor that led his nation. Lot of the Kings had lots of concubines violence. Massage any infanticide all at God's direction. It has been pointed out that God kills way more people in the Bible and say it never did. [00:50:11] The Messiah was supposed to come through the line of David. Joseph was indeed in that line but Mary wasn't and apparently old Joseph had no hand in the matter as far as the pregnancy with wit and for that matter Mary was a virgin. So how was Jesus through that lineage. I mean if it was so important and would prove that he was the Messiah shouldn't God make sure that Joseph was involved in some way if you know what I mean. I mean like that's one of the main prophecies. [00:50:41] How can it not be straightforward. Read the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus in Matthew 28 1 through 10 and open another Bible and read the account of the resurrection of Jesus and John 20 1 through 18. [00:50:59] Read those two accounts together side by side and compare them. They aren't quite the same. There are scriptures in the Bible with clear direction on everything from not mixing certain materials and fabric to how long a woman was ceremonially unclean with the flow of blood to warnings against beast reality in very specific language. Yet I've never found any scriptures specifically protecting children the most vulnerable human beings against sexual abuse and this kind of hit me one day and it kind of seems like a big oversight there God. I mean where is it. [00:51:40] You point to a scripture about fornication or something like that. But I mean if that's the case and it's just about how not having sex with some one you're not married to the while the Scriptures on reality. I don't think you're married to your dog or whatever. [00:51:54] Where are the verses to specifically condemn child sexual abuse when so much else is spoken about. [00:52:09] The Bible was voted on to see what books would be included. It was written by men and the accounts of Jesus were written well after the fact Mark was written first and the original copies did not contain mentions of the virgin birth or anyone seeing Jesus after his death. Though it appears the latter was added and some translations later it is as though other things were added by later writers to make the story more appealing. Romans Chapter 9 talks of God as a potter and starting at verse 20 it says. But who are you O man to be answering back to God. Does the thing molded say to it's older. Why did you make me this way. What does not the potter have authority over that collates to make from the same Lumpe one vessel for an honorable use another for a dishonorable use. Just think about those words. It kind of sounds a lot like that whole free will thing. Was it quite so free. If you can't you know God can make you this person a vessel for honorable use this one for dishonorable use. How is that fair. And then you know another thing that always caught me was the book of Revelation. [00:53:25] But that doesn't mean all the book of Revelation I mean come on. If our salvation is Shearman's hangs in the balance of understanding the Bible. Why put such insane riddles in it. God has been described as a loving father. The superlative example and the bible is supposed to be his love letter to us. If that's the case then why couldn't he make it more clear. Shouldn't any good father understand what his kids need in order to understand something. Shouldn't he know our abilities and limitations as humans if he created us. [00:53:58] And what good father gives his book gives his kids a book of riddles and then if they can't figure it out to his liking destroys them. [00:54:09] The final thing that I'll say is there's a lot of circular logic used when discussing the Bible like well we know the Bible is true. Just read this scripture here at well that's not a basis for belief. You can't use the bible to prove the Bible that that's that's bad logic is circular logic. That doesn't mean it's true just because it says it is. So where am I now own I guess pretty much my wife too though I guess I got let her speak for herself. As far as myself I simply can't have faith in the Bible or the God of it. I just can't. Now does that mean there is no God. Well not necessarily though. It absolutely could mean that there is no God. And you know at this point I'm not seeing a lot of evidence of it. But you know I don't claim to know everything anymore. See I I spent my entire life thinking I had the truth about my entire life thinking that I didn't know at all that I didn't know that there was a God that this book was his word too was. But as I've gotten to examine those things with fresh eyes it just doesn't add up. Now there might be a God that loves us and wants to offer us everything we've ever dreamed of on this earth or maybe in heaven or some other planet. I don't know. Maybe I can believe in possibilities. I can believe that I don't know everything and maybe there is something else there also might be a god that just walked away and is indifferent. [00:55:47] Or there could be a god that's malevolent and hates us and wants bad things for us. We look around there's a lot of bad stuff that goes on. You know it's always funny. Always look that you know what I called creation for evidence of this loving god. You know I would talk about the beauty of creation. It shows there must be this god of love. [00:56:08] But what I never bothered to look at was the absolute cruelty of the animal kingdom and the parasites and diseases the critters that get an utter critters and eat them from the inside out that are just as much a part of that creation. [00:56:25] There's there's a yin and yang to a lot of life. There's there's you know these different extremes. [00:56:34] Now at this point I guess I'd have to say that I'm basically an atheist. Some might call it an agnostic atheist I mean I'm open to possibilities and I'm open if there is a god out there and you can open my eyes and I can have some evidence not faith. Not just the faith that I have my entire life where I have to make leaps. But if he if I could find any easy evidence that there is truly this god I'm open to that. But there just has to be more proof for me to ever put my belief in something again. [00:57:16] I just can't do it. [00:57:18] Now you might say. But what about all those blessings that you just said. You know in the last episode you said you experienced all those blessings firsthand while you were exiting the coal the van that was running the you know the things that happened as you made yourself available to get more work and all that. [00:57:35] Well here's what I'll say. I learned better things I did better things and better things happened in my life. It would be just like if I played a game of basketball but didn't know how to play the game would be pretty ugly for me wouldn't it. But if I concentrated on my handles I'd learned how to dribble. Then I worked on my form I learned how to shoot if I figured out how to position my body on defense so as to limit the mobility of the player in front of me. I'd have a much easier time on the court. Now God didn't help me I help to me. I finally reached out for better tools. I worked on my life. I did better things and therefore I got better results. Just like if I worked out or anything else if God was helping me and I have left God and basically become an atheist why hasn't my life spiraled again. It hasn't because it wasn't God in the first place or at least that's my take on it. You're you know you're welcome to have your own. And I can appreciate that now. We don't all have to think of field together. I'm no longer the same. I'm no longer in a Colts so we can have those differences and that's fine. We're part of the beauty of this world is that we don't all have to be the same and we aren't all the same. In fact I now appreciate the beauty of each day. I still appreciate the life around me. [00:59:06] In fact I can look at my life today as the miracle that I was waiting for my whole life to happen to me at some point in the future after death or when the world ended or whatever. I'm so much more in tune with life now around me. I realize it just for me to be here today doing this podcast there was such a statistically improbable scenario that the sperm and egg that made that happen made it happen that time. Just the fact that I survived two full term birth that I was born without complications that nothing catastrophic happened in my childhood that I learned to drive and drove like an idiot as a teenager without disaster that I didn't take my own life in my darkest moments and that I made it out of a cult. I am in heaven now. I mean I'm not really you know I don't believe in a heaven but so to speak. I'm in heaven now I've experienced hell. I made it out. I'm not going to spend my time now dedicated to things that have no real proof attached to them. I can't. Now that doesn't mean that I don't marvel at the complexity of everything. I was listening to a podcast or something. I believe it was Adams but it was said that scientists could put an atom in one room and another atom in another room. They can stimulate the one add them to vibrate at a certain frequency and the other one in the other isolated room were spawned by very vibrating at the same frequency. That is amazing stuff there. I can still marvel at things bigger than me. [01:00:50] Like the universe and I don't claim to know everything but a lack of answers doesn't mean that the answer is God. [01:01:00] I live a beautiful life now. [01:01:02] Now speaking of that let's go ahead now. We're going to go to section three and I'm going to talk about my life after the colt. All right. So when we first left the coke it was like my wife and I were aliens being dropped in this planet and we had to figure out a lot of things we are still doing that at times. For instance someone gave me a birthday card and a present the other day because this Saturday August 12th I turned 40 years old and it was so cool and unexpected. I thanked the person personally while I was there very sincerely Oh am I supposed to send a thank you card as well. I don't know. I don't know if you bring presents to a birthday party for an adult. I mean people did to ours but like or from our wives. But it was you know her for her first birthday. I've heard different things. There are so many things that we have to figure out. We decided this year to celebrate the Fourth of July here. You know here in America I don't know where everybody is listening from. And we want work walked into a a large fireworks superstore and we had absolutely no clue what anything was in that store other than sparklies those labels might as well been in a foreign language to us. We didn't know what a jumping this was or a fountain or whatever it was we had no clue. [01:02:24] Though you know we experimented and we know a few things now but there are so many things that I think other people take for granted that we just don't know. I can still remember going to our first cocktail party. [01:02:37] I didn't know how we should dress or what we should expect to do. We don't drink so I didn't know what. [01:02:45] You know how we were going to fit in but we ended up having a great sob. We've had to do so many new things and it's scary. Like when you go just to do you know do anything for the first time. But as we do more and more new things and they continue to work out we've had greater comfort as we've done other new things. I want to say this what we called worldly people those people outside of the call there are nothing like what we were told. I just want to take this moment right now to thank all of the beautiful people that have helped us that have been on this journey with us not just watching but actually taking an active interest in helping us. Thank you so much. We have the best friends and you know we would call many people family. [01:03:36] We disassociated from the call in September of 2015 and that November we celebrated our first Thanksgiving one amazing family that we work with invited us to their Thanksgiving to be a part of their family. And that was huge for us. In fact we now have two families that we visit on Thanksgiving that we've been adopted by. I can't tell you what that means when you've lost everyone that meant anything to you. [01:04:02] We've had people take us on trips like pay for our meals and drive us to places and share their lives with us. These were people that we cleaned for just another amazing worldly family. [01:04:17] You know I hate that term but I'm using it just to show the contrast. [01:04:22] We've also reconnected with extra witnesses that we knew back in the day. [01:04:26] And it's so great to have those links to our past as everything was stolen from us by the Kalt other groups of friends that you know maybe weren't people we cleaned for links to our past as Jehovah's Witnesses have become friends too. It's really cool to look at our friends list and see people that we made friends with that we didn't already have some sort of connection to now with that said among others there is a struggle that my wife and I both face and it seems to hurt my wife the most. [01:05:00] And that is that we just don't have roots anymore those people like your family that you know that you could just go talk to and reminisce about the past with just relax with be transported back in time for my wife and I. [01:05:15] There is no back in time. Well I guess this podcast is a version of back in and I'm sharing it with you but I can't share it with the people who were there. They're all gone. [01:05:27] There's like this it's like the foundation to our lives that just disappeared one day. It's like waking up one day and everyone you knew was killed in a car accident only They're still actually out there. But they're unwilling to even say hi to you. Imagine that all of your friends from high school or college and your family was gone tomorrow who would be your friends. [01:05:51] Who would you talk to who would you go for who would you go to for things. It's so strange and it's it's hard to convey what that feels like. Unfortunately because we had a family in the coal it will always be a part of us if nothing else. I once heard that leaving a coal and de-programming. It's kind of like if you have an image on your computer and you delete it well you may have deleted it or sent it to the trash bin or whatever but it isn't really gone. It's somewhere in the background and on your hard drive and new data is written over it bit by bit little by little but it's still there and it's retrievable. If you have the right software the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses will always be a part of us. It will always be with us. [01:06:44] We're linked through family that is still in. And you can't have your formative years co-opted by a cult without certain neural pathways being built in and emotional pathways. [01:06:56] The one major struggle for me since being out is the thought of death. Honestly a lot of times before I go to bed at night when my my mind is quiet I think about dying. [01:07:13] It's not the thought of being dead that is the big deal or at least the way I see it. I think it was like a man I'm blanking on who wrote it Tom Sawyer or something. We've all been dead already before we were ever born. So I like that thought but the thought of there being an end to all of this that I might not wake up tomorrow at some point. That's that's pretty hard to swallow. Realizing that I wasted so much time probably half my life in a cold. You know assuming my life continues to go well physically you know the fact that I wasted so much time in a hole with time being you know the real precious commodity of life that's pretty hard to swallow. The fear that we had when we were Jehovah's Witnesses It was never of a fiery hell. The fear we actually had was of dying and just being dead forever. That was the punishment. Either you become a good Jehovah's Witness and live forever on this paradise earth or you die forever and there is nothing else which was always a terrifying thought to me. And honestly now I know that the only evidence there is out there is that's what it is. One day I'll die I'll be worm food and that's it. There's there's no do overs there's no to be continued. There's there's nothing there still you know these feelings while real they're not enough for me to reach out. [01:08:52] You know for faith in something that you know just to me feels unsubstantiated just to make myself feel better or give myself some sort of prospects for the future. The Buddhists actually teach impermanence from the start. And [01:09:07] I was actually taught the complete opposite I was taught absolute permanence that I wouldn't ever have to die that I will walk right into a paradise earth where I could live forever and I was taught this since I was a child. I wish I had been taught impermanence it would have would have been so much more healthy for where I am today. It's so hard to shake that fear of nothingness when that was always the fear that I had above all others and now I'm about to turn the big 4 0 this weekend something that I never really ascribed a lot to because age didn't mean anything to us. We didn't even celebrate birthdays so we didn't even pay that much attention. [01:09:49] And you know now I realize that yeah I'm about to be 40 and you know if I if I can stay healthy you know maybe I make it to 80 or so. [01:10:02] You know that would be cool. So at least I've got to have a life to do it over. But it's still just a tough thing to to face it's like for the first time I'm facing my mortality. It's like I left the call and I found out I was going to die. You know I mean how would you feel if you found out you were going to die in X amount of time. Well that's that's kind of what I found out which seems so odd. I'm sure that the average normal person out there. But when you've been taught your whole life something else it is tough to contend with still. [01:10:39] You know despite all that you know we do have struggles from it but our lives are beautiful. We've heard so many beautiful lessons. My wife and I still work together we still clean for amazing human beings every day. We try to start out every day in the van by doing two things. First we discuss where we are that day you know kind of like what our moods like what side of the bed we woke up on how we're feeling. Things like that so that we know where each other is coming from for the day. [01:11:08] It kind of helps to head off misunderstandings when you work together every day. [01:11:12] And you know you're married to after that we do our Happy's what we do is you know in our happiness we just go back and forth trying to name things that we're happy for. Whether it's you know big or general things like you know I'm happy we're out of a cold to small things like I'm glad I can fill up my gas tank now and not have to look at the amount of worry that I can't pay it. Or it might be something you know just around us like man I'm so glad the sun is out this morning or or we're going over the river to work and there's a fog over the river just trying to be present and appreciate life around us in that moment. It's a really great way to start the day. Now people were there to support me in April of 2016. [01:12:04] That was a rough little rough patch for me after we we'd gotten out of the call just seven months after we left it. [01:12:11] I got a call from my mom that my dad was in hospice care. I was cleaning a house and I mean the phone rang. I was shocked to hear from her in the first place. In fact not 100 percent sure I knew it was her. But nobody ever calls me. [01:12:26] So I just let it go to voicemail. Figured it was just a telemarketer. But she left a message and told me that I was able to come up if I wanted to to see my dad one last time. I have to admit that that was a very difficult decision by that point I'd been officially shunned for seven months. [01:12:48] But unofficially I've been Shaun for I don't know probably about a year or so. My wife called my mom to get the details. My head spun with the possibilities. [01:12:58] And what I should do. I appreciate the opportunity. There are many ex Jehovah's Witnesses that never even get that. Some actual witnesses actually find out after the fact that a parent is that often you know from someone else because that's how cruel the cult is. But I really wasn't sure what to do with this opportunity. I really thought about it a lot. And in the end I decided that you know this is a new path I was on was one of being authentic. So I decided to be me. I didn't want to let external things like the Colts or whatever dictate my reaction or my family than what I wanted to react to in a way that was just purely me. So I decided to go. [01:13:50] I wanted to be a good person. I wanted to show love where it hadn't been shown to me. I wanted to end on a better note than that horrible conversation where my dad yelled at me for defending the gays. [01:14:03] So my wife and I went to a hospice and there were some Jehovah's Witnesses there already. Mom had told us on the phone that they had said that they wouldn't be there if we were there. [01:14:16] What a horrible thing to do to leave like that. So we arrived on the floor. My dad was on and my mom kind of seemed to try to get my wife and I to go around the corner from the elevator to talk you know the one elevator everybody goes up and down. Well I didn't quite move where she wanted me to and there I saw a brother and sister leaving down the elevator away from my dad. [01:14:41] These people that w

What is the hierarchical structure of Jehovah's Witnesses? What happens at those meetings in the Kingdom Hall? How do Jehovah's Witnesses view the world around them and how history has unfolded? What does the future hold according to Jehovah's Witnesses? Are you ready to learn "THE TRUTH"? I'll break all of this down for you in this episode. Direct Download Here [expand title="Click Here To Show Transcript"] [00:00:01] There are over eight million Jehovah's Witnesses Jay Dubbs or J-ws worldwide. I wasn't born one was introduced to it around the age of 8 or 9 and would spend the next three decades trying to process what I had unwittingly become involved in ultimately leaving and costing me dearly. This J.W. life is my response to the encouragement I've received to write a book about my life. In my story you're going to learn about this called and why refer to it as such rather than as a religion. You're going to see how I went from suicidal and incredibly anxious to free and happy. Why I put on 50 pounds and how I took it off while my wife and I owe the IRS fifty five thousand dollars and how we paid that off in 18 months. And while that wasn't even the biggest win to come from that time there are lessons to be learned here whether you're in a Colts or you're just your average person living life for the SJ doves out there. I hope you find comfort in knowing that you're not alone and maybe this helps you process your own pain for those who have family that are Jehovah's Witnesses. I hope this gives you a glimpse into what they're both involved in and up against. For those that have no ties I hope this broaden your horizons maybe sheds light on the human experience a little. And if there are any current Jehovah's Witnesses that listen I hope this gives you something you need for wherever you are now in your journey. But in the end I hope you find happiness and peace. [00:01:24] You've been through a lot and you deserve it. I'm not a professional producer. I'm a professional housecleaner. You'll find out why that is. And as well as how it is possible even to save my life later I'm recording this as a podcast as a fitting way of telling my story as it was podcasts and audio books that helped me awaken to the realities of the life I was given as a child and that I tried to live up to for decades including as an adult. [00:01:51] I want to take a minute at the beginning of this to thank everybody that has listened so far. I've had over twelve hundred downloads and that's amazing. I really didn't expect that. I've also had a couple of iTunes reviews and I can't tell you how much that is appreciated. If you enjoy this podcast please leave a positive review on iTunes. It helps with the ranking and the higher the show ranks the more people will find it. My wife and I are doing all we can to promote this but it is hard. I'm not doing this for monetary gain. In fact this cost me each month to keep us posted and online for everyone to access but I know Jehovah's Witnesses though and I want to make it clear that my motives here are pure and not for any personal gain. So if you can leave positive reviews on iTunes please do. If you can share this podcast with others please do. I'm doing this to help people and by doing so you get to help me help others. Again I am not doing this for any monetary gain. I also want you to know that I've appreciated all the messages I've received on my site through sites like Reddit or there's a forum I'm a member of it's called Jehovah's Witness dot com. That's my jam. That's where I started all this in the first place. The first quote apostate web site I ever went on was Jehovah's Witness dot com and that message board helped me a lot. [00:03:19] So I received good messages there I've received messages on Instagram Twitter just all the places. It means a lot to me that people want to share this with me and you know whether it's telling me that they appreciate my story or whether they share some of their own story. [00:03:37] You know I think it's kind of awesome that people want to share. So here's what I'm going to do. I'd like to invite anyone that has questions or wants to tell their story to email me at this. J w life at gmail dot com. Again that's this. J. W life at gmail dot com. You can also go to my Web site at the bottom right of the home page or probably either page. There's a button that shows the email address. If you can't remember this J.W. life at gmail dot com for some reason. If I get enough questions and stories maybe I'll save them up and do an episode entirely devoted to answering your questions. Or [00:04:22] I'd love to tell other people's stories as well if I could do that at the end. [00:04:28] And finally I know I had originally said that I'd put some pictures and such up on my web site and I didn't do that at first because I didn't have time. But upon further review I think I'm going to have to decline that offer with good intention but I have noticed that I have limited photos. Well first of all I do have limited photos that I received before my shining. It's not like I can go ask for more pictures and some of the photographs I have had family members in them and it's not something I'm comfortable doing in relationship to this show to put pictures up like that. I just don't really feel right about it. There is also some issues that I played around with and there were some issues with formatting them for my site. So for now I'm just going to focus on the podcast itself. Getting the message out there and give people like you opportunity to participate by asking questions or sharing your story if you like. But for now I'm just going to back off the possibility of images. All right. Now this next part of the story really overwhelmed me when I was making notes for it last week so overwhelmed me emotionally because I was reliving some ugly parts of my life growing up at home. But this week I want to take you into the beliefs that Jehovah's Witnesses have and how my life as a witness grew out of it and the path that it took. [00:05:56] There was just so much to discuss that this is going to have to be broken up into at least two episodes maybe three depending on how it breaks out. I spent hours just organizing my notes alone on this and trying to make it understandable to those who haven't been there. So what do you know about Jehovah's Witnesses and what they believe. The first thing that usually comes to mind is there those weird people that don't celebrate anything. And obviously you're correct. You've already discussed that or maybe you know that they believe only 144 thousand of them are going to go to heaven. So you know what's that mean for everybody else. I've always heard that question if only 144 thousand go to heaven. Where is everybody else going to go. Kind of limits the playing field if you have the dichotomy of an afterlife that consists of either heaven or hell and you are right. They only believe that one hundred forty four thousand go to heaven. But you know maybe the only thing that you know of Jehovah's Witnesses are those nice people that come to your door and wake you up on a Saturday morning and again you'd be right. However you'd know so little about what Jehovah's Witnesses really teach. Most people really have no clue. There's a lot of information online and on different podcasts and programs about Scientology or Mormons. But there's really not a lot about what Jehovah's Witnesses are really teaching what really goes on in their culture. I have a feeling that you're going to learn some things in this episode that you never knew unless you were at one time one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Again though I'm going to try to approach all of this through the lens of my life experience personally. [00:07:48] Now let's go and talk about that Jehovah's Witness life a little bit. What we believed and then eventually I'm going to take it to the life as me as a child. And then how I grew up through adulthood and into married life to do this. Let me first give you some idea of what the Jehovah's Witness schedule was. I think I've touched on this a little bit before. But remember this is a very performance based cult. So there were things to do and my family did them all. [00:08:21] I want you to understand the basic setup of the congregation the meetings and what we did when we were knocking on doors. This is effectively what my new life as one of Jehovah's Witnesses at the age of eight or nine began to revolve around on Tuesday night. There was the corrugation book study that was typically at an individual's private home. People would volunteer their homes for these books studies. These studies were one hour long in duration and they would alternate what books we would go through we would go through a book about Revelation let's say and then once we went entirely through that book we would go through the Greatest Man book about Jesus and his life. So it was a question and answer session as a lot of these meetings are. And these were small groups usually 10 to 20 people in some congregations maybe they didn't have enough private homes that were volunteered. So they would do these books studies at the corrugations Keenum all Thursday night was the Theocratic Ministry School and the service meeting. This was a two hour meeting. The Theocratic Ministry School was a program designed to help Jehovah's Witnesses be more effective preachers when they were going out door to door it never really made sense to me how some of this was supposed to translate for brothers. [00:09:56] Brothers had talks such as the bible reading where they would get up for five minutes and read a portion of the Bible there's not a lot I don't know about you but going up to somebody's door and reading for five minutes would be kind of awkward. But this is what they did and I understand they just wanted us to be effective readers. There were also other talks especially of course brothers. I think we're really just being groomed to be effective public speakers. And if you ask a lot of extra ho as witnesses that's about the one thing that we got from this this call when we left that we could take with us was the ability to do some measure of public speaking if we if we wanted to for sisters and the congregation they were to get up and give demonstrations their talks. They were given a subject and the setting and some sort of a setting like going door to door or on a Bible study with a single mom or something like that and they would sit up on the stage with another sister who would be their householder. So one sister would be basically preaching to the other sister. And of course in these scenarios and it was always funny to me anyway that the other sister if there was a magazine or any literature being presented or whatever it always ended up in the best case scenario of course and you know nobody ever said in these parts get off my porch before I call the cops. [00:11:34] But you know this is how they were to be give and it was to be encouraging to the congregation so sisters would get up and give these parts with one another. At least I have to say at least that in some way mimicked what went on in the actual ministry when you were knocking on doors what the brothers had to do had nothing at all to do with such. Then there was the service meeting the service meeting on Thursday night was again about an hour long this was a two hour meeting Theocratic Ministry School was an hour and the service meeting was an hour and the service meeting was taken from the king the ministry the king the ministry is a pamphlet that baptized members of Jehovah's Witnesses receive and it has announcements from the branch office it has specific articles on subject matters. [00:12:38] If for instance it was the end of the year we might have articles encouraging us to preach to people around the holidays whatever seemed relevant at the time or if there was a need for Kingdom Hall is to be built in certain areas there would be a call in there to help with this. There were just different things like that that would kind of stress what the organization wanted you to either help with or to know as well as doing that the Kuna ministry would have parts called the local needs. And this was an opportunity for the local brothers your congregation to decide what it was everyone needed to work on or an issue that was presenting itself in your territory and so the elders would get up for 15 minutes or whatever and and give a talk about that. There was also the announcements where you would learn about who was whose turn it was to clean the Keenum hall that week or to mow the grass or who the speaker was going to be Sunday coming from another congregation or who messed up and had to get disfellowshipped they would announce that during the announcements as well at times or sometimes they would say that to the end of the meeting it just depended on how it works at that particular congregation that particular night. On Sunday there was the two hour meeting. It was the public talk which was typically a 45 minute talk given by one of the elders. It's just a general bible subject. [00:14:18] Maybe like I had mentioned before my dad got to give plenty on how to have a happy family life so whatever the subject matter that's what a talk would be given on and then the Watchtower study followed that which was the question and answer part going over the Watchtower lesson that had been assigned for that week. So each Watchtower had two or three lessons in it to be studied at the congregation. They were question and answer parts. The conduct would stay in the congregation someone would read the paragraph up on the stage and then the conductor would ask questions we would answer them and he was to lead us down the path that the Watchtower lesson wanted us to understand. [00:15:08] There were some unique features to the meetings. There was absolutely nothing for children. [00:15:13] There is no Sunday school no daycare no nothing. There was a mother's room at the congregation that I went to I don't know that they all had them. The mother's room and the creation I would see was almost a soundproof room with black scented glass where mothers could take their children back there and breastfeed or beat them if the children were behaving during the meetings and other congregations that I was a part of. We didn't have the mother's room but there was always rooms in the back where people could take their kids if their kids were acting out or have a little privacy if they needed it. There was no collection plate. There were just these boxes in the back. For private donations you could walk by and donate. This was a this is a big selling point of the meetings Jehovah's Witnesses like to brag about how you know there's no collection plate. You'll see it on their signs sometimes as opposed to those awful religions that pass the collection plate. Of course in years since they resorted to passing out paper slips and usually around something they want the creation of participate in and making people pledge to donate X amount per month for whatever it is that they want. So yeah they don't pass around a collection plate but come on they're passing around slips of paper for people to pledge monthly donations to. And although no one is technically going to know if they don't make follow through with that donation the individual knows and they're going to feel complete shame if they can't keep up. [00:16:51] There's a lot of guilt and shame in this organization and out of me talking heavily on that at some point. [00:16:58] The question and answer parts that were at these meetings were so dumbed down that virtually anyone could participate. It was always encouraged to answer the questions in your own words not just to read the sentence that was the answer from the paragraph word for word but there were so many people who did it was like this mind numbing call and response Keenum halls themselves if that wasn't boring enough Keenum halls themselves are drab and boring. There are often few windows of jokes before us probably so you wouldn't see outside at the colors and beauty while we sat inside and this completely sterile environment. The chairs are boring. [00:17:44] The decor is boring and you know I will say now that the parts on the meeting are abhorring though when I was a fully indoctrinated Jehovah's Witness I wouldn't say that I actually enjoyed it. Some of the parts because the meetings were laid out ahead of time with myriad materials to go over at each one. We were supposed to study before every meeting so that we knew the material and could go participate in this call in response call in response to really kind of dominated a lot of the meetings. There were no like rituals or anything that you could connect to emotionally. There was nothing that most people would I guess kind of refer to as the term spiritual. There really wasn't anything of spirit. It was a lot of intellectual exercise. And this call in response we were also supposed to do Bible reading every day. That's the encouragement at least from the organization I'm not going to say that everyone did. [00:18:58] In addition to that there was a daily text that we could study so that we could it was a little booklet that each witness had so that we could start every day with a verse and an explanation of that verse with whatever point that narrative they wanted to tie this into from some Watchtower publication of the past. And so if you haven't noticed already through the call and response through the study before the meetings through the daily Bible reading through the daily text through the personal study or family studies that were encouraged the indoctrination is so strong here. With meetings spread out like that spiritual food as they called it you really never got away from the messages that were being pounded into your mind and heart they were ever present. And then of course you had assemblies and conventions. I think I mentioned them on an earlier episode briefly but these were either one two or three day events. There was one of each throughout the year and during these there would be much greater crowds. So instead of at a book study you'd have 10 to 20 at a Kingdom Hall you might have 80 to 100 120 for like Sunday meetings at assemblies you might have anywhere from oh I don't know a couple of thousand to eight to 10000 depending on how it was broken up in that particular area. And during these I have to say you know they were kind of enjoyable. [00:20:40] OK the conventions themselves weren't that enjoyable but it was cool. It was one time where you could get dressed up go to another place you could see people you hadn't seen in a long time. As a young person you would see your friends that maybe went to another congregation and kind of hang out. That was cool. But the actual indoctrination sessions were basically it was a full time job you would start at 9:30 in the morning the program would start and it would be over at 5:00 p.m. and there might be an hour lunch. So these were heavy indoctrination sessions in and of themselves. And it just furthered their narrative. There is a hierarchy in the corrugation. Jehovah's Witnesses will claim that they're not elders like to claim that they're just there to serve the congregation. So they're the lowest among the brothers but that's completely not true. The elders have the ability to decide whether or not you get shunned. So there's some power dynamics that are going on here. And I just thought I'd lay out briefly who these people are what the labels are for the different types of people that make up your average congregation. [00:22:02] First you have the rare person that is just the study. Maybe it's just a kid in the creation of one of the families or maybe it's a Bible study someone is studying with someone that they met knocking on doors or at work or whatever that person is interested in comes to the meeting. Then you have what are called unbaptized publishers. So a person that start studying with the witnesses is expected at some point to start participating in the field ministry work. [00:22:32] That person is not baptized they're not a full fledged witness but they can still be an unbaptized publisher the publisher name is a throwback to the fact that this is or was the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York. They were essentially a publishing house for all these magazines and books and back in the day those magazines and books were actually sold door to door and there were people who took commissions on them. That's not necessarily how it happens anymore but there were people who supported themselves doing that back in the day. And so the term publishers still used you also have the baptized publishers. Now these are full fledged Jehovah's Witnesses who are regular in going out and knocking on doors. Beyond that you have the auxilary pioneers. These are people who have devoted I believe now it's 50 hours a month that they can sign up on a month to month basis whenever they want to go out for 50 hours that month they're announced from the platform. So Brother so-and-so or sister so-and-so is an auxiliary pioneer and they get some accolades for that and get to feel good about themselves. Regular pioneers are people who basically sign a contract to devote. They used to be a thousand hours when I was doing it I think it's like 840 now and it breaks down to like 70 hours a month or something. But anyway that's what a regular pioneer does now. And then there are a ministerial servants who can only be brothers and the congregation. [00:24:20] They are brothers who handle various responsibilities around the creation whether it be handing out literature or handling microphones for the call and response sessions or running a yard crew for the Keenum all maintenance or just any number of things giving territories out to brothers and sisters to work out in the field ministry. Beyond that you have the elders. That's what ministerial servants are essentially aspiring to be they're working their way up. Elders are of course all brothers and they give the public talks. They handle all the important corrugation manners matters like the accounts they handle the direction of all of the meetings. They are the ones who would like conduct the Watchtower study call and response sessions or the book study in someone's home and they make all of the judicial decisions. [00:25:29] You know most of the judicial That's because Jehovah's Witnesses have their own judicial judicial system. [00:25:39] Beyond that you have the circuit overseers the circuit overseers visit congregations on a six month rotation essentially and just make sure everything's in order and basically check in on everybody and give specially encouraging talks during which the congregation members fall all over themselves and laugh at every dumb joke they make and think that they are the most awesome person in the world and all the brothers wear full suits instead of slacks and sport coats so that they can they can you know look the part of you know present themselves best when a circuit overseer comes it is a big deal for a week and all of a sudden the attendance spike at the congregation and there are so many more people there than there ever are on any normal week and everybody loves everybody and everything is great. And then he leaves and the next week there is nobody at the meetings. And the brothers can't find their suit and suddenly they're aware that that those ugly dress pants with ugly sport coat that don't match. That's how it happens. [00:26:49] Beyond that there are district overseers. They essentially manage the circuits in the circuit overseers. Occasionally they make accommodations. [00:26:58] I don't know exactly how long they get around it is before they get around all of them. But of course when they do it's the same festivities as when the circuit overseer is. And now now we're going to talk about the magnificent seven magnificent seven are the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses that reside in New York state one time at the end of the Brooklyn Bridge. There was the Watchtower headquarters there was a big Watchtower sign. Since then they have moved to I think it's Wallkill New York maybe wrong on that regardless. Who cares. I'm not going. The governing body the Magnificent Seven these seven men are responsible for the organization. They have recently even come out and labeled themselves the guardians of doctrine. [00:27:52] What's that spell. Guardians of doctrine. G O D. I kid you not. This is from their own mouths. They are the guardians of doctrine. [00:28:06] And so these men are responsible for essentially everything that goes on in the organization today. Now originally the organization started with one man Charles Taze Russell and it was then eventually he died and then Rutherford took over. [00:28:28] Kind of in a hostile takeover. He wasn't supposed to. And as you go down through the history eventually they decided that rather than just one person. Just like in the congregation there's a body of elders. They decided to have this governing body. This group of men who would lead the organization. Now right now it's the Magnificent Seven. And other times I believe there have been other numbers of people on the governing body. And people can be appointed to it. There is a whole political thing there and it's all done up in New York and it's not like members of the congregations vote on it. It just happens. There's a new person and they participate. When I was growing up no one well people could find out who the governing body was. But you really didn't ever see them in the last few years they become extremely public. They go to conventions and people flock to them as though they were talking to the ODIs themselves and get their pictures taken with them. And they're special and they give these talks and they've really put themselves at the forefront of the organization. It's just kind of an interesting development over when I was young and they were in the background and nobody really knew who wrote what or who said what. Now they have really come to the forefront and gotten attention. All right now let's talk about field service now Field Service. Again that's when we went out knocked on people's doors. [00:30:09] There were meetings at the Keenum hall every day during the week Monday through Friday usually at around 9:00 on Saturdays we would meet for field service at 9:30. That way you could sleep in you know get that extra half hour. And then on Sundays after the meeting the meeting usually ended around noon and then around 1:00 we would go out for like an hour or something like that the field service meeting was a 15 minute meeting conducted by a brother who would give some sort of bible topic that was relevant to maybe one of the magazines they were placing that that week or one of the books for the month or whatever the case and they would organize people in the car groups find out who had plans with who they would divvy up territory and send everybody on their way. There was always a break and that was like the best thing about field service was that there was a break usually around 11:00 11:30 people would go to a spot maybe particularly agreed upon a restaurant for us. For years it was McDonald's. Everybody would meet there. Drink coffee generally be extremely cheap and pay very little money to the actual McDonald's but sit around and swap war stories from that morning in entirely too loud of a tone for the people who were sitting around and kind of dominate that restaurant while paying for very little food or anything. So now you can get. I understand. I don't know if that's I don't know if that's boring to the average person or not but I wanted you to understand kind of you know how these things function and what the structure is now that you understand that. Let me tell you briefly what they believe. [00:32:07] First let me say that Jehovah's Witnesses have a term for their system of beliefs. [00:32:13] The truth in all caps envision it with a little trademark sign behind it. The truth. [00:32:20] Kind of like the Ohio State University if you're a sports fan out there this is the one the only truth from God's one and only true book the Bible. If you believe anything other than this you are wrong. There is true religion. Jehovah's Witnesses have it there is false religion. That's what everybody else has not. Not only are you wrong but you are blinded by Satan the Devil himself. If you don't take to the truth when we come to your door and present it to you I don't know how to emphasize this anymore. People ask one another when did you learn the truth. How did you come into the truth and so on people struggle after leaving Jehovah's Witnesses sometimes years or decades after. They don't even believe it anymore. Not to refer to it as the truth. I believe this is one of the most simple and ingenious methods ever thought of for indoctrinating someone. Once you have that truth do you really need to even consider anything else. Why would you. You are locked down by this one little name. [00:33:38] The truth. [00:33:41] So are you ready. Are you the listener ready to learn the truth. I'm about to break it down for you. All the years of human existence that have ever been or ever will be. [00:33:55] Here we go. Jehovah is God's name and Jehovah alone is the all mighty Jesus is his son sent to Earth by him to die for our sins. The Holy Spirit is God's active force that he uses to accomplish things. Now we are all pawns in a bet between Jehovah and Satan who was once an angel but wanted all the glory for himself so he rebelled against Jehovah Satan wagered that man was best off by managing himself and didn't need Jehovah's input Jehovah set out to prove that man apart from him was incapable of ruling himself and needed Jehovah's guidance. Satan has been trying to pull man away from Jehovah to serve him or anyone but Jehovah ever since this wager between the two of them impacts all of us. We live in sin and imperfection and since perfect lives were lost in sin. Adam and Eve only perfect life given without sin. Jesus Christ could balance the scales of justice yeah perfection is only batting 3:33 but that's good in the majors right. And yeah only one perfec life was given to balance the scales of what was lost by two perfec laws and it took a special person and God's only begotten son to come down from heaven to do this not just a regular perfect human but was a half price sale on perfect justice that they so we'll call it even. So ever since the world has struggled under Satan's control as God has backed away. [00:35:45] Thus proving that Jehovah has a right to rule and that we need him God's plan to write this starts with Jesus death and then the year 1914 through some very creative prophetic prophetic math involving the book of Daniel and several completely incorrect predictions that nobody wants to talk about. They arrive at 1914 as the beginning of the last days of this wicked system of things since World War 2 happened to start that year. They really think they've landed on the correct year this time of course. Originally they thought that the world was actually going to end in 1914 but when that didn't happen the organization does decided that well it must be the beginning of the end. It's as just as good right. So in 1914 Jesus supposedly began reigning in heaven over the earth. It is an invisible rain for now. A pair of C-A or presence of course because you know no one likes a bragger. In 1919 Jesus chose the International Bible Students as Jehovah's witnesses were called back then as his people his only people to dispense truth and to this world. Of course back then they smoked and celebrated holidays and did all kinds of things they would never do today. But I digress. The changes thereafter have been seen as a refining work. At some point imminently and by eminently Apparently they mean any day now for over the past century something called the Great Tribulation will break out. [00:37:27] It will start with the destruction of Babylon the Great taken from Revelation the world empire of false religion. Jehovah will put it in the heads of world leaders to eradicate all religion from the earth. Because that will eliminate things like holidays. The merchants will beat their chests in horror and frustration as they can no longer sell things like they once did. Money will become worthless. [00:37:53] People will be throwing it in the streets at that point. The world will descend into chaos. All religion will cease except one. Can you guess which one that you can't help. Jehovah's Witnesses will stand alone continuing to do their thang despite any persecution because of this. The nations are going to turn on them and when they do it will be like touching God's eyeball and he will immediately react with a day of his fury. Armageddon in which billions of people will be slaughtered mercilessly because they didn't listen to the warnings given by Jehovah's Witnesses once everyone is dead. The world will start to grow back to perfection as will the members of Jehovah's Witnesses. They will spend the next 1000 years growing back to perfection and cleaning up this earth. Don't worry the birds are going to pick apart all the billions of the dead so they won't have to handle the bodies of all their dead loved ones. [00:38:50] Be kind of rough you know stepping over grandpa to get to you know one of your kids who died. I mean you know you weren't supposed to care about those people anyway. They were worldly as I explained on a previous episode so you know what I ever how. [00:39:08] They will all live in a beautiful paradise as the earth goes back to the state of the Garden of Eden. Everyone gets a panda and a lion you see and all their artists depictions of this of this paradise people are playing with lions and pandas. Animals will no longer be dangerous and there is no fear because of that. The animals I guess are going to be perfect. No fear no pain no tears just pure bliss and lots of Jehovah's Witnesses the dead will be raised from the memorial tombs and a great resurrection that will take place during these 1000 years. It will be a resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous. They will look the same as they did before so that we can recognize them. Otherwise we're just talking creepy zombies. We can have that a scripture says that the wages of sin pays is death so death is therefore the equalization of their sins. They get a do over so to speak if they listen to Jehovah's Witnesses and study with them at that time they can possibly live forever if they don't. Well you know Joe was going to have to kill him again but yeah. Oh well that happens a lot with Jova. He likes to kill people. After that 1000 years humans on earth will be perfect. Now at that point you think that everyone could breathe a sigh of relief and maybe you know I don't know. Be happy. Nope during that one thousand years Satan and his demons were bound up in an abyss. [00:40:45] But at the end they are going to be let loose to try to tempt humankind one more time. Humans still will not have proven themselves worthy gods pretty insecure like that. So he will unleash them. They will tempt mankind and the carnage and fallout from that will be as the sands of the sea. Innumerable deaths as mankind falters once again now in the end. [00:41:10] Whoever is left over gets to live forever this time. For reals I guess. Unless of course they turn on God like Satan did because like he was perfect and he turned on God so that Jehovah did give his creatures free will after all. He just doesn't really like them using it. [00:41:29] So if they were at that point to exercise free will and do something that Jehovah doesn't like. Then again he can smite them. So that's the story in a nutshell. That's what they believe and what I believed for so many years. [00:41:44] In the next episode I'm going to get into the things that they don't advertise in their books not just doctrine but the actual culture of the organization. You see that is the most damaging part of the organization. I'm going to introduce two methods of control that are used by cults to keep people in line. It is observed in what has been termed religious abuse but it's also seen in other forms of abuse and it's a very important subject that you know whether you've ever been in a cult or not. You've likely seen at some point in your life essentially how people control other people and get them to do things that they otherwise probably would not do if left to their own base humanity. [/expand]

Our quote for today is from Theodore Roosevelt. He said, “Wide differences of opinion in matters of religious, political, and social belief must exist if conscience and intellect alike are not to be stunted, if there is to be room for healthy growth.” In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day." Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Jehovah’s Witnesses" Jehovah’s Witnesses are well known for the door-to-door pairs who encourage people to join Bible studies and purchase Watchtower literature. They have produced more than thirty billion pieces of literature and spend over a billion hours annually distributing it. The Watchtower magazine is published in nearly two hundred languages and has a worldwide circulation that more than doubles that of Reader’s Digest. Jehovah’s Witness theology is based on the writings of Charles Taze Russell, who, influenced by certain Adventist preachers as to the second coming of Christ, founded the Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence magazine in 1879. He wrote articles teaching that Christ had returned invisibly in 1874 and would establish God’s visible kingdom in 1914. Soon after, he established Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society, the forerunner of the current Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. As they do today, Russell’s followers sold books, magazines, and other literature door to door. ...

Dr. Tom's guest this week is Fredrick Zydek, Nebraska poet, educator and theologian. Fred has published 10 volumes of poetry, two novels and the celebrated biography of Charles Taze Russell, as well as numerous articles, essays and poems in more than 300 magazines and journals. He holds an MFA from the University of Washington and a Master of Divinity from Seattle University. Until retirement he taught theology at the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska, where he occupied the Archbishop Bergan Chair for Lectures. Zydek makes his home in Omaha, where he continues to write full time. His new collection of poetry, At the Edge of the Ancient Inland Sea: The Nebraska Poems, is forthcoming from Backwaters Press. He and his partner have been designated the 2012 Couple of the Year by the governor of Nebraska. A year ago, he left Unity for the United Methodist Church. This will be a wide-ranging, far-reaching discussion about poetry, politics and theological possibilities.

If youre wondering what Im doing here, Pastor Jeff sends his regards. He was very sad not to be able to be here today. Hes not feeling so well. He spent a lot of time helping a couple of people during the snow storm get out of the ditch. By the weekend, he wasnt feeling too well. I planned on being in Iowa this weekend with my daughter. We were there on Friday looking for apartments. She got a call on her cell phone, and I hear this voice say (in a gruff voice), Jerry. Can you help me? Pastor Jeff was hoarse, couldnt speak very well, and was not feeling too great; so you get me instead today. Im glad to be here with you. Well put the Scriptures up there. As we think about this series Coming Before Winter and winter things-dealing with denial, depression, despair, and then this Sunday with death-death is a very difficult subject. Its the ultimate subject in terms of our lives, and if you dont deal with that, you really deal with nothing at all. Youre not being honest. All of us here today have probably suffered loss of people we care about. I know for myself, death is the very first memory I have in life. When I was two and a half years old, my aunt in Texas, who my parents said was my favorite, was electrocuted and died in her early 30s. I can tell you everything about it. I remember the trip and driving from Illinois to Texas. I can remember pulling up in the parking lot at the funeral home, the service, the color of the room, the color of the casket, and all of those things because it was an incredibly traumatic event. Yet, Im incredibly thankful for that. I saw death in my family. My dad had a large family, eight sisters, and they were all older than he was. I saw a lot of death with grandparents, aunts, and uncles. What that did was something that Solomon says in Ecclesiastes all of us should do. Ecclesiastes 7:1 (page 662 of pew Bibles) is a verse Ive shared hundreds of times at funerals. It says (paraphrasing) its better to go to a funeral than it is to a party because death is what happens to everyone, and wise people think about that. We live in such a party culture-such a here-and-now culture, such a grab-the-moment culture-that we dont like to think about way down the road. We dont like to think about the end. We dont like to think about death and dying, but God says wise people do. They think ahead. They plan ahead. This morning, I want to leave six pictures with you from Gods point of view about what death is and six different skills that you can use to develop your capacity to face that with courage, with hope, and with peace. Were going to look at two different passages of Scripture this morning-one in John 11 and later on the Passage that this series sprang from in 2 Timothy. If you turn to John 11 (page 1063 of pew Bibles), the first thing I want to say is this: From Gods point of view, death is sleep. Listen to what Jesus says. One of His dear friends, Lazarus, had passed away. Friends, Jesus allowed him to die. He heard about Lazarus being sick, and He allowed him to die. All of him of us have probably faced that-friends or loved ones that we pray and ask God to heal them, and God doesnt seem to hear. We say, God, why? Where are You? Why did You let this happen to me? What we need to know and remember is that God has a plan, and God views death differently than we do. We see Jesus perspective in this verse when He said this things in Verse 11, After He had said this, He went on to tell them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up. The Disciples, of course, say, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better. Jesus very plainly then says, No, Lazarus has died, and Im going to raise him from the dead. Thats pretty remarkable, but the first thing I want you to notice from Gods perspective is that death is sleep. I always like bringing props along (Pastor Jerry brought in a pillow with him today). Somebody asked me when I brought this in, Are you going to sleep in church? I said, Yes, its going to be incredibly boring. What does the pillow remind us of? From Gods point of view, how does He view death? He says its simply sleep. Its naptime. We lie down for a minute, but that isnt the end. One day we will rise. Remember as a little kid how you used to hate to take naps? I dont know-is anybody in that ball park along with me? Its like, An afternoon nap? You have to be kidding me! We face death the same way. We dont want to take that nap. We dont want to lie down. But from Gods point of view, Hes a little wiser than we are. He says, You need this. This is part of the plan. But what do we look forward to? We look forward to that day, interestingly, its the stuff of fairy tales when out of a deep sleep the handsome prince comes and with a kiss does what? Awakens the sleeping princess. Its the stuff of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Its the stuff of Sleeping Beauty. Tragedy is befallen. That's true in our world. Sin has entered; death comes. We lie down and sleep, but we look forward to the day when the prince is coming to awaken His bride with a kiss. The people who are not followers of Jesus Christ, the people who dont believe in God, they dont believe in His power of resurrection, they say, Like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, its myth. Its fantasy. Thats not reality. That's not fact. That's fiction. Thats not hope. Thats just hype. Friends, I ask you this question: why does that story resonate with us? Why do the Snow White and Sleeping Beauty stories get passed down from generations? Why are there legends like that in so many different cultures? The reason for that, and the reason that resonates in the heart of little girls so much, is because were made in the image of God. Thats really the story of eternity. Its the story of the prince who leaves his home, leaves his castle, and leaves the safety to go and rescue his bride Thats what Jesus does for us. Interestingly, in terms of sleeping and waking, God challenges us in this regard to wake up. How are you going to handle that moment when you lie down and sleep the sleep of death? Youre only going to handle that if youve practiced waking up in this life. In the Bible, in both the Old and the New Testaments, God says, Wake up often. What does He mean when He says that? He means, Think. Hes saying, Wake up. Study. Change your mind. Isaiah says, Come now and let us reason together says the Lord. God wants you to wake up. There are people when facing death who would rather not think about it and put it off. Dont entertain the idea that I might someday die. You see that with young people all the time, right? They think theyre invincible. Nobody can hurt me. Im young. Its going to last forever. No, its not. Wise people think about that. Friends, as you come to this question about death and eternity, that is the ultimate question. We get asked all the time, and as I challenge you to think, reason, study, and find out for yourselves, how does your religion or your philosophy with the world deal with that question of death? I tell you this morning your religion may raise you to higher levels of morality. That all may be well and good. Many of the great religions in the world say the same thing, Dont kill people. Dont commit adultery. Dont rob. But if they dont handle the ultimate question of death, they are absolutely, completely, and unequivocally worthless because were all going to die. One of my favorite movies that makes me laugh and laugh is a movie with Bill Murray in it called, What About Bob? Have any of you ever watched that? I love the fact that Bob can drive his psychiatrist, Dr. Leo Marvin, nuts! Dr. Leo Marvin has a son, Siggy, who dresses all in black. Why? Because as Siggy says, Were all going to die. No matter how much money you accumulate or how famous you are, Were all going to die, and theres nothing you can do about it. We kind of poo poo and pat that off, but you know what? Siggy is right. We are all going to die. Have you planned for that? Any religion that doesnt plan for that or doesnt deal with it is absolutely worthless. People say, Oh, there are many ways to God. Really? I want a way that deals with death. I want a way that shows me that there is hope in the face of the worst enemy that we will ever face. Thats where Jesus and Christianity stand out from every other religion that exists. The founder of Confucianism, the founder of Buddhism, Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell, Judge Rutherford, and Muhammad-you name them-they are all dead, buried, and in their graves. One religion has the audacity, the courage, the backbone to say, No, our founder rose from the dead. Are you kidding me? That alone makes it worth testing out, doesnt it? That alone makes it intriguing because Christianity alone has the audacity to say, Our Founder rose from the dead. When I face death, I want to walk through that porthole with somebody who has been there, done that. Amen? Thats why Im a Christian. Friends, God challenges us in the same way to think, to examine the facts. One of the biggest reasons Im a Christian is I just love to think. As a little kid, I asked questions of every single pastor I had. I remember being about nine years old and asking one of my pastors a whole bunch of questions. He looked at me and said, Jerry, you think too much. I was like, Really? You have to be kidding me. I thought that was what we were supposed to do! I love the fact that so many people, if they are honest with the facts throughout history-scientists, doctors, lawyers, generals, national heroes, and authors-if they examine the facts, they come down on the side of…its inescapable; the evidence is overwhelming: Jesus rose from the dead. If you look up Lee Strobel, who is the editor of the Chicago Tribunes law section, you will find out his wife became a Christian. He saw such dramatic changes in her that he spent two years examining the facts. Finally he gave in from his atheism and embraced Jesus Christ and is a preacher of the Gospel today. One of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis, is one of the most celebrated authors of the twentieth century. I love what it says about him: he said, God dragged me kicking and screaming into the Kingdom of God. Isnt that hilarious? He didnt want to become a Christian. He didnt want to believe there was a God, but he couldnt help it. The evidence was way too overwhelming. Frank Morrison, a British lawyer, set out to prove that Jesus never rose from the dead; but after examining the facts, he gave in. He gave his life to Christ and ended up writing a famous book called, Who Moved the Stone? One of my personal favorites, Lew Wallace, a Civil War general, was a hero who saved Washington from confederate attack. He later became the governor of New Mexico when Billy the Kid was running around out there. He was challenged on a train ride by Robert Ingersoll, the leading atheist in America at the time, to examine his faith and to reject Christianity. Wallace set out to find the facts. He ended up writing a book that became the biggest seller at the time outside of the Bible. In that culture, it was the only other book besides the Bible that many people had ever read in their lives. It went on to win numerous Broadway awards and was made into a Broadway play at least six different times. It was a runaway hit and then became a worldwide movie that won an Oscar. He wrote a story of the Christ entitled Ben Hur. Why? Because he was overwhelmed by the evidence. I could go on and on. Just a few years ago, one of the leading scientific atheists in the world in the twentieth century just became a Christian, Dr. Anthony Flew. He was a professor at Cambridge. He came out in November of 2007 with his book. He embraced Christianity and wrote these words: There is a God. How the Worlds Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind. Dont you love that title? Why? Because people are honest with the facts. The evidence is overwhelming. Jesus challenges us today as we approach the subject of death to think, reason, study, and examine the facts. Did Jesus or did He not rise from the dead? Like Paul said long ago, If Jesus didnt rise from the dead, then our faith is in vain and we ought to be pitied. Friends, He did rise from the dead. The amazing thing is how do you get ready for death? David wrote in the Psalms [2:12] several thousand years ago these interesting words: Kiss the Son lest He be angry and you perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Thats an interesting phrase-kiss the Son. How do you prepare for the coming kiss of your Prince? Begin to get up every day, awaken every day, ready to kiss the Son. Get ready to embrace Him, spend time alone with Him every morning. Get used to His touch; get used to His voice; get used to hearing Him; get alone with Him, and you will long for that day when the Prince of glory comes and plants His kiss on you, awakens you out of sleep, and takes you home to live with Him forever. Amen? The second picture Id like to leave with you as you look at death is also found in John 11:33 (page 1064 of pew Bibles). Jesus is at Lazarus funeral, and He sees Mary weeping and the people around her weeping. It says these words: When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people whaling with her, a deep anger welled up within Him, and He was deeply troubled. The New Living Translation says it very well. That really is the interpretation of that Greek word. Other translations say He groaned, but the idea of anger captures it very well. Friends, death is a time for anger. One of my favorite comic book symbols is The Incredible Hulk. You know the old story: Please dont make me angry. You wouldnt like me when Im angry. Its interesting to know that there is an appropriate response, and death is not out of question or anger is not out of question when facing death. If were honest, we go through those things, dont we? People who chart that, psychiatrists or psychologists who chart that, know that oftentimes anger is one of the steps of grief. You hear that news that maybe the disease you have is terminal. Youre not going to make it. You hear the C word, the cancer word for the first time, or youre facing bypass surgery. Maybe theres a lump, theres a tumor, and your mortality comes into question. You come face to face with the end of your life. Yes, theres fear and maybe despair. You go through those things and theres also oftentimes anger. Maybe youre angry at yourself, I should have taken better care of myself. If its a loved one, Why didnt they take care of themselves better? Maybe youre angry at the doctors, They got it wrong. Im going to get a second opinion, then a third opinion, and then a fourth opinion. Nobodys ever done that, right? Interestingly, one of the people that were most angry at is God. God, if You loved me, if You cared, how could You let this happen? Even as Christians, were tempted to go there. Thats a natural response. Its a very human response. Jesus, in the face of death, is angry. Friends, I want to encourage you. Im glad we have a God that gets angry at that. That says something about Him. Its interesting: Moms, if you spend all day cleaning your house, have you ever become a little irked or annoyed when the kids or the grandkids come home and trashed it all in two minutes? None of you have ever done that, have you (sarcastically asking)? Guys, youre fixing something or youre working on a project, and you just get this thing done when somebody comes along and wrecks it! Were tempted to become angry. Thats an emotion that God carries. Back in Genesis 1, Jesus, who created the world, looked at everything He made and said, Its good. Now He stands at the gravesite of His friend, and hes ticked. Why? Because this isnt the world He made. It wasnt how He imagined it. It wasnt what He had envisioned. His creation had been trashed. He made it wonderful, and somebody messed it up royally. Friends, in a way, that can be an incredibly comforting thing. My wife and I have a very dear friend, a really Godly woman, who was molested as a young girl by someone in her family, someone who was a member of the police department. When she told people about it-what the person had done to her-guess what? Nobody believed her. It separated her from her mother. It separated her from family and friends. She felt ostracized; she felt cast out; she felt like nobody cared. It destroyed her. She went over the edge and delved into all kinds of things-drinking, drugs, and an immoral lifestyle. God, in His mercy and grace, rescued her from that. We dont know what people go through. We dont know how things comfort them. She said after she had started walking with God, one of the things that meant the most and touched her heart most deeply-one of the things that assured her that God loved her more than anything else-was the verse that said God is angry with the wicked every day. You might be sitting here thinking, Why in the world would that assure somebody that God loved him or her? but this dear lady said, My whole life, I tried to tell people who I thought cared about what happened to me, and nobody cared. Nobody was angry. Nobody was mad, but then I realized the God of the universe looked at what happened to me, and He was ticked off; and I felt loved. Somebody cared. Somebody was moved by my pain. Jesus stands at the gravesite of Lazarus, and Hes angry because it wasnt the world He had made. Friends, I would challenge you: what do you put into place at those moments of despair or anger, when your world is caving in? I would challenge you to do what Jesus did at the gravesite of His friend. What did Jesus do? He prayed. He said (John 11:42, page 1064), Father, I thank You that Youve heard Me, and I thank You that You always hear Me; but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me. Then He prayed. Friends, let me ask you: How do you get ready for that moment when youre going to face death? Those words that will make your blood boil or make you angry that life is mortal, how do you get ready for that? Begin a life of prayer now. Pray over the little things that annoy you now. Pray over the things that irk you now. Pray about evil in the world. You know today is Super Bowl Sunday. One of the other biggest sports that will occur today at the Super Bowl in Dallas, Texas, and theyre gearing up for it already, is one of the things that absolutely makes my blood boil with having two daughters that I just love and am crazy about: human trafficking. There are hundreds of young ladies and some young men who are going to be sold today so that men can have their way with them. That ticks me off, and it ticks off the God of Heaven! If you have five seconds or ten seconds when youre watching the Super Bowl today, say a prayer for some of those children. Say a prayer for some of those young people who are being sold. Remember that those things make God angry. If you pray over the things that make you angry now, you will be ready for that day when you come face to face with death. Thats what Jesus did, and thats how He handled it. The third picture I want to leave with you is from our original Passage in 2 Timothy 4:6 (page 1180). Paul says these words: …Im being poured out like a drink offering and the time of my departure is at hand. Notice that phrase, Im already being poured out as a drink offering. A drink offering-its a gift. We dont so much present offerings today except in monetary terms, but we view our offerings as gifts to God. Drink offerings are gifts. Thats really what God has in mind. Its interesting that Jesus died well and left a legacy and a gift for all of us about how to die, didnt He? Two thousand years later, we still celebrate the Lords Supper. What do we remember? He passed on an incredible inheritance to all of us about how to die. How does He die? He died forgiving people who hurt Him. He died blessing people and offering encouragement to people who were dying with Him, the thief on the cross next to Him. What a way to go! He died trusting God, Father, into Your hands, I commend My Spirit. Friends, I would challenge you in this third picture here, to leave the way you die as a legacy to the people who will come after you. Prepare for it now. Steven Covey even says in The 7 Habits of the Highly Effective People, If you want to have a successful life, begin with the end in mind. Think about what you want on your Tombstone. Id go beyond that and say, Think about how you want to go. Friends, Im here to tell you why Im a Christian. Ive seen the death of hundreds and hundreds of people, and there is incredible difference. There is a gulf; there is a chasm difference between the death of people who have died having hope and faith in Jesus Christ and those who do not. One of the greatest blessings my grandmother ever left with me was not just the ability to play the piano, which I dearly love her for, but I will never forget this big German woman who was 510 and weighed 175 or 180 pounds when she was alive. She got ovarian cancer, went downhill very quickly, and died at about 90 pounds with family gathered around her. This woman who loved music, how did she go out? We were all singing; we were all praying; we were reading Scripture, and she died in peace. She died with a smile; she died with hope; and she died with joy. I remember sitting there thinking, Now, thats the way to go. Thats how you do it. My wife and I had a very dear friend who was the former pastors wife of the church where I first went. At one time, this church was the largest church in the city of Janesville. This woman was a rather large woman, and her husband had had multiple affairs while he was a pastor and eventually left her for the church secretary. She could have been broken by that, but she wasnt. She learned how to pray and have hope. I walked with her through all of those difficulties and one of the greatest trials in her life as she faced heartache, loss, desertion, and loneliness. She prayed, and her light continued to shine. Her personality and warmth sprang out. Then a few short years later, she contracted ovarian cancer as well; but what an unbelievable attitude. I remember standing beside her bed. This dear lady who had spent her lifetime trying to lose weight looked at me and with a smile on her face said, Guess what, Jerry? Im losing weight. Isnt that cool? Can you believe it? What an attitude! Thats the attitude of Christ. Thats the attitude of Romans 8:37, In all these things, you are more than conquerors… I will never forget the warm sunny spring day when we laid her to rest in Oakhill Cemetery. There were about 200 people standing around her gravesite. There was such joy, such happiness, and such warmth that nobody wanted to go. We stood beside the grave and spontaneously sang song after song after song after song. What a contrast to the funerals Ive had of unsaved people who have no hope. I always think of Oakhill Cemetery because theres a bar right at the end of the driveway. Time and time again as soon as the last Amen is spoken, the last word is said, Ive watched people who have no faith, no hope in Christ, boom, go right down the driveway, right across the road, and right into the bar. Why? Because they dont want to face it. They want to forget about it, and they dont want to deal with it. Ive seen time after time the gift and the power of faith and hope in Jesus Christ. It allows you to be a champion and an overcomer in the worst times of life. Leave that gift to the people who come after you. Begin to ask God to use you to enrich the lives of others where you are now. Dont wait until youre on your deathbed to try to touch somebodys life for good. You have a chance to share blessings, to share joy, with everybody around you starting today. What are you really preparing for? Youre really preparing for that moment when youre going to leave your greatest blessing and inheritance behind. Do it today. Start now. The next picture I want to show you of death is that it is the ultimate journey for those who love adventure. I love this phrase, this little short, obscure phase in 2 Timothy 4. Paul says these words, The time of my departure is at hand. What does that sound like? It sounds like somebody is standing in the lobby in the airport waiting for his or her flight time. No, Im not going to say, My flights coming at 3:15. Then Im going to go. Im going to be gone for a while, but Ill see you again. Well, my departure is here. Of if youre standing on the train platform, Well, the 8:15 is coming. Im ready to go. My time is up. What an attitude, right? Friends, thats how God views death. He views it as the ultimate adventure, the ultimate trip. The unbelievable thing is…who is the ultimate tour guide? Jesus Christ. You see, if you go visit someplace really cool, you want to go with a tour guide who knows it inside and out, upside and down, every which way under the sun. I get to let you in on my home pictures. These are vacation pictures. My wife had always wanted visit Savannah, Georgia, so last fall we went. On the way back passing through the Carolinas, we stopped at what was and is the largest private home in America, the Biltmore Mansion. You sit there looking at that, and we paid a really steep price to get in there. Its expensive to go in there, but you know what? We kept saying, Man, this is awesome. The grounds, the gardens, it was incredible. Every corner we turned, wed say, Isnt this cool? Oh, man, look at that! Thats unbelievable. Wed stop with the guides. We hit it off with one dear sweet lady. The guides kept moving, and we kept running into her in different places in the house. It was just a blast talking with her and hearing the stories. Friends, Jesus Christ is the ultimate tour guide. He has faced death; He has been through death and hell, and Hes come out the other side. He knows every nuance, every nook and cranny. He was in all points tempted like we are yet without sin. He says, When you come to that point, take My hand. Walk with Me. Ill lead you through. Ill guide you through. The places I can take you, you would never guess-rivers that flow like crystal, streets that are gold but look like glass, gates made out of pearl. For all you Packer fans, guess what the color of the rainbow around Gods throne is? Its green. Im here to tell you. Green is my favorite color. Even though Im not a Packer fan, green is my favorite color. How about that? Guess what? I cant wait to see that! Angels, Cherubim and Seraphim, with four different heads [we will see]. There will be a head with a lion on this side, and ox on this side, an eagle [on one side and a man on this side]. Im like, Thats going to be bazaar! I cant wait to see that. Creatures flying around with six wings-everywhere you go in Heaven, it will be like, Look at that! Look at that! Thats incredible! Thats awesome! Jesus says, Your eye hasnt seen. Your ear hasnt heard. You cannot comprehend the things He has prepared for those who love Him. I think of our dear friend, Judy. Dennis is here this morning and got up and shared her journey and the things she went through. Judy faced her fears, she faced her difficulties, and faced her pain. Dennis and Judy liked to travel, and I know one of her favorite pictures as she talked about death, facing that, and going through that portal was this one right here, Im going on a trip. Im going on a vacation. Im going to be gone for awhile, but Ill be back. I have the greatest guide in the world. Judy died with peace; she died with hope; she died with joy. I will tell you being in that home and with that family, you could see it. You could feel it. The joy, the peace, and the hope were so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Thats not normal. Well, it is among people who know Christ; but among people in the world, its not. God says there is hope even in the face of death. Why? Because its a journey; its an adventure. God says, You cant imagine the things that I have prepared for you. Take My hand. Ill guide you through it with hope and with joy. The fifth picture I would like to leave with you is found in the next phrase when Paul says in Verse 7 (still page 1180), I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. He says, Death is the biggest fight, the most terrifying opponent, the greatest difficulty that you must face. God calls every one of us-guys in particular, you can resonate this stuff. We talked about princesses and handsome princes for the ladies. Guys, this is the stuff that resonates in our hearts. God calls every single guy to be a warrior. I dont care whether youre a guy who has never been athletic in your life, never been in a fight in your life, or never done anything particular physical. God doesnt care. He calls every single guy to face at one point in his life the greatest opponent you will ever face, and that's death. You will stare it in the face, and you will feel fear. I can tell you outside of baseball, boxing was my favorite sport. Before mixed martial arts, I just loved boxing. I loved everything about it. I started fighting in fifth grade and boxed all the way through college. I played football all the way from fifth grade through college as well. Friends, Ill tell you that Im not ashamed to admit that there was not a single fight I ever fought, there was not a single football game I was ever involved in, that I was not afraid before it happened. Whats the battle? The battle is overcoming your fear. If you read the inside stories-today is the Super Bowl-probably somewhere between 30 and 35 percent of the guys playing in the Super Bowl today will throw up before the game. Do you know why? Because theyre afraid. Heres the amazing thing: you do all that training and practice; you do all those repetitions; you go through all the struggles; and you get into the game, you face your fears, and you begin to fight. You take that first hit, and guess what? All the fear goes away, and friends, Im here to tell you: the training takes over. Ill never forget my first fight in college. I fought a guy who was the state runner up in Michigan. By all accounts, he was the biggest, baddest, and toughest guy in the entire school. He was a junior; I was a freshman. I walked out of my corner, and I walked into a straight right [fist]. Everything went black; I saw sparks; and if he would have followed up with a combination, I would have been toast. When the lights came back on and the fog cleared, guess what? All that training kicked in. I still enjoy that so much that to this day, down in my basement gym, I still hit the heavy bag on a regular basis. Im going to need some new bag gloves after a while. Its interesting that after the lights went out and then came back on, guess what happened? I never thought about being afraid; all that training kicked in. Its really fun to say I spent the next three rounds just chasing him all over the ring. That was a blast. Why? The training kicked in. Friends, heres the wonderful thing about your walk with God. Jesus has been there. He has faced the ultimate opponent. He faced not just death, but He faced hell. He went through hell for you. He faced the wrath and the curse of God in a way that you and I will never will, and He came out the other side. Theres an obscure Passage in the Book of Hebrews that says in the days of His flesh, He offered up strong crying and tears. Do you think Jesus was afraid? Let me ask you that question: do you think Jesus was afraid? The answer is yes. Hebrews says He was in all points tempted as we are. Friends, He was afraid. He didnt want to go through that, but then it says something amazing. All that training kicked in. All that time alone with God, all the prayers, all the walks with Him, all the hours spent with God in secret and the training kicked in. In the face of His deepest, darkest moments, the author of Hebrews says something incredible. He says that Jesus offered up those prayers, and He was heard. He offered the prayers up to the One who was able to save him from death. Dont overlook that phrase. It says from death. Thats the Greek word ek from which we get our word exit or out of (as in Jesus wasn't just praying that God would "prevent" Him from dying. He was praying that God would raise Him up "out of" death and the grave once He was in it.) What was Jesus praying for in the face of death? He literally prayed for His own resurrection. Thats literally what that Passage was saying. Can you believe that? Jesus is saying, God, Father, I know Im going to die, so raise Me up again. You say, But He had Gods promise. He prayed for it anyway. Father, save Me. Raise Me up again. Friends, when you spend that time alone with God in your deepest, darkest, scariest moments, what begins to happen? The power of God resonates in your lives. As you become so acquainted with the God of the universe who rolls up His sleeves and bares His arm in the face of all adversity, you begin to know courage. So, like Solomon in Proverbs, you begin to say, The good man may fall or the good woman may fall seven times, but whats going to happen? They rise again. I love the Passage in Micah, Rejoice not over me, O my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. Friends, sin, evil, destruction, and the wrath of God put Jesus down on the canvas, didnt it? He died; He was buried, but you couldnt keep a good Man down, could you? Three days later, the Champion comes up. He gets off the canvas; He comes off the floor; He comes out fighting, and He wins. Friends, the God of the universe says, When you trust in Him, He put that same Spirit in your heart. If youre here this morning, I dont care how weak you are. I dont care if youve ever played a sport, lifted a weight, fought a fight-God doesnt care. Inside of you beats the heart of a champion; inside of you beats the heart of the living God. God says to you, We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and you have the mind of Christ. Believe it. Start practicing those truths today. Start your training today. Get alone with God on a regular basis. Open up His Word; talk to Him about it; sing His praises when youre afraid. The training will pay off in your deepest, darkest moments. Youll make one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Amen? The last picture I want to leave with you is this: Paul says, Because of that, there is laid up for Me a crown of rejoicing, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to Me on that day. Notice what He says, …theres laid up for me a crown of righteousness… One of my favorite things about sports is I like trophies. I like awards banquets; I like medals; I like all of that stuff. Ive been very blessed. Ive coached some great teams and played on a lot of cool things. One of the coolest trophies Ive ever received came about two years ago. I won nationals in power lifting, and they gave out really cool trophies. The sculptor that made it was unbelievable. I got really excited when I first saw it. I thought it was Jesus because if you look really close, he has a beard. I thought, Well, thats cool. Jesus is holding up the world. I was truly disappointed when I found out it wasnt Jesus; it was Atlas, but oh well. You cant have everything, right? It was still really cool. I say that to say there is something wonderful about getting awards. As you think about that, is Paul really confident? Is he? He knows its going to happen. He knows hes going to stand before his Lord and hear the words, Well done, good and faithful servant. God had seen him through. He was at the end, and the awards banquet was waiting. The thank yous were coming. The trophies were going to be there. In fact, thats the last thing Jesus promises in the Book of Revelation, Behold, I come quickly, and Im bringing what with Me? …My reward. Its trophy day, boys and girls. Gods going to be handing out medals. So how should you approach that? Well, when does Paul start thanking and blessing God? Before he has received the medals or afterwards? Before. Its interesting with Jesus as well, if we look back at the chapter in John, He is standing at Lazarus gravesite. He hasnt yet raised Lazarus from the dead, but what does He do? He says, Father, I thank You that You hear Me. Theyd be lying to tell you otherwise, but all the actors and actresses that are going to win awards here in the shows coming up, if theyre even nominated and in the running, what do they practice before they ever receive the awards? They practice their acceptance speech, right? Some of them go on and on and on and on because they have all these people they want to say what to? Thank you. Oh, and I want to thank this person. I want to thank that person. I want to thank this person. Friends, how do you get ready for death? You begin thanking people a long way off. Thats what Jesus did. He hadnt raised Lazarus from the dead yet, but He was already saying, Father, thank You that Youre listening to Me. Even in the face of death, I know Youre listening. I know Youre going to hear My prayer. I know Youre going to raise him from the dead. Friends, start practicing your acceptance speech now. Get up every day telling God thank you for as many possible things as you can thank Him for. Get up every day and start telling everybody around you in your life thank you for as many possible things as you can thank them for because when you stand before God and hear Him say, Well done, good and faithful servant, trust me, there will be many more people that you wished you would have thanked in this life. Man, I should have told them thank you. I should have told them thank you. Friends, be looking for-be living for-that moment. Be thinking about that moment. Think about it now. Picture yourself standing before God, and He hands out trophies and says, Well done, good and faithful servant. Its so cool. What do Gods children who receive those trophies and awards do? They take those crowns, and they throw them back at His feet and say, Thank You. No, it was all You. It was all You. It was all You. Thank You, thank You, thank You, thank You. I wouldnt be here if it werent for You. Friends, we can face death with hope, with joy, with peace. Why? Because Jesus lives, and there is hope. If you need prayer, feel free to come up. Shall we stand and close in prayer. If you need someone to pray with, feel free to come forward, and our prayer team will meet with you. I pray that youll be encouraged and blessed. Father, I thank You so much for Your love. I thank You for Your kindness. I ask Your richest blessing on Your people, especially those who may be hurting with bad news or the loss of a loved one or friend. I pray that Youd give us Your hope and courage. Thank You for the example of Jesus Christ and that we can pray in His name. Amen. God bless you all. Thank you so much.

Introduction Turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 24. We're looking today at the topic of the second coming of Christ as we go verse by verse through Matthew, focusing on 26-31. There is no way I'm going to finish this topic in one message either, so it's gonna be this time and the next time. We also have the joy of celebrating the Lord's Supper, so just relax and let's see if we can learn what the Lord has to say about the events and the circumstances surrounding his second coming. At the end of his life of suffering and fruitful ministry, the Apostle Paul sat isolated, forsaken by many of his closest friends in a jail cell, awaiting his own execution. You can read about the circumstances of his feelings and what was going on in his life in 2 Timothy, his last epistle. In 2 Timothy chapter 4, he said these words that are very familiar to you, you hear them perhaps frequently at funerals. But he wrote this to Timothy, he said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” That part is very familiar. What follows is not so familiar, listen to what he says. “Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” Is that you? Do you long for the appearing of Jesus Christ in the clouds, for the trumpet call of God? Do you long for that? And if you'd longed for it a little, my goal is you long for it more as a result of this sermon today. And that if you don't long for it at all, that you'll be converted, and by the end of this message, you'll long for it. Surprised by grace today, surprised by the sovereign act of God in saving you, you will long for the second coming of Christ at the end of this message. That's my prayer, I prayed for that today. For you Christians that you'll be heated up inside you and yearn for the day when Jesus will appear in the clouds. Yearn for that day. Be hungry for it, and yearn for it. And if you're not a believer, that you'll come to faith in Christ, and you'll realize that one who's coming in the clouds, he's your savior, he's your king, and he's coming back in glory to get you. That's my desire and my prayer. Feelings, strong feelings of a yearning for the second coming of Christ have come on me at different times in my life. It's not all equally, and I'm not feeling it all the time, but I can remember three in particular. I remember the summer after I graduated from college, I went on a trip with a friend of mine, crosscountry, just the two of us, probably the greatest time of freedom in my life. No, dear family, that's not my favorite time in my life, but it was a time of great freedom, you know what it's like. And I had a job waiting for me when I came back, and we just did whatever we wanted to do for two weeks. It was fantastic. And as we went across, we came to Montana, big sky country. Well, you have to see it to believe it, it's just amazing And we came to the edge of this valley and were starting to go across, and our destination was Butte, Montana. Now, that's a different matter. At any rate, anybody been to Butte? It's a strip mining place. It's not necessarily that beautiful, but this valley was beautiful. And as we came, the clouds started to darken the sky, very, very dramatic out there. And this big sky was filled with these very dramatic clouds, and suddenly an electrical storm started. And I saw lightning appear in the east and go all the way across to the west. It was awesome, absolutely awesome. And we got out of the car to watch until we felt personally threatened by the electrical storm, got back in the car. And having been to MIT, we'd learned, inside the car, Coulomb's law, you're safe. So, stay in there. Ask me later about Coulomb's law, it has nothing to do with theology, but you're safe inside the car. And so I was looking at that, and I thought about the second coming of Christ as lightning that flashes in the east is visible even in the west. And I'd never seen such a big and dramatic sky in my life, that was 1984. Ten years later, I was serving as a missionary in Japan, and I went every Saturday to a city in Japan called Takamatsu. I traveled there alone on a train, and I was teaching English to some of the Japanese folks there. Sweet people, tremendous time, most of them non-Christians, and we had interesting times discussing. This was the English text here, the Bible. And so we had some wonderful discussions while they learned English. How sly we are in the church, drawing them in with the scriptures. They wanted to know English, I wanted them to know Jesus. Hopefully, we could get both. At any rate, it was 1994 and I was walking through the streets there. It was the summer, again, as it'd been 10 years earlier, and again very, very dramatic cloud cover. And I was personally weary, struggling with some things, homesick, being away from my home and family in America, and just yearning, yearning for the Lord. And I was singing that hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” And you remember that final verse, “And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll, the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend even so it is well with my soul.” And I didn't even know this, but I was singing it out loud, and the Japanese people I was walking by were looking at me. Interesting moment in church history there. They had no idea, probably most of them, what I was saying, but I didn't really care at that moment. The Lord was ministering to me as I looked at those clouds and as I was singing that song. I said, “Haste the day, Lord, come back. Even so come, Lord Jesus.” That was 1994. Ten years later, I was flying back from a ministry in Czech Republic with a good friend of mine, and we were on a flight back, connecting flight back, from New York to RDU. And we were up in the midst of those clouds at that point, those dramatic - I don't know the names - cumulus, nimbus or something like that. Anyway, the kinds that just tower up to the sky. But we were in them. It was like we were flying in the land of the giants. And the sun was setting, and there was just electrical interplay, and I was just watching the show. It was awesome. And I thought about the circumstances of the second coming of Christ. And again, the yearning, the yearning for the coming of Christ with glory just captured my heart. And I'd like to have a lot more moments like that, wouldn't you? I actually would like to live my life, every day, yearning for the second coming of Christ. I think it just changes the way you look at everything. And I think the Lord intends for us to set our hearts on things above, not on earthly things. That we would set our hearts on things to come, not things at present. I don't think we're to avoid the things we're facing now, but I think we're supposed to go out into the future and get what we need, and then come back and say, it's... What we're going through now isn't even worth comparing with what's coming. And then with great strength and joy and confidence, we face the trials of our lives. So, won't you take that trip with me this morning, won't you go out through the words of Matthew 24, out in the future, and look at the glory that's coming to this earth. And let's contemplate together the second coming of Christ. And, friends, if we're gonna give two weeks to the abomination of desolation, we can definitely give two weeks to the second coming. Amen? So, let's do that. And then what a perfect way to cap it off with the celebration of the Lord's supper. We'll talk about that later in this message, but just a beautiful way for us to contemplate God's great power, and when he comes. Four times in this chapter, the Greek word “parousia,” or “coming,” appears. At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen?” The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, “When will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?” Again, in Verse 27, I already alluded to it. “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Ten verses after that, Verse 37, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” And then Verse 39, “And they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away, that is how it'll be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Four times in this chapter the word “parousia,” or “coming,” appears. The doctrine itself plainly taught in verse 30, which was up on the screens and on the cover of your bulletin. “At that time,” it says, “the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” That is the second coming of Christ. This doctrine is taught many places in the New Testament. It's not just here in Matthew 24, this is a major doctrine. Jesus Christ is coming back, he is going to return, He's gonna come back in glory. And he will set up a kingdom that will never end, an eternal kingdom. Perhaps one of the plainest places that it's taught is in Acts chapter 1. After Jesus's resurrection, he spent some time with his disciples. He instructed them and taught them many things, showed them all that was written about himself in what we call the Old Testament. And when those days were over, the time came for him to depart, and he brought them out to the Mount of Olives. He had said to them, “‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ And after he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” And they were standing there looking up into the sky as he was going. And I think they were there a long time, for the Lord sent an angel to say, “Okay, no more of this. He's not coming back right now.” Frankly, I wanna talk in a later message about the tension between immediate return and things to do, and we'll get to that, but at that point, it was obvious Jesus isn't coming back now. So, they needed to go back into the city. And so God sent two men dressed in white with the message again concerning the second coming of Christ. “‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you've seen him go into heaven.’” Isn't that spectacular? I think he's gonna actually touch down in the same place where he left. More later, there is always more to learn, friends. But he is coming back, and there it is, he is coming back in the same way that those apostles saw him go into heaven. And so also the Lord's Supper. 1 Corinthians 11:26 says, “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” And then there'll be no longer any need to do that kind of proclaiming of the Lord's death. We'll celebrate the Lord's death, but the time for the proclamation of the Gospel will end. But we, by partaking in the Lord's Supper, we're gonna be proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes. Wouldn't it be spectacular if we didn't get to do this today, and he came in between now and when we're planning on doing the Lord's Supper? Wouldn't that be awesome? That would be absolutely fantastic. But in case he doesn't, get your hearts ready for the Lord's Supper, okay? “But we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Why Will He Come Back And so the second coming of Christ, I believe, should dominate our daily outlook. We should be thinking about it, we should be living for it, we should be yearning for it, we should be praying for it, we should be excited about it, we should be talking about it, we should learn about it as much as we can. The second coming of Christ then should be one of the major organizing principles to the way we do everything in our lives. Now, why will he do it? Why will he come back in glory with the clouds, with the armies of heaven? Why? And there are just so many different answers to this question, but I wanna draw your mind to think about five before we look carefully at the verses. Victory I think there are five major reasons why the Lord will come back in glory. The first is victory, triumph, victory, to just display and proclaim to the world his victory over all of his enemies, and make it just obvious how awesome and powerful he is over every enemy. Second coming of Christ will come to do that, to establish and complete his victory over all his enemies. He will be vindicated completely from the impostor that's receiving worship from all the world, the antichrist, filled with Satan, he'll be completely vindicated over him. And by extension, his second coming will end forever all false and insufficient forms of human government. Gone forever will be totalitarianism and dictatorships, even kingships. In their best, a picture of Christ. At their worst, far less than that. Communism, socialism, even representative democracy, friends, give it up, because we're not going to a representative democracy. Jesus will not stand for cyclical elections, there's not gonna be a rotating basis or any of this kind of thing. He will be King forever, and we'll be so delighted with that. He's come to be completely victorious over all that. He's come to crush forever all manifestations of the sinful corruption of this earth, pollution, spills of oil in the Gulf, and disgusting displays of sinful greed. And disease, and all of the groaning and the decay of this earth, he's come to triumph over that. And the second coming will establish so sweetly for us what a vindication for Christians against pluralism. He's come to vindicate himself against all the gods, the false gods, all the religions of the world, the man-made cults that Satan kept propped up and kept popping up throughout history. He's come to crush them all. Buddhism and Hinduism will be gone forever. So also all cults that did not teach rightly about Jesus Christ, like the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses and all of them. Islam will be gone forever. At a conference I was at recently, Erwin Lutzer was there, pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, and he was speaking of a recent trip he made to Asia Minor, Turkey, where those seven churches are of the book of Revelation chapter 2 and 3. And he had an Islamic guide and they had, I'm sure, a fascinating conversation. But in the 11th Century AD, Islam swept through that area and just obliterated Christianity. Obliterated it. And Lutzer was saying that his Turkish guide said this proved the superiority of Islam to Christianity. And in my opinion, the church has consistently advanced because its members were willing to be slaughtered and not to slaughter. We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered, but it doesn't play well, generally in human history. The second coming of Christ will end Islam forever. If they respect the sword, let them respect the sword coming out of the mouth of Jesus now while there's still time, so that they can find Him as savior, and the warmth and the welcome of grace now. But he will crush Islam, and he will crush every false religion by his second coming. Amen and amen. And how glorious will that be, what vindication. No more pluralism, friends. It will be gone. The second coming will end all human philosophies contrary to Scripture, such as secularism and atheism. Secularism teaches that God doesn't matter, and atheism teaches that God doesn't exist. Can I tell you, at the second coming of Christ, God will matter? He'll matter that day. Whatever your plans were, it will be over, Jesus will matter that day. He will force himself onto the consciousness of the world, and secularism will be gone forever. There will be no secularism where we're heading. The eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ, Jesus is at the center of everything, every radiant beam of light will be Jesus's. Secularism gone forever. So also atheism. They will not be able to say that God and his Son Jesus Christ don't exist when he comes in glory. He will not be ignored, he will not be denied, he will come in glory. And the second coming of Christ will establish plainly his victory over death, because the dead in Christ will rise and meet the Lord in the air. And we also will be transformed, and we will never die again. Death will have no mastery over us, and Jesus will crush death forever. And it proves his own triumph over death, because there he is, he's not just a dead man in a tomb. No, he's the one up on the horse coming before the armies of heaven. Victory. Justice Secondly, justice, he comes to established justice. He comes to right the greatest injustices there have ever been. The greatest injustice there has ever been is not what you may think. The greatest injustice there has ever been is that God is not honored and glorified first and foremost above everything else, that he is not adored or worshipped or glorified as God, neither is he thanked, that's the greatest injustice. And another injustice is exactly like it, and it's the same injustice that Jesus Christ is not honored for what he did at the cross. He's not honored and loved and embraced and worshiped with tears by every human being on the face of the earth, that's an injustice. And there are many other injustices lesser than those, just the way we treat each other, the way oppressors treat the oppressed. And Jesus will come to end all injustice. With eyes like blazing fire, he will judge the nations. They will be gathered before him, all of them, and he will winnow them out with his eyes. He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. For justice, he comes. Rescue Thirdly, for rescue. He comes to rescue us, to rescue his bride, the church. There has never been such a rescue of a damsel in distress as will happen at the second coming. Jesus Christ will come to get his bride. He is the husband, he comes with his army, and he comes to rescue the elect. And they are in trouble. We're in trouble. We're in trouble. And we must be rescued. We are going to a place where there will be no danger. But we're in danger now, and he will come finally in the end, the second coming is his final rescue of his elect. And he will send out his angels, and they will gather his elect from the four winds. From one end of the heavens to the other, he's going to rescue them. The greatest rescue ever. He's going to rescue us from the antichrist, from Satan. He's going to rescue us from the great tribulation. He is going to rescue us and bring us safely into his heavenly kingdom. Restoration And fourthly, for restoration. I already mentioned that this world groans. It labors under decay and corruption. This is not the world we're gonna live in forever. This morning, we were listening as we drove in to the account in Genesis, we have these beautiful little discs of the Bible on CD, and we were listening as we drove in. And to that account in Genesis 13, where God promised to Abram, “I will give to you and to your descendants this land forever.” Figure that one out, friends. Especially in the book of Hebrews, he comes and tells us with authority that he died without receiving that promise. Is God a bait-and-switch God? Is he a promise-keeper or a promise-breaker? “Oh, don't worry about the Promised Land, Abram. I've got something better for you.” Now, God's gonna keep that promise. How? By resurrecting the earth. And if you don't understand a resurrected earth, neither do I. And how it relates to the elements melting in the heat, neither do I. But I know that God will keep that promise. And so he is coming to, as it says in many verses, restore all things, and to make them perfect, and make them beautiful. There will be a continuity and a difference between the earth, present, and the new heaven and the new earth just as there will be - Well, let's talk about Abraham. “I will give to you,” Abraham had some changes. He died, and he's going to be resurrected. And in a resurrected body, he's going to enjoy that promise forever. And Jesus comes to restore all things at his second coming. Worship And finally, fifth, he comes to be worshipped. He comes to stimulate from us worship. It says in 2 Thessalonians, he's coming to destroy the antichrist, the lawless one, with the breath of his mouth and with the splendor or the glory of his coming. It's going to be quite a show. I say that with all reverence. It's going to be brilliant and glorious and bright and shining. And he's going to destroy the antichrist and Satan with that glory. And it says in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 and 10, it speaks of the “majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people,” Listen, “and to be marveled at among those who have believed.” For me, another word for “marveled at” is “worshipped.” Amen? We're gonna just worship him for what he's done and who he is, and we're just going to be - Our hearts are gonna change within us, and we will be transformed forever. That's the moment of glorification. How sweet will that be? I could go on and on, but I think I'm supposed to be an expository preacher, and this is an exposition. Let's go ahead and look at some verses. That's just biblical theology, is all it is, but now let's look at some actual verses and learn what Jesus says about the details of the Second Coming. The Second Coming Will Be Obvious to All No Secret Second Coming Look at Verse 26, the first thing I wanna say is that the second coming will be obvious to everyone, obvious to everyone. Verse 26, “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is out in the desert,’ do not go out, or here he is in the inner rooms, ‘do not believe it.’” There will be no secret second coming. The Jehovah's Witnesses have taught that twice Jesus has come back. In 1874, he came back. It was predicted openly and lots of interest around the Watchtower Society and all that. Lots and lots of interest. Charles Taze Russell taught it. It didn't happen. So, he said, “But it did happen. It happened spiritually. And Jesus is reigning in a new way and in a new stance toward the earth since 1874.” Don't you believe that. That's not what this is talking about. He said the same thing in 1914, that's when the 144,000 went up. Heaven is full. We just get the new earth in the Jehovah's Witness theology. But that's 'cause in 1914, he said that's when it happened. Friends, this is just a lie by a cult leader. The second coming of Christ will be obvious to everyone. Everyone will see it. Even at the very end, as they're running for their lives, it will be a time of great deception by the antichrist Satan, and perhaps that generation of believers will be tempted that, “Here's Christ, or there he is, or here out here.” No, you don't need to do that. Go to the hills, go to the mountains and hide yourselves, because the second coming of Christ will stop it all. Don't worry about that, don't be deluded, don't be led astray. It's not going to be a secret or a local kind of second coming. It will be obvious to everyone. Lightning Visible from One End of the Heavens to the Other Look at Verse 27, “As lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” I don't know what you need to picture. We had some electrical storm last night out in Bahama. I don't know if you saw some of that. But maybe you've seen some very, very dramatic electrical storms. It's not a private show. It's something everyone in that region can see. And so this is a very obvious thing. It'll be an event of cosmic proportions. More on that next time. No Need for Faith But it's just gonna be obvious to everyone. That lightning flashes across the sky, visible to everyone on the surface of the earth. Now, what does that mean? I tell you, it means that there will be absolutely no need for faith at that point. In my opinion, the era of faith will end with the second coming of Christ. So also for us Christians, the era of hope will end. Who hopes for what he already has? We will have it then. We won't need any faith either, and so no need for faith. You don't need to believe in the Second Coming of Christ on that day. It says in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.” This is something that will be seen, friends. It will be visible. Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” He built his church with those people. We are those who did not see and yet we believed. By faith, it's the era of faith. No Opportunity for Salvation So, there'll be no faith required to see the second coming of Christ. Do you know the significance of that though? No opportunity for salvation on that day. None. Please listen carefully now. If you have never trusted in Christ, now is the day of faith. Now is the day of salvation. This is the time to believe in Jesus, now. This is the time of faith, when all you get is a guy like me speaking into a microphone, and you have to somehow listen and hear the word of God through the word of a man. You have to hear that, and you'll have to believe. And if you do, the Bible says, you will be forgiven of all your sins. If you can look to Jesus, the Son of God, whose blood was shed on the cross, if you can look to him and say, “I understand. He died in my place. He died for me. I'm a sinner. I have transgressed the laws of God. My conscience is defiled. I am filled with lust. I'm filled with selfishness. I'm leading an empty life. I need Jesus.” If you can hear in that the law of God standing in condemnation over you and say, “I cannot survive Judgment Day without a savior. Jesus is my savior. Jesus shed his blood for me. He died on the cross as my substitute.” The Bible says if you can look to Christ, and if you can call on the name of the Lord, you will be saved. But now is the time, now. It says in Romans 3:28, “We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” So, when Christ returns, like the shutting of the door in Noah's Ark, it will be over. It will be over. No time for faith. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor and now is the day of salvation. So, please believe. Please, I plead with you. I plead with you to not leave this room in an unregenerate state. I plead with you that by faith you will project your mind ahead to Judgment Day, when there is heaven and there is hell, the lake of fire, and you'll be in one of those two places. And if Jesus isn't your savior, you're going to hell. Please don't go to hell. Trust in him now. Believe in him now. No Secret Rapture Also, I believe that there will be no secret rapture. Now, hang on, folks. Don't push the eject - I don't think there's a trap door here or an eject thing. I'm going to devote a whole sermon to the rapture - against the better judgment of some close to me - but I'm going to devote a whole sermon to the rapture. But if I can just kind of begin to lay my cards on the table, I think the rapture and the Second Coming happen at the same time. I think the Bible so plainly teaches it. I don't understand why there's confusion about this. Could some of you please come and confuse me? No, never mind, don't come and confuse me. I don't believe in a secret rapture. What do I mean by secret? I mean, the kind where Jesus comes and gets the church, but only the church, and then goes back in a big U-turn back up to heaven. We'll get to the whole U-turn thing in that sermon, not this one. But he goes back and gets us, and then the world goes on. I don't believe in that. I respect it as a view, and I'll talk about it in due time, but I think that really teaches two second comings. And because it teaches two second comings, I don't think that it's biblically accurate. And I understand the reason is to get the church out of the tribulation, but I think God's intention generally is to protect the church in tribulation. That's what I believe. And so we can respect and love each other, just like we do with people who believe in infant baptism, we can embrace them. But I'm just telling you, and I'll make my case in due time. But I'm just telling you the implications of the worldwide visibility of the second coming of Christ is that the whole “Left Behind” thing, where Rayford Steele is on the plane and Hattie Durham is there and all that, and then they're all gone and the clothes are rumpled. We'll get to all that in due time. Or a Casting Crowns song. “The United States of America looks like another Silent Night,” says Casting Crowns, “As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children. And while we're lying in the dark, there's a shout heard across the eastern sky, for the bridegroom has returned and carried his bride away in the night.” So, like a thief in the night... I know that passage in the Bible. Actually, it's even in this section that we're preaching on, so I will do the thief in the night thing in due time. But I don't believe in that. I do believe, with all my heart, in a rapture, and I am looking forward to it. It's going to be the ride of my life up to that point. What happens after that, I'm not really sure. But up to that point, that will be the highlight of my life, to be caught up in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air. The Second Coming Will Purify the World of Evil The Spiritual Interpretation: A Carcass is the Focus of Spiritual Infection The second coming, the Scripture says, also will purify the world of evil. Look at Verse 28, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.” Aren't these eschatology verses fun? Aren't they? You read these and then say, “What does that mean?” And can I tell you, there are some things I'm more sure of than others in the Bible? I'm not 100% sure what this is, so I'll give you two possible interpretations and I actually believe them both. Okay? First, let's take it spiritually. It could be that Jesus is using a spiritual metaphor, teaching us a spiritual principle by using an earthy kind of metaphor. The spiritual interpretation, a carcass then is a focus of infection, of deadness, of disease. The great increase of wickedness will characterize the end of the world. Jesus already described that increase plainly in verse 12. “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” So also the Apostle Paul describes it in 2 Timothy 3, “But mark this,” he says, “there'll be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, treacherous, brutal, rash, not lovers of the good, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” By this time in history, as I believe, the reign of the antichrist will be in full swing. All unbelievers will have received the mark of the beast. They'll be openly worshipping the antichrist and forsaking every other religion. They have rejected the truth and follow evil, it says. And it will show openly in their lives. The human race will be a carcass at that point, spiritually dead, living only with writhing worms and maggots, the spiritually filthy end of the human race. The vultures - which also the word can be translated “eagles,” by the way - But vultures, in general, though they are disgustingly ugly, they certainly do the world of good service. Aren't you thankful for - you've probably never been thankful for vultures before - but the vultures clean the place up. And so I believe that the Lord is going to send out his angels and they're gonna clean up this world. They're gonna collect the garbage, as it were. Matthew 13, Jesus had an explanation of the wheat and the tares. He says, “As the weeds are pulled up and thrown into the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all those who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” That's the spiritual interpretation of this verse. The Physical Interpretation: Dead Bodies Everywhere The physical interpretation is about as physical as it gets. There's gonna be lots of dead bodies and there's gonna be lots of birds eating their flesh. That's as literal as it gets. Sometimes people accuse others in eschatology of spiritualizing things away. I'm doing both spiritual and physical here. I believe there will be literally carnage at the second coming of Christ, and there's going to be literal birds feeding on the carnage. It’s described in Revelation 19, Jesus comes back dressed in a robe dipped in blood, his name is the word of God, and the armies of heaven are gonna follow him riding on white horses, and out of his mouth will come a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He's going to destroy the antichrist with the breath of his mouth and destroy it by the splendor of his coming. Revelation 19:7 and following, it says, “And I saw an angel standing in the sun who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in mid-air, ‘Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people free and slave, small and great.’” It says in verse 21 in Revelation 19, “The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.” That's what I call the literal interpretation of this verse. Wherever there is a carcass, there the birds, the vultures are going to gather. In any case, the second coming of Christ will clean up the world, purified at last from the filth of human sin. The Second Coming Will Affect the Cosmos Now, next time we will look at some other aspects from Matthew 24. I'm going to tell you that the Second Coming will affect the cosmos. Verse 29, “Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be dark, and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” We'll talk about that in due time. The Second Coming Will Be Powerful and Glorious And also the second coming will be, I will say, powerful and glorious. Look at verse 30, “At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” So, we're going to talk about that. The Second Coming Will Result in Judgment on Sinners And then the second coming will result in judgment on sinners. Again, verse 30, it says, “All the nations of the earth will mourn.” I'll describe why they're going to mourn and how the judgment will be. The Second Coming Will Result in the Gathering of the Elect And then finally the second coming will result in the gathering of the elect. Verse 31, “He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” In my opinion, that's your rapture verse here in Matthew 24. And so that's where we will be gathered by the angels to meet the Lord in the clouds. Applications Look Ahead to Christ’s Victory Now, as we prepare for the Lord's supper, I wanna briefly give you some applications. First of all, I wanna just go over those five things and just give you some applications. First of all, victory. Yearn for the day when Jesus will be triumphant over all human governments. Yearn for it. If you see the American government doing something you don't like or there's something that's despicable or something you find isn't biblical, look ahead to the second coming. That's God's remedy in the end. I am not saying we should not be active in civic things. We should be. We should be salt and light. I'm just saying the final end will be the second coming of Christ. Yearn for that victory. Look ahead to the victory of Christ over false gods and false prophets and all false religious forms, and Buddhism and Hinduism and Islam. Look ahead to that. Victory is coming. Yearn for the day when secularism and atheism will be gone. Celebrate that day. Though you may grieve in your heart, and you should, at those that are swept away by it, just know that its days are numbered. Yearn for Justice And yearn for justice. Yearn for God to be esteemed as he ought to be. That's just such a healthy thing to do. Just say, “God, it is unjust, not how I'm being treated, it's unjust that you are not worshipped and glorified.” Just change your thinking on that and just say, “Come, Lord Jesus, so that you can be honored and glorified as you ought to be. And, Lord, I see all this injustice around me. Jesus, come and solve our problem of injustice.” Wait for Rescue And rescue. “Come Lord Jesus” is a cry for rescue. This world is too hard for us. If left to ourselves, we will be swept away. Just say, “Jesus, rescue me from this world.” I talked last time about run for your lives, but just the ultimate rescue is going to be the second coming of Christ. Yearn for the New Heavens and the New Earth And yearn for his restoration, the new heavens and the new earth. Meditate with me on that promise given to Abram in Genesis 13, “I will give to you and to your seed, your descendants, this land forever.” Oh, how sweet is that. Yearn for the day when the new heavens and new earth will be the home of righteousness and glory. Worship And finally, if I can just say worship the Lord, look ahead with anticipation and with faith and hope to the second coming of Christ, as we participate in the Lord's Supper now. As the time comes for us to focus on the elements, we are proclaiming the Lord's death that's back in time. Until he comes, that's ahead, future in time. As you sit there and partake in these elements, the cup and the bread, as you partake in these things, think about what Jesus did for you to rescue you from the coming wrath and celebrate, celebrate the triumph of Christ at the cross. And if I can just urge you, if you have not come to faith in Christ, if you're not a believer in Christ, please don't partake in the Lord's Supper. In order to partake here, you have to be a believer in Christ who's testified to your faith in Christ by water baptism. And if you've done that, then you are welcome to come. Please pray with me, if you would.

Jehovah's Witnesses Exposed!-Part 2 4/20/2008 The Cult of the Jehovah's Witnesses (JW's) was officially founded in 1884 & officially adopted the name of JW's in 1931 by Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916). In 1870, Russell was exposed to the teachings of William Miller, one of the founders of the Second Adventist Movement and acquired an interest…

Jehovah's Witnesses Exposed! (2 Parts)4/20/2008 The Cult of the Jehovah's Witnesses (JW's) was officially founded in 1884 & officially adopted the name of JW's in 1931 by Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916). In 1870, Russell was exposed to the teachings o...

Enemy Creation, Cold War, Totally Controlled Global System - New Horror Show - Soviet System, Terror Within - Propaganda. GATT Treaty, Build-up of China - GUFF - Bombs, Jets, Satellites, Space Shuttle. Food Supply, Agri-Food Businesses - Privatization of Water, Fuel, Oil. "Brazil" movie (Terry Gilliam), Department of Information Retrieval. "Dune" book, Spice Wars, Opium. Ayn Rand, Soviet Union, Lord Rothschild. George Harrison, Beatles - Lennon, McLuhan, Peace Movement - Martin, Stereo vs. Mono - Theodore Adorno, Frankfurt School, Culture Creation Industry. "Living Inside of Your Head" - Robo-Speak - Slumberland, Suspended Animation, Denial - Making Choices. Psychopathic Personality, Interbreeding, Nobility, Money. UN Global Citizen: Good Producer-Consumer. Jehovah's Witnesses, Charles Taze Russell, "New Israel". (Article: "Gordon Brown reveals 'Fortress Britain' plan" by Philip Johnston, telegraph.co.uk) *Dialogue Copyrighted Alan Watt - Nov. 14, 2007 (Exempting Music, Literary Quotes, and Callers' Comments)

Introduction: The Spread of Black Death The year was 1347, one of the pivotal years in the history of world civilization, although I'm sure they didn't know it at the time, and many of you may not know it now. But the place was the Crimea, a little peninsula down into the Black Sea, and there was a Genoese outpost, a trading outpost, there in the Crimea. The Genoese were known all over the Mediterranean Sea and on into the Black Sea for their prowess in navigation and sailing, their ability to set up trade routes, even into Asia and India, and this distant trade outpost was very lucrative for the Genoese. 150 years later, their favorite son, Christopher Columbus, established, for all time, and for the history of the world, the prowess of the Genoese in navigation, in sailing. But here was this outpost in the Crimea, distant from Italy, and an avenue of wealth for their home port, but they were in trouble in 1347, for they were surrounded by an invading army of Kipchak warriors. Now, the Kipchaks were actually a Mongol-speaking people who came from the steps of Asia, from Siberia, and were part of that vast Mongol-speaking empire, which is vast as the world had ever seen that established by Genghis Khan, and they're part of what came to be known the Golden Horde, and they surrounded this Genoese outpost, and were besieging it. Within the walls, were some strong warriors, I think they felt confident that they would be able to withstand the siege, that is, until the Kipchaks hurled at them their most... Their deadliest weapon. And I don't think they knew it at the time, just how deadly it was, but they used catapults to hurl over the walls some disease-ridden corpses, and they were ridden with the disease the dreaded bacillus Yersinia Pestis, which is transmitted by the rat flea, what came to be known as the bubonic plague. It started there in the Crimea. Within 36 hours, those defending the walls had large swollen lymph glands under their armpits and in their groins, and within a week, most of them were dead. However, a sailing vessel sailed from that outpost and went back to the port city of Genoa, and that's where the real trouble started. For the next four years, the Black Death, as it came to be known, spread over all of Europe, killing, estimated, between a quarter and a third of the population of Europe. Tens of millions of people died. And it reached everywhere, from the courts of kings down to the dirt-floored huts of peasants. Everyone was affected by it, there seemed to be no cure. All kinds of superstitions came around it, there were persecutions of the Jews and others because they thought that it was brought on by them. They didn't understand germ theory. They didn't understand the role of the fleas and of the rats. All they knew is that people were dying in numbers they had never seen before. It was the greatest plague in the history of humankind, the greatest biological plague, that is. As I look at our text today, Romans 16:17-20, I see a greater plague than this one. For the last 20 centuries, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been the only hope of salvation for our sinful race. There is no other power of God for the salvation of sinners than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is an irresistible force for the salvation of men and women and children all over the world, and yet, Satan has been attacking it now for 20 centuries. And I think the greatest plague has been what he has catapulted over the walls of the church, and that is false teaching for 20 centuries. For 20 centuries, he sought to attack the doctrine of the Gospel. And I think it's fair to say that there's no specific significant or even some insignificant aspect of doctrine that has not been attacked by the devil, by false teachers. I. The Danger of False Teachers And so, what we have here in Romans 16:17-20 is the deadliest plague. We have the plague of false teaching. We have the Apostle Paul, out of love for this church in Rome, out of love for the people of God, warning them, as he's just about to finish this letter, warning them against false teachers. And, this morning, the Lord... As I was praying for you, the Lord gave me a love in my heart for each one of you, my deep desire is that you would be protected from the scourge, the plague of false teaching, that you would be protected from being destabilized by doubts and fears about the Word of God, that you would hear right teaching, and that you would accept it and understand it to be such, and that you'll be protected from false teaching from this pulpit and any place you go. That's my desire. Abrupt Warning And that, I think, was Paul's desire as well. We come to the danger of false teaching here in Romans 16, and it comes rather abruptly. We had 16 verses of greetings, greet so-and-so, and greet Asyncritus, and Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all these folks. Oh, and, by the way, I warn you about false teachers. It seems to come in the middle of nowhere, in Romans 16. Some people think that this was not originally written by Paul, it seems so abrupt, but it was. Paul frequently does this. He did it in Philippians 3. Philippians 3:1 says, "Finally, brothers, rejoice in the Lord." And then verse 2, he says, "Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh," the circumcision party. He's warning them about false teaching immediately, right in the middle. He wants them to be joyful. And then he says, "You want to be joyful, then guard yourself against false teaching, because false doctrine robs your joy." Satan a Personal and Worldwide Enemy Now, we have, in this text, a personal enemy, and that is Satan. I don't know if you noticed, but many of our worship songs talked about the power of Satan, and about our conquest of him, our victory over him by faith. But Satan is a powerful foe. It is a chilling thought, when you think about it, that you have a powerful and personal enemy who is seeking to destroy your soul, who is dispatching forces, demonic forces every day to try to make the progress of your soul and of the Gospel around the world impossible. He hates you, and wants to destroy you. But we have a personal enemy, 1 Peter 5:8-9 says, "Be self-controlled and alert, your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering." So there it is, your enemy, that's a personal enemy, your brothers throughout the world, that's a worldwide attack, that is the devil, and the power of the devil. It's even more chilling when you consider just how powerful Satan is. Satan may be the most powerful created being in the universe, he is clever, crafty, and vastly more experienced in spiritual matters than any of us here. He's been at it a long time and he's seen harder than you and he's defeated harder than you. He is deeply malicious, more vicious than any tyrant that's ever lived. We know of the cruelty of the genocidal maniac, Adolf Hitler, and also the cruelty of his contemporary, Joseph Stalin, and others. 20th century was specialized in cruel and brutal dictators and tyrants. But none of them compare to Satan. Actually, I believe he was behind every one of them, the maliciousness of the devil. Satan hates the church and will do anything he can to stop it and oppose it. In 1529, Martin Luther wrote his most famous hymn, we sang it this morning, a mighty fortress is our God, and there, he talked a lot about Satan. Actually, if you look through the verses, there's a good deal about Satan in those, in that hymn. And Luther said, "For still, our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe. His craft and power are great. And armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal." So that puts you in your place, doesn't it? You are not equal to say, "Did we, in our own strength, confide." If you had put your trust in your own strength, our striving would be losing. Were not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing, dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he. Lord Sabaoth. Lord Almighty is his name, from age to age the same, and he must win, he will win the battle. By the way, next week, whole sermon, God willing, whole sermon on one verse, verse 20. There was just so much on Verse 20, the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet, that I've been working on that sermon for six weeks. It's now 24 pages long. Come ready to listen. I'm just kidding. But I just want to go, using my imagination, to think what life will be like without Satan and his demons. Oh, I can't wait for next week, and I can't even more wait for the fulfillment of the truths that are in Romans 16:20. False Teaching the Most Dangerous of Satan’s Weapons But we have a mighty and a powerful foe. Satan has, as I've mentioned before, and I never tire of warning you, three great weapons that Satan hurls against the church, worldliness, the appeal to lust, and to sin, and to worldliness, persecution, namely, that our neighbors, or the prevailing government would be against our Christian faith, and make our lives so wretchedly miserable that we are tempted to turn away from Christ, persecution, but the third is the greatest, and that is false teaching, and that's what's in front of us today. And why is this the deadliest of all of the attacks? Well, because it attacks that which is the power of God for our salvation. And not one of us has finished being saved. As I've mentioned to you many times before, you need to keep hearing the Gospel, you need to hear it every day, you need to be coming back to the cross again and again, you need to have the full work of the 16 chapters of Romans in your heart all the time. You need to be saved, you're not done being saved. And so, when false teaching comes in, it attacks the salvation process, the very thing which God is working to the salvation of our soul. Romans 1:16, "I'm not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, and then for the Gentile." Therefore, Paul constantly upholds the need of church leaders to fight for doctrine. 1 Timothy 4:16, Paul said to Timothy, "Watch your life and your doctrine closely." Watch it closely. I need to do that. You're never set and done, doctrinally. There's a constant development, constant growing. And we should be developing in our understanding of Christian doctrine. You got to watch it all the time, Timothy, if you're a pastor, watch it closely. Constant vigilance is needed, and why? Because history is full of attacks on sound doctrine. As I've said, there's not a single significant doctrine in the Christian faith that's not been attacked, historically. For example, the inspiration and authority of the Old Testament was attacked by Marcion in this very church, the church at Rome, 100 years after Paul, denied that the Old Testament was inspired. The deity of Christ was attacked by Arius. Original sin and salvation by grace alone, by faith alone, was attacked by Pelagius. The full humanity of Christ was attacked by the Gnostics and the Docetics. The sovereignty of God and salvation was attacked by the Semi-Pelagians. The inspiration and authority of the whole Bible attacked by higher critics and Liberals. The Trinity was attacked by the Unitarians. The imminence and active rule of God and day-by-day providence attacked by the Deists. The rogues' gallery of false teachers is terrifying. In addition to these that are already listed, we have also Joseph Smith, that bizarre dowser, who came up with Mormonism, the strangest new religion in history. And yet, they claim to be Christians, and are not. Charles Taze Russell, who resurrected Arius's old false teaching. And now we have the Jehovah's Witnesses. Mary Baker Eddy, originator of Christian Science. Jim Jones, founder of the Peoples Temple. David Koresh, who persuaded a bunch of people, through his sweet-talking, to fight against the US government, and they died in a fiery conflagration in Waco. In every age of the church, we can trace out a history of heresy, and the attacks of Satan through false teachers, therefore, we must have constant vigilance to maintain doctrinal purity. II. The Techniques of False Teachers Now, in this text, we see, first and foremost, the techniques of false teachers. Look at verses 17-18, "I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them, for such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the minds of naive people." False Doctrine So the first technique of false teaching is simply false doctrine, to contradict the doctrines that were given, to say that is not so, this is so. False doctrine. That is their primary danger because they attack even the doctrines that Paul taught here in Romans. Paul has laid out a majestic structure, doctrinally, in Romans. It's marvelous. And he said, "Watch out for those who contradict the things that I've taught you here. These people will come, and begin to oppose it. Verse 17, They "put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching that you have learned." The greatest stumbling block is false doctrine, it says in 2 Timothy 2:16-18, "Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly, their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some." Now, what a cheerful message that is. You missed it, not just the secret rapture, you missed the resurrection, you can imagine how discouraging that would be. They destroy the faith of some. And so, false doctrine. Deception They also use... Their technique is deception. They use deception. Look at verse 18, "They deceive the minds of naive people." They trick them, they fool them into believing a lie. This is the stock and trade of all false teaching. The first lie is that the false teacher himself is a godly man who has your best interest at heart. That is a lie, he is actually a ravenous wolf masquerading as a sheep. Did you see the picture on the cover? What a chilling picture that is, a flock of sheep, and there, in the midst, a wolf. It's a terrifying thing. And Jesus said, "Watch out for these false teachers. They come secretly disguised as sheep, but, inwardly, they're ravenous wolves." So deception is important, the false teacher has to conceal his real motive, which I'll discuss in a moment, but his real motive is fleshly and self-seeking. He has to trick the people, deceive them, and hide his real intentions. Paul calls it putting on a mask. 1 Thessalonians 2:5 says, "You know that we never used flattery, nor do we put on a mask to cover up greed. God is our witness." So it's a putting on of a mask. This is, literally, in the Greek, the word hypocrite is an actor, somebody who would put on a mask, and play a role. And so these false teachers are putting on a mask, and they're playing a role. They have to use deception. Behind all of it is Satan's alluring deception, he masquerades in enticing form, 2 Corinthians 11, Paul said, "For such manner, false apostles, deceitful workmen masquerading as apostles of Christ, and no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness." Now, you may wonder why does verse 20 suddenly talk about Satan. It's because behind all false teaching is Satan, and all false teachers are servants of Satan. And so they masquerade, they have to act like Satan, they have to hide who they truly are. I mean, can you imagine if Satan came to you hideously? Ugly, powerful, malevolent, and said, "Here I am, I'm Satan. I'm here to ruin your life." Can you imagine if sin just came and told the truth, said, "I know I look good on the outside, but really, I'm going to be poison for your soul." That's not the way. There's gotta be some deception. And so they use deception, they use a masquerade. They also use smooth talk and flattery. Smooth talk is oratorical skill, fine-sounding language. The root word is kindness or goodness. The idea is kindly speech, smooth talk that panders to the ego. Thomas Brooks put it this way, "They know sugared poison goes down sweetly, so they wrap up their pernicious soul-killing pills in gold," end quote. So they're using smooth talk and flattery. The seductive woman, in Proverbs 7, the wayward wife, uses smooth talk to seduce the young man in Proverbs 7. She talks to him with persuasive words, she leads him astray. And all at once, he goes with her, and he doesn't know it's gonna cost him his life. Well, the same thing happens with the false teacher. Or then there's the case of Absalom. Remember how Absalom used to stand by the side of the road, and whenever anyone would come to bring a case to his father David, he would intercept them, and he would flatter them, and say, "Oh, if there was someone that would listen to you, someone that would care about you, someone like me. If they would just come, I would hear their case, and you would get justice from me." And if they would come over to kiss his hand, 'cause he's a prince, he would intercept them and kiss their hand. Smooth talk, flattery. In this way, it says in 2 Samuel, he stole the minds and the hearts of the people. Smooth Talk & Flattery The use of smooth talk and flattery by the adulteress, and by the usurper is nothing compared to the use of smooth talk and flattery by the false teacher. He seeks your soul, your very soul, he wants to destroy you, and so he uses smooth talk. Now, the problem is that people like it. That's the big problem. We like it. We want to hear good things. We want to be told sweet things. And so, it says, in Jeremiah 5, "A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land, the prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way." Even more blatant is Isaiah 30:9-11, in which the prophet says, "These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction. They say to the seers, 'See no more visions,' and to the prophets, 'Give us no more visions of what is right. Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.' Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel." They don't want to hear it, they want to hear pleasant things. And so, the problem isn't just with the false teachers, but it's with the people who want to hear that kind of stuff. The doctrine that Paul laid down in Romans tells us the truth, tells us who we really are, it tells us of depravity and of sin and that all of our thoughts are turned away from God, unless he moves by grace, we'll be running in the opposite direction. "There is no one righteous, not even one." And it tells us of a bloody sacrifice. Jesus shed his blood on the cross, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. It's not a beautiful picture, it's actually quite jarring and quite ugly, but it tells us the truth of how the wrath of God was appeased at the cross, and by simple faith in Jesus, apart from any works of your own, you can be completely forgiven of sins. Oh, I pray and hope that if you come here today in a graceless state, that you're not a Christian, that you hear what I just said, all of your sins can be forgiven if you just simply look to the cross. If you just look to the blood of Jesus and trust in him, all of your sins will be forgiven. But it's not a beautiful picture, it's a jarring thing to be told that you're a sinner, and that you need a Savior, and that the Savior had to die in order to save you, but it's the truth. But the people want to be told that they're okay, they're fine just as they are, they want to be instructed on how to find the champion inside you, and those books will sell like hotcakes. These Bible teachers will find the doctrines that everyone agrees about, and they'll preach those. You listen to a false teacher, you can get them on the internet or whatever and just... You just sit and listen to them, and you find yourself agreeing with a lot of what they say, maybe with all of what they say. And then, in the back of your mind, comes that warning that Jesus gave in Luke 6:26, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way they spoke of the false prophets of old." Why would all people speak well? Because they're saying things that everyone agrees about. They are carefully and diligently avoiding topics that divide people. Jesus said, "Do not suppose that I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I've come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, a man's enemies will be the members of his own household." And why? Did he come to do that directly? No. But that's going to be what happens when people hear the truth and they don't want to hear it. Recently, a very well-known pastor was interviewed on Larry King Live. And Larry King asked him, "But don't you think if people don't believe as you believe they're somehow condemned? Like they're going to hell if they don't believe what you believe?" Here's what the pastor said, "You know, I think that happens in our society, but I try not to do that. I tell people all the time, preached a couple of Sundays about it, 'I'm for everybody. You may not agree with me, but to me, it's not my job to try to straighten everybody out. The Gospel is called the good news. So, my message is a message of hope, that God's for you, you can live a good life, no matter what's happened to you, and so I don't know, I know there is condemnation, but I don't feel that's my place.'" Well, Larry King didn't let it go. He persevered. What if you're Jewish or Muslim or you don't accept Christ at all? Oh, be careful at this moment, if you're on TV. Better not to be on TV than to say this. I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know. Larry King said, "If you believe you have to believe in Christ, they're wrong, aren't they?" "Well, I don't know if I believe they're wrong. I believe, here's what the Bible teaches, and from the Christian faith, this is what I believe, but I just think that only God can judge a person's heart. I spent a lot of time in India with my father. I don't know all about their religion, but I know they love God. And I don't know. I've seen their sincerity, so I don't know. I know for me, and what the Bible teaches, I want to have a relationship with Jesus." Wow. Wow. John McArthur commenting on this interview, said this, "Divine truth is more important than anything else. And do you know why Jesus always escalated the conflict? It's because he always spoke the truth. If I ever do end up on Larry King or some other program like that, and somebody says to me, "Will Mormons go to heaven?" I will say, "No." If they say, "Will the Jews go to heaven, who reject Jesus as their Messiah?" I will say, "No." Do I want to start a fight? No. Do I want to be resented? No. Do I want to tell the truth? Yes. That's the issue. Jesus didn't escalate the conflict by being insensitive. He didn't escalate the conflict by being ungracious, the conflict escalated of itself because he spoke the truth." So we've seen the methods of false teachers, they use false doctrine, they use deception, they use smooth talk and flattery. III. The Motives of False Teachers But what are their motives? Look at verse 18. It says, "For such people are not serving our Lord Christ but their own appetites." The word in the Greek is literally their belly. They're serving their stomach, and that represents their drives, their bodily drives, their earthly desires. Lust Like Philippians 3, it says, "For I've often told you before, and now say again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ, their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame, their mind is on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven." That's what these people want. For example, lust, lust, 2 Peter 2, it says, "Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures, while they feast with you, with eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning." And so, we see lust. Greed Or then there's greed, Peter calls them experts in greed. Paul says in 2 Corinthians, "Unlike so many, we do not peddle the Word of God for profit," we're not selling it. "…Peddling the Word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ, we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God." these false teachers want earthly pleasure. In order to have earthly pleasure, they need to have a lot of money, and so what they'll do is they tell the people what they want to hear, and the people pay them to do it. Power and Control That's the motive of the false teacher. They also want power and control, they want to be in charge. There's a lust for power, the ability to dominate people's lives. In 2 Corinthians 11:20-21, Paul was talking about false... The false apostles, and he said this, "In fact," speaking to the Corinthian church, "You even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantages of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face. To my shame, we were too weak for that." You see the domination of these false teachers, they like to be in charge, to dominate people's lives, to run them, and so we see the motives of false teachers. IV. The Devastation of False Teachers We see also the devastation wrought by false teachers. Look at verse 19, he says, "Everyone's heard about your obedience. So I'm full of joy over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil." Here is a beautiful little church, the Roman church, they are obedient to the gospel, they're growing. It's like a little garden of Eden. And here is the serpent coming in, and he's going to bring false doctrines. And so, here is this, sweet growing, healthy, obedient Church, and the devastation that false teaching will bring cannot be measured. It's a strategic church, they're right there in the capital city of the Roman Empire, and the serpent is coming. He's going to bring his false teaching. And so, what is the devastation? Well, people deceive, they're tricked. They give up their faith, people's progress in the two infinite journeys is halted. We're supposed to be making internal progress, to be more and more like Jesus, the Gospel is supposed to make external progress to the ends of the earth, so that unreached peoples hear about Jesus, but false teaching stopped both dead in their tracks. Paul says in Galatians 5:7. "You were running a good race, who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?" Also churches are divided. What's going to happen is some people will believe the false teachings and some won't, and they're going to argue, and there won't be any resolution to it. The church will split. Churches get divided over false teaching. They cause divisions, it says, and they put obstacles in your way that caused you to be tripped up. As a result, the witness is ruined and the innocence is lost. Paul says that false teachers deceive the minds of naive people. He says, "You know, I wish you were naive. I wish you didn't know anything at all about evil." You know, when the Lord's done finishing his saving work, we're all going to be clean and pure as driven snow. And that's what this word means. They deceive the minds of naive people. Actually, the same word is used of Jesus, that he's undefiled as our high priest, he's pure. But this has a sense of immaturity to it. Like these folks are wet behind the ears, they're like babes in the woods, they can't handle the level of warfare that's going to be needed when the wolves come, so they're naïve, and he doesn't want them to be. He'd like them to continue naive to evil, but the enemy is coming. And so we see the devastation of false teachers. What is the remedy? V. The Remedy to False Teachers Well, first of all, he tells them to watch out. Look at verse 17. "Now I urge you brothers, [I beseech you, I beg you to] keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances," literally, to mark them. In some communities, there's laws in which people who have been convicted of child molestation, other sins like that, have to identify themselves to the community. Well, I say that false teachers are far more of a threat to the church than those folks are to the community they're in, and they have to be marked. He says, "Mark them out. Say these folks are false teachers." Paul names names, Hymenaeus and Philetus, whoever they are. Well, I know they're false teachers. Mark them out. Let people know what they're teaching, and be vigilant all the time, watch for it, and be willing to fight for sound doctrine. Jude 3. It says, "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write you and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." Contend for the faith, fight against false doctrine. The best thing you can do, though, I mean, in every level, saturate your mind in true doctrine, just saturate your mind in the Bible, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, understand the Bible. That's good for all things that's good for growing in godliness. But also, you'll be able to test those who claim to be apostles, but are not, and you will be able to find them false. You remember, in Acts 17, the Bereans, who are more noble-hearted than anyone else because they took the scriptures and they searched to see if what Paul said was true. Oh, I pray that you would do that with my sermons or any sermons you hear in this pulpit. Take them back to the scripture and say, "Is it true?" Is Paul, in fact, warning the Roman church about false teaching in Romans 16:17-20. Don't just assume because I say so that that's what he's doing. Go back and read it yourself, and see if it's really biblical and true. Saturate your mind in true doctrine and right doctrine, and avoid these people, stay away from them. I know you think, "Oh man, I could take them on. Just me and Joseph Smith. That's kind of exciting, isn't it? I can win. Like the ego starts to come up, I know some scripture. Alright. I'm an expert in these things. I can take him on. I'll take on the Jehovah's Witnesses. Actually, I do, I enjoy taking on the Jehovah's Witnesses. I've spent two hours with one in my house, thinking, I'm going to use up all their time. The odds that they're going to convert me to Arianism are close to zero, alright? But, at any rate, at least they're not with someone else, where their odds might be better, but, at the same time, I want to tell you, just speaking of myself, when I first got to seminary, and for the first time, really started reading Liberal theology, it really had an effect on me, it made me feel sick, it bothered me, it hit levels that disturbed me. The attacks on whether Moses wrote the Pentateuch or whether the Old Testament was inspired the way we understand, these kind of things, they hurt me and it became hard for me until I went back to one thing that saved me, Jesus's view of the Old Testament, and that healed me. I said, "Jesus had an infinitely high view of the Old Testament, so should I." So much for the German Liberal higher critics, see you later. Alright, Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you? And so, I was healed. But I'm just telling you, it has an effect when you read that kind of false teaching. So avoid them, stay away from them, he says. But, ultimately, our only defense is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 20, the second half of the verse, "The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." As I was flying back from India, I was with Jenny, and we had some time. I do not sleep on planes. I envy you brothers and sisters who can sleep on those 18-hour flights, alright? It's nine hours plus nine hours, felt like 1800 hours and I just... You're sitting there. And what do you do with your head? Where do you put it? I would like to remove it and put it in a box somewhere, plug it back in when we arrive, but I just couldn't get comfortable, and I don't think Jenny could either. And so, I don't know. It was just perpetual darkness because we flew before the sun came up, we're going in the direction of the earth, so it was just forever, two hours before sunrise. And it was just never getting any lighter. And then they're bringing us food, and is it breakfast? Is it dinner? What is it? And I can't tell, you know what I'm saying? It's eggs, it must be breakfast, but I have no idea where I am or what I'm supposed to eat. And so there it is. So we started going through. I said, let's redeem the time, so we started going carefully through 1 John, verse by verse, just talking through 1 John. And got to 1 John 2:20, and what a sweet verse. And there, it says, "But you have an anointing from the Holy One and all of you knows the truth." Isn't that sweet? KJV gives us an unction, you have an anointing you know the truth, if you're a child of God, if God's grace is on you, you will know false doctrine when you hear it. And you'll know true doctrine when you hear it. Even if it's something you've never heard before, immediately, the Spirit testifies in your heart, that is true, that is right. You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know the truth. John says, I don't write you because you don't know it, but because you do know it. Isn't that beautiful? So we have the grace of our Lord, and so therefore, we cannot be deceived. If we are the elect, if we are the sheep of Christ, John 10:5, he says, they will not follow the voice of a stranger, because it's a stranger's voice, and they don't recognize his voice, they will not follow. Even when the Antichrist comes with deceiving signs and wonders to deceive, Jesus says in Matthew 24, even the elect, if that were possible. But it's not, because the grace of the Lord Jesus will be with you and he will protect you from false doctrine. Amen and Amen. IV. The End of Satan’s Kingdom Now, the end of Satan's kingdom. Next week, we'll talk about that. Alright, a full sermon. I had some things, but it just developed and developed and I said, "Oh, let's celebrate it. Let's spend a whole day next week celebrating. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. What applications can we take from this? First, come to Christ. I've already invited you. Come to Christ, trust in him for the salvation of your soul. That is true doctrine. Apart from Christ, you have no hope. You will die and go to hell. Your sins will testify against you on Judgment Day, but there is a remedy and the remedy is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you simply look to the cross, to the blood shed on the cross, you will be forgiven of all of your sins, past, present, and future. Come to Christ. If you've already come to Christ, can I urge you to just start by being thankful for the anointing you have from the Holy Spirit, that you know the truth, and be thankful for the gift of God in your life, which is faithful teachers of the Word of God? If anyone is a faithful teacher, Sunday school teacher, radio preacher, a book writer, even if they're dead, had been dead for three centuries, but if they're faithfully teaching the Word of God, they are a gift from Christ to you. Thank God for right teaching. Saturate your mind, as I've said, in good doctrine, and be vigilant against false teachers. I am not insulted if any of you pray that I be protected from saying anything false. It doesn't insult me. I need that kind of prayer. I mean, I've done a lot of talking here in the last eight years. There's got to be something wrong in there. All those hours of talking. Pray that I'd be guarded and protected from saying things that are not helpful to the people of God. But pray also for yourselves that when I say things that are true and right, you put them into practice. That may be the greater threat, because it's a threat for me too. I see what's true, but am I living it? That's the issue. So pray that you put into practice the good doctrines, and rejoice... As we'll get to do for a full sermon next week, rejoice that Satan will soon crush... That God will soon crush Satan under your feet, that false teachers will not, in the end, win over the church of Jesus Christ. Close with me in prayer.

Introduction Testimony to Christ in Psalms You have a little hint in my prayer where we're going today, but we're looking at Psalm 2. We're looking at the second Psalm, so turn your Bibles there if you would. Last week, we began a new series in Psalms and my purpose in this series is to help us to look at the value of the written Word. We’re looking at Psalms that talk about the value of the written Word to the individual believer like Psalm 1 and those Psalms which testify to the living Word, Jesus Christ. There are some prophetic Psalms which look ahead and give us a picture, perhaps as much as a thousand years in advance of who Jesus would be and what his purposes would be. Now, as we look at world history and the history of what's going on even today, we see tremendous strife and conflict. We can see the churning of the waves of the nations. It's very interesting in Revelation when it says, "I looked and there was no longer any sea." The Book of Revelation said there's no longer any sea. Well, in the Book of Revelation in chapter 13 it's out of the sea that the beast comes. A churning sea. That is the nations, and they're like a churning sea, aren't they? Whipped up like a hurricane, there's all this foment and rebellion. Psalm 2 gives us a focal point to that rebellion. It gives us a focal point to the purposes of the nations as they churn and chafe. And that focal point is rebellion against the Lord and against His Christ as well as whatever else is going on in history for the past 2000 years. As the church has sought to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it has been opposed every step of the way. And what's so beautiful is that Psalm 2 said it would happen; the opposition would happen. But what's even more beautiful is that Psalm 2 gives us the remedy: the sovereign power of God and his determination to advance the Kingdom, and that is our theme today. Look with me to Psalm 2 as we read along together. Beginning at verse 1, it says: "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed one. “Let us break their chains,” they say, “and throw off their fetters”. The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in His wrath, saying, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for His wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.” Now, after Jesus was raised from the dead, He appeared to His disciples and spent with them 40 days. During that 40 days with his Apostles, He was giving them an intensive training in Scripture. It was a 40-day crash seminary course in the Old Testament and any of you who love the Word would love to have been there to hear it, wouldn't you? What better teacher than the incarnate Word of God? And so, it says in Luke 24:44-45: "He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Did you hear that? There are Psalms that are written about Jesus Christ. Then it says: "Then he opened their minds so that they might understand the Scriptures." That is a good prayer for a preacher: “Oh Lord, open their minds that they might understand the Scriptures.” There's a veil over our minds; we don't see their truth coming through until the Holy Spirit removes that veil in Christ. And so, He opened their minds. How to Interpret Psalms It's an amazing thing to think of Jesus actually being able to open our minds, but he does. And he wanted them to understand the Scriptures in particular. And today we're going to focus on one of those: the second Psalm. Now, when we come to Psalms, we come to a difficult part of Old Testament Scripture to interpret. It is difficult because it is woven together in the everyday life of the Jews that wrote it, usually King David. Now, David was a messianic figure; he was a picture of Christ, and this is the beauty of the way that God has communicated to us. It says in Hebrews 1:1: "In the past, God spoke to His people through the prophets at many times and in various ways." Well, what are the various ways that God spoke to the people in the Old Testament? Well, he spoke to them verbally through predictive writings like Psalm 2. He also spoke to them in everyday life and through the events of life which he controlled to give a picture of what would come in the future. And some of the events of David's life give us a picture of the future reign of the Christ. He was anointed with oil. He was anointed and the anointed one is the Messiah, the Christ. He was raised up to be King from humble origins, but he became King through much opposition and through much trouble and distress and many enemies and his reign was a difficult one. Until at last, he was finished with the work that God had him to do. Now, there are similarities between that and the reign of Christ, but there are differences as well. And so, as you read Psalms, it's difficult because some of the lines apply to Christ and some of them don't. They could be right closely together and woven together but there are some aspects of Psalms that have nothing to do with David, even though he wrote them. We get this. The analogy of Scripture teaches this and this is a foundational principle of interpreting Scripture. Scripture interprets Scripture. If you want to understand how to handle Psalms, then look at how the New Testament writers handle Psalms, and they found Christ there. They found Christ there. Now, if you were to go to a university or a seminary class and didn’t fully understand that, you would be talking as you read through Psalm 2 about a coronation Psalm that was used in the history of Israel. When all the Davidic kings were raised up, they would read something like Psalm 2. The problem with that is it just goes too far: “Ask of me and I'll give you the nations for your inheritance, the ends of the earth for your possession.” It's a little ambitious for a small Palestinian king. The words lift us up above the immediate circumstance to point to something far greater. And so, Peter standing up on the day of Pentecost made it clear that there were some aspects of Psalms that did not relate to David's life, even though David wrote them. Like Psalm 16, in which David said “You will not let your Holy One see decay” (Ps. 16:10). Peter picked up on that and said David decayed. But there is one who didn't decay, and that is Jesus. He is the death conqueror and I stand here today to proclaim to you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ's triumph over the grave. You see how it works? It teaches us how to interpret Psalms. There are some aspects that are directly about David's life. But now, I'm going to take Psalm 2, and I'm going to just lift it up as a messianic Psalm because I believe from front to back it talks about Jesus Christ. Overview and Structure of Psalm 2 Now, what is the theme of Psalm 2? Basically, the theme is this: the sovereign God, the Creator of the ends of the Earth, has given the ends of the Earth to His Son, Jesus Christ. He's decreed that they belong to Jesus. He is going to advance that kingdom and there is not a power on Earth or in hell that can stop it. That is the message of Psalm 2. The application of Psalm 2 is: be wise, don't oppose it, don't stand in the way of that advance, but come and join. That's what Psalm 2 is. Now you understand Psalm 2.I like to break it apart into four parts. I see in verses 1-3, humanity's strident rebellion. In verses 4-6, God's serene reaction. In verses 7-9, God's sovereign decree, and then verses 10-12, the preacher's urgent application. Humanity’s Strident Rebellion (vs. 1-3) Rebellion’s Insanity Let's look at the first in Verses 1-3, humanity's strident rebellion. What is the first word of this Psalm? Somebody tell me, what is it? “Why” That's a powerful word, isn't it? Why? As a minister, I hear people ask that question so often in times of suffering, don't they? And who is it they're asking? If they're not asking the preacher, who are they asking? God. They're asking God. Why could you let this happen to me? Right? Well, God is asking us here the question why. Isn't that powerful? I look through the Scriptures, and I don't have time to tell you all the times that God asks human beings why, but it's a powerful study. Just look up the word and go through and see the number of times he does it. He did it to Cain. He does it... I mean, just... I don't have time, but it's just a beautiful study. But I picked out one in particular, Ezekiel 33:11, it says: "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!" And then he asks this, "Why will you die, O house of Israel?” Why? There is at the root of all sin, insanity, isn't there? I mean, there's this kind of an insanity in sin and in three senses, I think. First of all, what good things you give up! Second of all, what terrible things you bring on yourself! And third, the absolute futility of the opposition, because you're fighting against God and you will lose. There's an insanity in the rebellion, and it comes out in the very first word, “Why”. Or how about this one from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples. Luke 6:46: "Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don't obey what I command you?" Doesn’t that cut you? Just come right to the heart, why do you do that? And so, we have a picture of the insanity of rebellion right at the start. Rebellion is insane. And so, I'm just urging you as a preacher, lay down your weapons of rebellion, lay them down. You will not succeed. There's insanity to it. Rebellion’s Extent Well, what about the extent of the rebellion? How widespread is it? You know, if there's a king who's ruling over a realm and there's some news of some civil war, he wants to know, well, what districts are affected by it? What's the extent of the rebellion? Well, what is the extent of this rebellion? It is worldwide. It is universal. This is not just something we find in one culture, like in the US or one area like Europe. It's a worldwide rebellion. It's found everywhere. It says, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” Now, a Jew reading that, what's he thinking? When he reads about nations and peoples, what's he thinking about? Gentiles. Oh, the Jews are the chosen people, right? But the ironic thing is, in Acts Chapter 4, the apostles applied it to the Jewish leaders who were rebelling against Christ. You see what I'm saying? They're behaving like Gentiles, not like God's people. It really extends to everybody, Jew and Gentile alike, in their revolt against Jesus Christ. It's worldwide in its extent: “For all have sinned and lack the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). It's worldwide. Rebellion’s Nature But what is its nature? Well, it says in verse 2: “The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed one.” The first thing we see is pride. There's pride at the root of this rebellion. Human leaders, you know, pride and ambition run deep in these people. And when you think about kings of the Earth, don't just think about political leaders. It could be a CEO of a multi-national conglomerate. It could be anybody with a position of power and influence. The kings of the Earth, you know? And there is pride in these rulers and they don't want anyone to tell them what to do. It runs to the core of the rebellion. There's also some rage involved in it: in verse 1, in the Septuagint (the Greek translation), and it's brought over into the New Testament as well. In Acts 4 when they quote this, it says, “why do the nations rage”? NIV has “conspired”, but the root word is the same. There is an enraged conspiracy here. There's an anger to it. There's a sense of riot and rebellion here. But where does the rage come from? I think that the pride and the anger come together. When pride is thwarted, what is the result? Anger, right? Look at yourself. Whenever you want something and don't get it, you get angry. And so, pride and anger go together, and I think it's demonic in this case. There's a kind of a satanic side, because it says in Revelation 12:12, speaking of the Devil: “Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with rage, because he knows his time is short.” So, I think that in their rage, they're behaving demonically. Pride and rage, what else? There is meditation involved in this. There's an intellectual side to the rebellion. Now, last week in Psalm 1 we talked about meditation, didn't we? The godly blessed one doesn't take the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, sit in the seat of mockers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night. Same Hebrew word over here. They are meditating on how to throw off the shackles of the Lord. They're thinking deeply on how they can do it. It's like a think tank. Do you know what a think tank is? You get all the skillful intellectuals together and they think hard on one topic. And what is the topic here? How to get God out of our lives. How to throw off his reign. So, they're thinking deeply on it. So, there's pride, there's rage, there's meditation, and then there is organization. There is an organization here. There's a conspiracy. “The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather”, what? “Together.” There's an organized revolt here. Now, earlier when I was preaching through Genesis a year ago, we looked at Genesis 11. Remember the Tower of Babel? And there was this organization there, and they were building a tower to reach to Heaven. And remember what God said: "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing will be restrained from them." (Genesis 11:6). There's an incredible power in people working together for a common goal, good or evil, isn't there? And so, here we have a common goal: the throwing off of the reign of the Lord and of His Christ. And then finally, we see determination, pride, rage, meditation, cooperation, organization, and determination. They take their stand against the Lord. We get the picture like, Goliath, who for 40 days came and took his stand against the Lord's armies and blasphemed the God of Heaven. He took a stand. And so, they're determined. There's a battle of wills going on here. My will against yours. Rebellion’s History Is there any human being on Earth with a stronger will than God? Absolutely not. God's will is unshakable and unbreakable. But this is the nature of the rebellion. Now, if we were to take a long time under the tutelage of a church historian, we could go through the rebellion’s history, for it has characterized the last 2000 years. It wasn't just Pontius Pilate and the leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem; it went on from there to the Roman Empire as a whole. Roman emperors were opposing and fighting against the advance of Christianity. You know the stories about the Christians who were sacrificed in the Colosseum, and the Roman Emperors Nero, Decius, Valerian, and Diocletian one after the other, persecuting Christians. Now, understand the switch we've made here. Persecuting Christians is the same as persecuting Christ. Do you see that? Do you remember on the road to Damascus: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4)? You see, if you touch my body, you touch the head. That's how it works. So, persecuting Christians is the same as fulfilling Psalm 2, and that's what these did. And after the Roman Empire went Christian, so to speak, and began to send out missionaries to the barbarian tribes, what did the barbarian chieftain start to do? Persecute the missionaries. The same thing, and it's carried on throughout all of history. When I was in Japan, I learned about the Shoguns and their opposition to Christianity. They would make Christians step on a plate representing Christ, and they knew no true Christian would ever step on that. And so, if you wouldn't, they'd kill you. The rage, the plotting, the opposition to the advance of Christianity has carried on into the 20th century. Hitler sought to crush true Christianity. So did Joseph Stalin and so did Mao Tse-tung. They tried to crush it. Even in our country today, do you see it? It's not just martyrdom, it's just a matter of opposition. Like some of the Supreme Court cases we have these days about even mentioning God or praying. We see this. There's an opposition even in a free democracy like this. It runs deep. It's universal. Rebellion’s Futility And then ultimately, we see rebellions futility. It's true what God said in one sense, in Genesis 11: “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing will be restrained from them.” But that's not a “nothing” with an absolute sense there. There is something they cannot do, and that is defeat God's purposes. God’s Serene Reaction (vs. 4-6) Look at the next section, verses 4-6, look at God's serene reaction: “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in His wrath, saying, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” God's absolute serenity is founded on His absolute sovereignty. Do you see that? Peace comes from recognizing who runs the universe. I don't know what all you're going through. If we had time for testimony for about 15 hours, each of you could have about 25 minutes and tell us what you're going through. The answer to your problems is the absolute loving sovereignty of God. Whatever it is, God is sovereign and powerful and he rules. And so, there is peace that comes from understanding it, but the peace starts with God himself. Is God a flustered, upset, out of sorts being? Absolutely not. Our God is in Heaven, he does what pleases him and he's at peace, and so there's a serene reaction. The Scripture says he sits, he laughs, he mocks, he speaks, he terrifies, he decrees. That's his response to the rebellion. But he does not get upset, or anxious, or worried, or out of sorts. Not at all. He Sits I love what Charles Spurgeon had to say here. He said: "Observe, dear friends, the wonderful contrast between the violent excitement of the enemies of the Lord, and the sublime serenity of God Himself. He is not disturbed though the heathen so furiously rage, and their kings and mighty one set themselves up in battle array. He smiles at them: he hath them in derision. You and I are often downcast and depressed, and our forebodings are dark and dismal, but God sits in his eternal peacefulness, and serenely overrules tumult and rebellion. The Lord reigneth, and his throne is not moved, nor his rest broken, whatever may be the noise and turmoil down below. Notice the sublimity of this divine calm. While the heathen and their princes are plotting and planning how to break his bands asunder, and cast his cords from them, he has already defeated their devices, and he says to them, “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill in Zion.” You will not have my Son to reign over you, but nevertheless he reigns. While you have been raging, I have crowned him.” Isn't that powerful? The sovereign serenity of God in the midst of all the tumult of this rebellion. Isaiah 40:22-23 speaks to this as well: “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to not, and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.” He Laughs and Mocks While I was preparing this sermon, I thought about the rebellion of those who would shake their fist at God and say, "I will fight you every step of the way." And I think about God up in Heaven and he says over to Gabriel, “Did you hear that? I know it's hard to hear. It's a little dim. They said, I'm gonna fight you every step of the way.” [laughter] I'm glad you laughed. It's a laughter in concert with Heaven, do you see? It can't succeed. Our God is powerful, and He's not threatened by this revolt at all, not even a little. He actually makes fun of it, and you know, it's interesting how God's laughter and mocking is not meant to be crushing to the rebels, but actually to give them time to repent, because there's a time gap between the laughter and the mocking and the terrifying and the rage. You see what I'm saying? When the wrath comes, there's been a long time delay, for our God is a patient God. And so, what the people are supposed to do is see the laughter in the thwarting of the everyday events as they try to do things and it doesn't work out the way they want. The Church just keeps getting bigger and bigger. And there's a humor side to it, almost. Like Voltaire, who vowed that within one generation, no Frenchman would be reading the Bible. And within one generation, the French Bible Society had bought Voltaire's house and were printing Bibles in his house. There's some humor there. But it's supposed to make you think, “Wait a minute, we can't fight God. We can't oppose him.” It should cause them to repent, because ultimately, he's going to speak a word of judgment, that's what Psalm 2 says. He Speaks and Terrifies The laughter doesn't go on forever. There comes a point of rage and wrath. He rebukes them in his anger and he terrifies them in His wrath. God speaks to them a word of judgment. Matthew 25:41: "Depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." That's a terrifying word. Now, as I was driving along the highway here, I've seen bumper stickers. Have you seen them? No fear. No fear? I saw the North Carolina equivalent just a little while ago, “ain't skeered.” [laughter] Have you seen that one? Is that... Maybe that's not from North Carolina, I don't know, but I ain't skeered, okay? Well, our God knows how to terrify. If you'd been at the foot of Mount Sinai, you'd have been shaking when you saw that cloud descend. Moses was, he said, "I'm trembling with fear." That was Moses, he was a godly man trembling with fear. God knows how to terrify, and there are some things to be afraid of in life, like dying and going to hell. That's worth being afraid of. God's sovereign power over princes is clear, because that same Isaiah 40 passage, in which he talks about them as grasshoppers, it says: “He brings the princes of the world and the rulers of the world to nothing when he merely blows on them and they wither.” He just speaks and they wither. Do you remember when Jesus was arrested and there were all those Roman soldiers there in battle array, and he said, "Who are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth," and Jesus said, “I am” (Ego eimi, in the Greek). “I am.” And what happened to the Romans? They just fell down in front of him. They just fell down. All he said was “I am”. That's his name! And they fell down. This revolt will not get far, let's put it that way, because all he does is speak. And in terms of no fear, well, I read about fear in the future, Revelation Chapter 6:15-17: “Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!” For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” That bumper sticker is gone now. They're looking for a place to hide. God’s Sovereign Decree (vs. 7-9) And what's the root of all this? His decree. He decrees, he says, “Nevertheless, yet, I have established my king on Zion, my holy hill.” He's established it. He's spoken the decree. God rules his Universe by decree. And what is this decree? Verse 7-9: “I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” Now, this verse is quoted in Hebrews in regard to Jesus Christ. Let the New Testament interpret the Old Testament. This is not spoken to David. This is spoken to Jesus Christ. For he says in Hebrews 1:5: “to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your father’ or, ‘today I have begotten you.’” Jesus Christ is the eternally begotten Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. Now, don't imagine that because it says, “today I have begotten you” that there was a time when the father did not beget the son, that there was a time when the father existed, but the son did not. That is not true. He has always existed. That's an old heresy, Arianism. It existed a long time ago, that Jesus was a created being, and that at some point, God spoke him into existence. It has recreated itself under 30 years ago, under Charles Taze Russell with the Jehovah's Witnesses. They'll go around and tell you that Jesus is God's first created being. But it's false. And so, the Creed, the ancient Creed says that He is eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light. Eternally, but then why... What is the “today” here? It says, “today I've begotten you.” Well, Paul answers this for us in Acts 13, as he's preaching, in Acts 13 it says, verse 32-33, "We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’” So, he's linking it to the resurrection of Christ, so it really has to do with declaration of the Sonship to the world. And this is the foundation of the spread of the Son's kingdom, isn't it? The resurrection of Jesus Christ sets Him apart from every religious leader, and on the basis of that, we see the declaration of Jesus as the second person of the Trinity. It says in Romans 1:4: “who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” You see, other than that, he's just a man who made some claims and died and rots in the grave. But he's not just a man, he's the second person of the trinity. And on the basis of that declaration of the Sonship of Jesus Christ, the gospel has been spreading for the last 2000 years. That's the basis of the advance, the resurrection of Christ. And what is the extent of the reign of Christ? In verse 8, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” Who's speaking to whom there? Ask of me is imperative, the Father is speaking to the Son. Do you see that? The Father is speaking to the Son and He's saying, “Give me a prayer request, and I'll answer you. Don't make it a small one, make it a big one. Ask of me and I'll give you the nations as your inheritance. The ends of the earth, your possession.” Now that's big, it's big enough for the power of God, isn't it? Big enough for what the Son accomplished in dying on the cross. That's a big request. And so, Isaac Watts said so beautifully in a hymn we're about to sing, "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun doth his successive journeys run. His kingdom spread from shore to shore, till moon shall wax and wane no more." It's the foundation of the modern missionary movement, some left one shore and arrived at another in the name of Jesus Christ and said, “worship the Son”. That's how it works. And what is the execution of the power? Verse 9, “You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” You say, “you know, that doesn't sound like the Jesus I know.” Gentle Jesus, meek and mild. What is this ruling with a rod of iron? Well, this verse shows up in Revelation 19, when Jesus returns with that white charger and the armies of Heaven. You'll rule them with an iron scepter. The context in Psalm 2 is what? A friendly embracing of the Christ? No, the context is of pitted determined rebellion against the Christ. And so, if that's the state you're in when the Lord returns, you will be smashed. Isn't that what it says? “You'll dash them to pieces like pottery.” The Preacher’s Urgent Application (vs. 10-12) Okay, so now we get to the application. The preacher's urgent application. Now, usually preachers have to come up with their own application, but I don't need to. The preacher does it for me here, the Psalmist, David, and he steps in and he says, “Can I give you a word of advice based on these truths?” Isn't that what application is? I want to speak to your life, and so, I will take my application from this application, and I divide it into two categories. There are two types of people who need to hear Psalm 2. There are those who have believed already in Jesus Christ and those who have not yet believed, but are part of the rebellion, even now. Of that second category, namely unbelievers, I would give this word, and it comes right from verses 10-12, be warned and believe. Be warned and believe. Look what it says: “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for His wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.” There are five imperatives here, be wise, be instructed or warned, serve or worship with fear, rejoice with trembling, and submit to or kiss the Son. Be wise. Put away the rebellion. Don't be foolish. Be wise. Now, where do you get this wisdom? 2 Timothy 3:15 says: “The Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The wisdom is right here in Psalm 2. Be wise, don't fight God, don't fight Jesus Christ, be wise. Proverbs 22:3, the book of wisdom says: “A wise man sees danger and takes refuge, but the foolish keep going and suffer for it.” What is the refuge? Is there a refuge even in our passage here? Look at verse 12, blessed are all who what? Take refuge in Him. There is a refuge, His name is Jesus Christ. There is a day of wrath coming, but Jesus is the refuge. Be wise, be warned, serve the Lord, rejoice with trembling. Find your joy in Christ. Repent and lay down those weapons of rebellion and of disobedience. Be warned and believe. But what of the believers? Most of us I would say fancy ourselves believers in Jesus Christ. What to us? Alright, I'll speak this word, be bold, be bold. Do you see it? Do you feel a courage coming out of Psalm 2 here? Ask of me, and I'll give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. Oh, but Lord, India has 900 million people. That's too big. Oh, I'm sorry, it's smaller than the ends of the Earth, and the nations as an inheritance. That's a smaller thing. It's a lesser thing. Isn't it? So, we get on our knees and we get bold in our prayers, we start asking for bigger things like India. “God give Jesus Christ, India.” Do you see that? Be bold in your prayers, be worldwide in your prayers. Be bold when facing obstacles and persecution. Say, “Well, it was already prophesied, I knew it was coming.” Right here in Psalm 2, it's going to come. But we're going to triumph, we're going to be victorious. Be bold in the time of persecution and strife; be bold and courageous; be bold in outreach plans. Make big plans and carry them out by the power of God. Don't be a small weak Christian. Psalm 2 gives you the foundation for boldness in ministry in Jesus Christ. Reaching out big. Is it too big a thing that we could ask for Durham to glorify God, that we could ask to be used by God to lead many, many people here to Christ? Is that too big a thing for God? Oh, it's small, it's a subset of the other request. “Ask of me, and I'll give you the nations for your inheritance, the ends of the earth, your possession.” To the unbeliever, I say: be warned and believe. If today you hear His voice, if you feel the pull of Jesus Christ today, come to faith in Christ, don't put it off. And why there's a warning here, do you see it? “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you be destroyed.” Look what it says, “in your way.” Do you understand what that means? In your way, while you're living your life… [snaps fingers] it's over! Do you understand that? That death hangs over us, and we never know when that day will be. Do you know who holds the day of your life and the day of your death? It's God your creator. He knows the day of your death. Be wise before it's too late and you be destroyed in your way. I didn't make this up, it's what it says. Suddenly it comes, a sudden illness, an accident, car accident, suddenly you grab your chest and it's over. Be wise before that day comes, rejoice in Christ. And to you who are believers, be bold for Jesus. Nothing is too small to attempt for Jesus Christ. Please close with me in prayer. Closing Prayer Heavenly Father, we're just in awe of who you are. We're in awe of Your decree that You have made in reference to your Son. And nothing will change that decree, and I praise You for it, because my salvation is included in it. Thank you so much, and not just me, but all who are called by Your name. O heavenly Father, I pray now for the unbeliever within the sound of my voice that they would not let the sun go down today without repenting and coming to faith in You, Lord Jesus. O and I pray for my believing brother and sister that they would be bold and no longer timid, but take risks in one sense, but there are no risks, but just for us, they seem like risks that we would step out and say something to a relative or a friend or to someone about Jesus Christ. Or to make a plan for a ministry that's new and bold. O God, give us this power, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.