The Modern Day Laodicea: The Megachurches and Joel Osteen

I wrote yesterday that I did not feel that today’s Church possesses the characteristics of the church of Laodicea, the lukewarm church that grew spiritually complacent with its earthly riches. However, I qualified my statement by stating that I would not disagree with those who argue that many of the churches today possess the characteristics of the Laodicean church. Today I will tell you which types of churches I feel do possess the characteristics of the Laodicean church.

When I think of modern day Laodicea I think of the megachurches, which are churches with congregations of 2000 people or more. My DirectTV satellite package contains several religious channels that feature broadcasts of “worship” sessions from these megachurches. I do not watch these broadcasts often because it is hard to watch these millionaire pastors telling their large congregation about how great people they are as they sit in gigantic, plush buildings. These megachurches have so much, but they seem to fail at giving their congregations useful information that much smaller, less wealthy churches give to their congregations.

The pastor who I feel runs the epitome of today’s modern Laodicean church is Joel Osteen, who runs the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Osteen is a best-selling author and one of the most well-known pastors in America. His ministry and following is global with outreach in over one hundred countries. Osteen is so well-known and prominent that a recent Guardian UK article proclaimed that Osteen was the new-face of Christianity. Osteen’s main church building is actually a 16,800 seat stadium which is more apt to watch a basketball game than to watch a sermon. Osteen’s church is very wealth in terms of earthly possessions and resources, but is poor in terms of spirit.

One day out of sheer curiosity I actually watched one of Osteen’s “sermons”. It was amazing that Osteen’s talk resembled something you would hear from a motivational speaker or life coach instead of from a pastor. Osteen hardly cited any scripture in the entire broadcast (I believe he briefly mentioned two verses from the Bible as a minor reference to his overall message of the day about how one can better themselves). What was more amazing was that the people watching Osteen talk were completely transfixed by the man and actually considered his life coach message as a substitute for real religion. The people who follow Osteen may feel that all they need is to hear his soothing words to fulfill their religious quota for the week, but little do they know that they are in a church gives them little in terms of spiritual benefit/advancement.

Osteen is walking personification of lukewarm. The man is afraid to take a strong stand on key religious views because he is afraid of offending someone. He is neither hot nor cold because he does not stand for anything for or against. The following (infamous) video illustrates how uncomfortable Osteen gets when he is asked to take a stand on whether Christ is the only way to Heaven: Link

It is actually quite disturbing to watch Osteen’s response to a question that should be an easy one for a typical Christian minister to answer. Osteen’s handling of the question should be a major red flag to any Christian that Osteen may not be the best person to learn about the Christian faith from. Instead, Osteen still has a huge following that appears to be undeterred by his lukewarmness.

• If a pastor influences the spiritual nature of the church than Osteen’s megachurch can be nothing more than lukewarm unless he changes.

I picked on Osteen and his church because it was the best and easiest example that I could think of. I’m sure there are other megachurches that are similar to Osteen’s megachurch. Yesterday I did try to spend a couple of minutes watching Joyce Meyers talk at her megachurch and ended up finding myself watching another person giving a life coach message instead of a religious message.

Fortunately, not all hope is lost for people who attend these financially wealthy, yet spiritually poor churches since the Bible indicates that some people from these Laodicean churches will obtain eternal life by overcoming the adversity ahead.

• Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
• Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
• Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
• Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
• Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

I hope Osteen and other megachurch leaders one day begin teaching their congregations real religion because they have so much reach and influence over people…far more than I probably will ever have.

My View on the Seven Churches: Revelation 2 & 3

After a few days to reflect on my thoughts and to consider the thoughts others have given me I feel ready to state my position on the seven churches discussed in Revelation 2 and Revelation 3. Without further ado, here is my position on these intriguing couple of chapters…

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:12 that the Church is one body under Christ. This is a spiritual body that unites all believers together no matter who they are.

• 1Co 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
• 1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
• 1Co 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.

While there is one body under Christ it is impossible for every Christian to gather at one place due to geographic distance. As a consequence, people have set up churches throughout the world so that people who live in a specific geographic area can have a place to assemble.

• Not every church is the same because each church has different leadership and has different people within its congregation. Therefore, some churches inevitably are “better” than others in terms of staying with the Christian faith.

Revelation 2 and Revelation 3 contain messages addressed to seven churches that were scattered throughout western Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). Unsurprisingly, each church received a different message because each church performed differently when it came to adhering to the Christian faith. Christ gave a spiritual assessment of each church, including an overview each church’s positive and negative characteristics.

• The messages given to the seven churches obviously have historical significance. The issue that many Christians wonder is whether these messages have spiritual significance beyond the time period that the Book of Revelation was written.

I believe the message to the seven churches can be applied beyond the time period the Book of Revelation was written for a couple of reasons (there are probably more if I spent some more time thinking about it). First, the end of each church’s assessment contains the message: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches”.

• This phrase appears to be a call for people who are not affiliated with these historical churches to take heed of the messages given to these churches because it appears so often. The readers of the Book of Revelation who have “ears” are called to hear the messages given to all the churches.

Second, each church is promised a reward for enduring future persecution. The church of Thyatira’s promise is especially intriguing because the message is to overcome and keep Christ’s works to the end.

• Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

The call to endure to the end practically eliminates the possibility that the message is restricted to those living in the first century A.D.

I believe the seven churches reflect the spiritual conditions of seven types of churches that have existed throughout history. The main reason why I see the messages applying to churches rather than individuals is a clue from Revelation 2:24. During Christ’s assessment of the church of Thyatira He recognized that not everyone within Thyatira approved of the church’s detestable doctrine.[1]

• Rev 2:24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

We have a major issue if we argue that the seven churches reflect seven types of people when we considered that Christ recognized that there were exceptional people within Thyatira.

• As I said, Christ recognized that not everyone within Thyatira approved of the church’s detestable doctrine. If we say that the church of Thyatira reflected a certain type of person how can we deal with the fact that not everyone within Thyatira is like how Christ characterized the church to be? A person who did not approve of Thyatira’s doctrine would not belong in Thyatira if the seven churches reflected seven different types of people. The person would be characterized by another church (perhaps Philadelphia). In other words, you can have exceptions when categorizing groups of people (churches), but you cannot have exceptions when categorizing individuals. If a person is an exception to how a certain type of individual is characterized they ought to belong to a different category of person rather than the category they really do not fit in.

In addition, it is hard to see how the spiritual condition of people who lived over the past 1900 + years can be limited to just seven categories. Finally, it seems more natural to say that “the messages given to churches in the first century A.D. also apply to churches throughout history” than to say that “the messages given to churches in the first century A.D. apply to individuals throughout history”.

The Seven Churches

Here is an extremely brief overview of the characteristics of each church… A far more in-depth analysis of the characteristics of each church is available at the following links.

• Churches in Revelation 2
• Churches in Revelation 3

Ephesus

Churches characterized by the church of Ephesus were once really good churches that deviated from the Christian faith over time. Christ accused the church of Ephesus of departing from their first love in verse 2:4.

• Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
• Rev 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
• Rev 2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
• Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
• Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
• Rev 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Smyrna: Spiritually Rich

Churches characterized by the church of Smyrna are spiritually rich as they endure hardship, including financial hardship.

• Rev 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
• Rev 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Pergamos: Compromising

Churches characterized by the church of Pergamos hold onto faith despite enduring living in the heart of enemy territory. However, these churches are not perfect because they uphold some condemnable practices.

• Rev 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
• Rev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
• Rev 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
• Rev 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Thyatira: Compromising

Churches characterized by the church of Thyatira have done good works. However, like Pergamos, Christ expressed dismay by how Thyatira tolerated some detestable practices.

• Rev 2:18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
• Rev 2:19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
• Rev 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
• Rev 2:21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
• Rev 2:22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
• Rev 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Sardis: Dead

Churches characterized by the church of Sardis are spiritually dead.

• Rev 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
• Rev 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

Philadelphia: Faithful

Churches characterized by the church of Philadelphia are in very good shape. Christ gave the more praise to the church of Philadelphia than any other church because its members kept His word and remained patient as they wait for His Coming.

• Rev 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
• Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
• Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
• Rev 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
• Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

Laodicea: Lukewarm

People are probably most familiar with the church of Laodicea. Many people today believe that Laodicea best describes the overall spiritual condition of the entire Church today. I merely see a segment of the Church characterized by Laodicea rather than the entire Church (I would not disagree if people argue that is a large segment of the Church is like Laodicea though).

Churches characterized by the church of Laodicea are so well off that they have grown spiritually complacent. These churches have no idea that they are spiritually poor in their complacency.

• Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
• Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
• Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
• Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

The Call to Overcome

The most striking theme throughout Revelation 2 and Revelation 3 is Christ’s call to overcome. It does not matter if a person is from a church that is spiritually dead or from a church that is faithful…he or she will be given eternal life if he or she overcomes.

Ephesus:

• Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Smyrna

• Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
• Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Pergamos:

• Rev 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
• Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Thyratira

• Rev 2:24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
• Rev 2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
• Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
• Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
• Rev 2:28 And I will give him the morning star.

Sardis

• Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
• Rev 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
• Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Philadelphia

• Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Laodicea

• Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
• Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
• Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
• Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

The fact that a person can still gain eternal life even though they come from a bad spiritual background is an indication that there will be people who will rise from a poor spiritual state to overcome and gain eternal life. If it was impossible for someone spiritually dead background to gain eternal life Christ would have not mentioned that it was possible. Therefore, there is little reason for Christians to give up on those who are spiritually dead or have been led astray because there will be some people who will change their ways and obtain eternal life.

In the coming days I may write about some of the individual churches in-depth. I do not know yet, but I'll consider it.

Note

---

[1] A similar recognition was made when Christ discussed the church of Sardis

Update on My Seven Churches Examination

I originally planned to release my viewpoint on the seven churches today after a weekend of study and reflection. However, I am still torn about the relevance of the seven churches to us today. Here is what I am thinking at the moment in case you still want to try to sway me in a certain direction.

I have accepted the idea that the seven churches have application beyond the first century A.D. I’ll fully detail this when I publish my viewpoint, but it is difficult to restrict the application of the seven churches to just the historical churches that existed at the time when the Book of Revelation was written when you consider the textual clues.

• What I am not exactly convinced yet is whether the seven churches apply to individuals or to churches…

I have ruled out is the idea that the seven churches reflect seven historical periods of Church history. The idea that the seven churches reflect seven historical periods of the Church has a major issue which keeps me from adopting this view.

• How can one accurately gauge which historical period represents each church. For instance, how would one accurately gauge which period reflects the church of Philadelphia vs. the church of Laodicea? There is a drastic difference between the nature of the church of Philadelphia and the church of Laodicea. Such deterioration in the Church most likely would occur over time than at a single event or over one day. It seems strictly arbitrary to me to divide history into different time periods. Ultimately, is it realistic to believe that on December 31, 19XX the Church was faithful and true, but on January 1, 19XX + 1 it could suddenly be characterized as lukewarm? I do not think it is…

Others point out that there is no biblical support for this viewpoint. I do not see that as a major issue in this case because it is not exactly clear how the seven churches are relevant to those who lived beyond the first century A.D.

I hope to publish my viewpoint tomorrow. In the meantime, your comments are welcome.

G20 Protesters Torching Cop Cars in Toronto

 

    

Toronto seems an unlikely place for violence, but evidently it is not, at least when a G-20 summit is in session there.  Just in case you are fuzzy about just what the G-20 is, it is finance ministers of 19 countries plus the EU, meeting to discuss the world economy.  The G-20 comprises 85% of the world's GNP so this is important stuff.

So who, you might well ask, are the violent demonstrators who torched four police cars Saturday night and are set for more violence today? 300 of them ended up in jail . Their supporters quickly organized an all night jail solidarity dance party from midnight till morning via their website and social media.  Doesn't sound too violent does it?  Nor does the prayer vigil scheduled by the Student Christian Movement  or the "Bike Block" which calls for " hordes of cyclists to storm the streets of Toronto in a festive parade" today, Sunday, June 27th.

It smells like the '60's with  the rebellious and idealistic young insisting on "love not war." But this is not just some sort of 21st century Woodstock.  There are darker forces at work here because the world is more connected than it was then. Because of so many things, including the internet, we no longer think in purely nationalistic terms. We can't.  People flow over national  borders.  Workers in  India know what working conditions are like in Europe or North America and visa versa. Education is global and so are schools and friendships. The ground rules have changed a lot since the '60's  but human nature clearly has not. We have those same hunter/gatherer brains we had when we were living in caves and wearing bearskins.

How we are going to adjust to a world in which narrow national interests and  who has the biggest army are no longer appropriate ways to resolve conflict?  It requires a new way of thinking and frankly, torching cop cars and breaking windows is not helpful. It is just more of the same old angry victim crap  acted out by the less stable and more angry of every generation as they come of age.

 In most cases, it is deeply personal and not really very idealistic.  It is about feeling empowered rather than finding answers. Anarchy is not a new idea. Nor is Nihilism. Both are not very helpful in a day and age when the world economy teeters on the brink, the planet is warming, and the world population is growing as resources shrink.

Like it or not we are all in this together and the kids who are torching cop cars in Toronto should be turned over somebody's knee.  Message to protesters: Grow Up!

Looking for Some Feedback: The Seven Churches

Over the past few days I have been considering writing about the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and Revelation 3. I have not written about the seven churches yet because my view on the seven churches is not yet fully developed. I have an idea of what I could say, but I am still at the point where my view can still be shaped by other people's viewpoints. This is why I would like to hear your viewpoint on what the seven churches represent.

If you want to share your viewpoint on the seven churches please leave a comment or e-mail me. Your comments could help me shape my view... In addition, you are welcome to recommend other topics that you would like to see me write about.

The big news of the day for me is a new report about an indicator of future economic activity that the Economics Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) publishes. The ECRI takes a bunch of different factors that drive economic growth in the U.S. and creates a number that tells us where the U.S. economy is likely heading. A recession is practically guaranteed when the ECRI's indicator is at -10. Today the ECRI reported that their indicator has dropped from -5.8 to -6.9 in the past week. Just a few weeks ago the indicator was above +10. The ECRI's result is a clear indicator the U.S. economy is weakening rapidly.

Some of the Ways I Spiritually Prepare for the Future

A reader asked how does one spiritually prepare for what is coming besides watching. I am not sure if there is a specific way to spiritually prepare that can be equally effective for everyone. However, I’ll tell you some of the things I do to spiritually prepare so you have an understanding of what I mean by spiritually preparing and an understanding of how I approach things.

I view spiritual preparation as conditioning yourself so you are ready spiritually to face the spiritual challenges that we face between now and the Rapture. Spiritually preparing yourself is not the same as physically preparing yourself. Physically preparing yourself means that you have the physical resources to endure the physical challenges ahead.

• What good is it to have the physical resources to endure the challenges ahead if you are not spiritually prepared? You can lose eternal life since physical resources can only help you live in our current life. Being spiritually prepared enables you to endure the spiritual challenges so that you can have eternal life.

Obviously, one of the things I do to spiritually prepare is to watch events. I am not really looking for a sign of the End Times when I watch events because I do not expect the End Times to begin for another several more years. I am instead looking for certain trends and developments that could lead to something important in the long-term-something that could prepare the world for the start of the End Times.

I also spiritually prepare by educating myself. I obviously study Bible prophecy because that is the best resource of information for the spiritual challenges we face and events we will see. I also study politics, finance, economics, and science because these subjects help me understand how the world can get to the point where some Bible prophecy events can be fulfilled. In addition, I study statements made by the forces of evil so I have some idea of some of the tricks Satan may have for us in the future.

• I personally would not dare to consider the forces of evil’s statements unless you are advanced because their lies are so elaborate that they could fool a beginning Christian.

I also spiritually prepare by thinking about all the tricks that Satan could use in the future. For instance, here is a small list of tricks and tactics I expect Satan is going to use in the future to deceive people:

• A major UFO/Alien invasion on Earth
• A False Prophet who will bear a striking resemblance to Christians’ conceptions of what Christ looks like
• An Antichrist who will appear to be resurrected from the dead when he really will not be.
• Fallen angels posing as major religious figures to persuade people to follow the Antichrist.
• Lying signs and wonders

By thinking about the tricks that Satan could use, I drastically reduce the possibility of me being overwhelmed emotionally by these tricks when they are performed. People who succumb to these tricks are likely going to be thinking emotionally rather than with a skeptical mind. Eliminate the emotion and think with your mind.

Finally, I do not spend 100% of my time watching what is going on or thinking about the future. I believe it is important for people to have different interests that are completely unrelated to studying the Bible, watching the news, thinking about the future, etc.

• For instance, I am a huge sports fan who spends a lot of time following sports like basketball, American football, baseball, etc. It is important for me to have an outside interest like sports because it keeps me from becoming burned out from watching and studying the future. When I pursue or follow an outside interest my mind completely changes to the point where I feel like any other normal person and not feel like a worrywart. Thinking about a single subject a 100% of the time is not healthy.

When you have other interests it helps you to enjoy some of the things this world has to offer. I know the Bible says do not love the world. I am not saying to love the world. I am just saying that there are some things in life that you can enjoy during the time you take a break from spiritually preparing.

I feel it is important to pursue your interests now because in a few years the world is going to be a much different place; one where pursuing your interests may be much harder to do…

My View on the Parable of the Ten Virgins: Matthew 25:1-13

Christ gave several parables about the kingdom of heaven during His first coming nearly 2,000 years ago. The parable of the ten virgins always caught my attention because it came after Matthew 24, which is one of the most important chapters in End Times prophecy. A reader asked me to give my thoughts on the parable of the ten virgins so in this blog entry I will provide my view about the parable of the ten virgins.

Christ began the parable by mentioning that there were ten virgins that each possessed a lamp. Christ labeled five of the virgins as “wise” and five of the virgins as “foolish”. The foolish virgins were the ones who were unprepared since they failed to take oil for their lamp with them.

• Mat 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
• Mat 25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
• Mat 25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
• Mat 25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
• Mat 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
• Mat 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
• Mat 25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
• Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
• Mat 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

The five foolish virgins’ lack of preparation cost them dearly. They were rejected by the Lord who told them He did not “know” them.

• Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
• Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
• Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Christ ended the parable with a call to watch events because the timing of His coming is unknown.

• Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

I believe the main message of this parable is to always watch events so that you are not caught off guard as the time of Christ’s coming approaches. This is perhaps why Christ ended the parable with a reminder to keep “watch”.

I do not believe the fact that there were an equal number of wise and foolish virgins has a lot of significance. I do not believe we are going to see a situation where 50% of Christians are rejected from entering the kingdom of heaven. I actually think the percentage of Christians who will enter the kingdom of heaven is going to be much smaller than 50%.

I believe it is significant that Christ characterized the five virgins who did not bring oil with them as “foolish”. This seems to be an indirect way of Christ stating that those who do not prepare for the future are fools. This attitude towards people who fail to prepare is consistent with a verse I cited yesterday, Proverbs 22:3 (which I mistakenly posted a non-KJV version of the verse yesterday). Recall that Proverbs 22:3 labels those who take action after foreseeing trouble as wise/prudent and those who fail to take action as simple/foolish.

• Pro 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Spiritually, you risk encountering major problems that may prevent you from entering the kingdom of heaven if you are unprepared for future events. Christ illustrated this when describing the fate of the five foolish virgins. For these virgins’ inability to prepare they were prevented from entering the kingdom of heaven. Similarly, if you fail to prepare yourself spiritually for the future you are unlikely going to enter the kingdom of heaven as you are likely going to succumb to Satan’s lying signs and wonders.

The Falling Away of Christians Part 4: Dealing With Those Falling Away

The original question I was asked that inspired this series of articles centered around “how to talk to our ‘falling away’ fellow Christians” as these last days progress”. The first three parts of this series focused on attempting to explain why the falling away phenomenon is taking place and why Christians may be apathetic about what is going on. In this part I attempt to provide some methods that people can use to deal with Christians who are falling away and/or really apathetic about what is going on.

The “best” method I feel could reestablish a weak Christian’s faith is to cite Bible prophecies that have been accurately fulfilled because it illustrates how God can foresee everything and how accurate the Bible is.

• The best example I can think of is the preciseness of Daniel’s first sixty-nine week timeframe. The Book of Daniel indicated that specific events would trigger the start of the first week and end the sixty-ninth week within a 173,880 day period. My research confirms that the Bible is extremely precise predicting events that occurred 173,880 days apart. This preciseness/accuracy is not by chance…

Another method that could work to get a weak or an aphetic Christian’s attention is to cite 1 Timothy description of today’s conditions.

• 1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
• 1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
• 1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Citing 1 Timothy may help get an apathetic or a weak Christian to realize that the Bible anticipates good and bad developments-even in today’s world. In addition, the passage may get a weak Christian to realize that the spiritual practices that they are tempted by are not condoned in the Bible.

Personally, I do not believe the Church is going to be spared from the Antichrist’s persecution (they will be spared from the Day of the Lord/the Wrath of God, which I believe begins after the opening of the sixth seal) so I do not agree with the premise that Christians do not have to worry because they will never see Antichrist’s persecution. If you are a Christian who also believes that the Church is going to endure Antichrist’s persecution a way to deal with people who may be apathetic towards Bible prophecy is to convince them that they will face the Antichrist.

• This could help to get apathetic Christians to see that there is much greater danger than they realized, which could motivate them to start learning more about what they face. However, convincing Christians that they will have to deal with Antichrist is easier said than done…

Even if you do believe the Church is going to be spared from the Antichrist’s persecution or are just unable to convince someone that they will face the Antichrist, you should prepare and/or convince an apathetic Christian to prepare to face Antichrist just in case. I do not see a downside to preparing for the worst because you minimize the probability that you will get blindsided if we do have to face the Antichrist. If we do not face the Antichrist then you will be happily surprised because you had prepared for the worst.

Finally, one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible may be a verse that could motivate an apathetic Christian to actually begin to take heed of what is going on if you tell them about it. Proverbs 22:3 states that it is wise to prepare for difficulties we foresee and foolish not to.

• Pro 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on,

  and are punished.

I get the sense from this verse that people who do not prepare basically deserve to face the consequences of their inaction no matter how bad those consequences may be.

• If a person knew that a category-five hurricane (typhoon or cyclone) was threatening where they live I doubt most people would be ignoring it. I suspect most people would be taking steps to protect their home, possessions, family, etc. The future is going to be like is a pro-longed disaster, so if it makes no sense for people to not prepare for a disastrous future if they are willing to prepare for a category-five hurricane.

• Although this is not the best comparison in the world, we may be like the modern day Noah. We tell people to watch out for stuff and to be ready for anything while people look at us like we are crazy. We are building a spiritual ark for onslaught that is to come. Meanwhile those who simply refuse to heed our warnings no matter how strongly we state our case are going to spiritually perish.

There are probably more methods that people can use to talk to Christians who are apathetic or falling away than what I cited. If you know anymore please feel free to post comments with your suggestions so that others can see them.

Update: Remember, we cannot save everyone. There will be some people who will refuse to listen to us no matter how strongly we state our case and there will be some people who know that we are correct but want to pretend that nothing is going on because they are scared. We cannot force people to follow our advice or force people to prepare so all we can do is to try our best to put people in a position to act

The Falling Away of Christians Part 3: The Falling Away in 2 Thessalonians

In Part 2 I theorized why some Christians may be departing from the faith. I wrote that some Christians may be departing from faith because they are turned off by televangelist/mega church leaders who exploit their congregations to live lavish lifestyles, they are sucked into alternative religions by gateways to alternative religions, they find Christianity lacks relevance to them today in a rapidly changing world, and/or fall into the trap of choosing a more convenient religious practice with the mindset that there are multiple paths to God.

• I want to thank everyone who commented with their own ideas why some Christians may be departing from the faith. I really appreciate it because you guys thought of stuff that I missed.

In Part 3 I discuss the falling away mentioned in 2 Thessalonians.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 references a “falling away” before the Second Coming of Christ.

• 2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
• 2Th 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
• 2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
• 2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
• 2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
• 2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
• 2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

The Greek word for the term “Falling away” is apostasia, which means “apostasy” or “defection from the truth”. The word apostasia is only used one other time in the New Testament; the Book of Acts in regards to the Jews forsaking the Law of Moses:

• Act 21:21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.

Due to the lack of references where the word apostasia is applied it is hard to fully determine whether the “falling away” refers to the Jews during the first three and half years of the seventh week of Daniel (a replay of how many with Israel dropped the Jewish faith to gain favor with Antiochus Epiphanies IV over 2000 years ago) or to Christians departing from the Bible and the Christian faith.

I can see why people would associate the “falling away” mentioned in 2 Thessalonians with the departing of some Christians from the faith. After all, Paul mentioned in 1 Timothy that “some shall depart from the faith”.

• 1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
• 1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
• 1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

I find it interesting that the phrase “depart from the faith” in Greek is apostēsontai tines. Recall that apostasia is the Greek word for “falling away”. I’m not an expert in the Greek language but it seems that a variation of apostasia is embedded within apostēsontai tines. This would lend credence to the argument that the “falling away” mentioned in 2 Thessalonians is the conditions of the latter times mentioned in 1 Timothy.

The “falling away” is going to get worse as we approach the End Times and Christ’s Second Coming. Christ warned in Matthew 24 that iniquity will become very prevalent and that love will grow cold.

• Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
• Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
• Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Similarly, Peter warned that people will walk after their own lusts and chide Christians for expecting Christ’s Second Coming during the last days (I do not believe the “latter times” and the “last days” refer to the same time period as the latter times occur before the last days and the terms are different in Greek).

• 2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
• 2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
• 2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Given my view that we live in the latter times, I believe we have not yet seen the full impact of the falling away yet. It’s going to get much worse… This may be disconcerting for some, but it is according to God’s plan that this falling away takes place.

The Falling Away of Christians Part 2: Why Some Christians May Be Departing from the Faith

In Part 1 I theorized why many Christians are not watching what is going on. I posited that Christians are not watching what is going on because they are too wrapped up in their daily lives, they are terrified by Bible prophecy, and they have the attitude that they do not have to worry about watching events because they feel they will be removed before the tribulation. In this blog entry I’ll give you my view on why some Christians may be departing from the faith.

Before I give some reasons why some Christians may be departing from the faith I want to remind people that we should not be surprised that Christians are departing from the faith since the Bible says it is supposed to happen near the End Times:

• 1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
• 1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
• 1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Perhaps the main reason why Christians may be departing from the faith is that there are a lot of gateways to alternative religious practices. For instance, Harry Potter is a popular book series and movie franchise that appeals to many children and young adults. Impressionable people often seek to act like the main characters in the books/movies. I have personally seen a Harry Potter book at Sam’s Club that teaches kids about how they can practice real magic and cast real spells so they can be like the characters in the Harry Potter series. An item like this book could easily turn an impressionable Christian into someone who is a practitioner of the occult as they seek to be like the characters in the Harry Potter series.

Another reason why Christians may be departing from faith is that they believe that there are several paths that lead to God. Sometimes it is hard for Christians to accept that a vast majority of people are unlikely going to Heaven because they do not believe in Jesus Christ. The anguish for some Christians may be so great that they begin to believe that there must be several paths to God in order to make themselves feel better about the eventual fate of non-Christians. With this mindset people may turn to alternative religions which adhere to religious practices that appeal to them more than Christianity.

A third reason why Christians may be departing from the faith is that they are turned off by the televangelists and mega-church leaders who are exploiting their followers in order to live an extravagant lifestyle. I list this as a reason because I had my own personal experience with this.

• A few months ago I tried to post a link to one of my research reports I wrote on Reddit. Before investigating my background a person who saw the link wrote a half page tirade against me claiming that I was exploiting people’s fears and wanted people’s money. I explained to the individual that he/she was completely wrong. I managed to clear my name, but the person commented to me that they had a very hard time to reading anything from a Christian person because they see televangelists living hypocritical, extravagant lifestyles.

A fourth reason why many Christians may be departing from the faith is that they may feel that Christianity is outdated or feel the need to adhere to something more “modern”.

• I remember watching a series on the Third Reich and the Occult where the narrator commented that many Europeans dropped their Christian beliefs and turned to alternative spiritual practices (like the occult) during the early twentieth century when there was great social upheaval in Western Europe.
• The New Age Movement has an effective title because its title implies that its religious/spiritual practices are geared towards the future-for a New Age.

There are probably many more reasons why many Christians are departing from the faith. The four items I listed are the major reasons that stick out in my mind. I’m sure people are not going to agree with me on every reason or have more, but this is my opinion. If you want to object to anything I wrote or want to share your own thoughts please leave a comment.

The “Sons of God” are Coming: June 2010 Share Intl Magazine Review

Pre-Article Disclaimer for Newer Readers: If you are reading this blog for the first time or are not totally familiar with my work, I am a 100% Christian writer who analyzes things from a Christian point of view. I sometimes research into what the spiritual forces of evil are up to in hopes of gleaning information to help us Christians figure out what is going on or to figure out what Satan has planned. You can read more about why I dare consider these unbiblical sources at the following link Now on to the article...

Yesterday the June 2010 edition of Benjamin Creme’s magazine was posted on the Internet. As I usually do, I will provide a quick review of the magazine and provide a little bit of commentary on things I found interesting about it.

The magazine began with an article by the Ascended Master (a spiritual being described in Ephesians 6:12 as the “spiritual wickedness in high places”) that advises Benjamin Creme (the Ascended Master communicates the message through Creme via channeling). The article was basically about how great the future is supposedly going to be under the guidance of Maitreya (the leader of the Ascended Masters). Most of the article was the same mumbo jumbo about how everyone is going to love each other in the New Age and how the world is going to be one. However, the end contained two blasphemous statements:

• The Ascended Master repeated the same blasphemous lie that has continually been proclaimed throughout time by the forces of evil: “man is divine”.

• The Ascended Master proclaimed that man will find redemption or experience a rebirth when they realize their divinity. Man cannot save themselves. Man can only be saved by believing in Jesus Christ.

The question and answer section of the magazine contained some pretty hard to believe claims. For instance, Creme rejected the idea that North Korea was responsible for sinking the South Korea naval vessel. Instead he alleged that the CIA is behind the sinking of the South Korea naval vessel. When Creme makes claims like this it really damages his credibility and it is amazing that people still follow him loyally when he makes claims like this.

For people following the alleged Maitreya television tour, Creme alleged that Maitreya has appeared on American television 16 times as June 12.

The magazine featured a compilation about the Ascended Masters’ teachings on aspiration. Most of the stuff in this section was very difficult for me to understand because I am not someone who is very philosophical. However, at the end there is an excerpt from an article by the Ascended Master who advises Creme. In this excerpt the Ascended Master promised the imminent return of the sons of God. This statement jumped out at me because the Ascended Master actually used Genesis 6’s term for fallen angels: the sons of God.

• Gen 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
• Gen 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

What the Ascended Master did not say in the excerpt is that the reason why the sons of God (fallen angels) would come to Earth is that they will be thrown out of Heaven.

• Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
• Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
• Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Instead, the Ascended Master insinuated that the sons of God would return to help humanity. The Bible warns that the intentions of Satan will be the exact opposite:

• Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

The magazine contains some reports about UFO sightings around the world over the past several weeks. The magazine emphasized a story about how a recently discovered ancient cave drawing depicted some UFOs…

The magazine also contains more photographs of the “star sign” that Creme has been talking about since December 2008 and some reports about various signs and wonders that have appeared in the world over the past few months. As usual, Creme claims that the Ascended Masters are responsible for manifesting the signs.

Overall, this edition of the magazine did not really produce any real new information although Creme’s team did work very hard on putting it together. I can see why there was a delay in getting the magazine out…

Finally, it is sometimes striking how easy it is to see what these spiritual entities are if you just have a little bit of knowledge of the Bible. Unfortunately, not everyone has knowledge of the Bible so they are susceptible for being seduced by the forces of evils’ lies.

The Falling Away of Christians Part 1: Why Christians May Be Asleep

I was asked to write an article on “how to talk to our “falling away” fellow Christians” as these last days progress”. I’ll attempt to address this issue in several parts. In this blog entry I’ll give you my view on why so many Christians are not being watchful at the moment so people have some idea of what the mindset these Christians may have when it comes to watching events.

Perhaps the main reason why most Christians are not being watchful is that they are wrapped up in their daily lives. Like most people, most Christians have families to raise, careers to maintain, bills to pay, a social life, etc. As a result, they do not have much time to devote to watching what is going on. It is certainly understandable because life is not easy and spending your entire life monitoring what is going on isn’t much fun.

Another reason many people are not being watchful is that they do not want to be watchful since Bible prophecy terrifies them. Most people do not want to think about the notion that the sun is going to turn black and the moon is going to turn to blood as many people die in the process. Even though people might think they will never see these events there is a psychological connection that links watching current events which may relate to Bible prophecy and the actual horrible stuff that is going to take place during the End Times.

• The fear is real. I have seen people get scarred when prophecy concepts are discussed. They become so afraid they hint they want the discussion to stop. I was like that when I was younger…

Another reason why so many Christians may not be watchful is that many Christians hold the mindset that they will be removed from the Earth before the tribulation begins. It’s understandable why many Christians would not care about Bible prophecy or care about what is going on with that mindset since most of the events in Bible prophecy would not concern them (in their minds). Why should a person worry about horrible things they believe they will not see?

• Of course, there are some watchful people who believe they will be removed before the tribulation so I’m not saying or trying to imply that all people who believe that do not care about Bible prophecy or are not watchful because clearly that is not the case.

I’m sure these are not all the reasons that many Christians are not being watchful. The three items I listed are the major reasons that stick out in my mind. I’m sure people are not going to agree with me on every reason, but this is my opinion. If you want to object to anything I wrote or want to share your own thoughts please leave a comment.

I’ll theorize on why many Christians are losing faith in Part 2.

A Timeline of Wicked Events of the Past 150 Years

Pre-Article Disclaimer for Newer Readers: If you are reading this blog for the first time or are not totally familiar with my work, I am a 100% Christian writer who analyzes things from a Christian point of view. I sometimes research into what the spiritual forces of evil are up to in hopes of gleaning information to help us Christians figure out what is going on or to figure out what Satan has planned. You can read more about why I dare consider these unbiblical sources at the following link Now on to the article...

A reader asked me to create a timeline of events surrounding Share International. I think a timeline would be very useful because it helps give us some kind of idea what has happened and how quickly events have happened. I have decided to make a timeline that goes beyond listing the things Share International has done. Instead I have made a timeline that lists many of the major events of the past 150 years that relate to the Ascended Masters (the spiritual wickedness in high places mentioned in Ephesians 6:12) and Maitreya (the leader of the Ascended Masters).

Note: Much of the information used to create the timeline is from unbiblical sources. Therefore, some of the events listed here may or may not have actually happened or happened like the sources claim.

1851: Helena Blavatsky first encountered an Ascended Master named El Morya while visiting London.

1875: Helena Blavatsky founded the Theosophical Society, which still remains one of the premiere occult organizations today that supposedly teaches divine secrets.

1877 to 1888: Blavatsky published Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine under the direction of several Ascended Masters. In fact, here is a photo of Blavatsky with allegedly three Ascended Masters in human form. Link

1919: Alice Bailey began to write books under the direction of an Ascended Master named Djwhal Khul.

1920 to 1941: Ascended Master El Morya inspired Helena Roerich’s Agni Yoga book series.

Early 1920s: Dietrich Eckart initiated Adolf Hitler, who I believe was the seventh king of Revelation 17:10, into The Secret Doctrine. Later Bailey and Creme acknowledge that Hitler was possessed by “antichrist energy” like Nero (the man who I believe was the sixth king of Revelation 17:10).

1922: New Group of World Servers is formed by Maitreya.

1945: The United Nations (U.N.) is formed…Ascended Master Djwhal Khul told Bailey that they helped to create and guide the U.N.

January 1959: Benjamin Creme is first contacted by an Ascended Master

1972: Creme began training under the guidance of his Ascended Master

June 1974: Creme began to get overshadowed, a process where a person permits a spirit to temporary possess them, by Maitreya, which continues to this day.

1975: Creme began to talk publicly about Maitreya

September 6, 1977: Creme gives first public message from Maitreya to the public.

July 7, 1977: Maitreya supposedly appeared for the first time in a physical body and travelled from the Himalayas to London (I am skeptical about this particular claim).

1982: Tara Center (now Share International) advertises that Maitreya’s appearance is imminent in major newspapers

June 11, 1988: Maitreya appears in Nairobi, Kenya in front of thousands.

April 21-22 1990: A major conference is held in London. Maitreya hosted reporters, world leaders, religious leaders, diplomats, etc. Creme claims that Yasser Arafat and King Hussein of Jordan attended this conference.

November 25, 1997: Creme holds a major press conference in Los Angeles to discuss Maitreya and the Ascended Masters.

Late 1990s: Share International launches another media campaign and website to promote the imminent appearance of Maitreya

December 11, 2008: Creme predicts the coming of a “star” which will herald Maitreya’s appearance on American television (one week after it appears). The star later appears, but the one week prediction fails.

July 31, 2009: Coast to Coast AM host George Noory and many listeners fall ill during a live interview with Creme.

January 14, 2010: Creme announces that Maitreya appeared on American television

For those who want to go even deeper into what Share International has done you can access their past press releases at the following Link. In addition, Lookup Fellowship has posted an alternative timeline relating to Maitreya. Link.

Creme’s Failed Predictions

A reader asked me to write about the failed predictions of Benjamin Creme, who is the spokesmen of Maitreya, the leader of the Ascended Masters (elite fallen angels referred to by Paul as the “spiritual wickedness in high places” in Ephesians 6:12). I will try my best to address this topic in this blog post though it is not an easy one to write about.

One problem with locating a failed prediction is that people who make a failed prediction have a tendency to remove all traces of their prediction once they realize it failed. Therefore, it should be expected that someone like Creme would remove any evidence that he has made a failed prediction in the past.

Another problem I have with locating any potential failed predictions by Benjamin Creme is that I do not have a memory of things that Creme has done like others who have watched him have. I have only known about Creme for eighteen months and I was not alive during the first several years of Creme’s work. As a consequence, I have to rely mostly on people who have followed Creme for the past few decades to know what kind of fail predictions he has made.

• I am trying not to make excuses. I just want people to be aware of how difficult this task is.

I am aware of two instances when Creme made failed predictions concerning the appearance of Maitreya.

• 1982: The Tara Center (now Share International) advertised in newspapers that Maitreya would appear on worldwide television to announce his existence to the world. There is a claim that Creme advertised that Maitreya would appear on June 21, 1982. I have been unable to independently confirm that date yet, but I do not doubt that he did.

• Late 1990s: Creme apparently predicted that Maitreya would be making his presence known in the world in late 1990s. Creme’s organization had another advertising campaign promoting the imminent appearance of Maitreya. In fact, Share International went as far to advertise a website (which does not work anymore) where people could learn about the appearance of Maitreya on billboards.

There is a third instance involving Share International failing to get the correct timing of Maitreya’s appearance. On December 11, 2008 Share International released a press release proclaiming that a star that would herald Maitreya’s coming appearance on world television. The press statement said that Maitreya would give his first interview on American television one week following the star’s appearance. This prediction did not come true as Maitreya did not begin to appear on American television (if you are to believe Share International on this) until January 2010. I am surprised that Share International did not remove the “one week” claim from their press release and from their website.

Creme has proven to be a horrible timer of events with his failed predictions about when Maitreya may appear. However, I cannot yet judge Creme on his ability to predict the occurrence of certain events that do not involve timing. Many of the predictions that Creme has made concern an upcoming economic and financial collapse and a New World Order. We have to wait and see whether these predictions concerning the future will be proven false.

Creme is obviously not a prophet from God since he has made failed predictions. Believing every prediction that Creme makes would be a foolish thing to do since he isn’t on “our side” and he has already made failed predictions. However, Creme is as well-connected with the forces of evil as any other person alive today so if anyone knows what the forces of evil may have planned he would know. I do not ignore Creme’s predictions completely because he may release information about what the forces of evil may have planned in the future. Of course, I won’t consider something he says as plausible unless it lines up with what the Bible indicates is possible.

Finally, it is important to state again that this Maitreya issue goes beyond Benjamin Creme… If you assume that Creme has no credibility the Maitreya issue is not eliminated because Alice Bailey and Helena Blavatsky wrote about Maitreya too.

Political Quote of The Day

Don't know what her politics are, but her handwriting needs a little work. 

The sign, however, carries a powerful message. The text is hard to read, scrawled as it is on a piece of brown cardboard box, but here's what it says: 

"Politicians are like condoms. They give you a sense of security while you are getting screwed. "

Ahhh that is deep, very deep, dontchathink? Stop laughing-- this is serious :-)

A tip of the hat to White Trash Politics for this one.Click on the link to read the original post

Soros and I Agree on Something: More Financial Pain to Come

I’m taking a brief break from answering readers’ questions (if you still have some you can leave a comment or send me an email) to feature the comments of billionaire George Soros. Soros made some very, very interesting comments yesterday concerning where the world was in the ongoing financial crisis. I feel it is important to share them because they are unlikely going to appear in your newspaper or featured on the websites you visit.

Before I get to Soros’s comments I want to explain why I am featuring Soros’s comments.

• As I mentioned, Soros is a billionaire. Soros made much of his fortune speculating in currencies. In order to be able to speculate in currencies and be successful at it a person must have a very firm grasp of how the financial markets work, how economics works, and have a high-level of analytical skill. Although you may not agree with Soro’s politics (he’s a known financier of left-wing political organizations), he knows what he is talking about when it comes to what is going on in the financial markets.

• The other reason why I am featuring Soro’s comments is that he may have some connections that may give him a better idea of what is going on in the world than the average person… I won’t go into any specifics to be on the safe side, but I am pretty confident that a billionaire like Soros knows a few more influential individuals than we do…

Soros proclaimed that “the collapse of the financial system as we know it is real, and the crisis is far from over”. Soros later characterized what is going on now as the beginning of “Act II of the drama”. Soros cited the debt crisis in Europe as a preview of what is going to occur throughout the rest of the globe. He even compared the world economy to the 1930s…

I take Soros’s comments very seriously and view his comments as confirmation that the crisis that began in July 2007 has entered a new phase and is far from over. The problems in 2007 and 2008 were mostly contained within the banking sector of the global economy. The bailouts that governments around the world engineered simply prolonged the crisis and transferred the problems from the banking sector to public sector (government). We are now beginning to feel the impact of all this government debt that was created in the past couple of years in an effort to prop up the banking sector. We are seeing the return of financial stress and the return of volatility (wild movements in the value of assets like stocks) as investors realize that many governments around the world have accumulated too much debt.

I also agree that what is happening now is going to eventually lead to the collapse of the financial system. Many governments, including the U.S., have debts and future obligations that they cannot possibly meet. No matter how governments choose to deal with their massive debts and future obligations, it’s going to end badly.

Are Birth Certificates Being Traded Like Stocks?

I was asked for my view on “why the birth certificates (our) are currently used on the stock market and we can actually see the value of our birth certificate and actually see what it is trading for and who actually owns it”.

During my time studying to obtain an MBA in Finance I heard about investing in stocks, mutual funds, real estate, debt, options, futures, buildings, equipment, etc, but not birth certificates. Therefore, it surprised me to hear the claim that birth certificates were being traded like they were stocks. I spent some time looking into the issue and thinking about it to see what might be going on. Here are my thoughts on the issue…

There is a video circulating the Internet along with a set of instructions that supposedly shows people how they can see the value of their birth certificate. The video is available here:

I read some Youtube comments of people who tried the instructions featured in the video. The instructions apparently do not work for everyone, which weakens the credibility of the idea that people’s birth certificates are being traded publically. How can Person X’s birth certificate have a value assigned to it while Person Y’s birth certificate does not? In addition, people who managed to get a value for their birth certificate number had a drastically different value than the person who made the video.

• The person who made the video had a value of over $224 million while a person who commented on the video had a value of only $25,000. Unless the person who made the video was Barack Obama (maybe that’s a bad example given some people’s suspicions of him) or another major world leader and the person who commented is living in a tiny shack in Wyoming, there is no way there should be that big of discrepancy between the value of two people.

Another problem with the video and the instructions is that what people end up getting is basic information about a mutual fund. You could say that Fidelity is trying to hide people’s identity, but I do not believe this is the case. Each mutual fund has a unique identification number. Since there are a lot of mutual funds out there it is most likely a coincidence that someone’s birth certificate number matches the ID of the mutual fund.

Beyond that it seems unrealistic to me that there would be a market for birth certificates because it is difficult for me to comprehend how an investor would make money from owning someone else’s birth certificate. The value of an investment is estimated by the present value of an asset’s expected future cash flows.

• How would an investor that does not know you from John Doe be able to determine your future income-earning potential? You could argue that it might be feasible if an investor accessed enough detailed personal information about you. However, how would an investor be able to gain so much personal information about you when such information is private for the most part?

• The results displayed in the video showed that the value of the asset fluctuated periodically (daily). How could the value of a person fluctuate every trading day and who determines how it fluctuated? The only way I can see the value of a person’s birth certificate fluctuate every trading day is if someone monitored your daily actions and these actions somehow impacted your future income-earning potential. People make decisions that impact their future income-earning potential at work and at home. For some entity to have a good estimate of how your future income-earning potential changed each day they would have to spy on you closely when you’re at work and when you’re at home. Although it is possible, I find the notion that someone is going to spy on you 24/7 a little hard to believe-especially when the purpose of the spying is determine how your value changed. That same time and effort could be used to find more profitable investments in undervalued assets.

Another reason why it is hard to imagine there being a market for birth certificates is that people have only one birth certificate. The only two ways I can see an investor selling a person’s birth certificate to another investor is either through the negotiation process or through the auction process. Even if birth certificates are being bought or sold there would not be much of a market since only one person can own another person’s birth certificate at one time. In contrast, there could be millions of people who own the stock of a corporation, which can be bought and sold in a true, liquid marketplace.

Finally, assuming someone could determine your future income-earning potential and how it changed each day, how would an investor collect on the future cash flows you generate? It is difficult to imagine how an investor would receive future cash flows from owning a birth certificate unless someone showed up at the person’s door periodically and forced that person to surrender a portion of their income to the birth certificate holder. You could argue that an investor could collect money from the taxes that a person pays, but the government needs that tax revenue to operate...

At this point, I think people are so concerned about what is going on that they perceive threats that are not really there. I think the idea that there is a market for birth certificates is an example of that.

It’s good to be suspicious about what you are told because people who provide information often have an agenda. As I believe Hitler once conveyed, people are often told what the leader in power wants them to hear. However, you should not believe every conspiracy out there because the forces of evil do use some conspiracies to distract people as they hide what they are really up to. Not everything is as it seems…

Autotuned Obama Kicks Ass

Kick-Ass Obama is playing hardball-- at least with the Autotune the News Guys. They've had fun with the President's interview with Matt Lauer Tuesday on The Today Show, where he talked about BP and the oil spill.

Sometimes you just need a laugh

Has the Mark of the Beast Been Implemented Behind Our Backs?

I was asked whether owning birth certificates, participating in the stock market, having other modes of identification, etc make us a part of the Mark of the Beast system in some way we do not know about.

Like many others, I am unhappy about having to give out all sorts of information to companies. Sometimes I wonder why companies need so much information from me. I even understand why there is some suspicion about whether a Mark of the Beast system has already been put into place behind our backs because there is so much personal information about us located in various databases and so many transactions are being done electronically these days.

Fortunately, however, I do not believe the Mark of the Beast system that will be in effect during the End Times is in place yet because people will be given an option about whether they want to opt into the system. The choices are: get the Mark of the Beast or die. It’s not an appealing set of choices, but there is a choice nonetheless.

Most people think of the Mark of the Beast as something that people must have in order to buy and sell. Although the mark will enable a person to conduct transactions, a person could get by with having beast’s number or the name of the beast.

• Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
• Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

The fact that a person can also buy or sell by using the name of the beast or the number of the beast shows that people do not obtain the Mark of the Beast so that they buy or sell. The Mark of the Beast’s main purpose is to serve as a way for people to prove that their allegiances lie with Antichrist. In other words, accepting the Mark of the Beast means that you have declared yourself a follower of the Antichrist and thereby an opponent of God.

New Age sources indicate that people may need to participate in a special initiation process which most likely would stealthily link people’s loyalty to Satan/Antichrist before they can receive the mark. The mark then would be something people would have as proof they underwent the special initiation ceremony if New Age sources are correct, and that’s a BIG IF.

Therefore, the Mark of the Beast system is not in place yet as we have not been given the choice to accept the mark or die yet. By giving out personal information to companies and to government agencies you are not surrendering yourself to the Mark of the Beast. However, it will not be long before the infrastructure needed to implement a Mark of the Beast system on a worldwide scale will be in place.

Why the U.S. May Eventually Abandon Israel in the Future

I mentioned yesterday that I expected Israel to be entangled in more conflicts in the future as the U.S. eventually abandons Israel. However, I did not mention why I feel the U.S. would eventually abandon Israel. I know that it is difficult to see why the U.S. would abandon Israel now when Israel is the only true friend that the U.S. has in the Middle East and the only real democracy in the Middle East. There are a few reasons why I expect the U.S. to eventually abandon Israel following an economic and financial collapse. Here they are…

U.S. leaders may not have the desire to provide aid to a distressed Israel as they face their own problems following an economic and financial collapse. Following an economic and financial collapse U.S. leaders’ primarily concern would most likely be to solidify their power base in a very unstable political environment and to provide support to the American people. Israel would probably be the last thing on U.S. leaders’ minds as they tend to the many major domestic problems that are likely to exist at that time.

The U.S. is unlikely going to have the military to remain the world’s policeman in the future. The U.S. is likely going to have a far less active role in foreign affairs in the future because it is unlikely going to be able to afford to maintain a large military force. The U.S. probably is going to use its military to advance its interests alone. The likelihood that the U.S. would support Israel with its more limited military is slim because the U.S. is going to have much more pressing needs at that time like securing resources like foreign oil and protecting its own territory from a country like China.

Even if the U.S. maintains the military capability to defend Israel and U.S. leaders have time to worry about what is going on outside the country, U.S. leaders may not support Israel because a pro-Israel policy may not be popular in the U.S. following an economic and financial collapse.

• U.S. citizens may be unhappy that the U.S. is spending some of its limited resources on helping another country when the U.S. has so many problems of its own.

• Anti-Semitism is likely going to be a much higher levels than it is today because the Jews have historically been made a scapegoat during times of crisis whether they had anything to do with the crisis or not. If anti-Semitism is as high as I suspect it will be the idea of helping a distressed Jewish state may not be popular with the American public.

The analysis above assumes that the U.S. is still a democracy at that time, which it may not be because economic and financial collapses tend to lead to revolution. If the U.S. is not a democracy the idea of supporting Israel because it is the only democracy in the Middle East is thrown out the window because authoritarian regimes are not interested in creating democracy or maintain democracy outside their own borders. Having them do so would be like asking the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (Democrat) fly to Texas to support a Republican in an upcoming election.

I agree with those who argue that the U.S. would protect Israel if it faced a major attack right now, but global conditions are going to change dramatically soon. The U.S. probably is not going to be with Israel in the future following an economic and financial collapse.