Should We Worry About the Future? Matthew 6:34

I was asked to comment on Matthew 6:34 where Christ said the following:

• Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

At first glance it appears that Christ said to not think about tomorrow because things will take care of themselves. This statement may seem a bit odd when many people’s mindset is to look ahead and concern themselves with the problems we face in the future. I’ll attempt to address this person’s request by commenting about Matthew 6:34 in this blog post.

I do not believe Christ taught that people should not plan/prepare for the future in Matthew 6:34 because He would’ve contradicted Proverbs 22:3 if He taught that. Proverbs 22:3 characterized people who foresee problems and take proactive steps to prepare themselves as “prudent” and those who do nothing about these problems as foolish (simple).

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

Since none of Christ’s teachings contradict the Bible I do not see how He told people that they cannot take steps to prepare for the future in Matthew 6:34. Christ was simply conveying that we should not be nervous about or afraid of the future. In addition, the argument that Christ was simply telling people to not be nervous about the future is strengthened by the fact the Greek word for “thought” in Matthew 6:34 is merimnaō which means “to be anxious about”.

• For those whose first language is not English, a person who is anxious experiences unease, nervousness, or discomfort because they are thinking about an upcoming event or an uncertain future.

Finally, another person cited Luke 14:28-31 as an example where Christ indicated that it unwise to not plan/prepare for the future.

• Luk 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
• Luk 14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
• Luk 14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
• Luk 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

I am confident that the world is going to be a horrible place to live in five years from now. I can easily see myself on the frontline of some war or trying to avoid getting attacked by a desperate person who has been impoverished by the financial and economic collapse that is likely going to take place soon. I can also easily envision myself having problems finding a secure supply of food, water, and energy.

• As bad as these problems sound, I am not worried about them. I rarely think about these problems and I am not shaken by them when I do think about them.

• I also do not stay up all night thinking about the future and I rarely experience a nightmare that concerns future world events (I rarely have nightmares in general).

I think the reason why I am virtually unafraid of the challenging future is that I know that all the problems ahead must happen. I cannot do anything to stop the Antichrist from appearing, I cannot stop a global economic and financial collapse, etc.

• I actually sometimes view the knowledge I have as an advantage. It is much easier for me to deal with major events when I know they are coming in advance.

In sum, I believe it is unwise to view Matthew 6:34 as a call to not prepare for the future. However, as we prepare for the future we should try our best to not be afraid of or nervous about the challenges ahead. Remember that God is control of everything. He is far more powerful than Satan and will not allow Satan to win.

The Republicans Have a Plan for Ground Zero

 Yes folks, Republicans have a plan for Ground Zero and since one picture is worth we all know how many words-- I'll let this graphic do the talking.

 But first a hat tip to Political Irony.com-- a political blog you should definitely check out early and often.  They published this fabulous tongue in cheek comment on the New York City, Ground Zero Mosque bruhahaha yesterday.  I just had to reblog it.

Creme’s Teachings on Evolution Remind Radio Host of National Socialism: Live Interview Notes 8/5/10

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...

Benjamin Creme, the official spokesmen of Maitreya (the leader of the Ascended Masters, a group of beings described in Ephesians 6:12 as the “spiritual wickedness in high places”) had a thirty-minute interview on a Massachusetts radio station yesterday.

I am going to provide an account of what happened during the interview not only because it was fairly interesting but also because some people could not hear the full interview since the radio station’s main Internet stream was oddly cutoff five minutes into the interview and returned perfectly back to normal as soon as Creme was done.

• I managed to listen to the entire interview because I found an alternative website that carried the interview with no problem.

To give proper context, the interview was conducted by two hosts: a liberal and a conservative. The liberal host was more open to letting Creme say what he wanted while the conservative host often cutoff Creme and challenged Creme.

The interview focused heavily on what is God. Creme argued that there is divinity in every person while the conservative host argued that God is what people traditionally view God as. Creme claimed that the Jewish or Christian conception of God is a fabrication and is totally untrue. I suspect Creme is going to regret saying that one day when he is judged…

The interview also focused heavily on evolution. Creme claimed that evolution began with minerals, which later evolved into plants, animals, and eventually humans. Creme stated that mankind is ready to evolve to the next level: the spiritual level.

• Creme claimed that the Ascended Masters have already evolved to the spiritual level and that certain initiates on Earth have also achieved that level. The Ascended Masters’ role would to “help” mankind reach that next level of evolution.

The conservative host asked Creme if Adolf Hitler was an Ascended Master. As one would expect, Creme vehemently denied that Hitler was an Ascended Master and stated that Hitler was a deeply evil man. After the interview the conservative host said that the reason why he asked Creme about Hitler was that he felt that Creme’s teachings on evolution mirrored National Socialism’s teachings on evolution, which emphasized the idea that a new man could be created.

• I felt the host made a very observant point because Hitler (who my research indicates worked under the guidance/power of Maitreya) hinted about the coming of the New Age Religion just before he shot himself. Hitler proclaimed:

“…It is all finished. National Socialism is dead and will never rise again! Perhaps in a hundred years a similar idea would arise with the power of a religion and spread throughout the world. But Germany is lost. It actually was not quite ready or quite strong enough for the mission I set for the nation”.

The spiritual/religious teachings of Creme and others like him seem to be National Socialism repackaged into a religion. In fact, Christian author Constance Cumbey wrote about many parallels between National Socialism and the New Age Movement in Chapter 9 of her book Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow.

After the interview both hosts indicated that they thought that Creme’s views were (for a lack of a better term) “crazy”. I doubt Creme won any new converts during the interview.

Creme will be in San Francisco this weekend and the early part of next week. San Francisco is such a strange city that I would not be surprised if the city held a parade in Creme’s honor and the mayor gave him the key to the city. If Creme wanted to play mind games with some people he could have a nice lunch with Raj Patel and invite the media. There is so much that Creme could do that crazy city…

A Preview of Topics to Come

As I wait for Benjamin Creme’s interview around 2 PM EST I thought it would be good to alert people about what I plan to write about in the coming days and weeks.

• I plan to write about two topics that interest a lot of people who are not necessarily Christians: the Dead Sea Scrolls and Atlantis. I’ll, of course, deal with these topics from a Christian perspective.

• I’ve been asked to write about Matthew 6:34 where Christ said to not worry about tomorrow

• I still have to address several chapters in the Bible that relate to Bible prophecy like Isaiah 19.

• I plan to provide my own study notes for every book from the Book of Isaiah to the Book of Malachi.

If the interview with Creme is interesting I may post notes from the interview later today or on Friday. I expect the interview will be interesting to listen to because of what happened last time. Creme is unlikely to go unchallenged when he provides his false teachings to the audience.

The Sun and the Bowl Judgments of Revelation 16

One of the major news headlines recently concerns a solar storm heading towards Earth. The solar storm has not wreaked havoc so far on Earth, but has enable some people in the Northern Hemisphere to see aurora displays in the nighttime sky.

Recently, scientists have suggested that the Earth may not be so fortunate in the future when there is a major solar storm. Scientists warn that a major solar flare storm could “result in the loss of power, water and communications on a global scale”.[1]

I mention this information because I believe the Book of Revelation indicates that Earth will be adversely impacted by a major solar flare in the future.

The seven bowl judgments represent the final element of the Wrath of God. The fourth bowl judgment mentions that the sun will scorch men with fire.

• Rev 16:8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
• Rev 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

The sun is the aggressor when it uses the power it is given to scorch men with fire, so perhaps the sun will send a massive amount of solar energy towards Earth during this time, a solar flare.

• The fact that men will be scorched with great heat suggests this is not an ordinary solar flare. Something extraordinary has happened. Perhaps the solar flare is extraordinary because it is given power by a divine source to punish people on Earth or perhaps something has happened to Earth’s atmosphere leading up to this event, which has weakened the atmosphere’s ability to shield the earth from the solar energy (it could even be a combination of the two).

The description of the fifth bowl further strengthens the idea that Earth is going to be scorched by a major solar flare during the bowl judgments. The Antichrist’s kingdom is going to fall into complete darkness in the aftermath of the sun’s attack, which is consistent with the idea of the electrical grid being knocked out after a major solar flare.

• Rev 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
• Rev 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and
• repented not of their deeds.

The sun’s activities run in an eleven year cycle on average. Sometimes the cycles are shorter (nine years) and sometimes the cycles run longer (fourteen years). This new solar cycle that we are now in took a few years longer than what scientists expected. In addition, the sun can send solar flares towards Earth before its solar maximum (like we have now). Therefore, it is difficult to use scientists’ projections of future solar cycle maximums to pinpoint when the bowl judgments will take place in the future.

Reference

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[1] Mazzocchi, Sherry. “Dire Warning: U.S. Unprepared for Massive Solar Flare Storm; Could Lose Power, Communications”. 25 Jun. 2010. Last Accessed 4 Aug 2010. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/06/24/2010-06-24_dire_warning_us_unprepared_for_massive_solar_flare_storm_could_lose_power_commun.html

The General Nature of the News

Each day we are bombarded with news and information about events and developments that are going on where we live and places elsewhere. I want to comment on the general nature of the news we hear each day to give you an idea of how I view the news we are bombarded with each day.

I believe that monitoring the news is important because if you do not follow the news you will have no idea what is going on in the world. However, I do not believe constantly monitoring the news will benefit you more than monitoring the news just occasionally because most news events and developments are completely irrelevant in the big picture.

• I have a news aggregator program that enables me to gather news headlines and updates from various websites of my choice throughout the Internet onto one screen. I probably receive up to 500 news headlines per day, and I check this program several times throughout the day in search of news headlines to recommend on my blog (the rotating sentences just above my blog posts are the news headlines that I recommend). Usually, I only find perhaps four to five news headlines a day that are relevant for us to have a good understanding of the important things that are going on now and/or relevant for us to have a good understanding of what is likely going to have in the future.

Most news stories we hear about only concern yesterday or today. This is the type of news that we will forget about in a few days or weeks, and are thus news stories that we should ignore. Few news stories concern topics that will impact us in the next few months or the next few years.

I have access to my local newspaper everyday and I receive five local channels that run several local news broadcasts throughout the day. Despite my access to many local news information sources, I do not watch these news broadcasts nor do I read my local newspaper (except for the poorly written Sports section which I finish reading in about 45 seconds). The reason I do not follow local news at all is because local news covers topics that only impact the local area for short period of time.

• My suspicion is that local television news reporters probably forget about most events they cover within a couple of weeks after they report on the event. If these news reporters forget about the events they report about then why should we care about these events?

I monitor the news for events and developments that impact the world in the long-term because these events and developments impact everyone. These events and developments are difficult to find in the news because the media is often concerned with just reporting news about yesterday or news that impacts people in the short-term. Unfortunately, the media’s news coverage is completely backwards because many long-term events and developments often have more impact on people than what takes place in the short term.

I will share news headlines and developments that I find important with you on my blog either in a “recommended headlines” section or if it is really important-a blog post of its own.

Looking for Some Feedback on the Dead Sea Scrolls

I was asked if I had any more information about the Book of Enoch, which you recall is a book that is controversial to say the least. Recall I concluded that Christians should not treat the Book of Enoch as canon (or like another book in the Bible) because there are some passages in the Book of Enoch that contradict the Bible. Unfortunately, I do not have any more new thoughts about the Book of Enoch itself at this moment.

However, I’ve been thinking about addressing the issue of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which contain several copies of the Book of Enoch. At this moment I am not completely sure what to make of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I have a suspicion about the purpose of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but my view is not developed enough that I could write about the topic at this moment. I’d like to hear your view on the Dead Sea Scrolls and what you think their purpose may be (if you have one) because it may help me to shape my view on them.

I just listened to a recent interview with Benjamin Creme, the official spokesmen of Maitreya (the leader of the Ascended Masters, a group of spiritual beings described in Ephesians 6:12 as the “spiritual wickedness in high places”) and found that there was not anything new said. He spent the first part of the interview describing his training, his ability to sleep for only four hours each night, and his first encounter with Maitreya. The second part of the interview consisted of Creme telling the Maitreya story and talking about the various religions. Nothing out of the ordinary happened or was discussed in the interview.