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Let’s explain something that has always bugged me. The mother of Jesus was named Mary. The elder sister of Moses was named Miriam. They sound alike because they are the same name – Miriam is the Hebrew form of Mary. Now two people with the same name in the Bible may not mean all that much; but let’s consider what they have in common, by making another connection; Moses and Jesus.

This one is well known, but it can be dramatically expanded upon. Moses was the revealer of the old testament; Jesus was the revealer of the new. They are contrasted in that light so often in the New Testament, I needn’t reference proof. Moses hosted the old passover, Jesus hosted the new. Moses was a savior to deliver Israel from bondage to Egypt, which pictures sin in the Bible; Jesus delivered spiritual Israel from sin as our savior; They have much more in common, but that’s a good start. And this scripture makes the concept ironclad:

Acts 7:37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, LIKE UNTO ME; him shall ye hear.

This prophecy is referenced several times as referring to Christ, where the question is asked “Are you THAT prophet?” – that prophet “Like unto Moses”.

John 1:21 And they asked him [John], What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.John 6:14Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth THAT PROPHET that should come into the world.

So Jesus is a type of Moses. Or vice versa. Anyway, if Mary is a type of Miriam, we begin to build a picture. Perhaps this is yet one more of those things which “happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition”? (1 Corinthians 10:11).

Moses was born into a rather rocky time in Israel’s history. They were in slavery. And all newborn males were to be executed. Moses was hidden for 3 months, but when they could no longer hide him, Miriam cast him adrift on the water, and Pharoah’s daughter picked him up and… well, you know the story.

Jesus childhood was very similar. The world in Jesus time was still in slavery, just a different type of slavery; in His day, it was in bondage to sin. Jesus was also under a threat of execution after his birth, and ironically He was hidden in Egypt until two years had passed. It requires only a slight bit of imagination to think of Mary as Jesus’ “sister” in a spiritual sense, much as Miriam was Moses’ sister in a physical sense.

The name Moses means “drawn out”, I.E., drawn out of the water. Water in the Bible is explained by an angel as symbolizing “people” (Revelation 17:15). Moses was taken from the Hebrews and raised as a prince in Egypt, so it isn’t a huge stretch to say that Moses was “drawn out from the people” as well as being drawn out of the literal water.

John 15:19, 17:16If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. … They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Similarly, God called Jesus “out of the world”, who in turn drew all of us out of the world. So in that since, Jesus was “Moses” – drawn out. Now Miriam set Moses adrift in that river, just as Mary gave birth to Jesus and set him adrift in that river. We find Mary pictured in this light in Revelation 12 as the woman about to bring forth a man child.

Revelation 12:5-6 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness …

Then the devil fought against her, and tried to drown her with a flood out of his mouth – again symbolizing people.

Verse 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

Mary literally brought forth a man child, Jesus; but she isn’t really the primary one being talked about here, as most any student of the Bible knows; this scripture applies to the church, both the one in ancient Israel (Acts 7:38), and the one in the New Testament. Both in their own ways gave birth to Jesus, and both in their own ways fought the dragon.

Verse 13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

Most prophecies in the Bible are dual; meaning they have two meanings, one literal, and one physical. But this one has at least five. Mary gave birth to Jesus; Miriam set Moses adrift; The Old Testament church, the New Testament church, and Eve who gave birth to Jesus – albeit removed by a few generations. The last one is shown directly in Genesis, and unlocked indirectly by Paul…

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee [Satan] and the woman [Eve], and between thy seed and her seed; it [The Woman's Seed] shall bruise thy head, and thou [Satan] shalt bruise his heel [the Seed of the woman].

This verse is clearly speaking of Christ, since only one person is going to be bruising Satan’s head (Romans 16:20 tells us who), and it clearly speaks of seed as being singular when it says “bruise his heel”, not bruise THEIR heel, but HIS heel. Paul exposes this little trick God uses to hide knowledge in…

Galatians 3:16Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seedS, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

So, to recap so far; “the woman” representing the Church has many symbolic expressions in the Bible; Mary, Eve and Miriam, which is probably not a comprehensive list. These women all brought forth or drew out or bore a man child, Jesus. But this, while interesting, pretty much proves something we already knew and as such is scarcely worth writing about. If I can’t write something new, I’d rather not write. So let’s see if we can build something interesting out of this understanding…

I always thought God overreacted on a few occasions; I mean, let’s be honest, God did some pretty inexplicable things in the old testament, which on the surface seemed almost capricious; once we understand those things, they are always fully justified but it can throw you for a loop when you don’t know WHY God killed every man, woman, and child in Caanan; WHY God sent Ahab a lying spirit; and for our case in point, WHY God made Miriam a leper.

Numbers 12:1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

Moses had already married a Midianite woman, the daughter of a pagan priest at that. But Midianites were related to the Hebrews, since Midian was one of the sons of Keturah, wife of Abraham after the death of Sarah. As such they were still seen as “one of the family”, so to speak. But the Ethiopians were, as the original Hebrew has it, Cushites, from Cush, son of Ham, who fathered the black races.

Marrying among one’s own people had a very strong tradition, with Abraham insisting on Isaac marrying of his own people, and Isaac did the same with Jacob, and Esau married a daughter of Ishmael to try and fit in. So when Moses married an Ethiopian woman, Aaron and Miriam were incensed.

Verse 2 And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.

Now it was probably that part that annoyed God far more than speaking against Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman. Nonetheless God felt that none of their attitude was justified, for even though Moses was meek and apparently didn’t do much to defend himself, God jumped in…

Verses 6-9 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.

This much is understandable; it’s the next part that seemed unnecessary, even to Moses.

Verse 10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

So Aaron repented and Moses begged God to have her healed, and God refused to leave it at that; insisting on seven days of shame.

Verses 14-15 And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.

And no doubt both Miriam and Aaron were more circumspect about challenging Moses’ relationship with God next time. But why turn her leprous for just mouthing off at Moses? It makes a bit more sense now that we understand that Miriam represented the church, specifically the Old Testament church, in her relationship to Jesus.

The Old Testament church held a monopoly on God’s love for 1500 years, despite their regular abuse of it, they were His special chosen people and they knew it. The Jews in Jesus’ time brought this to a fine art in their arrogance, and even after the early church was formed, despite the spirit of God working so powerfully with everyone, the gentiles were being mistreated by the Jewish converts.

Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

And this feeling of superiority – bigotry, really – was so strong that even after twenty years of being taught by Jesus, and long after he, himself opened the gospel to the gentiles, Peter still was allowing himself to be coerced by the Jewish self-importance, and refusing to eat with gentiles (Galatians 2:12).

That attitude is inherent in any unconverted mind that is constantly told it is better than everyone else; naturally it believes it, since that’s what we want to believe anyway. Miriam and Aaron and the rest of the Hebrews had been told all their lives about the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; about the promises of inheriting the world; and they had developed an exaggerated sense of their own importance.

See, the Israelites had no problem with the gentiles being converted and finding God. They were all for that, and scripture is full of prophecies like this:

Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

And they knew those scriptures. But the Israelites had always envisioned the gentiles going THROUGH them to find God. In other words, the gentile has to be circumcised, become a nationalized Isrealite, offer sacrifices, and so on, and go through THEIR SYSTEM to find God – thus making themselves always inherently superior to the gentiles. And so what annoyed the Jews in the new testament is that Paul BYPASSED them. He skipped right by them and make obedient Gentiles equal in the eyes of God to Jews.

This was the shocking part. This was why God had Peter deal with the uncircumcised, unnaturalized Cornelius personally, and proved to Peter that God can indeed give the holy spirit to the uncircumcised gentiles. But this message still didn’t really sink in, and presumably Cornelius was circumcised after being baptised, and taught to follow the laws of Moses after all of that, for that’s what they were teaching many years later to subvert Paul’s converts.

It comes down to this; Jesus was the husband of Israel. And Israel thought that no matter what she did, that would always be the case. No matter what acts of adultery she committed, she would always inherit the promises because she was “special”. And no gentile, no matter how obedient, could ever compare with her, no matter how disobedient. And so it came as quite a shock when God divorced her.

Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; …

It took a long time for the divorce to finalize, you might say, for He was still somewhat tied to her as much as 600 years later; nonetheless, He did finally do it and married a spiritual church, with obedient gentiles in it on an equal footing with obedient Jews, and a far superior footing to disobedient Jews.

Romans 11:11-12 I say then, Have they [Isrealites] stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

And Paul goes on to talk about how the Israelites who stumbled at the truth, once they stop rebelling, can be grafted back into the olive tree; but the point of all this, is that God rejected a rebellious Israel and married a gentile.

And so when Moses, representing Jesus, married a GENTILE, Israel was indignant. After all there were plenty of Israelite girls who were probably all googly-eyed over Moses. But Moses married a Cushite. What skin color she was we don’t know for certain, but for our purposes it doesn’t matter; she wasn’t a Hebrew and that was plenty. Hebrews didn’t like sharing Moses and they don’t like sharing Jesus.

And so those were the motives behind Miriam’s (the Old Testament churches) attack on Moses (Jesus) marrying a Cushite woman (Gentile church). And with that in mind, it makes much more sense why God was so severe on her. She was being a bigot. It wasn’t about the woman, it was her own racial pride that was offended. And so God made her wait outside the camp seven days in shame…

And so, the old testament church, any of them who “abode still in unbelief”, anyone (Romans 11:23) going as far back as Adam who thought that God loved them more because they were “special”, and thought they could break the rules and still be loved… will not be resurrected at the end of this age with the righteous. They are now lepers to God and will have to wait in disgrace outside the camp of God until seven days have elapsed since Adam and a lesser resurrection comes along.

They who were first, who had the best opportunity to win God’s love, will find themselves entering the second resurrection below the gentiles they despised. They will walk in shame into the kingdom of God behind Antiochus Ephiphanes, Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh Hophra.

And that’s why God was so harsh with Miriam – it was her attitude that would lead to all of this happening. Her racial self-assuredness that meant that God would one day have to divorce all of Israel and start fresh with a new church. He was just trying to nip it in the bud… but it wouldn’t die.

Frequently, people come up to me with the air of someone who is about to impart a dark secret, and half-whisper something like this “Did you know that there is ABSOLUTE PROOF that the government is spying on us with Black helicopters??”

Or perhaps they’ll tell me about “secret mind control experiments” or “compounds being prepared for use against sabbath-keepers”, or about secret government conspiracies to do… well, almost anything from cloning Elvis to sterilizing mankind.

But what is the TRUTH about the whole Conspiracy Theory Movement? ARE there government conspiracies to cover up UFOs? Is Bigfoot’s baby being kept in a secret government facility? And what place do these conspiracies have in a true Christian’s life?

There are a great number of people who thrive on these conspiracies. Some people jump out of airplanes for excitement. Some rob banks, others watch horror movies, still others read conspiracy theories. But besides being “exciting”, it makes them feel special, and important, to believe that everyone is out to get THEM. And to think that they know something “special” that “normal people” are deceived about.

I even had one man come to me once and tell me that the Man of Sin was going to be using holograms to deceive the world – he had PROOF, he’d seen the government practicing it near his house! And not just him, but over 30 witnesses saw the forest on fire one night, and yet the next day there was no sign – it had all been a hologram!

When people come to me with these stories, they want to know what I think of this. And they usually recoil in shock, hurt and offended when I tell them that they may well be right, but that it really isn’t important. That it has almost no bearing on the people of God.

Don’t misunderstand; I’m not saying that all conspiracy theories are wrong. The ones about holograms and Bigfoot I have grave doubts about, but there is reasonably good evidence that the government has been involved in a TON of incidents designed to take freedom away from the children of Israel in general, and the church of God in particular.

I’m not ignoring that or saying that any of these theories aren’t true. Many of them are. They have to be – after all, Satan is the God of this world, and the inventor of lies… and his followers act as he does. And what is a conspiracy except a lie perpetrated by a person or persons to cover up the truth?

But what I AM saying is that it DOESN’T MATTER TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD!

How can I say that? How can I say it ISN’T important that, for example, the United States is being run, hand-in-glove by some small group of people in a faraway land? How can I say that something like that ISN’T IMPORTANT to the people of God? Well, it’s quite simple. Let me explain.

This particular story may well be true. Satan would like nothing better than to control the children of Israel who inherited the blessings of Abraham, namely the United States, England, and most of northwestern Europe. And because of the sins of these nations after God gave them the blessings, God has no doubt lowered the fence and LET them come and do this. After all, He promised He would.

Isaiah 5:3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? …

What nation – throughout HISTORY – has ever been blessed with the wealth that this nation has? 6 percent of the world’s population controlled 49 percent of it’s wealth! The United States and British Commonwealth has dominated the world for over 400 years because it received the bountiful blessings God promised to Abraham – and God asks, WHAT MORE could I have done for this vineyard? How could God have blessed us more, as a nation?

Verses 4 …wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

And yet, when God looked for the FRUIT of righteousness that SHOULD have come from these countries, he found evil and sin. Have you ever eaten a wild grape? It is small, bitter, and hard to swallow. Even as, when God expected a righteous nation, He instead received a nation that He can barely stomach! A nation that is WORSE than the Indians whom He drove out in front of it! (2 Chronicles 33:9) And so….

Verses 5-7 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will TAKE AWAY THE HEDGE THEREOF, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and HE LOOKED FOR JUDGMENT, but behold oppression; for RIGHTEOUSNESS, but behold a cry.

So yes – this conspiracy MAY well be true – it’s going to happen sooner or later!

Deuteronomy 28:43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.

But it is a prophecy of God that it MUST happen! It is a prophecy of God that it SHOULD happen! And yet it DOES NOT MATTER to the church of God – except, perhaps, as an interesting, occasional anecdote of the fulfillment of prophecy

Why doesn’t it matter? Why doesn’t it matter if this nation is being run by a small handful of people in a far nation, or Germany, or Russia, or for that matter, Rome or Tahiti? Because WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD!

John 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Our citizenship, our ALLEGIANCE, is not to this world – no, our citizenship is in heaven!

Philippians 3:20 (ASV) For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Because the Kingdom of God is not of this world, like it some day will be, but the Kingdom of God is in heaven! So also, if we are a member of that Kingdom, it must be a part of the heavenly one!

John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but NOW is my kingdom not from hence.

And so it really doesn’t matter to a member of the church of God what deep, dark conspiracies are going on, or may be going on, behind the scenes. Because since we no longer belong to this country, we have what you might call diplomatic immunity.

Psalms 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; BUT IT SHALL NOT COME NIGH THEE

And so I have explained why conspiracy theories are not important to me – whether true or not. Now let me explain why they are destructive to those who devote hour upon hour to either pass them on or to hear a new one.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with hearing a new conspiracy. It can be integrated into your general understanding of the universe, and applied to a fulfillment of prophecy, and might help you understand a bit about the nature of God or the devil, or both. Then, once it is set into it’s proper place in the puzzle, you can move on and more or less forget it.

But the people I’ve known don’t usually stop there – this bit of knowledge that makes them special obsesses them, and it’s the only thing they talk about, and given the slightest chance they will always change the subject to that. Rather than being obsessed about finding or telling some new thing in scripture, they are obsessed with this. You might even say this becomes their God.

I cannot, of course, speak for everyone. I can however, make generalizations based on the many conspiracy theorists I’ve known. And my conclusion is that most of them *need* to have these conspiracies. They give them a reason to live. And I can also state that anyone who is constantly worrying about Black Helicopters is seriously deficient in faith, if they have any at all – because of Psalms 91:7, as I just quoted.

But then, faith has always been directly connected to having your citizenship in heaven. It takes FAITH to consider yourself not a part of this world, and to really believe that you will be more or less unaffected no matter who runs the earth, or what conspiracies there are afoot.

Hebrews 11:8-11 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Abraham, BY FAITH, left his home, and his country, and sought another. And he spent his entire life in a strange country, NEVER owning it, never being a part of it, or belonging to it. But always looking for another Kingdom, a Kingdom NOT OF THIS WORLD, built and made by God Himself! And he died without finding it! He DIED a stranger to this world!

Hebrews 11:13-14 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they SEEK a country.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, indeed ALL that have died in faith and earned a seat in the first resurrection have declared that they were a PILGRIM, a STRANGER, an AMBASSADOR to this world – a member of another Kingdom!

They were not involved with the politics of these nations, and they didn’t care about their conspiracy theories either! And now we come to the DANGER of those who are too involved in Conspiracy Theories!

Hebrews 11:15 And truly, if they had been MINDFUL of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

IF THEY HAD CARED about what went on in these countries, if they had WANTED to be a part of them, if they had MISSED them and wanted, desperately NEEDED to know what was going on in them, THEY COULD HAVE RETURNED!

They would have BACKSLIDED and lost sight of their GOAL, the future Kingdom of God, and gotten caught up in the present, pathetic kingdom of men! Whose lies and treachery and deceit could never be fully known though a thousand men spent a lifetime on it! And more importantly, COULD NEVER BE HELPED!

These pollutions of mankind, his lies, and his worries and fears become a thing of the past for any TRUE Christian, a member of the TRUE CHURCH OF GOD! He is FREE, a part of another, better nation! But if they lose sight of the truth, and fall into any of the many traps, of which this is only one… Well, God says…

2 Peter 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob wouldn’t have cared whether Russia, China or the moneyed elite was in charge, or who was lying to whom – because THIS WASN’T their home! They had no land or nation to defend on this earth! Instead, they looked for ANOTHER Kingdom, a HEAVENLY one! SO SHOULD YOU!

Hebrews 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, AN HEAVENLY: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

So, what do I think about Bigfoot’s baby and crop circles and airplane trails and the millions of other conspiracy theories out there? Maybe they are true. Maybe not. I’m sure that some are, and equally sure that many aren’t… but either way, it really doesn’t matter to the people of God.

(By Crystal D. Holmes)

Christmas is PAGAN! That’s right! Christmas is PAGAN! It most certainly DOES NOT commemorate the birth of Christ! And, I can prove it!

*Unless otherwise noted, my emphasis is in bold in all quotations.

1. Christmas Pre-Dates Christ!

Christmas actually pre-dates Christ by centuries – though it was not called Christmas during that time, the celebrations were essentially the same. You see, Christmas is just another winter solstice festival. The winter solstice is the shortest day – or the longest night – of the year.

Wikipedia, in the article “Winter Solstice”, notes, “Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time.”

The sun ceases to decline in the sky at the winter solstice, and it resumes its ascent and days grow longer after the winter solstice. Many cultures feared that the sun would go down and days would only continue to grow shorter and shorter until the sun disappeared altogether. So they begged the sun to return to them, and when he did, they celebrated his rebirth. The concept of the rebirth of a sun god is present in nearly all cultures.

William Sutton, in his book “Antichrist 666″, writes, “In the Babylonian and Assyrian legend, Nimrod died in his prime leaving a queen named Semiramis. At his death, Nimrod according to legend, became immortal, and his spirit flew up to the sun and took possession of it. Hence, he became Beel-saman, ‘Lord of Heaven’. After Nimrod had died and became the Sun God, Semiramis his queen [the biblical 'Queen of Heaven'] became pregnant, she claimed to be a virgin, and after Nimrod’s death, according to legend, begot a child by Nimrod’s spirit coming down on her from the sun. She proclaimed to her subjects that her husband’s spirit entered into her womb through a sunbeam and begot the legendary god-child Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:14), he was born December 25.”

Tammuz was the Babylonish name for the Persian god Mithra (or Mithras). He was always the life-giving sun in human form, and went by many names in different cultures, such as Bacchus, Hercules, Dionysus, Attis, Osiris, Horus, Krishna, Yi, Quetzalcoatl, Balder, etc. All of these legends say that their god the sun was born on December 25 when the days begin to get longer.

Interestingly, Christmas was NOT celebrated by “Christians” until the fourth century. The early Christians who LOVED the truth wouldn’t ALLOW pagan practices in the church. Alexander Hislop, in his work “The Two Babylons”, writes:

“Indeed, it is admitted by the most learned and candid writers of all parties that the day of our Lord’s birth cannot be determined, and that within the Christian Church NO SUCH FESTIVAL AS CHRISTMAS WAS EVER HEARD OF TILL THE THIRD CENTURY, and that not till the FOURTH CENTURY was far advanced did it gain much observance.”

The apostles – the FOUNDERS of the New Testament church – the men who KNEW Christ face-to-face and were sent by Him to spread the gospel and teach others around the world NEVER KEPT CHRISTMAS! Read the rest of this entry »

The word “trinity” does not appear in the Bible. And yet denying the trinity is the #1 definition of a cult. Does that make sense?

The way the term is used in casual literature and sermons we are given the impression that the trinity is spoken of on every page of the Bible – but is it? Can YOU turn to a dozen verses which mention it? Five? Even one?

Christianity today teaches that God exists as three distinct persons who coexist as one; at the same time, they are both one being, and three beings. They quibble over the details, but in general they agree on that much. They plainly admit that it makes little if any sense, but believe it is true nonetheless claiming it is simply beyond the comprehension of man.

But did you ever read in the Bible where it says “God is a trinity”? Did you ever read a single verse that says God is three beings in one? Have you ever read a verse where anyone prays to the Holy Spirit? (not through, by, or in the spirit, but TO the spirit?)

Have you ever read a verse that contains this exact phrase “God the Holy Spirit”, or “the Holy Spirit IS God/Lord”? There are many such verses regarding the divinity of Jesus or the Father; why are there no such verses regarding the Holy Spirit?

There are certainly many verses that contain phrases like “the Holy Spirit OF God”. But that doesn’t say the Holy Spirit IS God; it says the Holy Spirit is OF God, or FROM God. It does not say that the Holy Spirit is a coequal, coexistent, united-yet-separate divinity!

Without a single verse attesting to the most basic belief about God in nearly every Christian Church on Earth, how can you be SURE you’re right? If God is a trinity, the Bible will surely reveal it clearly, for the Bible was given to us “for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”(2 Timothy 3:16).

Men have written literally mountains of paper on this subject; but I won’t quote any of them. If you want the answer, you need to ask the ONLY BEING WHO REALLY KNOWS WHAT GOD IS LIKE! You need to ask GOD! But you don’t need some special prayer or dream to do so; you need the written revelation God gave to us to learn all about Him; you need the Bible.

Martin Luther had never personally met God. He didn’t really KNOW what God was like, firsthand; neither did John Calvin, John Wesley, or John Paul II; nor did Eusebius, Athanasius, or Origen; nor have you or I, nor your preacher. We need an AUTHORITATIVE source, one who really KNOWS the answer; you need the inspired word of God which you’ll find in the Bible.

If God is a trinity, the Bible will surely prove that. If not, the Bible will prove that also. You have nothing to fear either way from demanding PROOF from your Bible… Read the rest of this entry »

In the beginning of the book of Revelation, in chapters 2 and 3, there are letters addressed to seven ancient churches in Asia Minor – modern Turkey. Now most modern churches ignore prophecy altogether, the others obsess about it so much that they can’t understand it – they’re rather like people who study elephants under a microscope. To understand the Bible, you can’t spend your life examining a few dozen chapters under a microscope; you need to back up and see the whole thing.

The Bible is a package, and prophecy is a relatively small part of that package; but an inspired, holy, useful part nonetheless, which like all of the Bible is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”(2 Timothy 3:16). Note that even here, it comes back to being “profitable… for instruction in righteousness”.

Most people don’t use prophecy for that; they study it because it excites them; because it is a mystery they cannot solve; because it makes them feel like they are better than other people, because they know “secrets” that the average person doesn’t know. But if you use prophecy for “instruction in righteousness”, there is a great deal you can get out of it. These seven letters are a perfect example of that.

Most people know that God’s church has changed a lot since the first century; not in doctrine, for the true church of God are those who keep the doctrines exactly the same as Jesus and the apostles; but the… mood, has changed. In Acts we see a fire in the early church, a zeal for God from the first century that really hasn’t been seen since.

God hasn’t changed, for He says “I change not”(Malachi 3:6), and that He is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever”(Hebrews 13:8). But the people change; the culture changes. These things affect the overall attitude of the church; is it sluggish? Proud? Judgmental, persecuted? And God left detailed prophecies of these “moods” of the church for us to read and understand. And He explained why they happen, and what that means to us.

ANGELS

We admittedly are told very little about the interworkings of angels and men, angels and governments, angels and devils, but we do know a few facts that tell us a great deal…. Read the rest of this entry »

Just this week, we passed a milestone – over 1000 people have now received our Bible correspondence course by mail! If you haven’t heard of it, this is an absolutely free course sent out by postal mail; it is non-denominational and unlike most Bible courses, it doesn’t give you any answers! It only asks questions and then tells you where you can find the answers in your own Bible!

You can read more about this course, how it works and what it is at this link here:

http://thesimpleanswers.com/2011/01/25/free-bible-correspondence-course-update/

But here I thought I’d take the time to pass along a few of the comments we’ve received back from students about this course, and let them tell you about it. About 25-50% of the tests students return have a comment like the following:

This shocking title is one of the easiest statements to prove from the Bible; and at the same time, one of the most offensive to your average person. Everyone loves dogs – loves them beyond measure or reason. Yet God hates them. But before I explain why, you need to see just how much God hates them.

Matthew 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

There is nothing good said about dogs in the Bible. God has only negative comparisons and threats to make about dogs; when he doesn’t like someone, he calls them a dog.

2 Samuel 16:9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog [a man who was cursing David] curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.

But when he really hates someone, He feeds them to the dogs.

1 Kings 21:23-24 And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.

There dogs are seen doing the same job that buzzards do; eating the dead. Dogs, even civilized dogs, do have some disgusting habits that God points out – primarily, eating their own vomit:

Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

Here by comparison, equating dogs with fools. So far they’ve been equated with fools and buzzards – next, equated with the wicked:

Philippians 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

Another trait God hates about dogs is their greed; given the opportunity, they will eat and eat until they literally make themselves sick.

Isaiah 56:11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

And so because of God’s hatred for dogs, God has made rules that dogs are not allowed access to anything holy – that was the first verse we quoted. They are also not entitled to bread promised to the children of God:

Matthew 15:26 (BBE) And he made answer and said, It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.

…Nor can you even bring the money you get for selling a dog into the house of God.

Deuteronomy 23:18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

There God uses the word “abomination” to describe how he feels about the price of a dog – by extension, the dog itself – since he speaks of it in the same breath as whoredom, which He also hates. The jump from “abomination” to “hatred” is rather obvious – but let’s prove it anyway:

Proverbs 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

So when God says dogs are an abomination, that’s an equivalent term to “The Lord hates them”, based on this verse. But since this article will offend many people, I’m going to belabor the point:

Jeremiah 44:4 Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this ABOMINABLE thing THAT I HATE.

God hates abominable things. Dogs are an abomination; therefore God hates dogs. Certainly all the other verses back up this conclusion about God’s opinion of dogs. And if any doubt was left…

Revelation 22:14-15 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

There will be no dogs in the Holy City. An entire city where God dwells will be completely free of all dogs! God made no such statement about any other animal on Earth! Why the antipathy of dogs? Why single them out for abuse? Read the rest of this entry »

Is Calling Someone “Mister”, Christian?

Why does the whole world insist on this custom? Is this the way of showing true respect to an elder? Should YOU use the term “Mr.”? What does your BIBLE say? Read the rest of this entry »

Now and again you hear of the “hidden manna”. It’s one of those buzz-words that people toss around, usually in connection with some pet doctrine, perhaps about prophecy. In any case, it is usually used to make themselves feel somehow “special”. But what IS it?

Revelation 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.

First of all, YOU DO NOT HAVE THE HIDDEN MANNA. Neither do I, and neither does anyone else; I don’t care what they tell you! How do I know? Because God says that He will give it TO HIM THAT OVERCOMES! And you haven’t done that yet! Read the rest of this entry »

Did you ever wonder? I sure did. I thought about it a lot. HOW did Christ learn He was God?

I was always told “He just knew”. He “remembered His past Godhood”. And that was rather awe-inspiring and impressive, so I accepted it for a while. But then I got to looking at it. And I started to realize that … it didn’t happen that way at all. Jesus did not remember His past Godhood.

He didn’t magically “know” He was God. He wasn’t told by an angel, nor did His having “the holy spirit without measure” connect him to some supernatural internet to allow Him to download all the knowledge of the universe at will. He learned the same way any other person would have had to learn – the Bible.

I thoroughly explained in my article “Why Did Jesus Become A Man” that Jesus became a man to prove that a human, physical man could obey God perfectly, on an even footing without the slightest advantage. I showed that the slightest leg-up on us would have ruined the proof. That Jesus could not have felt, known or seen anything that we cannot also feel, know or see or He would have failed to prove His point.

And so, to continue the thread of that understanding, if Jesus had automatically known from birth, or at least early childhood, that He was God, it would have totally ruined His point. It would rob Him of much-deserved glory to say that Jesus “knew” all these things without learning them. I will be accused by many of lowering Christ to my level, of blasphemy, and other such things. And so I ask up front: which would provide more glory to God: Read the rest of this entry »