A brief guide to the making of Jesus of Nazareth, the Greatest Man Who Never Was.
1. No one "just made-up" Jesus.
If we step around the centuries of fabrication and glorification which informs everyone's perception of Jesus Christ and closely examine the two hundred year gestation period of the current Lord and Savior – that is approximately 100 BC - 100 AD – we can see a perfectly plausible and, indeed, convincing process by which, upon the legacy of earlier times and from piety and scripture alone, the Christian godman emerged into the light.
Beliefs created the man; the man did not create the beliefs.
In essence Jesus Christ is like every other ancient god, a personification of Principals and Forces. More than anything else, the figure of Jesus symbolized and personified Just Law, Divine Punishment and Reward. The myth did not require the happenstance of a genuine human life to get it going – which is one reason why, as a human being, the superhero is at best only partially formed, even after passing through several revisions and re-workings.
2. Evolving Hero myth
The Jews, a repeatedly conquered people on the fringes of great empires, long nurtured hope for a deliverer. Such heroes of the people were a staple of their sacred literature. During the period 1st century BC / 1st century AD, whilst the Herodian aristocracy happily danced to the tune of the caesars, exploitation of the common people intensified. Upon their backs now weighed the priesthood, the landowning elite and the Romans. The stage had been set in which rabbis and rebels could pitch subversive ideas to the despised and exploited masses.
The Jewish religious radicals – militant patriots within Palestine and proto-Christians of the Jewish diaspora – contended for the future of Judaism. In the Levant, militant resistance to Rome had the upper hand until the final debacle of 135. In the diaspora, a repackaged piety centered on a personal savior god eventually gained the ascendancy, advancing with each successive reversal of belligerency and the attendant flood of refugees and captive slaves into the cities of the Mediterranean.
The early Jewish-Christian scribes drew most of their inspiration from the traditional source – the vast stock of Jewish sacred writings, which were (and are) a reiterating statement of lost piety, divine punishment and righteousness regained.
The earliest "Christ" reigned in Heaven at God's right hand. Nowhere was a genuine human life to be found. Only at the End of Days would he arrive to judge the quick and the dead. Only those who worshipped him, the Elect, would enter the Kingdom.
3. Paganizing the Jewish Myth
Judaism in the Diaspora, for all its exclusivity, became Hellenized. It also attracted a following among pagans disillusioned with their arbitrary traditional gods. In the cities of the eastern Mediterranean, this neo-Judaism fused a multiplicity of old Jewish themes – Son of Man, Wisdom and Messiah with ideas long familiar to pagans: redemptive sacrifice, Son of God, Logos. The farrago made little headway against a reorganizing rabbinic Judaism but found a ready ear among pagans long accustomed to syncretic gods.
Because heavenly existence remained unknowable the handful of intellectuals who led the various bands of early proto-Christians spoke of their Christ by use of an allegorical human life. Set in times past, present and future, it was a device by which their Lord resolved ethical issues and uttered divine Wisdom. Each worthy tenet of a higher morality, every pithy statement of priestly wisdom, was coupled to the majestic name of Jesus the Christ to give sanction and assurance of its heavenly origin.
A revised 'rabbinic' Judaism made an impressive revival in the Roman world in the 2nd century. But by then the heresy now called Christianity had been commandeered by gentile pagans who saw opportunity in a hybridized oriental cult with a strong Jewish core. They took the stock of Jewish scripture, long available in the Greek language, and set it to a new purpose.
4. Allegory mutates into "reality"
The earliest works on the Christian godman had been simple liturgical documents in which the figure of Jesus had no discernible features, no true biography – merely attributes befitting his messianic status, such as absolute assuredness and "authority". A new generation of ex-pagan scribes, convincing themselves that this Lord and Savior had in reality walked upon the earth, set to work to thoroughly ground their hero in an historical setting.
They selected the reign of the most famous Jewish king – Herod – for his birth and the tenure of the most brutal Roman governor – Pilate – for his ministry. The activity of a genuine, pacifist prophet – John the Baptist – was used as a prologue to their hero's own tale and useful historical detail was gleaned from the works of the Jewish historian Josephus.
Scavenging through the pious romances and holy heroics of Hebrew scripture and Jewish history the Christian scribes found edifying story lines and useful characterization. Their intent was that, in the day-to-day struggle for a mass following, their Christ should match rival gods point for point, miracle for miracle. Even so, Christ's "life" remained extremely thin. His "ministry" and wonder working filled only eight weeks or so of "biography" – and that included 40 days and nights in the wilderness.
To make good the shortage of material, Christ's so-called "life" was back-projected as the "fulfillment of prophecy" – art imitating artifice. On the pretext "That Scripture Might Be Fulfilled" every utterance and pronouncement of the ancient Jewish prophets was wrenched out of context and repurposed as a prefiguring of the Christian wonder-worker.
To those who already "believed" it was the majestic design of an ineffable God, weaving the wondrous image of his only begotten son across several centuries of Jewish history. The misadventure and internecine strife of an entire people were reduced to the prologue for the Christian godman.
The compendium that resulted – ambiguous, inconsistent, improbable and impossible – though never intended as a "history", nonetheless masqueraded as such, underpinning the claims of the faith to a unique historical foundation. But any attempt to reconstruct the timetable or itinerary of the "ministry" of the Christian savior is doomed to failure because the gospels are both inadequate and contradictory. One moment Jesus is in the Decapolis, receiving word of the death of John the Baptist, the next he is in Phoenicia expelling demons. One moment Jesus is "transfiguring" on a mountain in Syria, the next he is pontificating in Samaria.
5. It's All a Fraud
Every instance in the godman's "career" was nothing other than a set piece, templated from an earlier source. Jesus the Christ, King of Kings, Light of the World, High Priest forever, Good Shepherd, Universal Judge and the Savior of Mankind is nothing less than – nothing other than – an omnibus edition of all that had gone before, the final product of ancient religious syncretism.
A 'life' conjured up from pious fantasy, a mass of borrowed quotations, copied story elements and a corpus of self-serving speculation, does not constitute an historical reality.
It constitutes a myth, a hero-myth, in essentials no different from the legends of champions that times of crisis called into existence in many cultures. "Jesus Christ Lord and Savior" is certainly the most convoluted and enduring of such accretions but its fabrication from simple elements is no less apparent than that of any other west Asian salvation god.
Makes You Think
If all this sounds shocking and difficult to accept reflect on the following:
1. Absolutely nothing at all from secular history corroborates the sacred biography and yet this 'greatest story' is peppered with numerous anachronisms, contradictions and absurdities. For example, at the time that Joseph and the pregnant Mary are said to have gone off to Bethlehem for a supposed Roman census, Galilee (unlike Judea) was not a Roman province and therefore ma and pa would have had no reason to make the journey.
2. Nazareth (let alone a city of Nazareth) did not exist during the first century.
3. Many elements of the 'Passion' make no sense historically. For example, a trial for Jesus, when suspected rebels were habitually arrested and executed by the Romans without trial?
4. There is NO corroborating evidence for the existence of the 12 Apostles and absolutely NO evidence for the colorful variety of martyrs' deaths they supposedly experienced. The Bible itself actually mentions the death of only two apostles, a James who was put to death by Herod Agrippa and the nasty Judas Iscariot. The fanciful heroics were dreamed up to inspire generations of gullible Christians.
For further information on the dark history of the Christian Church more than 70 articles are freely available on the website:
www.jesusneverexisted.com
Kenneth Humphreys
1st June, 2005
The Domestication Of Humans
An excerpt from the book, The Gospel Writers.
Civilization is the domestication of humans by other humans. In fact, we are the only indigenous life on our planet who tries to domesticate each other, along with other animals. This domestication can range from a mild form, which helps us to adapt to close-quarters living in population centers, or the more severe form which uses ghosts, gods, spooks, and spirits as a tool for domestication. The earliest domestication of significance is the form developed by walled city-states in Mesopotamia c.6.500 BCE. At this time, democratic assemblies were being replaced by kingships; and as we know kingships eventually were replaced by hereditary monarchies.
From those who have not read the book, The Gospel Writers, I often get the question, "How do you know for sure that there is no god?" I answer them in this way, "There is only one way to prove to you that a god does not exist; and that is, to prove to you why one does."
If you were a young member of the Ruling Class, not to be confused with the Upper Class wealthiest minority, and you asked me to teach you the secret studies known only to the Ruling Class, the Ruling Class Figure Heads (kings, queens, etc.), and the Priests, I would reveal to you, the following:
I would start by saying that it is all about "legitimizing ownership." That's the key. When a potter makes a pot, he has the right to do with it what he wants, including charging you for using it. When a basket weaver makes a basket, he has the right to do with it what he wants, including charging you for using it. When a god makes a planet, he has the right to do with it what he wants, including charging you for using it.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number I
To own something that was never yours to own in the first place, requires that some kind of "original owner" exist, and that this "original owner" (at a minimum) "gave" it to you.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number II
When the original owner cannot be found, such as the "original owner" of the land, invent one. Tell the people on the land that the "original owner" is an all powerful god, and that you have spoken with this god, and that this god has given you all of the land as a gift for being a good and just person; and because that god knows that you will make sure that all of the people on the land will worship that god. Why a fictitious god, you ask? Because at this time in history, a god (like a Supreme Court) would be the highest "Legal Authority" in the land and therefore any laws and contracts (rulings) handed down by a god could not at this time, be nullified or overturned. Clever legal loophole, wouldn't you say? Make sure you call it a lord (top authority) god; a lower ranking god will not work.
And, do not be naive and think that your army alone will keep the people submissive to your will. They must believe that you have the legal right by divine authority to take control of the land; otherwise you will spend much of your time and money trying to put down rebellions that will spring up from time to time.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number III
You do not need to brainwash them extensively with religion. Because, what they worship is generally unimportant, as long as you maintain ownership of the land by (fictitious) divine authority, which will allow you to control the people on the land. The people know, that for anyone banished from the land, it will mean agonizing loneliness (because they do not speak the languages of the people in other lands) and eventually death. You can always threaten someone with banishment, if they try to rebel and make any statement that refutes your fictitious legal right.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number IV
Once you have told the lie, you can never admit to anyone that the "original owner," (the maker of the land -- a god) never existed. You must silence or kill anyone who tries to say that the "original owner" never existed, or that the whole thing was a hoax to steal the land from the people on the land.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number V
There is an alternative to silencing or killing the people who do not support the "original owner" hoax or idea. Buy their loyalty; but buy it with something that costs you nothing to give away. Tell them that the "original owner" will grant them "immortality" in exchange for worship and belief in him, as the "original owner." In addition, tell them that this immortality will be spent in a place of great beauty and love, where they can be reunited with loved ones who have already died.
And they will be gullible enough to believe you. Why?
Because everything comes back to life after death, such as the Sun each day, the Trees each spring, and even you by way of your first-born son; who looks like you.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number VI
To get the people to work the land that you have now stolen from them, using Lessons 1-4 previously discussed, so that they will generate wealth for you and other Ruling Class members, tell the people that it is the "original owner's" wish that they toil and suffer, so that when they get to that place of great beauty and love, they will appreciate it more. And, that they will never have to work again, once they get there. Plus, they will always be loved and never abandoned by the "original owner."
Ruling Class - Lesson Number VII
Tell the people that the "original owner" is invisible and cannot be seen or described. And, that the "original owner," has no name; in other words, he is not like anyone the people might have heard of before or might run across later.
Tell them also, that the "original owner" can see into their hearts and minds, twenty-four hours a day, ever day of the year. And that, the "original owner" will know, by looking into their hearts and minds, if they do not love him in return or are thinking of abandoning him, (even though he would never think to stop loving them or of abandoning them). This will make them feel very fearful from being under a watchful and invisible eye every moment of their life, with absolutely no privacy anywhere on the planet, and feel very guilty for not loving and staying with someone who loves them. In other words, someone who would never abandon them or become disloyal. This fear and guilt will help them to remain loyal.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number VIII
Remember to tell the people that the Earth was made by the "original owner" in 6,500 BCE; so they do not go looking for the "democratic" non-kingship model, prior to that time. You do not want the Ruling Class - Worker Bee model to be discovered, as the hoax it is; or you will have an expensive and time consuming rebellion on your hands.
The Math and the Perception of Time
The Hoax Version
a. 6,500 BCE + 2,009 CE = 8,509 years since the hoax for stealing land has been going on.
b. 6,500 BCE + 2,009 CE = 8,509 years since the Jewish god created the Earth and all the life forms on the planet.
c. 8,509 divided by 8,509 = 1.00 or 100% of the time, civilization has been going on the way we want them to believe it has. Therefore, it is perfectly normal to live life the way they currently are and there was no other type, ever.
The Truthful Version
a. 6,500 BCE + 2,009 CE = 8,509 years since the hoax for stealing land has been going on.
b. 150,000 - 120,000 years since our species has been on Earth (anatomically modern Late Pleistocene humans - from Mitochondrial Eve - White et al. 2009).
c. 8,509 divided by 135,000 (arithmetic mean) = 6.3 percent of the time.
The hoax for stealing land has been going on for less than 10% of the time since we, anatomically modern Late Pleistocene humans, have been on Earth. Or, about 472 generations of your ancestors out of about 7,500 generations of your ancestors. In other words, an extremely brief time; and not a very long time as Old Testament religions and the Ruling Class need the Worker Bees to believe. Conceal this at all costs forever or we, the Ruling Class, Old Testament religions, and Figure Heads, are all doomed.
And, even though Turkey was the real "Cradle of Civilization," tell them that Mesopotamia was instead. We don't want them to know about Turkey either.
Next week, we will teach you how to keep this newly stolen land wealth in your family, through the use of a new invention called "Hereditary Monarchies." It's a more advanced version of the hoax you are currently using for your kingships, and it will keep democratic assemblies from forming once again (such as those prior to 6,500 BCE), after your death. End of Lessons.
As I mentioned early, I would answer them in this way, "There is only one way to prove to you that a god does not exist; and that is, to prove to you why one does," which was for the purpose of land ownership and taxes.
Whether it was the LORD of the gods, Yahweh (Jewish god of the Hebrews), during the time of Moses, or the LORD of the gods, Marduk, during the time of King Cyrus of Persia (see Cyrus Cylinder -- The British Museum in London), LORD gods were legal and social domestication tools for the Ruling Class and their Figure Heads and nothing more.
a. Ownership of the land.
b. Ownership of everything on the surface of the land, including water.
c. Ownership of everything below the surface of the land, such as gold, diamonds, granite, limestone, etc.
d. Ownership of everything living or dead on top off or below the surface of the land.
Including the taxes collected on the land of our planet, how many billions upon billions upon billions of dollars would you expect the dollar amount that this land-and-tax hoax represents, which also included all mineral rights, lumber, animals for food and trade goods, water rights, etc.?
Do you think some minority Ruling Class group, might lie to keep an aggressive hold on this wealth? How about a religious organization, the ones who legitimized the taking of the land in the first place? Do you think they might lie to keep a firm and continuous hold on this wealth? If you were to suddenly become the inheritor of the same massive chunk of land that King Cyrus of Persia claimed legal ownership of, what would you be willing to do to keep it? And at the same time, what would you be willing to do to keep all the people on that land from rebelling due to your illegal ownership of that land?
Manipulating our ancestors into believing that Old Testament religions were about spirituality, immortality, ethics, and morality, was a ruse to keep them, and now us, focused on something that sounded very important to pay attention to; and simultaneously, away from figuring out the real function of religion.
So are we a modern civilization? Hardly. A very small group of people still claims to own all of the land and its resources on our planet, which legally belongs to all indigenous flora and fauna on our planet. They acquired ownership, first by fictitious LORD gods, and now they maintain ownership by armies in addition to religion.
Civilization is the domestication of humans by other humans. In fact, we are the only indigenous life on our planet who tries to domesticate each other, along with other animals. This domestication can range from a mild form, which helps us to adapt to close-quarters living in population centers, or the more severe form which uses ghosts, gods, spooks, and spirits as a tool for domestication. The earliest domestication of significance is the form developed by walled city-states in Mesopotamia c.6.500 BCE. At this time, democratic assemblies were being replaced by kingships; and as we know kingships eventually were replaced by hereditary monarchies.
From those who have not read the book, The Gospel Writers, I often get the question, "How do you know for sure that there is no god?" I answer them in this way, "There is only one way to prove to you that a god does not exist; and that is, to prove to you why one does."
If you were a young member of the Ruling Class, not to be confused with the Upper Class wealthiest minority, and you asked me to teach you the secret studies known only to the Ruling Class, the Ruling Class Figure Heads (kings, queens, etc.), and the Priests, I would reveal to you, the following:
I would start by saying that it is all about "legitimizing ownership." That's the key. When a potter makes a pot, he has the right to do with it what he wants, including charging you for using it. When a basket weaver makes a basket, he has the right to do with it what he wants, including charging you for using it. When a god makes a planet, he has the right to do with it what he wants, including charging you for using it.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number I
To own something that was never yours to own in the first place, requires that some kind of "original owner" exist, and that this "original owner" (at a minimum) "gave" it to you.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number II
When the original owner cannot be found, such as the "original owner" of the land, invent one. Tell the people on the land that the "original owner" is an all powerful god, and that you have spoken with this god, and that this god has given you all of the land as a gift for being a good and just person; and because that god knows that you will make sure that all of the people on the land will worship that god. Why a fictitious god, you ask? Because at this time in history, a god (like a Supreme Court) would be the highest "Legal Authority" in the land and therefore any laws and contracts (rulings) handed down by a god could not at this time, be nullified or overturned. Clever legal loophole, wouldn't you say? Make sure you call it a lord (top authority) god; a lower ranking god will not work.
And, do not be naive and think that your army alone will keep the people submissive to your will. They must believe that you have the legal right by divine authority to take control of the land; otherwise you will spend much of your time and money trying to put down rebellions that will spring up from time to time.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number III
You do not need to brainwash them extensively with religion. Because, what they worship is generally unimportant, as long as you maintain ownership of the land by (fictitious) divine authority, which will allow you to control the people on the land. The people know, that for anyone banished from the land, it will mean agonizing loneliness (because they do not speak the languages of the people in other lands) and eventually death. You can always threaten someone with banishment, if they try to rebel and make any statement that refutes your fictitious legal right.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number IV
Once you have told the lie, you can never admit to anyone that the "original owner," (the maker of the land -- a god) never existed. You must silence or kill anyone who tries to say that the "original owner" never existed, or that the whole thing was a hoax to steal the land from the people on the land.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number V
There is an alternative to silencing or killing the people who do not support the "original owner" hoax or idea. Buy their loyalty; but buy it with something that costs you nothing to give away. Tell them that the "original owner" will grant them "immortality" in exchange for worship and belief in him, as the "original owner." In addition, tell them that this immortality will be spent in a place of great beauty and love, where they can be reunited with loved ones who have already died.
And they will be gullible enough to believe you. Why?
Because everything comes back to life after death, such as the Sun each day, the Trees each spring, and even you by way of your first-born son; who looks like you.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number VI
To get the people to work the land that you have now stolen from them, using Lessons 1-4 previously discussed, so that they will generate wealth for you and other Ruling Class members, tell the people that it is the "original owner's" wish that they toil and suffer, so that when they get to that place of great beauty and love, they will appreciate it more. And, that they will never have to work again, once they get there. Plus, they will always be loved and never abandoned by the "original owner."
Ruling Class - Lesson Number VII
Tell the people that the "original owner" is invisible and cannot be seen or described. And, that the "original owner," has no name; in other words, he is not like anyone the people might have heard of before or might run across later.
Tell them also, that the "original owner" can see into their hearts and minds, twenty-four hours a day, ever day of the year. And that, the "original owner" will know, by looking into their hearts and minds, if they do not love him in return or are thinking of abandoning him, (even though he would never think to stop loving them or of abandoning them). This will make them feel very fearful from being under a watchful and invisible eye every moment of their life, with absolutely no privacy anywhere on the planet, and feel very guilty for not loving and staying with someone who loves them. In other words, someone who would never abandon them or become disloyal. This fear and guilt will help them to remain loyal.
Ruling Class - Lesson Number VIII
Remember to tell the people that the Earth was made by the "original owner" in 6,500 BCE; so they do not go looking for the "democratic" non-kingship model, prior to that time. You do not want the Ruling Class - Worker Bee model to be discovered, as the hoax it is; or you will have an expensive and time consuming rebellion on your hands.
The Math and the Perception of Time
The Hoax Version
a. 6,500 BCE + 2,009 CE = 8,509 years since the hoax for stealing land has been going on.
b. 6,500 BCE + 2,009 CE = 8,509 years since the Jewish god created the Earth and all the life forms on the planet.
c. 8,509 divided by 8,509 = 1.00 or 100% of the time, civilization has been going on the way we want them to believe it has. Therefore, it is perfectly normal to live life the way they currently are and there was no other type, ever.
The Truthful Version
a. 6,500 BCE + 2,009 CE = 8,509 years since the hoax for stealing land has been going on.
b. 150,000 - 120,000 years since our species has been on Earth (anatomically modern Late Pleistocene humans - from Mitochondrial Eve - White et al. 2009).
c. 8,509 divided by 135,000 (arithmetic mean) = 6.3 percent of the time.
The hoax for stealing land has been going on for less than 10% of the time since we, anatomically modern Late Pleistocene humans, have been on Earth. Or, about 472 generations of your ancestors out of about 7,500 generations of your ancestors. In other words, an extremely brief time; and not a very long time as Old Testament religions and the Ruling Class need the Worker Bees to believe. Conceal this at all costs forever or we, the Ruling Class, Old Testament religions, and Figure Heads, are all doomed.
And, even though Turkey was the real "Cradle of Civilization," tell them that Mesopotamia was instead. We don't want them to know about Turkey either.
Next week, we will teach you how to keep this newly stolen land wealth in your family, through the use of a new invention called "Hereditary Monarchies." It's a more advanced version of the hoax you are currently using for your kingships, and it will keep democratic assemblies from forming once again (such as those prior to 6,500 BCE), after your death. End of Lessons.
As I mentioned early, I would answer them in this way, "There is only one way to prove to you that a god does not exist; and that is, to prove to you why one does," which was for the purpose of land ownership and taxes.
Whether it was the LORD of the gods, Yahweh (Jewish god of the Hebrews), during the time of Moses, or the LORD of the gods, Marduk, during the time of King Cyrus of Persia (see Cyrus Cylinder -- The British Museum in London), LORD gods were legal and social domestication tools for the Ruling Class and their Figure Heads and nothing more.
a. Ownership of the land.
b. Ownership of everything on the surface of the land, including water.
c. Ownership of everything below the surface of the land, such as gold, diamonds, granite, limestone, etc.
d. Ownership of everything living or dead on top off or below the surface of the land.
Including the taxes collected on the land of our planet, how many billions upon billions upon billions of dollars would you expect the dollar amount that this land-and-tax hoax represents, which also included all mineral rights, lumber, animals for food and trade goods, water rights, etc.?
Do you think some minority Ruling Class group, might lie to keep an aggressive hold on this wealth? How about a religious organization, the ones who legitimized the taking of the land in the first place? Do you think they might lie to keep a firm and continuous hold on this wealth? If you were to suddenly become the inheritor of the same massive chunk of land that King Cyrus of Persia claimed legal ownership of, what would you be willing to do to keep it? And at the same time, what would you be willing to do to keep all the people on that land from rebelling due to your illegal ownership of that land?
Manipulating our ancestors into believing that Old Testament religions were about spirituality, immortality, ethics, and morality, was a ruse to keep them, and now us, focused on something that sounded very important to pay attention to; and simultaneously, away from figuring out the real function of religion.
So are we a modern civilization? Hardly. A very small group of people still claims to own all of the land and its resources on our planet, which legally belongs to all indigenous flora and fauna on our planet. They acquired ownership, first by fictitious LORD gods, and now they maintain ownership by armies in addition to religion.
The Endtime Generation
All my life I have heard preachers and others say that we are living in the endtime, the last generation before the return of Christ.
There were other people who had heard that same thing about 2,000 years ago and that THEY were that chosen endtime generation.
1Pet. 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Yes, later translations say "race" instead of generation but since Christendom is a mixture of more than one race, the word cannot mean "race" but literally, "generation". That they were the chosen generation is confirmed by Paul.
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
So, there you have it. THEY were the chosen and PREDESTINED endtime generation when all things written would be fulfilled.
Luke 21:22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
It was the same days of vengeance promised to the scribes and Pharisees - in their days, in their time 2,000 years ago.
Matt. 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Matt. 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Sometime after that 40 year generation came to a close and . . . no return of Jesus . . . people began to ask a very legitimate question.
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.
And, it's been excuses ever since, beginning with the thousand years as one day thing. A thousand years may be the same as one day to a god but to the people who were promised that it would be in their chosen generation it's a lot longer.
There were other people who had heard that same thing about 2,000 years ago and that THEY were that chosen endtime generation.
1Pet. 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Yes, later translations say "race" instead of generation but since Christendom is a mixture of more than one race, the word cannot mean "race" but literally, "generation". That they were the chosen generation is confirmed by Paul.
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
So, there you have it. THEY were the chosen and PREDESTINED endtime generation when all things written would be fulfilled.
Luke 21:22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
It was the same days of vengeance promised to the scribes and Pharisees - in their days, in their time 2,000 years ago.
Matt. 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Matt. 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Sometime after that 40 year generation came to a close and . . . no return of Jesus . . . people began to ask a very legitimate question.
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.
And, it's been excuses ever since, beginning with the thousand years as one day thing. A thousand years may be the same as one day to a god but to the people who were promised that it would be in their chosen generation it's a lot longer.
Happy Chinese New Year
January 26, 2009 begins the year of the ox.
The Chinese calendar was invented by Emperor Huangdi in the year 2637 BC.
That's a couple hundred years before Noah's worldwide flood, so it's kind of interesting how that can be possible.
The Chinese calendar was invented by Emperor Huangdi in the year 2637 BC.
That's a couple hundred years before Noah's worldwide flood, so it's kind of interesting how that can be possible.
100 Reasons Why God May Not Exist
Each point is a clickable link for you to learn more:
A 300 Year Gap
A God Who Performs Miracles is Evil
Adding Epicycles to God
Begging the Question: Miracles and Nature
Believing in God is Immoral
Bogus Probabilistic Judgments and God
Can Atheists Be Moral?
Can We Find Evidence for the Divine Properties In ...
Coherence and Atheism
Confusing Possible with Probable and Having a Righ...
Dawkins' Law
Deal With It
Did the Believers Believe?
Does Sin Corrupt our Ability to See God or Does th...
Does the Atheist Need to Respond to Faith?
Does the Theist Have a Moral Advantage Over the At...
Don’t like my tone? Am I being rude?
Everything is to the Glory of God
Fine Tuning's Fatal Flaw
Fitna, documentary about violence, hatred and Isla...
Garbage In, Garbage Out
Gibberish? Non-Cognitivist Speech Act? or Seriou...
Giving God A Free Pass
God and Suffering
God Blind Spot
God Doesn't Do Miracles, full version
God is Not a Watchmaker
God or Gratuitous Evil?
God Wouldn’t Leave Room for Agnosticism, There Are...
God Wouldn't Do Miracles
God's Evil
Grave robbers or Magic?
He Has No Brain, So God Doesn't Exist
Heroism and the Duty to Rescue Demonstrate that th...
How Big Would God's Universe Be?
How Probable is God?
How the Surreal becomes Commonplace
If There is a Satan, then There is No God
Incoherent: I Believe Because It Makes Me a Moral...
Is He Keeping His Distance? Or Is He Just Not The...
Is Heaven Guilt Money?
Is Religious Education Child Abuse?
Isn't "God" Just Another Word for New Age Nonsense...
Jerry Falwell: Exploiting Religious Tolerance and...
Knowing Your Own Mind About God
Miracles Make It Harder to Prove God is Good
Miracles Prove That There Is No God
Monkey Morality or Goodness Isn't Magical
Moving On
No Moral Truths? No God.
Non-Cognitive Religious Utterances Produce Beliefs...
One of Several Ways to Prove the Negative
Perfect Word of God? Reliable Historical Document...
Possible, Possible, Possible: Overdrawing the God...
Proving the Negative
Putting the Fox in Charge of the Hen House
Reasonable Belief, Proof, and Uncertainty
Reining In the Fallacious Human Belief Machine
Religion is a Mind Virus
Religious Memes and Rational Autonomy
Remembering God
Sam Harris: The Problem with Atheism and Being Sp...
Science Always Replaces Supernatural Explanations
Science is Not A Religion
Self-Deception: Religion and Science are Compatib...
Should We Believe that Jesus was Resurrected?
Sinking the Raft I’m Standing On
Stephen Pinker: Instinct for Morality
Textual Exegesis Will Not Solve Religious Problems...
The Believer's Moral Double Standard for God
The Burden of Proof is on the Atheist
The Burden of Proof is on the Atheist Redux
The Double Standard of God’s Goodness
The God Urge
The Hidden Costs of Religious Belief
The Inductive Problem of Evil Argument Against the...
The New Ten Commandments
The Paradox of the Soul-Building Defense of Evil
The So-Called Right to Believe: Confusing Hoping ...
The Super Evil Challenge
There Is No Psychic Contact with The Dead
There is No Right To Religious Belief
Top Ten Suggestions For Performing Better Miracles...
Treating Religious Affiliation as Ethnicity
Trying To Be Moral Through The Distorted Lens Of T...
Videos: Dawkins, and Gay Scientists Isolate Chris...
Washing in Blood, Human Sacrifices, Cannibalism, G...
We Are Wired to Resist the Truth About Pointless S...
We Don't Have the Right Dataset to Make the Design...
What If the Lie Really Is Good For Us?
What Would be Evidence for Life After Death?
What Would Change Your Mind?
What Would Make the Atheist Happy?
Wide Atheism: There Are No Gods Whatsoever
You Don't Really Believe In Miracles
You don't Really Expect Us To Believe That, Do You...
4 Important Modern Atheists Discuss Their Work
500 Dead Gods
A 300 Year Gap
A God Who Performs Miracles is Evil
Adding Epicycles to God
Begging the Question: Miracles and Nature
Believing in God is Immoral
Bogus Probabilistic Judgments and God
Can Atheists Be Moral?
Can We Find Evidence for the Divine Properties In ...
Coherence and Atheism
Confusing Possible with Probable and Having a Righ...
Dawkins' Law
Deal With It
Did the Believers Believe?
Does Sin Corrupt our Ability to See God or Does th...
Does the Atheist Need to Respond to Faith?
Does the Theist Have a Moral Advantage Over the At...
Don’t like my tone? Am I being rude?
Everything is to the Glory of God
Fine Tuning's Fatal Flaw
Fitna, documentary about violence, hatred and Isla...
Garbage In, Garbage Out
Gibberish? Non-Cognitivist Speech Act? or Seriou...
Giving God A Free Pass
God and Suffering
God Blind Spot
God Doesn't Do Miracles, full version
God is Not a Watchmaker
God or Gratuitous Evil?
God Wouldn’t Leave Room for Agnosticism, There Are...
God Wouldn't Do Miracles
God's Evil
Grave robbers or Magic?
He Has No Brain, So God Doesn't Exist
Heroism and the Duty to Rescue Demonstrate that th...
How Big Would God's Universe Be?
How Probable is God?
How the Surreal becomes Commonplace
If There is a Satan, then There is No God
Incoherent: I Believe Because It Makes Me a Moral...
Is He Keeping His Distance? Or Is He Just Not The...
Is Heaven Guilt Money?
Is Religious Education Child Abuse?
Isn't "God" Just Another Word for New Age Nonsense...
Jerry Falwell: Exploiting Religious Tolerance and...
Knowing Your Own Mind About God
Miracles Make It Harder to Prove God is Good
Miracles Prove That There Is No God
Monkey Morality or Goodness Isn't Magical
Moving On
No Moral Truths? No God.
Non-Cognitive Religious Utterances Produce Beliefs...
One of Several Ways to Prove the Negative
Perfect Word of God? Reliable Historical Document...
Possible, Possible, Possible: Overdrawing the God...
Proving the Negative
Putting the Fox in Charge of the Hen House
Reasonable Belief, Proof, and Uncertainty
Reining In the Fallacious Human Belief Machine
Religion is a Mind Virus
Religious Memes and Rational Autonomy
Remembering God
Sam Harris: The Problem with Atheism and Being Sp...
Science Always Replaces Supernatural Explanations
Science is Not A Religion
Self-Deception: Religion and Science are Compatib...
Should We Believe that Jesus was Resurrected?
Sinking the Raft I’m Standing On
Stephen Pinker: Instinct for Morality
Textual Exegesis Will Not Solve Religious Problems...
The Believer's Moral Double Standard for God
The Burden of Proof is on the Atheist
The Burden of Proof is on the Atheist Redux
The Double Standard of God’s Goodness
The God Urge
The Hidden Costs of Religious Belief
The Inductive Problem of Evil Argument Against the...
The New Ten Commandments
The Paradox of the Soul-Building Defense of Evil
The So-Called Right to Believe: Confusing Hoping ...
The Super Evil Challenge
There Is No Psychic Contact with The Dead
There is No Right To Religious Belief
Top Ten Suggestions For Performing Better Miracles...
Treating Religious Affiliation as Ethnicity
Trying To Be Moral Through The Distorted Lens Of T...
Videos: Dawkins, and Gay Scientists Isolate Chris...
Washing in Blood, Human Sacrifices, Cannibalism, G...
We Are Wired to Resist the Truth About Pointless S...
We Don't Have the Right Dataset to Make the Design...
What If the Lie Really Is Good For Us?
What Would be Evidence for Life After Death?
What Would Change Your Mind?
What Would Make the Atheist Happy?
Wide Atheism: There Are No Gods Whatsoever
You Don't Really Believe In Miracles
You don't Really Expect Us To Believe That, Do You...
4 Important Modern Atheists Discuss Their Work
500 Dead Gods
Why Require Proof of God's Existence?
Why does one require proof of the existence of anything?
Most people structure their entire lives around a God not proved to exist.
Most people know that humans cannot flap their arms and fly safely from the top of the Empire State Building. Facts like that keep us alive.
Facts and proof are part of the fabric of our society, the reason why our laws are written and the basis of our entire system of mercantile commerce. Without proof, claims cannot be validated and without validation there exists no standards to which we may draw upon for truth.
Would you invest in companies or give out your credit card number over the phone without any proof of the caller's claims, or even proof that the company exists?
The reasons to require proof are far too numerous to name.
The countless millions of people who have lost their lives through murder, torture and as the result of terrorism, along with the countless trillions of dollars in property that have been destroyed are directly due to the lack of proof of diametrically opposing propositionally ideological philosophies.
Religions that believe they have the only path to God, the only book that has been authored by God, that certain geological locations have been given to them by God and that all those who do not believe must be either subjugated, converted or killed cannot exist within proximity to one another.
This has been a catalyst for local destruction for millennia, and now that we have what appears to be a portal from the fourteenth century open onto our world with inhabitants pouring through by the tens of thousands that have access to twenty-first century weapons puts it on a global scale of potential mass homicide.
Imagine all this NOT ever having existed if proof was required outside of ancient texts written by ignorant men with little or no understanding of the world, the universe and basic human physiology.
Yeah, we should demand proof - proof is, well, kind of important. It may even mean the difference between life continuing on this planet or our extinction.
Most people structure their entire lives around a God not proved to exist.
Most people know that humans cannot flap their arms and fly safely from the top of the Empire State Building. Facts like that keep us alive.
Facts and proof are part of the fabric of our society, the reason why our laws are written and the basis of our entire system of mercantile commerce. Without proof, claims cannot be validated and without validation there exists no standards to which we may draw upon for truth.
Would you invest in companies or give out your credit card number over the phone without any proof of the caller's claims, or even proof that the company exists?
The reasons to require proof are far too numerous to name.
The countless millions of people who have lost their lives through murder, torture and as the result of terrorism, along with the countless trillions of dollars in property that have been destroyed are directly due to the lack of proof of diametrically opposing propositionally ideological philosophies.
Religions that believe they have the only path to God, the only book that has been authored by God, that certain geological locations have been given to them by God and that all those who do not believe must be either subjugated, converted or killed cannot exist within proximity to one another.
This has been a catalyst for local destruction for millennia, and now that we have what appears to be a portal from the fourteenth century open onto our world with inhabitants pouring through by the tens of thousands that have access to twenty-first century weapons puts it on a global scale of potential mass homicide.
Imagine all this NOT ever having existed if proof was required outside of ancient texts written by ignorant men with little or no understanding of the world, the universe and basic human physiology.
Yeah, we should demand proof - proof is, well, kind of important. It may even mean the difference between life continuing on this planet or our extinction.
The End is Near!
Well, here we are at the end of another year . . . and still no Jesus descending with a shout.
Look folks, if we are going to end this thing in 2012, shouldn't the 3 1/2 year great tribulation have already started?
It has to be the "last days" here at this particular "end time" because the mockers and the scoffers are on the increase (like they were back in about 65 AD). Want to bet that there won't be more mockers and scoffers after 2012?
Yes, the old mockers and scoffers, without them we couldn't really tell that it's about time for Jesus to return but just as true today as it was then:
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.
Look folks, if we are going to end this thing in 2012, shouldn't the 3 1/2 year great tribulation have already started?
It has to be the "last days" here at this particular "end time" because the mockers and the scoffers are on the increase (like they were back in about 65 AD). Want to bet that there won't be more mockers and scoffers after 2012?
Yes, the old mockers and scoffers, without them we couldn't really tell that it's about time for Jesus to return but just as true today as it was then:
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.
Old Letters to the Editor
PLEASE USE THE NEW 'LETTERS TO THE EDITOR' PAGE. This one has technical problems.
Christianity and its Persecution of Heretics
In the first century there was no heresy for the simple reason that there was no orthodoxy. The 'heresies' referred to in old translations of the New Testament are merely differences of opinion . Small Christian communities believed what they wanted to, and worshipped as they chose. There were no central authorities, no set rituals, no agreed canon of scripture, no Church hierarchy, and no established body of doctrine. In line with the toleration practised throughout the empire each group of Christians was free to believe whatever it wanted. The natural consequence of this state of affairs was that ideas and practices in different communities diverged.
Towards the end of the second century Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, saw the dangers of numerous opinions developing. He attempted to establish an orthodox body of teaching. He wrote a five volume work against heresies, and it was he who compiled a cannon of the New Testament. He also claimed that there was only one proper Church, outside of which there could be no salvation. Other Christians were heretics and should be expelled, and if possible destroyed. The first Christian Emperor agreed. Gibbon summarises the edict which announced the destruction of various heretics: Read More
Given that we have a chance to finally escape this MONSTER, should we not take it?
Towards the end of the second century Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, saw the dangers of numerous opinions developing. He attempted to establish an orthodox body of teaching. He wrote a five volume work against heresies, and it was he who compiled a cannon of the New Testament. He also claimed that there was only one proper Church, outside of which there could be no salvation. Other Christians were heretics and should be expelled, and if possible destroyed. The first Christian Emperor agreed. Gibbon summarises the edict which announced the destruction of various heretics: Read More
Given that we have a chance to finally escape this MONSTER, should we not take it?
Illusion and Delusion
When You Think You Just Know What Tomorrow Will Bring - By Dennis Diehl
I know so many human beings who KNOW how everything in the near and distant future is going to go. They know the details. They know when things will happen, how they will happen, who will cause them to happen, why they need to happen and how they are going to come out smelling like a rose. (I hate that smell).
These are the Bible literalists and fundamentalists who read the Bible and especially what they perceive as Bible prophecy as one would read the news paper or a daily news blog. They see the names of ancient lands as the old name for current world powers. Gog and Magog are the Russians, to some. Ephraim and Manasseh are the United Kingdom and America to others. There are the Kings of the North and Kings of the South in Daniel who they just know are this or that, it keeps changing, country in the Middle East. Europe is "clearly" spoken of in Bible prophecy as is China and parts of Antarctica. Ok, I just made that up. Israel is the Bible God's chosen country and of course people but Palestinians not so much. Genetically, they are identical however. Canaanites all.
Not only do they know which countries are mentioned in Bible prophecy for today, which to them is the end of all time that must shortly come to pass, but some see themselves written into the pages of the Bible. Yep they do! I know the Two Witnesses of Revelation, The Watcher over the world for God, True prophets that live right now on this planet and you can send for their booklets explaining it all, and a whole array of Apostles and True Evangelists.
Each heads up the true church and most hate each other and scoff at their rival insights and predictions.
To date, 100% of them have been 100% wrong 100% of the time.
Here are some charmers and insights of a Pastor Ron Weinland, who has boldly proclaimed himself one of the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11. His wife, conveniently, has been declared the other witness. I knew Ron personally when a pastor myself. Obviously, I have outgrown it and had to move on or live a rather dishonest life promoting what I no longer saw as true. Mr. Weinland, on the other hand, went on to see himself clearly prophesied in the pages of the Book of Revelation. His rivals in prophecy also tend towards the same delusions.
Ron Weinland:
As far as prophecy is concerned beginning in mid April this year we begin a period of what is known as 1260 days, and that’s 3½ years. A lot of people refer to it as the 3½ year period of a great tribulation that’s going to be on this earth. And that’s exactly where we are in time.
Ron Weinland:
A few years ago God made it clear to me that I was a prophet. That time when he first began to reveal that to me I believed that I was a prophet by what’s referred to in Scripture as interpretationally, in other words being able to interpret prophesies and know the meaning. And there were a lot of things that began to be given concerning the end time.
Ron Weinland
Pentecostal Minister:
I am not at ease fully with this yet. God is teaching me things as we go along here. I cannot imagine saying certain things that are going to be responsible for the death of people. But yet again I can, because there are certain things going to take place where God is going to intervene and destroy millions, literally hundreds, a few hundred million right there at the very end and on the very last day before Jesus Christ returns.
Ron Weinland:
Oftentimes people ask me the question of whether or not I feel that I’m wrong, or ‘What if?’ They keep asking, ‘What if? What if?’ How can I answer that? To me there is no ‘What if?’ It is. It is what it is. And there is no doubt in my mind, as sure as the sun’s coming up in the morning, and it’s going down this evening, this afternoon. That’s just the way it is, it’s that clear, it’s that absolute. There is no altering of anything.
This is how Mr. Weinland, Witness One of Two, sees himself. I might add that over the past couple of years, he has modified his mistakes in such ways as to blame those who listen to him for misunderstanding and taking him too literally.
Mr. Weinland's greatest, self hanging quote of all time came last year when the beginning of the Trumpets of Revelation were upon us.
“Three More Weeks” RW March 29, 2008 sermon:
“If by Pentecost [June 8 2008] I’m just going to make this real clear to everyone. If by Pentecost [June 8, 2008] it is not powerfully and abundantly clear that there has been a great deal of destruction that will clearly encompass a third of all plant life in the US and at least the clear results of this mingled with blood the death of very much animal life and the beginning of large numbers of human life then I will stop preaching. Just so all the critics and everyone out there will understand. I am true to my word in these things. OK? And for all the critics if by the end of July and for most likely around Pentecost if nothing has clearly caused great destruction and death I will make it very clear that I was a false prophet. I will do exactly what I said I would do on aaaaall those interviews that I have held. To do less. Well. Would be quite insane.”
That was six months ago. He was wrong, as are all to date and yet he did not step down and recently now in November of 2008 made it clear, in the above interview, he was still a prophet. No biggie. He just failed to use the adjective "False." There is plenty of time.
Why do we do this or allow ourselves to have others do this to us? There is a lot of money and ego pumping fame in pretending to know the mind of God and what is about to happen. Even the Apostle Paul used such terms to motivate the faithful in the New Testatment. He told the Church that "time was short," and that the end was closer than when they all first came upon the truth he had for them. One can see the evolution of Paul's dissapointment and need to grow up. Later in the New Testament he says time is still short, but that he fought the good fight and now was going to die. Previous to this, he had declared that "we who are alive and remain will be caught up together in the clouds with the Lord," yet some others, not him, would die before Jesus returned. He was wrong too. Even later, those who dared ask, "where is Jesus," were labeled scoffers and part of the problem and that God doesn't see time as we mere humans do. "A day with God is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day." All this to not admit that the human leaders under God and Jesus were wrong. Blame the people and never apologize for being wrong. Never let 'em see you sweat I guess still applies.
In the Weinland interview, it was the psychologist, not the Theologian, who nailed the reasons why we have this need to think we can know the future. I'll let her speak for herself. She never comments until late in the interview, but must have felt she was in a session with a delusional patient.
THE PSYCHOLOGIST
Susan Tanner
Clinical Psychologist:
"Now many things are not predictable. The world is a very uncertain place. People change their jobs, organisations fold, collapse, you know, There is no guarantee in anything any more…Global threats like war, climate change certainly create anxiety too because the future is no longer guaranteed….…that sort of unpredictability and uncertainty creates a lot of anxiety, and anxiety is often a precursor to depression.Unresolved anxiety sets people up for depression, because you can then feel despondent that well there actually isn’t anything I can do. Because climate change is out of my hands, terrorism is out of my hands… So that can lead to what’s called catastrophic thinking, that imagining the worst scenario of what might happen and then believing that that’s what will happen."
Susan Tanner:
"Apocalyptic thinking can be very useful to people who need to feel a sense of control, and that they therefore feel calm because they know what’s going to happen. Living with uncertainty, living with a question mark is the hardest thing to do for all human beings. We like to know what’s going to happen. That’s why we visit clairvoyants and you know we have our tarots read and all sorts of things…."
Susan Tanner:
"There are massive risks when someone has extreme delusional thinking. There are risks to the individual. And there are obviously dangers to other people and that can be hundreds or thousands of other people, when someone is totally controlled by their delusional thinking. And you know we have lots of examples of that in our history."
Finally, the interview concluded with this observation.
Greg Clarke
THE LITERATURE SCHOLAR
Director of Centre for Public Christianity:
"Stories about the end will always appeal to human beings and that is part of our psychology. What I hope people will do is sort out the truth from the fiction and recognise what we can understand from the bible about God’s view for this world and not tip over into paranoia or confusion or fear, which often has terrible social consequences."
Our world, its politic and certainly its religious views are infested with this kind of need to think we can see the future. The Bible is a record of humans believing and writing to relieve the angst that comes with not knowing. Yet, we don't know. We can't know. And I'd like to think that it's not all layed out like a play where all we ever did was show up and act out predetermined lives with no personal responsibility to change or accept things as they are.
The world of religion is full of humans who should resign as Master Seer's for God because they are not and many innocent yet naive people get drawn to them to their harm.
I know so many human beings who KNOW how everything in the near and distant future is going to go. They know the details. They know when things will happen, how they will happen, who will cause them to happen, why they need to happen and how they are going to come out smelling like a rose. (I hate that smell).
These are the Bible literalists and fundamentalists who read the Bible and especially what they perceive as Bible prophecy as one would read the news paper or a daily news blog. They see the names of ancient lands as the old name for current world powers. Gog and Magog are the Russians, to some. Ephraim and Manasseh are the United Kingdom and America to others. There are the Kings of the North and Kings of the South in Daniel who they just know are this or that, it keeps changing, country in the Middle East. Europe is "clearly" spoken of in Bible prophecy as is China and parts of Antarctica. Ok, I just made that up. Israel is the Bible God's chosen country and of course people but Palestinians not so much. Genetically, they are identical however. Canaanites all.
Not only do they know which countries are mentioned in Bible prophecy for today, which to them is the end of all time that must shortly come to pass, but some see themselves written into the pages of the Bible. Yep they do! I know the Two Witnesses of Revelation, The Watcher over the world for God, True prophets that live right now on this planet and you can send for their booklets explaining it all, and a whole array of Apostles and True Evangelists.
Each heads up the true church and most hate each other and scoff at their rival insights and predictions.
To date, 100% of them have been 100% wrong 100% of the time.
Here are some charmers and insights of a Pastor Ron Weinland, who has boldly proclaimed himself one of the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11. His wife, conveniently, has been declared the other witness. I knew Ron personally when a pastor myself. Obviously, I have outgrown it and had to move on or live a rather dishonest life promoting what I no longer saw as true. Mr. Weinland, on the other hand, went on to see himself clearly prophesied in the pages of the Book of Revelation. His rivals in prophecy also tend towards the same delusions.
Ron Weinland:
As far as prophecy is concerned beginning in mid April this year we begin a period of what is known as 1260 days, and that’s 3½ years. A lot of people refer to it as the 3½ year period of a great tribulation that’s going to be on this earth. And that’s exactly where we are in time.
Ron Weinland:
A few years ago God made it clear to me that I was a prophet. That time when he first began to reveal that to me I believed that I was a prophet by what’s referred to in Scripture as interpretationally, in other words being able to interpret prophesies and know the meaning. And there were a lot of things that began to be given concerning the end time.
Ron Weinland
Pentecostal Minister:
I am not at ease fully with this yet. God is teaching me things as we go along here. I cannot imagine saying certain things that are going to be responsible for the death of people. But yet again I can, because there are certain things going to take place where God is going to intervene and destroy millions, literally hundreds, a few hundred million right there at the very end and on the very last day before Jesus Christ returns.
Ron Weinland:
Oftentimes people ask me the question of whether or not I feel that I’m wrong, or ‘What if?’ They keep asking, ‘What if? What if?’ How can I answer that? To me there is no ‘What if?’ It is. It is what it is. And there is no doubt in my mind, as sure as the sun’s coming up in the morning, and it’s going down this evening, this afternoon. That’s just the way it is, it’s that clear, it’s that absolute. There is no altering of anything.
This is how Mr. Weinland, Witness One of Two, sees himself. I might add that over the past couple of years, he has modified his mistakes in such ways as to blame those who listen to him for misunderstanding and taking him too literally.
Mr. Weinland's greatest, self hanging quote of all time came last year when the beginning of the Trumpets of Revelation were upon us.
“Three More Weeks” RW March 29, 2008 sermon:
“If by Pentecost [June 8 2008] I’m just going to make this real clear to everyone. If by Pentecost [June 8, 2008] it is not powerfully and abundantly clear that there has been a great deal of destruction that will clearly encompass a third of all plant life in the US and at least the clear results of this mingled with blood the death of very much animal life and the beginning of large numbers of human life then I will stop preaching. Just so all the critics and everyone out there will understand. I am true to my word in these things. OK? And for all the critics if by the end of July and for most likely around Pentecost if nothing has clearly caused great destruction and death I will make it very clear that I was a false prophet. I will do exactly what I said I would do on aaaaall those interviews that I have held. To do less. Well. Would be quite insane.”
That was six months ago. He was wrong, as are all to date and yet he did not step down and recently now in November of 2008 made it clear, in the above interview, he was still a prophet. No biggie. He just failed to use the adjective "False." There is plenty of time.
Why do we do this or allow ourselves to have others do this to us? There is a lot of money and ego pumping fame in pretending to know the mind of God and what is about to happen. Even the Apostle Paul used such terms to motivate the faithful in the New Testatment. He told the Church that "time was short," and that the end was closer than when they all first came upon the truth he had for them. One can see the evolution of Paul's dissapointment and need to grow up. Later in the New Testament he says time is still short, but that he fought the good fight and now was going to die. Previous to this, he had declared that "we who are alive and remain will be caught up together in the clouds with the Lord," yet some others, not him, would die before Jesus returned. He was wrong too. Even later, those who dared ask, "where is Jesus," were labeled scoffers and part of the problem and that God doesn't see time as we mere humans do. "A day with God is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day." All this to not admit that the human leaders under God and Jesus were wrong. Blame the people and never apologize for being wrong. Never let 'em see you sweat I guess still applies.
In the Weinland interview, it was the psychologist, not the Theologian, who nailed the reasons why we have this need to think we can know the future. I'll let her speak for herself. She never comments until late in the interview, but must have felt she was in a session with a delusional patient.
THE PSYCHOLOGIST
Susan Tanner
Clinical Psychologist:
"Now many things are not predictable. The world is a very uncertain place. People change their jobs, organisations fold, collapse, you know, There is no guarantee in anything any more…Global threats like war, climate change certainly create anxiety too because the future is no longer guaranteed….…that sort of unpredictability and uncertainty creates a lot of anxiety, and anxiety is often a precursor to depression.Unresolved anxiety sets people up for depression, because you can then feel despondent that well there actually isn’t anything I can do. Because climate change is out of my hands, terrorism is out of my hands… So that can lead to what’s called catastrophic thinking, that imagining the worst scenario of what might happen and then believing that that’s what will happen."
Susan Tanner:
"Apocalyptic thinking can be very useful to people who need to feel a sense of control, and that they therefore feel calm because they know what’s going to happen. Living with uncertainty, living with a question mark is the hardest thing to do for all human beings. We like to know what’s going to happen. That’s why we visit clairvoyants and you know we have our tarots read and all sorts of things…."
Susan Tanner:
"There are massive risks when someone has extreme delusional thinking. There are risks to the individual. And there are obviously dangers to other people and that can be hundreds or thousands of other people, when someone is totally controlled by their delusional thinking. And you know we have lots of examples of that in our history."
Finally, the interview concluded with this observation.
Greg Clarke
THE LITERATURE SCHOLAR
Director of Centre for Public Christianity:
"Stories about the end will always appeal to human beings and that is part of our psychology. What I hope people will do is sort out the truth from the fiction and recognise what we can understand from the bible about God’s view for this world and not tip over into paranoia or confusion or fear, which often has terrible social consequences."
Our world, its politic and certainly its religious views are infested with this kind of need to think we can see the future. The Bible is a record of humans believing and writing to relieve the angst that comes with not knowing. Yet, we don't know. We can't know. And I'd like to think that it's not all layed out like a play where all we ever did was show up and act out predetermined lives with no personal responsibility to change or accept things as they are.
The world of religion is full of humans who should resign as Master Seer's for God because they are not and many innocent yet naive people get drawn to them to their harm.
Bible Origins: Forbidden Knowledge
According to the Bible Origins Website:
"Quite simply, the findings of Science from the fields of Astrophysics, Geology, Archaeology, Anthropology, and Literary Criticism have concluded that the Bible is _not_ the word of God, this precious hard-won scientific knowledge constitutes The Forbidden Knowledge on the Bible's Pre-biblical Origins (please click here for a very fine article on what constitutes "forbidden knowledge" according to the Wikipedia). The "forensic evidence" (physical evidence) unequivocably _contradicts_ (refutes, denies and challenges) the witness' (Bible's) testimony regarding the age of the Universe and of the Earth, how life came into being, and when this occurred. For some conservative Catholic Scholars the earth and the universe was created 5199 B.C. while some conservative Protestant scholars understand this event was in 4004 B.C. _CONTRA_ these dates (being derived from the Bible's internal chronology), Astrophysists understand from data compiled by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope that the earth is 4 billion years old and the universe is 14 billion years old. If the Bible has the age of the earth and universe wrong what else does it have wrong? Archaeology and Geology reveals there never was a Garden of Eden or Adam and Eve, nor was there ever in the earth's geologic history a universal Noah's Flood, and the Exodus -as portrayed in the Bible- is fiction according to the findings of Archaeology. The discipline of Literary Criticism has established that Moses did not write the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, in the 16th or 15th century B.C. as claimed by Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions, the texts were composed in the 7th or 6th century B.C. The counterclaims of Christian Apologists are investigated and their "flawed methodologies" are noted (They claiming that Satan and his Demons have "misled" and "duped" the Scientists and that the Bible is a reliable witness)."
"Quite simply, the findings of Science from the fields of Astrophysics, Geology, Archaeology, Anthropology, and Literary Criticism have concluded that the Bible is _not_ the word of God, this precious hard-won scientific knowledge constitutes The Forbidden Knowledge on the Bible's Pre-biblical Origins (please click here for a very fine article on what constitutes "forbidden knowledge" according to the Wikipedia). The "forensic evidence" (physical evidence) unequivocably _contradicts_ (refutes, denies and challenges) the witness' (Bible's) testimony regarding the age of the Universe and of the Earth, how life came into being, and when this occurred. For some conservative Catholic Scholars the earth and the universe was created 5199 B.C. while some conservative Protestant scholars understand this event was in 4004 B.C. _CONTRA_ these dates (being derived from the Bible's internal chronology), Astrophysists understand from data compiled by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope that the earth is 4 billion years old and the universe is 14 billion years old. If the Bible has the age of the earth and universe wrong what else does it have wrong? Archaeology and Geology reveals there never was a Garden of Eden or Adam and Eve, nor was there ever in the earth's geologic history a universal Noah's Flood, and the Exodus -as portrayed in the Bible- is fiction according to the findings of Archaeology. The discipline of Literary Criticism has established that Moses did not write the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, in the 16th or 15th century B.C. as claimed by Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions, the texts were composed in the 7th or 6th century B.C. The counterclaims of Christian Apologists are investigated and their "flawed methodologies" are noted (They claiming that Satan and his Demons have "misled" and "duped" the Scientists and that the Bible is a reliable witness)."
JEWISH BELIEF BASED ON NATIONAL REVELATION
A Rabbi says:
"Of the 15,000 religions in human history, only Judaism bases its belief on national revelation -- I.e. God speaking to the entire nation. If God is going to start a religion, it makes sense He'll tell everyone, not just one person.
Judaism, unique among all of the world's major religions, does not rely on "claims of miracles" as the basis for its religion. In fact, the Bible says that God sometimes grants the power of "miracles" to charlatans, in order to test Jewish loyalty to the Torah (Deut. 13:4). . . .
. . . Judaism is not miracles. It is the personal eyewitness experience of every man, woman and child, standing at Mount Sinai 3,300 years ago."
http://www.aish.com/spirituality/philosophy/Why_Dont_Jews_Believe_In_Jesus$.asp
Wait a minute . . . Didn't all those eyewitnesses die in the wilderness without ever writing a word about it or proving it to other people? Even if Moses did write about it (he didn't) that's still only one witness (not enough) and he died in the wilderness also.
Well . . . "poof", no eyewitnesses.
"Of the 15,000 religions in human history, only Judaism bases its belief on national revelation -- I.e. God speaking to the entire nation. If God is going to start a religion, it makes sense He'll tell everyone, not just one person.
Judaism, unique among all of the world's major religions, does not rely on "claims of miracles" as the basis for its religion. In fact, the Bible says that God sometimes grants the power of "miracles" to charlatans, in order to test Jewish loyalty to the Torah (Deut. 13:4). . . .
. . . Judaism is not miracles. It is the personal eyewitness experience of every man, woman and child, standing at Mount Sinai 3,300 years ago."
http://www.aish.com/spirituality/philosophy/Why_Dont_Jews_Believe_In_Jesus$.asp
Wait a minute . . . Didn't all those eyewitnesses die in the wilderness without ever writing a word about it or proving it to other people? Even if Moses did write about it (he didn't) that's still only one witness (not enough) and he died in the wilderness also.
Well . . . "poof", no eyewitnesses.
Noah's Flood, Real or No Real
Nothing simpler. For a start, we would expect to find:
* A global uniform sediment layer
* Global uniform flood deposits
* Uniform fossil layers, deposited globally, and at the same time
* A geological record indicative of a global flood
* Evidence of a massive species bottleneck in all oxygen breathing animal populations on the earth, as well as in the human population
* Evidence of species distribution and diversity indicative of a global flood
* Evidence of all civilizations on the earth at that time being simultaneously destroyed by a flood, leaving massive archaeological evidence for the fact
We would not expect to find:
* This evidence contrary to a global flood
* A geological record which contradicts a global flood
* A species record with no discernible chronologically and geographically uniform bottleneck
* Species distribution and diversity incompatible with a global flood
* Evidence of civilizations on the earth at the time of the flood which were entirely unaffected by the flood and which left no record of it
* A global uniform sediment layer
* Global uniform flood deposits
* Uniform fossil layers, deposited globally, and at the same time
* A geological record indicative of a global flood
* Evidence of a massive species bottleneck in all oxygen breathing animal populations on the earth, as well as in the human population
* Evidence of species distribution and diversity indicative of a global flood
* Evidence of all civilizations on the earth at that time being simultaneously destroyed by a flood, leaving massive archaeological evidence for the fact
We would not expect to find:
* This evidence contrary to a global flood
* A geological record which contradicts a global flood
* A species record with no discernible chronologically and geographically uniform bottleneck
* Species distribution and diversity incompatible with a global flood
* Evidence of civilizations on the earth at the time of the flood which were entirely unaffected by the flood and which left no record of it
Christadelphian Admits Problem With Christ's Return
A Christadelphian outlines all the "at hand" and "shortly" problem passages in the New Testament and solves the problem by claiming God has "deferred" the fulfillment for thousands of years. He doesn't explain why this postponement would be so long except to suggest that God is waiting for Christianity to come into the unity of the faith and for the Jews to repent and accept Jesus as their Messiah, an impossibility if ever there was one. Of course, this contradicts the whole idea of the New Testament that it would all happen in that generation and that he would not delay his coming.
An interesting read and a much better apology than 2 Peter.
An interesting read and a much better apology than 2 Peter.
Christadelphian Religion Plagiarized?
Well, it looks as though Herbert W. Armstrong is not the only founder of a cult that plagiarized his entire set of doctrines from someone else.
Dr. John Epps and Dr. John Thomas sound like one and the same man in their religious views.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Epps
I've always wondered where John Thomas (the founder of the Christadelphians) got his ideas from . . . and John Epps didn't even get an honorable mention in my old ecclesia, strange that, since it is possible that John Thomas plagiarized the whole Christadelphian religion from John Epps (or vice versa?)
Dr. John Epps and Dr. John Thomas sound like one and the same man in their religious views.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Epps
I've always wondered where John Thomas (the founder of the Christadelphians) got his ideas from . . . and John Epps didn't even get an honorable mention in my old ecclesia, strange that, since it is possible that John Thomas plagiarized the whole Christadelphian religion from John Epps (or vice versa?)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)