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Wednesday, 15 November 2017

DAVID JEREMIAH: PRETRIB PIRATE! BY DAVE MACPHERSON

     Internationally known pretrib teacher David Jeremiah is a pastor in the San Diego, California area. Although to my knowledge he doesn't lift barbells in a gym for his health, he's an expert on lifting other things that have decidedly helped his wealth - wealth that has allowed him to live on nearby Coronado Island in a condo reportedly worth a cool two million dollars.
     Jeremiah has a good number of bestselling - and pretrib selling - books under his belt that almost never seem to go out of print. And that includes his 1990 book "Escape the Coming Night" which he co-authored with C. C. Carlson which is still available on Amazon etc.
     Twenty years ago, in 1997, I discovered that the same Jeremiah book had heavily plagiarized many pages in Hal Lindsey's 1973 book "There's A New World Coming"!  (Evidently none of Jeremiah's many readers during the first seven years of his book had had any inkling of his literary piracy.)
     You may be wondering what first led me to my discovery of the wholesale stealing. It may have been the description of the 144,000 as "Jewish Billy Grahams" - an unforgettable phrase I knew Lindsey had used.
      While comparing the two books in question, I found exactly 47 pages in Jeremiah's book that had massive plagiarism of Lindsey's book. Here is just a tiny portion of Jeremiah's role as pirate - for which he has never, to my knowledge, apologized:
              
     [NOTE: Quotes from Hal Lindsey's 1973 book "There's A New World       Coming" (NW) will be followed by the plagiarism of them in David
 Jeremiah's 1990 book "Escape the Coming Night" (E).]

     (1) NW, p. 66: The symbolic church of "Philadelphia" was from "1750-1925" - the "great missionary era" of "Wesley, Whitefield...Spurgeon, and Moody...."    
          E, p. 54: "The symbolic "Church of Philadelphia" was "from 1750 until around 1925" - "the period of great missionary outreach" of   "John Wesley, George Whitfield, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, D. L. Moody...."

     (2) NW, p. 123: The 144,000 will be "Jewish Billy Grahams."
          E, p. 121: The 144,000 will be "Jewish Billy Grahams."

     (3) NW, p. 144: "Over a century ago, before America groaned under the present crime wave, Joseph Seiss, the author of The Apocalypse, predicted on the basis of Revelation 9:21 that capital punishment would have been largely abolished by the time of the Tribulation!"
          E, p. 132: "Over a century ago, before we groaned under the present crime wave, J. A. Seiss, author of The Apocalypse, predicted, on the basis of Revelation 9:21, that capital punishment would be largely abolished by the time of the Tribulation."

     (4) NW, p. 173: "God...one of Your children down on earth, Hal Lindsey, just blew it in his Christian life....Lucifer...I let My Son...take the penalty for Hal's sins....You haven't got a case against Hal."
          E, p. 155: "God, did you notice David Jeremiah down there in California? He really blew it today in his so-called Christian life....[Satan], I paid the penalty for his sins upon the cross, so drop this case...."

     (5) NW, p. 251: "...the heavenly preparation for Jesus' return...revolves around five thunderous, resounding shouts of 'Praise the Lord!'... which is sung in unison by angels, Old Testament saints, Tribulation saints, and Church saints."
          E, p. 200:"Five shouts of 'Praise the Lord' resound throughout heaven as there is a great preparation for Jesus' return. The angels, the Old Testament saints, the church saints, and the Tribulation saints will raise their voices in a choir which will reverberate louder than thunder."


     After my discovery I alerted Thomas Nelson, the publisher of the Jeremiah/Carlson book, and said I would be glad to send photocopies of all the plagiarism for their inspection.
      What happened after I sent them a huge stack of evidence is absolutely stunning! The head of the legal department wrote me and stated that
 "We at Thomas Nelson are very concerned about this matter. Accordingly, we are destroying all our current inventory of this title and will not reprint the book."
      But what he said was a huge lie. They never destroyed a single copy of the offending book and have continued to publish it and send royalties to Jeremiah and Carlson since 1990!
      I wrote a separate article about this unbelievable Thomas Nelson scandal and titled it "Thieves' Marketing." And I am grateful that my good friend Treena Gisborn aired it on her excellent "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing" blog several months ago on May 8th.
      I wonder how soon a certain pirate will have to walk the plank!

Saturday, 11 November 2017

SIMON BRAKER SCHOOL OF THE SPIRT: TRINITY LIFE CHURCH LEICESTER

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:10-20).

"Stand Your Ground" was the title of a sermon based on the armour of God in Ephesians 6, preached by David Hind about a month ago. {1} This sermon stands in contradiction to the clear compromises the leadership of Trinity Life Church in Leicester continue to make. Hind spoke about Jesus being THE TRUTH, not a truth, he said that Jesus is not an add-on, he said that the canon of scripture is the belt of truth and that all ways do not lead to God etc. Very laudable you might say, but where is the fruit? (Luke 6:46; Matthew 7:16). I wonder that Hind did not choke on his own words!

Hind's association with ecumenism deepens as TLC take up the false teaching promoted by self appointed "ecumenical prophet" Simon Braker. This term is of course an oxymoron. TLC are by now either deeply embroiled in, or have completed, the course: School of the Spirit aka School of the Prophetic devised and founded by Braker who is an NAR ecumenist and a leader at Holy Trinity Church in Leicester (CofE). {2} TLC's choice between the teaching of Jesus Christ in the scriptures, allegedly held in such high esteem by Hind, and the doctrines of demons promoted by an NAR dominionist infiltrator, falls to the latter. (1 Timothy 4:1). Nothwithstanding all TLC's previous compromises, and there are very many,{3} this latest departure from the truth is nothing short of monstrous hypocrisy.

Below is a short excerpt from my previous post on this subject. For those Christians who are not aware of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), I suggest that you undertake a thorough investigation into the movement in order to determine whether these people do in fact represent God. I will leave some useful links at the end of this post.

NAR "Super Apostles" claim to be equal with, or to have superseded the original Apostles, and since they are allegedly commissioned by God, their authority cannot be questioned. Thus, NAR leaders usurp the clear foundation of the apostles teaching in the scriptures and put the Body of Christ under their own authority. Believers are therefore deprived of the safeguard of scripturally testing prophesies. (1 John 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). 

The NAR teach a flawed post-millennial view of eschatology i.e. Christ's second coming will occur after the millennium. They have redefined the Great Commission in order to accommodate their own agenda, which is to take dominion of the world by means of sociopolitical control under the leadership of NAR apostles and prophets via the Seven Mountain Mandate: Education, Religion, Family, Business, Government/Military, Arts/Entertainment and Media. New extra biblical revelations, allegedly from "God", are given exclusively to NAR prophets (and occasionally apostles). By acting on these new revelations, they claim that the church will be empowered to take dominion of the world in order to enable Jesus' return. Needless to say that Dominionism is utterly false and is not the gospel of Jesus Christ: Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world.." (John 18:36 cf. 2 Corinthians 11:4)). Postmillennialism violates the scriptures which describes Jesus' literal thousand year reign on the earth. (Zechariah 14:4-9; Matthew 25:31-34). Premillennialism is based upon a literal interpretation of Revelation 20:1-6. The kingdom will not be established until JESUS CHRIST (NOT THE CHURCH) sets up His millennial reign after the Great Tribulation. (Revelation 19:11-20:4; 22:19). Jesus Christ did not commission the church to remodel society, the church was commissioned to preach the gospel to the whole world and to make disciples. (Mark 16:15; Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:19-20). In essence, these NAR false apostles and prophets promote the diametric opposite of the scriptures, often with hyped up claims about revival/awakening/end time harvest. The scriptures speak very clearly about an end time apostasy. (Matthew 24:10-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3).


These people turn the gospel upside down. They deny the inerrancy of the scriptures, and in doing so, they deny the authority of Christ Himself! NAR leaders include infamous gravesucker Bill Johnson, {5} false prophet Rick Joyner who is a Jesuit/Freemasonic Knight of Malta {6} and Ché Ahn. If you are not alarmed by all of this then there is something very seriously wrong! {4} 

TLC disregards the official Assemblies of God position regarding Dominion theology and the NAR! The following statement was adopted by the General Presbytery of the Assemblies of God on August 11, 2000:

"Kingdom Now or Dominion theology. The thought that God’s kingdom can come on earth with a little help from humankind is intriguing to those who advocate this approach to impacting society. Rather than scoffing at the promise of Christ’s imminent return (2 Peter 3:3,4), this errant theology says that Jesus will not return until the Church takes dominion of the earth back from Satan and his followers. By taking control, through whatever means possible, of political, ecclesiastical, educational, economic, and other structures, Christians supposedly can make the world a worthy place for Christ to return and rule over.6 This unscriptural triumphalism generates other related variant teachings."
{5}

Following on from Simon Braker's "prophecy" dated the 13th of August 2017, he has since published a further "vision". This is a time specific prophecy, but he is equally vague about what will actually occur. What I have found with these false prophets is that the alleged "breakthrough" is always just around the corner. These so called "prophets" continue to peddle false hopes to undiscerning believers. Fakes of one sort or another have been prophesying an imminent "revival" ever since I became a Christian in 1985, and yet all we have seen is departure from the scriptures and spiritual degeneration within the denominations. One difference between a false prophet and a true prophet is that a true prophet will prophecy repentance, whereas false prophets prophecy vague visions of "peace" without addressing false doctrines. (1 Timothy 4:16).

"Simon Braker - Position Yourself to Catch the Wind of the Spirit over these Next Three Months
Simon Braker, Prophetic Voice Leicester 20 Oct 17

I’m in Kiev Ukraine. Today as I read and prayed in my room, the Lord took me into a vision:

I was in a large hall with a blue carpet. I could see the room was full of people and I could hear them saying, ‘It’s getting very hot in here.’

Then I saw what looked like a thermostat. I saw it turned three notches up.

I heard the Lord saying that the increase in the intensity and move of His Spirit over these next three months is going to be significant and there is a third wave of His presence that will hit!

Position yourself to catch the wind of the Spirit over these next three months. Do not become side tracked or distracted; stay focused, for new mantles are about to be released. Now is the preparation time for promotion and advancement and enlargement."
{6}


Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:16).
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.. (1 Timothy 4:1).

..for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13).







It appears that TLC have been involved with Braker since at least 2015! Below is a picture from an exclusive by invitation only meeting: Roundtable in Leicester for Apostles, Prophets and Prayer Leaders. "On February 27th, 2015, 44 apostles, prophets and prayer leaders from Great Britain and Ireland were gathered for a roundtable, initiated and hosted by Simon & Joe Braker." {7}



For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. (2 Corinithians 11:13).

{1} http://www.schoolofthespirit.uk/simonbraker/

Useful Links:

Thursday, 9 November 2017

THE SEVEN YEAR TRIBULATION FALLACY

Many have been taught that the tribulation will be a future seven year period, despite the fact that not one single scripture backs up this fallacy. It may seem a minor detail to some, but those who teach a seven year tribulation have blatantly misinterpreted the scriptures. It is vital that God's Word is not tampered with in any way. (Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18). The scriptures tell us repeatedly, in no uncertain terms, that the great tribulation will last for 3.5 years:

Daniel 7:25 He (the Antichrist) shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. (3.5 years).
Revelation 11:2 ..but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
Revelation 13:5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.
Revelation 12:5-6 ..and the woman (Israel) fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. This period coincides with what is also known as "Jacob's Trouble". (Daniel 12:1, Jeremiah 30:7). 
Matthew 24:15-21 ..when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
Daniel 9:27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” The abomination of desolation will occur halfway through the final seven year period, often referred to as Daniel’s 70th week.

In light of such clear and specific information we may reasonably ask why various teachers refer to a seven year tribulation. We know from the scriptures that every word of God is true. (Proverbs 30:5-6 cf. Psalm 12:6, 119:160). If every word of God is true, when something is emphasised two or three times then it is particularly weighty. The 3.5 year tribulation period is emphasised unequivocally a number of times, and yet many teachers either insist, or loosely refer to it, as a seven year period. The misrepresentation of the tribulation period is inexcusable!

There will of course be "tribulation" in general terms throughout the Church Age. (John 16:33; Matthew 13:21). However, the "great tribulation" referred to by Jesus Christ in the Olivet Discourse will be off the scale.. hence "great tribulation". There has never been anything like it in the past, and there never will be again. (Matthew 24:21).

Jesus Christ warned about deception four times in Matthew 24:

See that no one leads you astray. (Matthew 24:4)
..many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.  (Matthew 24:11)
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:24)
So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. (Matthew 24:26).

Jesus Christ was concerned that his hearers should "understand". 

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand).. (Matthew 24:15).


With such emphasis as this, we must conclude that the subject of Jesus' return is extremely critical, and also that false teachers/prophets will have a field day with it. It is in the interests of the enemy to obscure the details surrounding Jesus' return with various false teachings. Satan does not want Christians to understand eschatology!

The point at which the Antichrist "takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God", is a pivotal marker in time; it signals the onset of 3.5 period of "great tribulation". (2 Thessalonians 2:4). This event will occur precisely half way through the 70th week of Daniel. The 70th Week of Daniel begins with the agreement between the prince who is to come (the Antichrist), a descendant of the Roman Empire, and "many" (including Israel), probably endorsing the construction Jewish Temple. (Daniel 9:27). The first four seals of Revelation describe the entrance of the Antichrist, followed by war, famine and death, culminating in the annihilation of one quarter of the world's population. (Revelation 6:1-8). These catastrophes apply to the general population of the world, not specifically to Christians. (Matthew 24:7). The great tribulation i.e. the mass martyrdom of Christians, is not mentioned at all until the fifth seal of Revelation (Revelation 6:9-11), following what Jesus described as "the beginning of the birth pains".

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. (Matthew 24:7-9).

Why do false teachers misinterpret the length of the tribulation?

Among those who misinterpret the length of the tribulation are false pre tribulation rapture teachers. Principally they are the "Left Behind $$$$" crowd whose main influence in the US comes under Thomas Ice (Pre-Trib Research Center), and in the UK, Colin Le Noury (Prophetic Witness Movement International). These false teachers add to the scriptures, teaching that God will rapture the church and that believers will escape the alleged "seven year tribulation". This is in compete opposition to the explicit teaching of the scriptures. Not only is pre-trib utter nonsense, it is extremely dangerous, since in renders believers oblivious and unprepared for the powerful delusion of 2 Thessalonians 2:11, and the coming unmatched persecution. (Matthew 24:21; Mark 13:19). The Book of Revelation is of no particular consequence to pre-trib believers since they have been taught that it does not apply to them. As a result of this deception "many" will fall away from the faith:

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.. (2 Thessalonians 2:3) 
And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. (Matthew 24:10).

Those who have escaped the false pre-trib teachers are at risk of more subtle tactics and are not yet out of the woods. Jacob Prasch (Moriel Ministries) teaches a warped combination between a pre-trib and pre-wrath rapture and emphasises a seven year tribulation.{1} Much of what Prasch teaches is accurate which makes him as dangerous as gunpowder. Prasch has put a spanner in the works and has muddied the waters with his deeply flawed Intra-Seal Rapture theory. (Ezekiel 34:18-19).{2}

New Apostolic Reformation Dominionism is outright heresy and is unconscionable! Dominionism in its various forms disregards the tribulation and the rapture. For the most part, bible prophecy is either interpreted as having already been fulfilled (preterism), or allegorized. NAR ecumenicals claim to be in the process of setting up the Kingdom of God now. This position is at complete odds with the words of Jesus Christ: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36). 

For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:4).

{1} https://bewareofthewolves.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/jacob-prasch-say-again-tribulation-is.html

Tuesday, 7 November 2017

PSEUDO-EPHRAEM TAUGHT PRETRIB - NOT! BY DAVE MACPHERSON

       Evidence abounds that all of dispensationalism's crucial aspects including the pretrib rapture were taught by some of John Darby's less than orthodox contemporaries in the 1830s before Darby taught them.
       Since this explosive discovery, there's been an unholy frenzy to find sources as early as possible in the Church Age which can be "shaded" enough to appear to be authentically pretrib in order to avoid the (well deserved) stigma that pretrib is a "recent theory."
       In the 1990s Canadian prophecy teacher Grant Jeffrey claimed to have found clear pretrib teaching in a 4th century Christian writer known as Pseudo-Ephraem (which I'll abbreviate as P-E).
       If anyone wants to find out what P-E really taught, he or she can Google "Apocalypse of Pseudo-Ephraem (Wikipedia)" and click on "Rhoades Translation from a Latin text of Pseudo-Ephraem."
       This translation into English affected Grant Jeffrey, and his purposely muddied-up revisionism of P-E has captivated Thomas Ice and other pretrib merchandisers.
       In Section 2 P-E wrote: "We ought to understand thoroughly therefore, my brothers, what is imminent or overhanging." He revealed what was imminent in his next sentence which stated that "there is not other which remains, except the advent of the wicked one [Antichrist]."
       Nevertheless Jeffrey (constantly repeated by Ice) claimed that P-E taught "an imminent pretrib rapture"! (In the twinkling of an eye they fearlessly changed an imminent arrival of Antichrist into an imminent arrival of Christ!)
      Right after this, in Section 2, P-E wrote: "For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord..." This phrase ("taken to the Lord") is trumpeted by Ice etc. as a clear reference to a pretrib rapture.
      But Dr. Paul Alexander's book "The Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition," which inspired Jeffrey to claim he had found evidence of pretrib before 1830, says that this phrase means "participate at least in some measure in beatitude."
      (Encyclopedias dealing with this aspect of Byzantine theology reveal that "beatitude" has to do with doing "acts of virtue" on earth - the opposite of being raptured off earth!)
      Ice etc. even falsely claim that Dr. Alexander concluded that P-E was pretrib. But Alexander's book (pp. 218-19) has two summaries of P-E's beliefs, each one showing that P-E looked for only one future coming of Christ which would FOLLOW the "tribulatio magna lasting three and a half years"!
      My book "The Rapture Plot" (1995) has an appendix analyzing P-E, and Dr. Robert Gundry's (1997) book "First the Antichrist" also demolishes Jeffrey's claim.
      The recent eyes-wide-open revisionism of pretrib history has even been asserting that "many" of the early Church Fathers taught pretrib - daring prevarications that the late Dr. Walvoord would have denounced since he was never able to find any "pretribulationist" before Darby!
       For some excellent details on the current revisionism mania, Google "Pseudo-Pseudo-Ephraem" and "Grant Jeffrey's Apocalypse Debacle" by Florida researcher Tim Warner.
      There's now more deception than what's found in my earlier piece "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty." In fact, the sort of deceitfulness outlined above is now causing the SS Pretrib Rapture to list heavily to port - the port of no return!

Tuesday, 31 October 2017

PAUL WILKINSON: SERIAL REVISIONIST BY DAVE MACPHERSON

     Here's a hint or two:
     Prov. 14:5 says "A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies." II Tim. 3:13 predicts: "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived."
     And now some facts about Dr. Paul Wilkinson who, unlike his American counterpart Thomas Ice, possesses an honorable doctorate from an accredited school, the University of Manchester.
     My wife and I recall meeting the late great encyclopedia contributor Dr. F. F. Bruce and being invited to have tea with him in his office there. This occurred before I had written my first book, and Bruce was then excited over the long forgotten pretrib rapture history that we had already uncovered in libraries throughout England and Scotland.
     Accidental omission when pursuing historical facts is one thing (and I've been guilty of this a few times). But deliberate concealment is something else - and not merely happenstance when it's a sustained pattern and others are aware of it and point it out to the offending person.
     Wilkinson authored "For Zion's Sake: Christian Zionism and the Role of John Nelson Darby" published by Paternoster Press in 2007. He included an appendix on "Margaret MacDonald's Utterance" (p. 263).
     His idolizing of Darby may have been his main motive for stopping his quotation of Margaret's 117-line pretrib revelation account (1830) at line 58 just before her statement of "the one taken and the other left" BEFORE she writes "Now will THE WICKED [Antichrist] be revealed" - what I have long viewed as her "main point."
     Wilkinson had to have been aware that others (Hal Lindsey etc.) have used her phrases in the same way - phrases briefly expressing the essence or "kernel" of the 187-year-old pretrib rapture view (a pretrib rapture before Antichrist's appearance). And since he'd rather credit Darby with pretrib origination, or at least the "revival" of it in the 1830s, he naturally yielded to temptation and quickly took the wind out of her Port Glasgow sails!
     Wilkinson must have also remembered that his friend and fellow revisionist "Dr" Thomas Ice, when supposedly quoting Margaret in an unbiased and uncensored way, stopped quoting her at line 55 and resumed quoting her in line 72! (Thomas Ice, "Why the Doctrine of the Pretribulational Rapture Did Not Begin With Margaret McDonald, Bibliotheca Sacra, 1990)
     Margaret's "revelation" (which is actually only her interpretation of Scripture) has two parts in what I call her "main point": (1) the rapture ("one taken" etc.) which happens before (2) the Antichrist ("THE WICKED") is revealed.
     Some revisionist pretribs omit the first part; others omit the second part. "Dr" Ice played it safe and omitted both parts of her "main point" in his Dallas Sem. journal article (above) so that he could brazenly declare that she did NOT teach a pretrib rapture!
     Not long after Joe Schimmel's blockbuster DVD "Left Behind or Led Astray?" came out, Wilkinson, imitating Ice, responded with his "Left Behind or Led Astray? - Exposed." Again he stopped quoting the Scottish lass at line 45!
     At about the same time Treena Gisborn (of "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing" blog fame) penned "Left Behind or Led Astray: Paul Wilkinson's Vitriolic Outburst at the Berean Call Conference 2015!!!" - a must-read for all who decry today's increasing revisionism by dishonest pretrib traffickers!
     I also added my thoughts in a net piece titled "Margaret Macdonald's Main Point."
     The revisionism continued in 2016 with a Pretrib Research Center video titled "Response to Left Behind or Led Astray?" starring Ice as well as Wilkinson. This time I spotted Wilkinson stopping at line 58 while quoting Margaret - his devious way of changing her from pretrib to posttrib. In fact, at the end while summarizing Margaret's main (pretrib) point, Ice said with a smirk "Can anybody find a pretrib rapture in that statement?" And Darby idolizer Wilkinson added: "This is posttrib. This is a posttrib rapture." (!)
     "Dr" Ice (whose "Ph.D" was lifted from an unaccredited seminary that was fined by the state of Texas for issuing illegal degrees!) also had the effrontery to declare that Irving and his followers never taught either pretrib or imminence! My book "The Rapture Plot" has a chapter with many quotes from the Irvingite journal "The Morning Watch" expressing any-moment imminence as well as clear pretrib statements (while Darby was still publicly defending posttrib historicism until his first clear pretrib teaching which didn't begin until 1839!).
     In Sep. 1830 "The Morning Watch" saw "Philadelphia" raptured before "the great tribulation." In 1832 John Tudor stated that "some of these elect ones shall...be left in the great tribulation...after the translation of the saints." In 1832 another writer spoke of "the translation of the living...of which we may daily expect the accomplishment."
     When surfing the net it isn't hard to find those who have interpreted "the one taken and the other left" the way Margaret did when she was expressing pretrib. The word "left" as in the "Left Behind" books etc. is the same as the "left" in her main point and we know that those bestselling books see a pretrib rapture followed by Hollywoodized scenes of a future great tribulation.
     John Walvoord's "The Rapture Question" (p. 110) shows that Robert Govett's partial rapturism was similar to Margaret's; Walvoord wrote: "The one left, according to Govett, is left to go through the tribulation."
     An interesting net piece titled "A Warning to Those Who Think They Are Saved" was a sermon preached by the well-known Dr. R. L. Hymers Jr. at the Fundamentalist Baptist Tabernacle in Los Angeles. He quoted Margaret's main point as found in Matt. 24:40-41 and stated: "I have become convinced that many people who believe they are converted are actually lost. I believe that they will be left behind when the rapture occurs...left behind to face the horrors...left behind on the earth to be tormented by the Devil."
     David J. Stewart, a well-known guest on TBN who's associated with Jesus-is-savior.com, sees a pretrib rapture in "the one shall be taken, and the other left" (Luke 17:35, 36) in his article "Left Behind at the Rapture" (2005, updated 2012).
     Wilkinson, by the way, cited only my 1975 book "The Incredible Cover-up" (instead of my 1995 book "The Rapture Plot" which is more valuable than my other books combined) when supposedly analyzing her in a fair way - and he analyzed her by deliberately omitting all of her main point so that he and Ice could lie together and tell the world that the pretrib originator was really teaching a posttrib rapture!
     For more on Margaret and Irving, Google "X-Raying Margaret," "Margaret Macdonald's Rapture Chart," "Pretrib Was New in the 1830s," "Edward Irving vs. John Darby," and "Pretrib Rapture Diehards."
     Right now I will yield to temptation and quote Jeremiah 17:11 which says, in part, that "he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool."

Friday, 27 October 2017

RICHARD TAYLOR: NEW BEGINNINGS OR OLD TRICKS?

It amazes me why anyone would attend Taylor's new venture New Beginnings after the failure of the so called "Welsh Outpouring" and his adultery in 2014. {1}

Factually, we know that Taylor is a false prophet due to the failure of the "Welsh Outpouring" and all the "prophecies" surrounding its expansion and success. We know that Taylor is a self confessed adulterer (after being caught in the act that is). We know that following his adultery, Taylor seemed to think that it was perfectly acceptable to continue in so called "ministry", and although he was fired by Elim, he vigorously sought other avenues in which to perpetuate his presumption and folly. Taylors behaviour was too much, even for Elim, the shamefully apostate ecumenical UK based Pentecostal denomination!

To rub salt into the wound, Taylor's alleged "church" has been set up at Bethania Chapel in Merthyr Tydfil, the very church that was acquired by Victory Church under very questionable circumstances back in March 2012 under Taylor's leadership:

“Bethania Chapel was bought in 1999 by Bethania fellowship with money provided by Woodlands Trust, a charity owned by Richard Sheppard. Bethania Fellowship carried out major repairs to the church, also building a new toilet block and baptismal pool, work which cost them tens of thousands of pounds. During this time they were repaying the money back to the charity. They were also paying the buildings insurance, a policy arranged by Mr.Sheppard for 'owners' of a building. About three years ago, Mr Sheppard said he wanted to sell the building and told the fellowship that the money they had been paying to the charity had been 'rent' not repayment, even though there had never been a rent agreement drawn up. Bethania fellowship had the building valued by two local estate agents and offered Mr Sheppard the valuation price . But he told the fellowship he wanted them to pay him at least double the price quoted by the estate agents, even though they had worked so hard on the building and put a lot of money into it. It became obvious that he didn't want Bethania fellowship to have the building, so they had to leave the church.”
Comment posted by Elizabeth Evans on the 17th of October 2013. {2}

I notice that Taylor's wife, Jill, joins him in his folly as "Senior Pastor". I was contacted by Jill Taylor over a year ago when she requested that I remove all my posts about the "Welsh Outpouring" in order to give her husband a second chance. I am assuming that Taylor himself was behind this dubious appeal so that he could lessen the impact of his murky past whilst planning future deception. Biblically Taylor is a marked man: Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. (Romans 16:17 KJV).

I hope that readers of Rob Thomas's blog http://watchman4wales.blogspot.co.uk and also my posts, will understand how completely outrageous any alleged "Christian" venture set up by Taylor is. Anyone attending New Beginnings has to be completely out of their mind and have no interest in the scriptures or anything remotely true and praiseworthy.

“A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats.”  ?CH Spurgeon.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

{1} https://www.newbeginningschurches.org/leadership
{2} https://bewareofthewolves.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-welsh-outpouring-open-letter-to.html?m=0

Wednesday, 25 October 2017

ARE THERE TWO GOSPELS? THE ERROR OF GEOFFREY GRIDER: NOW THE END BEGINS

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/gospel-of-the-kingdom-that-will-be-preached-in-the-time-of-jacobs-trouble-is-not-pauls-gospel/

Grider: ".. the gospel of the grace of God given exclusively to Paul in Damascus by Jesus for the Church Age was markedly different from the gospel preached by Peter in Acts 2. Today I want to show you yet another gospel that will be preached in the end times, and it’s called the gospel of the kingdom. This gospel, much like Peter’s, is a combination of faith plus works, and Jesus warns that failure to abide by it will result in the loss of your salvation. This gospel (of the kingdom), much like Peter’s, is a combination of faith plus works, and Jesus warns that failure to abide by it will result in the loss of your salvation."

On the day of Pentecost Peter preached a "gospel of grace" without works:
Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day--about 3,000 in all. (Acts 2:41).
Paul also undoubtedly preached the same "gospel of grace" without works:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8 cf. Titus 3:5).
Nevertheless, James reminds us that that faith without works is dead. (James 2:17, 20, 26). Faith cannot be acquired by works, although the scriptures make it very clear that subsequent to salvation, faith must necessarily be accompanied by works if it is genuine. (2 Corinthians 13:5). There is no contradiction in the scriptures, although some who have given themselves over to error and perversity would argue otherwise.

Does Jesus say that "the gospel of the kingdom is a different gospel", as Grider so forcefully puts it?

Grider: "But one thing that Matthew 24 does not address and does not discuss is any reference to Christians or to the Church Age that we currently find ourselves in. Why not? Because the focus is squarely on Israel and the trials and tribulations of the Jewish people in the time of Jacob’s trouble."

Grider: Matthew 24 does not mention Christians.. REALLY?

Jesus addresses His disciples i.e. the future church/Christians: He speaks to them about two separate events in history: {1} the signs of His coming and the end of the age, and {2} the destruction of the temple in 70AD. Jesus warned about the great tribulation and the falling away, events that most certainly involve the Christian remnant.  

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

“Then they will deliver you (Christians) up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:3,9-14, confirmed by Paul: 2 Thessalonians 2:3).

70AD The destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Army:

“So when you (Christians) see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matthew 24:15-16; Daniel 9:27). 

The rapture is not "conspicuously absent" from Matthew 24 as Grider claims:

Jesus speaks explicitly in consecutive terms: Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. v31-And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31). His elect are believers, i.e. the church. The rapture (verse 31) in fact follows the great tribulation. This exact sequence of events is confirmed in Revelation 6.

Israel will not be raptured. It is during the second half of Daniel's 70th week that Israel will flee to a place in the wilderness, probably Petra, in order to survive the great tribulation. (Micah 2:12; Isaiah 63:1-6). The Lord will protect and nourish them in the wilderness for 1260 days i.e. 3.5 years. 

No Other Gospel

The apostle Paul is not recorded as using the phrase "the gospel of the kingdom". He wrote about "the gospel", "the gospel of Christ", "the gospel of God", but the phrase "the gospel of the kingdom", cannot be found on Paul's lips.  However, Paul does refer to "the kingdom" a number of times: Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 4:20; 6:9, 10; 15:24, 50; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 1:13; 4:11; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; and 2 Timothy 4:1, 18. The terms "the gospel of God", "the kingdom of God", and "the gospel", are inextricably connected by Jesus Christ Himself. (Mark 1:14-15). The King James translation of Mark 1:14 is "the gospel of the kingdom of God", Greek εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ = the gospel of God. In other words they are synonymous terms.

Jesus Christ used the phrase a number of times :

"..And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14). To restate the obvious: the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed to the whole world, literally, the inhabited earth, as in Luke 2:1 and Acts 11:28 . "[The kingdom (932 /basileía) is constantly used in connection with Mark 1:14-15). The rule of Christ in the hearts of believers – which also extends in various stages.]" {1}

“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.. (Luke 16:16; cf. Matthew 11:12 ).
It is clear that the kingdom of God follows the Law and the Prophets... for everyone.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15). 

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9).

For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. (2 Corinthians 11:4).

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. (Revelation 14:6).

When the scriptures are so explicit, how does anyone have the audacity to claim that there are two gospels?

Peter agrees with Paul and warns of ignorant and unstable people who twist the scriptures to their own destruction:

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:15-18).

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15).

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1).

{1}  http://biblehub.com/greek/932.htm