Could You Be a Married Adulterer? - For Christians Only

Adultery has been going on for centuries and obviously was a problem 2500 years ago or it wouldn't have been mentioned in the Bible so many times. Could you actually be married to someone and be considered an adulterer? It's time for you to learn all the rules in the New Testament about adultery.

Here's a Bible verse that could get a lot of Christians in trouble. Mark 10:11-12 (New King James Version)" 11 So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

It looks a little more complicated than most of us could have ever thought. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, has committed adultery. That means that there are millions of Christians all over the world who have committed adultery.

I've got some more bad news for Christians who might have looked at a woman lustfully. Matthew 5:28 (New International Version Bible) "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." This isn't looking good, for men or women is it?

If you've never been married, but while you were at church, notice an attractive woman or man and had lustful thoughts, about them, you're an adulterer. I know, it sounds a little harsh, but I'm not making anything up here, it's right out of the Bible.

I know things aren't looking good but I would like to leave you with a comforting thought. If you were divorced from your spouse because of an adulterous relationship, things might be starting to look a little different with this next Bible verse.

Matthew 19:9 (New International Version Bible) I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

These are typical contradictions and they are located throughout the Bible. Mark 10:11-12 states that all divorced people who have remarried, commit adultery. Matthew 19:9 states something completely different, if your divorced and your ex spouse has been unfaithful during your marriage and you remarry, everything is okay.

Are you even more confused than when I started? There's a good chance that you are. I'm even confused and I wrote the article. The real question is, can we remarry or can't we.

This would be a good topic during Bible study. You can start by asking, how many people are adulterers?

Read This Today

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Click here if you're interested in the Bible truth.

Good Christians Really Do Inspire Me

One of the best Christians who I ever met, truly inspired me and everyone around him to become a better person. His son is now working at a church and his daughter is a teacher and they're not the only people who he inspired.

He inspired me to write this article, good Christians really do inspire me and others and he definitely was living his life, like Jesus did. He's the only person that I ever met, who didn't have anything bad to say about anyone, with the exception of one time. I actually heard him say that he hates that person, the person probably deserved it, but I still couldn't believe that the word came out of his mouth.

We all make mistakes, even he did, every once in a while. Whenever someone asked him about Christianity, he would try to avoid sharing his beliefs with them, unless they were persistent and then he would share all that he knew.

He never tried to convert anyone and never forced his opinions on anyone else. I asked him once," Did he actually read all of those books that he had in his library." He said that he actually did and I was shocked. He had three large library shelves that were each 4 foot wide and went almost all the way up to the ceiling, filled with books on Christianity and some on other religions.

He's the only man I ever met, that I would actually consider to be a good Christian. I don't know what it was about him, his honesty, compassion or simple kindness, but I valued his friendships and kept my ears open and my mouth shut... most of the time.

If you know someone like this in your life, I would advise you to take full advantage of their wisdom and let them inspire you to become a better Christian and if you don't believe in Christianity, these people can inspire you to become better person. A great life can be acquired, learning the wisdom from people who lead great lives.

Unbelievable Christian Bible Study Book

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Do you really know why you're a Christian, click on this way to get more information about Becoming Really Good Christians

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Thanks for reading my articles

Jesus' Missing Years in the Bible

It looks like there is a big problem in the Gospels. There are more years in Jesus' life that are missing than years of his life that were ever recorded. Why weren't these years listed in the Bible?

All the Gospels talked about the death of Jesus, the birth of Jesus and a few years in between, but all of the Gospels are missing some very important years from his life. When raising a child, some of the most important years of their lives, will be those when they were teenagers and often those of their young adulthood.

The Gospels talk about Jesus at the temple at around the age of 12 or 13. After that, there is very little known until he reaches the final years of his life. Was there someone or a group of people or even a community who influenced his life? Could Jesus have learned something from a spiritual master Guru that changed the world forever?

There is more speculation on Jesus' missing years than you could ever imagine. Some say that Jesus went to Egypt to study with their masters or priests. Egypt obviously wasn't that far from where Jesus was raised, but like most of the stuff in the Bible, there is very little evidence to support any of these speculative stories.

Could Jesus have went to India and studied with the Buddhist masters or even a Hindu scholars? Did Jesus study with advanced Jewish scholars? This is only a little bit of the historical speculation, but if the truth was ever to be known, it could help Christianity solve a lot of problems.

Most Christians rarely even question these missing years. There are quite a few Christians that don't even know that there are any missing years in Jesus' life. I wrote this article to get people thinking and hopefully to start educating themselves about early Christianity. Good luck and God bless.

Great Christian Books And Articles

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:
Religious Education And Fear

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Religious Mind Control Or Generational Sin

If you were raised with certain beliefs and belong to a certain religion, there is a very good chance that your parents followed your religion and share the same beliefs. If you are a Muslim, there's a very good chance that your parents were Muslims. If you live in the United States, there is a really, really good chance that you're a Christian, especially if you live in Texas or Utah.

Is this religious mind control and generational sin or is this truly the way life is meant to live. Your parents and ancestors formed strong beliefs and pass them on to their children. What's wrong with that? Is it a generational sin to pass on what you truly believe? With that question asked, is a generational sin our mind control to teach our children how to fit into society, is it our obligation as stewards.

We often send our children to school, give them a good religious upbringing and then assimilate them into the workplace, almost like robots on an assembly line. We seem to never even question where these beliefs originated, we have no idea where they are going to take us and above all, we have no idea that they are truly beneficial to society, let alone ourselves.

Teaching our children what we have been taught, isn't always going to be right. If you look back in history, at all the beliefs, rituals and facts that have been disproven and are no longer followed by modern man, you can get a pretty good idea what I'm talking about. These people often taught their children, what they were taught. In centuries to come, these truths died out and were replaced by new ones.

Religious mind control can be cured by opening your mind and reading articles like this. You might be talking to someone who you have been taught to fear or even hate your whole life, only to find out that they think like you. They care about their families, feel sorry for others who are less fortunate and usually eat and sleep just like you do. If your mind is open enough, you could realize that you have been lied to and now it's time to start thinking seriously about what you were taught and what you're going to believe in the future.

Religious mind control can be cured through reading books, watching television, visiting other countries and educating yourself about other cultures and religions. The change you make today could affect future generations in your family.

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Check out one of his recommended books, You Can Have It All

Greg is currently working on a religious help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Could You Be a Married Adulterer? - For Christians Only

Adultery has been going on for centuries and obviously was a problem 2500 years ago or it wouldn't have been mentioned in the Bible so many times. Could you actually be married to someone and be considered an adulterer? It's time for you to learn all the rules in the New Testament about adultery.

Here's a Bible verse that could get a lot of Christians in trouble. Mark 10:11-12 (New King James Version)" 11 So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

It looks a little more complicated than most of us could have ever thought. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, has committed adultery. That means that there are millions of Christians all over the world who have committed adultery.

I've got some more bad news for Christians who might have looked at a woman lustfully. Matthew 5:28 (New International Version Bible) "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." This isn't looking good, for men or women is it?

If you've never been married, but while you were at church, notice an attractive woman or man and had lustful thoughts, about them, you're an adulterer. I know, it sounds a little harsh, but I'm not making anything up here, it's right out of the Bible.

I know things aren't looking good but I would like to leave you with a comforting thought. If you were divorced from your spouse because of an adulterous relationship, things might be starting to look a little different with this next Bible verse.

Matthew 19:9 (New International Version Bible) I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

These are typical contradictions and they are located throughout the Bible. Mark 10:11-12 states that all divorced people who have remarried, commit adultery. Matthew 19:9 states something completely different, if your divorced and your ex spouse has been unfaithful during your marriage and you remarry, everything is okay.

Are you even more confused than when I started? There's a good chance that you are. I'm even confused and I wrote the article. The real question is, can we remarry or can't we.

This would be a good topic during Bible study. You can start by asking, how many people are adulterers?

Read This Today

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Click here if you're interested in the Bible truth.

Good Christians Really Do Inspire Me

One of the best Christians who I ever met, truly inspired me and everyone around him to become a better person. His son is now working at a church and his daughter is a teacher and they're not the only people who he inspired.

He inspired me to write this article, good Christians really do inspire me and others and he definitely was living his life, like Jesus did. He's the only person that I ever met, who didn't have anything bad to say about anyone, with the exception of one time. I actually heard him say that he hates that person, the person probably deserved it, but I still couldn't believe that the word came out of his mouth.

We all make mistakes, even he did, every once in a while. Whenever someone asked him about Christianity, he would try to avoid sharing his beliefs with them, unless they were persistent and then he would share all that he knew.

He never tried to convert anyone and never forced his opinions on anyone else. I asked him once," Did he actually read all of those books that he had in his library." He said that he actually did and I was shocked. He had three large library shelves that were each 4 foot wide and went almost all the way up to the ceiling, filled with books on Christianity and some on other religions.

He's the only man I ever met, that I would actually consider to be a good Christian. I don't know what it was about him, his honesty, compassion or simple kindness, but I valued his friendships and kept my ears open and my mouth shut... most of the time.

If you know someone like this in your life, I would advise you to take full advantage of their wisdom and let them inspire you to become a better Christian and if you don't believe in Christianity, these people can inspire you to become better person. A great life can be acquired, learning the wisdom from people who lead great lives.

Unbelievable Christian Bible Study Book

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Do you really know why you're a Christian, click on this way to get more information about Becoming Really Good Christians

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Thanks for reading my articles

Jesus' Missing Years in the Bible

It looks like there is a big problem in the Gospels. There are more years in Jesus' life that are missing than years of his life that were ever recorded. Why weren't these years listed in the Bible?

All the Gospels talked about the death of Jesus, the birth of Jesus and a few years in between, but all of the Gospels are missing some very important years from his life. When raising a child, some of the most important years of their lives, will be those when they were teenagers and often those of their young adulthood.

The Gospels talk about Jesus at the temple at around the age of 12 or 13. After that, there is very little known until he reaches the final years of his life. Was there someone or a group of people or even a community who influenced his life? Could Jesus have learned something from a spiritual master Guru that changed the world forever?

There is more speculation on Jesus' missing years than you could ever imagine. Some say that Jesus went to Egypt to study with their masters or priests. Egypt obviously wasn't that far from where Jesus was raised, but like most of the stuff in the Bible, there is very little evidence to support any of these speculative stories.

Could Jesus have went to India and studied with the Buddhist masters or even a Hindu scholars? Did Jesus study with advanced Jewish scholars? This is only a little bit of the historical speculation, but if the truth was ever to be known, it could help Christianity solve a lot of problems.

Most Christians rarely even question these missing years. There are quite a few Christians that don't even know that there are any missing years in Jesus' life. I wrote this article to get people thinking and hopefully to start educating themselves about early Christianity. Good luck and God bless.

Great Christian Books And Articles

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:
Religious Education And Fear

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Born Again or The Kingdom of God

Jesus was sent to Earth to deliver a Message to mankind. A startling message from Outer Space - the third Heaven - from our CREATOR GOD. A correct understanding of what that REVELATION is - the one and only true Gospel - separates God's Church from all others, and exalts the pure religion above every false way (John 17:17).

There is only one way to enter God's Kingdom - and that is through Christ (Acts 4:12). He is the Key that unlocks God's Royal House, the Open Door to the Universe, the Gateway to Eternity, the Immortal Pioneer who has led the way! All other ways are dead ends and will self-destruct (John 10:1).

GOD IS REPRODUCING HIMSELF! That's the glorious Good News that Jesus boldly proclaimed! The Gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD announces the GOD KINGDOM: a Spirit-Born Kingdom of God-Beings! A Royal Family that we can enter (Rev. 3:21). A Divine Family that will administer God's Government throughout the universe and eternity (Isa. 9:7; Dan. 7:18).

God became man, so man could become God (John 1:14; Matt. 10:25). Mankind has been created after the GODKIND, and after a life of conversion, of changing for the better, of going through the process of purification (becoming more God-like, more Christ-like, more Kingdom-like) we can be BORN AGAIN BY A RESURRECTION - just like Jesus was, the firstborn of MANY brethren! (Rom. 1:4; 8:29). Presently, we're far too human, but soon we're to be transformed into glorious, immortal Spirit! (John 10:34-35; Ephes. 4:24). This is what Jesus told Nicodemus, the Jewish religious leader. He didn't beat around the bush, He got straight to the point and told him: "You must be born again" (John. 3:3).

Jesus elaborated on this bombshell, seeing Nicodemus was dumbstruck (just like so many religious people today), and explained that if your parents are flesh and blood humans, it's only natural that you're also human. "That which is born of the flesh IS flesh." You're nothing more or less. Kind after kind (Gen. 1:27). And if you're born again by a Spirit-composed GOD, it's only supernatural that you'll become a Spirit-composed God! "That which is born of the Spirit IS Spirit" (John 3:3-8). Human-beings can become GOD-BEINGS! But first we must be BORN AGAIN.

Unless we're born again - by a RESURRECTION - we can't even see or enter God's Royal Family! The apostle Paul clearly taught the same as Jesus: "And as we have borne the image of the earthy (flesh and blood), we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (Spirit). Now this I say, brethren, FLESH AND BLOOD CANNOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD...but we shall all be CHANGED... raised incorruptible... and...put on immortality" (1 Cor. 15:48-53). When will mortals become immortal? (Proving we're not now!). When will we change our composition and character? "...at the last trump" (vs.52) - NOT during this life, but at Christ's Coming and our resurrection (Rev. 11:15; 20:6). How plain and simple!

Why have the vast majority of professing Christians been deceived on this point? Why do they go about bleating that they're "born again" already? Jesus said "that which is born of Spirit IS Spirit" and Paul said "flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God." Will you believe the Bible or traditional Christianity? (Mark 7:7).

But will we actually become GOD-BEINGS? (1 John 3:9). Will God be our literal FATHER? Will we take on His FAMILY NAME? (Ephes. 3:15; Rev. 22:4). Yes! Because it's REVEALED that "when He shall appear, we shall be like Him" (I John. 3:4), "who shall change our vile body (flesh), that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body (Spirit), according to the working whereby HE IS ABLE even to subdue all things unto Himself"(Phil. 3:21). Even as David and Daniel prophesied of the BRIGHT FUTURE God has in store for us, when we'll inherit His divine nature and form: "... I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied when I awake (at the resurrection), with thy likeness" and "shine...as the stars for ever and ever" (Ps. 17:15; Dan. 12:3). Again, kind after kind (Gal. 4:19). What a glorious hope and calling!

Mankind created after the Godkind, born again at the resurrection, Spirit-composed and Divine! THIS IS THE WHOLE PLAN AND PURPOSE OF GOD! Soon it'll be mission accomplished in our lives and we'll experience the "finishing touch" to our spiritual creation (Phil. 1:6; Rev. 1:8; Ephes. 2:10). We're actually the Kingdom of God in embryo - the PIONEERING COMMUNITY of an advanced civilization - who'll soon help establish HEAVEN ON EARTH! Meanwhile, may we continue to develop and reflect the HOLY, RIGHTEOUS CHARACTER of God in joyous anticipation! (2 Pet. 1:4).

David Ben-Ariel, a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall, shares a special focus on the Middle East, reflected in hard-hitting articles that help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out Beyond Babylon

The Korean Peninsula's Long Night

Christian North Korea, what was it like a hundred years ago?

Some of my readers/hearers may be feeling down today. It happens to me on a regular basis in the school system where I work. Some may be facing sickness or financial loss. But chances are none of us are experiencing anything like the constant stream of evil perpetrated on the Christian inhabitants of the Korean peninsula. We're back in the early part of the 20th century there, during the Japanese occupation. The new masters became so oppressive that native Koreans, led in large part by believers, took to the street. Japan reacted. The torture began. A reporter of the day wrote:

"Men and boys were trussed and suspended from the ceilings so that their weight hung on the shoulders. Thus they were raised and lowered til unconscious. They had their fingers pressed over red hot wires. Their naked flesh was lacerated with sharp hooks and seared with hot irons. Toenails were torn from the flesh with pincers. Men were placed in a tight box and then screwed up. They were tied up, their heads forced back, and hot water or a solution of water and red pepper poured down their nostrils. Slivers of wood were shoved far under their fingernails. They were flogged until they had to be taken to hospitals, where big slabs of gangrenous skin had to be cut off. In many cases they were flogged to death. [These tortures] were not done once or twice, but repeatedly for days and nights, hours at a time, until the victim confessed, whether he had anything to confess or not..."

A 21-year-old Christian female from Pyongyang gave Presbyterian missionaries a signed statement of how women were treated. I will not be able to share all of what she said. But the most dedicated followers of Jesus were humiliated, beaten into unconsciousness, burned with lighted cigarettes, compelled to "baby-sit" the bodies of dead men, bound hand and foot in stocks, exposed to vile indecent remarks, and on and on. "Some of the girls were so changed that they did not look like human beings."

Church papers in the U.S. begin relating the truth about the atrocities as they hear them from the missionaries. So the Japanese have to get rid of the reporters. Two hundred "thugs" are brought over from Japan to terrorize these representatives of Christ's kingdom. Homes must be guarded every night. People are beaten. Others sentenced to prison terms. Then the world press picks up the story. Japan relents and produces reforms, which last about ten years.

In the thirties there is again a fresh crop of Japanese hardliners that rises to repress Christians. More arrests. More rules. In 1937 students at Christian schools are told they must worship the Sun Goddess. Surely all Christians said NO? Wrong. The Methodists go along with the idea, saying that this is merely a cultural patriotic thing, not a religious one. Presbyterians do not comply but they decide to close their schools. The witness of Christ is being snuffed out.

Some churches are given similar regulations. Christians who fail to worship at a Shinto shrine are to be imprisoned. Then in '39 all foreign missionaries are forced to leave the country altogether. The believers who are left behind continue to be pressured into compromise. No more Old Testaments allowed in worship. No New Testament passages that claim Christ to be Lord and King can be proclaimed! Families are forced to "baptize" their children into the Shinto religion. Church buildings confiscated. Clergy drafted for work for the war effort (World War II).

Yes, all of this before Kim and Communism. And all of this after Pyongyang is known as the "Jerusalem" of the East. What a history this peninsula has known! How God's people have paid a price over the years! Gets you to wondering afresh, would I have stood firm? Would I have mentally sought escape from the cross by saying Sun worship is merely "patriotic"? Would I have hid an Old Testament and taught it faithfully to my children, as I would in the free world? Would I have found ways to preach Jesus IS Lord and King, and will one day rule the world when He comes in glory? I have now. Would I have then? Would I have let them force me into infant baptism and a false religion? I fought all of that here. What about there?

Easy to say, "Lord we are able to bear the cross, to drink the cup." It all sounds so poetic and romantic and wonderful. But Peter found out that all the talk in the world doesn't prepare one for an arrest in the middle of the night. May Jesus' Spirit make us ready. For now let us keep praying for those who gladly give their lives away to Jesus.

Oh how the enemy of our soul hates us! Though it is promised that if we resist his temptations he will flee from us, there is no fleeing from the vicious hatred he is at times allowed to pour out on those willing to bear the cross of Christ.

Still feeling down ? In the midst of the ups and downs of life, may Jesus keep His cross before us, and the joy of meeting Him, having borne it faithfully.
Quotes above also used by the Heflins, authors of By Their Blood.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

The Deity of Jesus Christ - Leviticus and Deuteronomy

In the Mosaic books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, one can trace the fact that Jesus is Divine.

Leviticus 11:44, Holy. Twice in rapid succession the God of Israel tells the Jewish nation, "Ye shall be holy, for I am holy." The Spirit that exudes from this God is called the Holy Spirit. Not the Happy or the Mighty but the Holy. Those filled with Holy Spirit are holy people! Isaiah sees the Lord as holy, and the angels of His vision thrice use the word in their classic proclamation: (6:3) "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts!" And Jesus? Is He ever referred to as holy? (Acts 2:27) Peter quotes David's famous words, " Thou wilt not leave My (Jesus') soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption." Peter again, in Acts 3:14 says, But ye (Jews) denied the Holy One (Jesus)...and desired a murderer (Barabbas) to be granted unto you." In a passage that in many ways parallels Isaiah's scene, John the Revelator (4:8) quotes the angels thus: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." But in 1:8 of that book, that formulation of words is applied directly to Jesus! Yes, the "Holy Child" Jesus is also the Holy Lord Almighty! God!

Deuteronomy 6:4, the One God. We come to a critical passage. 6:4 says simply, "Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." We see in this most precious of Jewish Scriptures the reason that the orthodox of Jesus' day wanted to stone Jesus. They could not accept a second God. They knew, and they were correct, that the Lord our God is one, a unity. The idea of more than one was abhorrent. Would that they had listened to Jesus when He proclaimed His oneness with the Father, John 10:30. But it still is quite difficult for these finite minds to grasp that one plus one equals one still. Notice again Paul's use of the word only , in I Timothy 6:15-16: "[Jesus Christ] is the... ONLY Potentate, THE King of Kings...Who ONLY hath immortality..." Yahweh claims to be the ONE God. Jesus is proclaimed to be the ONLY Potentate (source of power and authority). No conflict. Jesus is GOD.

Deuteronomy 10:17, Lord of Lords. "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords..." Such an exclusive title. But it is also the title of the Lord Jesus Christ, written on His clothing, seen by the apostle John and recorded for us in Revelation 19:11-16: "The Word of God...hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

What can we say? Only that Jesus is God.

Deuteronomy 32:4 "He is the Rock.." This is one of many Old Testament passages calling the Lord a rock. Like in I Samuel 2:2, where we see Hannah, in the Spirit, saying, "Neither is there any Rock like our God!" Similarly in the New Testament we see Jesus telling Peter that the Church will be built on Peter's rock-statement that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (Matthew 16). Peter later tells his flock that this Jesus is the "stone which the builders disallowed...the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence..." Paul comments that the Rock that followed the Israelites through the wilderness was none other than Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 10:4)!

Truth . The same passage as quoted above, 32:4, says that this God is "a God of truth." I need not even remind my readers that Jesus said (John 14:6) "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." If He is not God, He is a bit out of order to make such a claim!

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosen together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

Bible Studies For Women

In difficult times, studying the Bible is more important than ever. Following Jesus with whole-hearted devotion means clinging to Him day by day. And this means really digging into the Bible. As a wife, mother, professional, homeschooling parent, student, or young teenager--whatever life stage you're in-Bible studies for women can help you rise above difficulties, discover new joy, and fall in love with the Savior.

But these times are also busy times, so how do we create the space to do Bible studies for women? Here are some ideas that might inspire you:

1) Read the Bible during meals. We need God's Word as much or more than eating! Develop a reading plan that follows chapter by chapter in each different type of book in the Bible, like historical, wisdom literature, prophets, gospels, letters, etc. If this is too much planning for you find some kind of Bible studies for women and use the verses as a devotional.

2) Read a Psalm from The Message right before you go to sleep at night. Choose a short passage that strikes a chord deep in your heart, memorize it, and make it your mission for the next day. Remember and pray about it even before you get out of bed.

3) Find a woman's small group and get encouragement for Bible study. Many Bible studies for women are online.

4) Search for a mentor that will help you study the Bible for yourself.

5) Use a One Year Bible or the reading plan in the back of a study Bible.

6) Aim to spend time with Jesus first thing in the morning, even if it's just for five minutes! Spending time with Jesus and doing Bible studies for women is not meant to be a burden or another item you check off on your to-do list, but a source of true joy! Whether we acknowledge it or not, we need Him moment by moment, day by day.

7) Practice the presence of Jesus. Imagine Him there with you throughout the day. What is He doing? Where is He? What is He saying? What is His facial expression?

Bible studies for women is not about "cranking the blanks" and getting all the right answers. It's about deepening your relationship with Christ, for you to grow, and for you to become a more fruitful vessel, an instrument of God!

For more inspiration, including a newly published Bible study for women called Becoming God's Bride, go to http://www.angelartswebstore.com/books.html

You will be inspired to cling to Jesus and walk with Him in whole-hearted devotion, in difficult times and good times alike!

Obeying God and Hearing His Voice

A friend of mine told me he once asked a godly lady how she became so powerful with God. She replied, "Have you ever been in a restaurant or some other public place and felt God leading you to go talk to some stranger there?" He said yes. She asked, "Did you do it?"

He was silent as he thought of opportunities missed. She said, "Well, there you have it."

The life of a disciple is lived with regular knots in the pit of your stomach. Perhaps there are some great disciples out there who are never in fear that what they think is the voice of God inside is really just some inner impulse that will lead them to great embarrassment. I don't know any disciples like that, though. The great disciples I know set the fear aside, live with the knot in the pit of their stomach, and risk embarrassment.

These disciples talk to people, including strangers, that they feel led to talk to. They say that strange thing that they feel God leading them to say. They do that unusual thing that they feel God leading them to do.

I remember one night in Germany feeling led to talk to a man I was walking past on the sidewalk. I didn't know what to say, but I remembered years earlier that an evangelist (Danny Duvall) had said thatstraightforward is best. Just tell them that you want to talk to them about Jesus.

So I stopped this man with the question, in German, "Do you know Jesus?" His answer was amazing. "How could I possibly know Jesus? He's been dead for two thousand years."

I had one of the most interesting talks I've ever had with that man. I don't know what impact it had on him, but it led to one of the more interesting nights of my life. He invited me to talk to him more at the bar he was walking to. I went home to tell my wife I was taking him up on the invitation, and then I went to the bar.

When I got there, the German man wasn't there, but an old friend from the military was. I got to spend an hour talking to him about life and about the Lord. After that hour, another man came in talking about God. Yes, talking about God in a bar. He was very strange, and he had strange ideas about God. I talked to him until he let down and began talking a lot more reasonably, and he began admitting he knew he needed to give his life to God. It was a very, very unusual conversation.

Amazingly enough, it didn't end there. The owner of the local "house of ill repute" (that was legal in Germany then, and it may still be) came in. The bartender refused to serve him and said he always came in to start fights with Americans. I asked him in German why he hated Americans, and he was surprised I spoke German. He said he was still mad about world war II, even though he had to have been a child during the war. I was able to preach the Gospel even to him, though he was very resistant to it.

Afterwards, I drove the strange man that had talked about God to his room on base. The military had sent him over for just one week, and so I never saw him again, but I know our conversation made an impact on his life. He had been drinking a bit in the bar, even though I hadn't been, and he really opened up on the way to his room.

I've missed my share of opportunities by not listening to that quiet inner voice, but I didn't miss that one. It's been more than twenty years since that happened, but the stories from that night still inspire me and others not to let God's whisperings go by unheeded.

Make your own memories. You can't be a disciple without regularly feeling the gnawing fear that comes when God asks you to do something outside your comfort zone. The choice between obeying your fear and obeying God can be the one difference between being a great man or woman of Godand being just another person who left no impact on this world.

The Rest of the Old, Old Story: honest and historic Christianity. Is your faith working? Is it transforming you and those around you? Get in the mainstream of God's power by walking in the footsteps of the most powerful churches in history

Also see Paul Pavao's blog on Radical Christianity

Spiritual Humor In Religion - Read This It's Funny

Well you probably heard of the problems that some people get into when they drink a little too much and start to drive their cars. This is known as drinking and driving irresponsibly and can be hazardous to your health but more hazardous to your pocketbook. Overdosing on drugs, spending too much money shopping, gambling excessively and last but not least, spending too much time at your place of worship can be hazardous to others. Over time, our loved ones seem to suffer the most from our excesses.

I suggest most people use religion responsibly and try not to overindulge in the excesses of your spiritual practice. Like an alcoholic drinking until they feel good, only to wake up feeling bad the next morning. And then starting the process all over the next day.

Now for the big question, "Are You a Religiousoholic?" Do you spend too much time at church? Do you surround yourself exclusively with people that share your same religious beliefs?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, there's a good chance you're a religiousoholic. Like alcoholics and drug addicts, there is help for you, once you've identified your problem, we can help. We call it our 5 step program. Alcoholics Anonymous has a 12 step program for recovery but we have eliminated a couple and rearranged others in hopes for a faster recovery.

Religionolism is no laughing matter and should be handled with the utmost delicacy. Start with the first step and work your way down the list and within a short period of time you should find yourself free from the religious tyranny of your institutionalized religion.

Step 1. The biggest problem you're going to happen during your recovery will be the temptation from religious followers, wanting you to come back. Like a drug addict, saying no to drugs,it's hard, you're going to have to be strong here. Learn to say no to organized religion and yes to religious freedom.

Step 2. Instead of reading Scripture, start reading about other religions around the world. You will find some weird things and new ideas, but the bottom line here is that you'll be able to see some similarities, and silliness between the religions.

Step 3. You can still spend time praying, just spend more time praying about how grateful you are, instead of praying for something you want, start spending a little more time thanking God for the things in your lives that you already have. I have spent a lot of time praying for things I never got. When I stopped praying for the things, I thought I needed, I started getting the things I really needed.

Step 4. Start spending a little more time believing in yourself, some religions seem to give all the glory and credit to their gods and very little to the people that are actually making the sacrifices. I have also noticed that when something goes wrong, some religious followers tend to punish themselves and it just doesn't seem fair. God gets all the credit when things are good and you blame yourself when things go wrong.

Step 5. Start showing a little more compassion towards people who don't think the same as you do or believe in your religion. Love and compassion are the true acts of a religious believer. I believe you'll find that in every religious scripture... somewhere.

Sometimes we get a little carried away in our beliefs and tend to beat up other people who don't share them with us. If you're part of a religion who discriminates, shows intolerance, bigotry or prejudice to other nonbelievers, maybe this isn't the religion you think it should be.

Dalai Lama - "All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness, the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives."

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. If we could communicate better and understand different religious philosophy and cultures.

Just how big of a deal is Money Organized Religion. Your money is used for various things and some of them, you might not really want to spend the money on. Something to think about.

If you want to read something funny and get your daily laugh in, you need to read this, it's funny Using Religion Responsibility. It's based on overindulgence.

Freedom is Here and Now

One may ask oneself, exactly what is freedom and what does it means. Well the dictionary explains it as meaning self government, exemption from control, unrestricted, openness, etc. Vine's dictionary says primarily of freedom to go wherever one likes, of freedom from restraint and obligation in general.

In the Book of Romans 6:20 it tell us about the freedom from sin. It says When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

The Bible tell us in the Book of 2Corinthians 3:17 it says Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

The Year of the Lord's Favor in Isaiah 61:1 says The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-

Look at John 8:31 it says To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. In the Book of Galatians it speaks about Freedom in Christ. In 5th chapter verse 13 it says You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself. If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

In 1st Peter 2:15 it says For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone; Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the King.

In closing As we move forward in this new year of 2009, the people have spoken for change in America. I pray that a change will come and that the change brings the freedom to do more of God's will, by doing good, showing proper respect to everyone, to love your neighbor as yourself, and the freedom from the restraint of sin and that everyone do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Let our obligation in general, belong to Jesus Christ.

Always Remember To Read Your Bible!

Love Always,
Your Sister in Christ,
Mella Davis

The Woman, The Children, and The Dragon

The Book of Revelation, product of the Spirit working in the apostle called John, is more manageable than you might think, once you get serious about deciphering its codes.

In the midst of all the serial action, the series of seals, the series of trumpets, the series of bowls, there are snapshots of characters and situations that the Spirit wants you to see. One of the most memorable pictures is in the 12th chapter. There one finds a woman, a child, then more children, all of which are threatened by a 7-headed dragon. I'm usually a literalist, but the Spirit Himself tells me not to be in this chapter, and even gives me identities of most characters.

The woman (1-2) at first glance seems to be Mary. Who else could have given birth to a male child that would rule all nations (5)? Hold that question until you read verse 6 and verses 13-17. There, the very same woman is airlifted to a secret destination where she is protected from the dragon's wrath for three and one half years.

The three and a half years in Revelation is the time of tribulation. Sometimes the number is 42 months. Sometimes "a time, times, and half a time." Sometimes 1260 days. But the time period is the same. I personally believe that the entire story of earth's destruction bit by bit , Revelation 4-19, takes place in three and one half years. Seals, trumpets, bowls, everything.

Well, Jesus' mother was not whisked away into a wilderness. That picture is reserved for another entity of Scripture. God promises Israel in Hosea 2 that He will "allure her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her..." I believe that it is at this juncture of history, the Tribulation, that God calls a remnant of Jews, 144,000 to be exact, and personally appears to them and saves and forgives them.

Israel goes to the wilderness, therefore Israel must be the woman who brings forth the child Jesus into the world. Yes, a woman that is sun and moon and 12 stars can only be the same thing Joseph of Genesis saw in his dream: the people of God.

The woman has other children. The nation of Israel, approached by the Son of God in the first century, by and large rejected the message. But the first disciples and the first churches and the Scriptures and the Messiah Himself: all Jewish. All Israel. Truly, "Father Abraham had many sons..."

So a woman has some children. One is caught up to Heaven. The others are chased by the dragon. And the woman herself is protected from further harm. The only unidentified creature now is the dragon himself. But that one is taken care of by the text. He is identified as the old serpent, as in the Garden, the Devil or evil one, and Satan or the enemy.

Yet even here, in dragon form, we know he does his work through humans. That Devil-filled king called Herod is alluded to as the one who sought to devour Jesus as soon as He was born. Later in the text the same dragon will be using, we know from other texts, the antichrist.

The context of the chapter is war in Heaven. This is a war that Satan loses. He is stripped of his heavenly credentials and dumped on Earth, angry as anyone has ever been. At this very juncture, the similarly angry man of sin who has been waiting all these centuries to be released, leaves the pit. The restrainer lets go. The captive rises and is inhabited by the fallen angel himself.

He is especially violent against the woman and any of her seed, as they represent the thwarting of his attempt to gain again world domination. He has lived in anger during the centuries as he was stopped in his quest and humiliated before Heaven. No more of this. He knows his time is short, and he begins conquering immediately. All Christians must go. Jews he pursues first, but the elect are carried away from his reach, as we saw earlier.

One intriguing bit of information is hidden in verses 15 and 16. The enemy will somehow unleash a flood to destroy the hiding Jews. But a natural phenomenon will keep the flood from having any effect.

Some have said this is a flood of lies or a flood of people as in Jeremiah. But there is a sense of factual truth to it.For John is not alone in predicting a flood. Daniel says (9:26) that one of the end marks of the destruction of Israel in the last days shall be a flood. Amos 8:8 and 9:5 predict a time when flooding as in the Nile River will affect God's people. The place of hiding hinted at by one prophet is the Valley of Achor, surely a geographical spot prone to flooding.

So we have the final condition of Israel and the Church. Some of it is no different than today. Israel is hated worldwide. True Christians - the ones who preach sin, and judgment, Christ the only Way, Truth and Life - those kinds of Christians, are also despised. Those who despise them are exposed as Satan-inspired in Revelation 12.

Can you imagine a world where knowing Christ will bring instant death? To see it in your mind's eye, a quick look at places like North Korea today will help bring things into focus. God have mercy on His people. Their greatest trials and their greatest victories are still ahead.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

North Korea - Return to Animal Farm

1945. George Orwell. The days of Stalin. Orwell was not a believer in Christ and in fact thought that Marx and Engels really had something going. His issue was not with Communism but with the way this new Communist theory was being acted out by Lenin, Stalin, and the rest. It was obviously not working according to the original script.

Some would argue that the original script came from Christ Himself. Equality. Peace. Brotherhood. You share with me, I share with you. But not at the point of a gun. That was added later.

Anyway, Orwell was an honest man who wanted to say something about the Stalinist regime of his day. He said it most effectively in his satirical novel, Animal Farm. There is a film version (1999) which I happened onto last evening. My wife and I sat in amazement as scene after scene reminded us, not of Stalin, but of the original and present dynastic regimes of North Korea... and actually the cycle portrayed has been repeated in many places on the planet. Consider:

- the original corruption of society needing to be addressed - the desire to end that corruption and bring justice in its place - the bringing down of the corrupt society - the hero worship, shifting empasis from the genuine needs of the people to the increasingly neurotic needs of the leader - the slow replacement of the old corruption with a new and worse corruption

Yes, It's all there, to this day.

And Christians, myself for one, pray, "Lord, stop all this! Bring it all down!" But praying believer, does your mind ever travel beyond the fall of such governments (and they all eventually do fall) to what shall be on the other side of a regime change?

We know for one thing, that, one day, Jesus shall be King over all the earth! "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun Doth his successive journeys run, His kingdom stretch from shore to shore, Till moons shall wax and wane no more!" What a glorious day is coming! All those who rejected His rule will themselves be rejected eternally. The world will be put right side up!

But what if Jesus' coming is not the next thing on God's calendar? What if the replacement is another merely human leader? I believe we should pray earnestly for that man to be a righteous man, a man whose relationship to God is real and strong. Then when the nation turns around, God Himself will receive all the glory!

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

Christ Is At Hand

Jesus would never deceive His people. Never mislead them. What He says is always perfectly true. But surface skimmers will never discover this. They will take a look, decide it is unbelievable and either concoct an even more unbelievable explanation or walk away from faith altogether.

Have you never cringed a bit when preachers say Jesus is definitely coming and coming soon? I have. Because I don't want God's truth to be ridiculed or ignored. So why the title of this article? Why do I carry on with a line of thinking that will cause some to lose faith?

Read again. My title dos not promise a soon coming, though it may be relatively soon. Jesus never promised this. He promised that when He came He would come quickly. Swiftly. In the twinkling of an eye. No evolution. No warm up. Signs beforehand, yes. But the actual appearance immediate.

I say what He said, that His coming is near. That's not only a chronological word, it's a geographical one. The Greek, pronounced engus, means "at hand." See Luke 21:8 , where the time is said to be eggus. But then in the next chapter, Judas draws eggus to Christ to kiss Him.

We earth-bounds think that near means soon. But another think or so reminds us of the times we almost won the maiden's heart, or almost got the prize, or almost fell down the steps. A miss can sometimes be as good as a mile, but near is almost, not altogether.

I enjoy taking a radical approach to Scripture. That is, believing it as it is. John in Revelation 1:3 says that His coming is eggus. John and all the early believers believed it would be soon. They were wrong. But the word they used was correct. It was at hand. It was very close. And it still is.

Some say, Well if it was so close back then, it must be very much closer now. No, we cannot run away with the text. The time is still at hand, eggus. We are still very near, just as we always were. He hovers, waits, while the Gospel seeks out every nook and cranny on earth, hopeful of one more who will be saved.

When Antichrist comes and is given His permission to do His worst, the church's ranks will thin out. The salt will be removed, not by rapture, but by destruction. When salt is removed, the Creator's taste for the planet will be lessened until finally that which is hovering will be landed.

The best example I could think of is the helicopter. It can stay in one place for long periods of time. It can be very near, at hand, without being at its final destination. So the Lord is not far from each of us. We need not yell our prayers. His Spirit is within us and His body hovers over the planet, seeking and saving and soon wrapping up His program for mankind.

Let's not grow weary waiting. This word is especially meaningful to our North Korean friends suffering in prison camps for their faith. Hang on.

Above all, let us not corrupt and change His Word because we thought that maybe a mistake was made. It's still true. I can hear the wings whooshing above us right now. And you?

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosen together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

Jesus Elected President of The World!

Fox news said it a year or so ago: Jesus Christ to be honorary King of Poland.

So what do you think about that? Has Poland as a nation come to Christ? Is there a wave of revival sweeping the land? Is it proper to lift up Jesus to celebrity status in a nation? If Poland were your nation, would you be sad or happy right now?

Strange. America used to think of itself as a Christian nation. Has there ever been a movement toward making Jesus King here? Would Jesus Himself approve? What would it mean to be honorary King? A bit like the royal set-up in England? Good to have around, but not really calling the shots?

One major group opposes the move: Are you ready? The Roman Catholic system felt that the state should not get mixed up with religion and ought to stick to making secular laws.

Indeed. And if Christ is already Lord of Poland, how could that group assert itself as the spiritual leader of that land? As for not wanting to mix church and state, I think that has been Rome's way since Constantine. I suggest she only opposes it now because the State seems to be getting away from her grasp.

Jesus the King of Poland. I must say I was a bit delighted about it all. But why stop there? God does not. There was an election held in Heaven several thousand years back, and His Son was voted in as Presider over the entire world. He won by only one Vote, but that was the only Vote cast.

We hope that soon He will come to take His place. We are in such sad shape. May your holiday thoughts turn to the One born to be Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father, Mighty God... and President of the World.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

The Story of Chosun - Part 14

Enter, once more, Japan. Seven of Chosun's worst years are spent battling invaders from just across their waters. Some background first: In 1568 King Myunjung dies before a successor is chosen, so his queen chooses Sun-jo. Reforms follow, but miss the mark of reforming the King. This will prove to be a costly omission soon.

There are few Japanese living in Chosun in the late 16th century, and they are limited to three settlements. To correct this, the Japanese government sends a message asking for the old relations to be restored, which would involve for one thing, freer trade status. Yes, says Chosun. But in far southwestern Pusan only. Other traders are to be seen for what they have been through the centuries: pirates. Not too pleasant to Japan's ears.

It is during this critical time, when unity of purpose is needed by the vulnerable Chosun, that the formation of political parties for non-political reasons erupts into national division. Factionalism for trivialities is seen as one reason the soon-to-occur invasion by Japan is a success. Clan warfare develops, personality issues take center stage. No longer right or wrong, but my party vs. your party. Even criminals are defended by their political buddies.

Korea's status in other ways: Morally much better. They still followed their leaders, they always have. But their leaders have changed. Incredibly, the Korean mind-set is to follow whoever is at the top, blindly. There is an almost Biblical rigidity to this command, yet even Biblical principles allow for civil disobedience when Christ's truth is at stake. For the Koreans, it seems there are no exceptions, as witnessed in the North to this day! How else explain the following of one like Kim Jong-il?

Other reasons for Japanese success: 1. Since the Chosunese are at peace, there are not many military trainees. 2. The peninsula has no firearms at all.

What about Japan itself? It was never one great mass. It is feudalistic. There is constant civil war. It seems that the multidude of islands is one great battlefield. The family of Wun has ruled for 200 years at this point. But The rising Hideyoshi is instrumental in bringing down the emperor and replacing him, though not with the same title.He remains a warrior, thirsty for world domain. His first target is to be China . Korea will be the first step toward this goal. And the last.

The King in Korea is asked to be a part of Japan's intentions against China: No, says Sun-jo. China is our mother. China is probably feared more also. So Korea braces itself for an invasion, believing Mother will greatly assist her, for her own purposes.

1592, the "Im-Jim" year. 250,000 soldiers invade, bringing 300,000 firearms. Kato and Konishi, two rival generals, are put in charge. But their differences are one reason they do not win a permanent victory. It is helpful that the Japanese mimic Korea's greatest weakness of the time: dis-unity.

Interestingly, General Konishi is a Roman Catholic convert of Portuguese missionaries! One sees in the art work of the period, soldiers carrying flags upon which are emblazoned the cross of Christianity! One only can imagine what a Japanese victory in the Far East might have meant for world religion.

Seoul must be evacuated. A horrible destruction spreads across the country. The Royal party escapes first to Kaesong, then Pyongyang, then farther north still, to the Chinese border at Uiju. The people despise their king from that day.

And, Koreanesque, within a few days of the beginning of the invasion, people begin to return to their homes. They even try to adjust to Japanese rule. After all, they've adjusted so many times before!

The Military is sent to the Im-Jim River, halfway between Kaesong & Seoul. It is fooled by the Japanese, who pretend to go. An argument develops in the Korean camp as to whether they are gone or not. A General takes some people with him to prove he is right. But they are not gone. A great defeat follows.

This is of course only one of many war stories that have been passed down. Generally speaking, there is a seven year period of defeat, that, according to historian Hulbert, "was not because they were not brave nor because luxury had sapped the vitality of the noble classes, but it was because no one would work with anyone else. It was because they saw in war nothing but the chance of personal advancement. And so each one deplored the successes and rejoiced in the failures of every other."

This is a disease that can still sap the vitality of a people, even the church. And speaking of the church, 16th century Korea still awaits the arrival of vital Christianity. Is it not sad to you that the only introduction the Korean people have so far to the things of Christ is the Japanese flag bearing a cross? How long does it take for the populace to overcome this militaristic view of Christ, an image that should never have appeared in representation of our Lord, whose only mission was to save sinners and befriend them for eternity.

May our generation correct once and for all any false impressions Koreans might still have of the suffering and risen Saviour. Let us go in and let us not fail in raising up the truth of Jesus.

Look for Bob Faulkner's home page on http://sermonaudio.com There you will find a combination of love for the Scriptures and a desire for North Korean believers to have their needs met. There are nearly 300 blogs , ovber 200 Bible teaching MP3's, lists of resources, NK picture albums, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos3@gmail.com.

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

Authentic Leadership

During the 1990s, CEOs of most American companies focused on the bottom line with the single goal of creating shareholder wealth. The idea was for CEOs to look tough, act tough, and talk tough. Many of them would not have been caught dead discussing soft stuff like ethics, values, openness, or corporate responsibilities to customers, employees, and host communities, especially to a community of morally failed addicts. When the Enron/Andersen scandal broke, followed by a tidal wave of revelations of similar corporate crimes, the initial reactions among American business leaders ranged from deafening silence to its just a few bad apples. Not many spoke out in condemnation, and even fewer suggested the need for better executive behavior. Fewer still discussed the existential tension they felt because of their many personal roles.

There is something refreshingly old-fashioned, therefore, about Bill Georges Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value (Jossey-Bass, 2003). During the 10 years George was CEO of the medical technology company Medtronic Inc., he practiced a philosophy in which shareholders come third the belief that investors can benefit only as the result of efforts of empowered employees who effectively serve customers. To that end, George promulgated such business values as producing top-quality products, treating employees with respect, and acting with integrity in dealing with all his companys stakeholders. The bottom line: Medtronic created $60 billion in value on his watch, and investors saw shares appreciate at a compound rate of 32 percent a year.

He writes that the secret to his stewardship was the practice of authentic leadership, the traditional approach to running companies that had been the hallmark of such now nearly forgotten CEO s as Max DePree (Herman Miller), Jim Burke (Johnson & Johnson), David Packard (Hewlett-Packard), Ken Dayton (Dayton Hudson), and J. Irwin Miller (Cummins Engine). These are leaders, in Georges words, who were committed to stewardship of their assets and to making a difference in the lives of the people they serve, leaders who had a deep sense of purpose and who recognized the importance of their service to society.

So here I am standing in the shadow of such great men but wanting to use the same title for my own sense of leadership. The first step is to describe the community for which I am standing for as the CEO of Changed Life Ltd. They are addicts of all stripes. So here is some of the features of their lives that I am offering to be in service.

After describing some of the twist and turns of their life I will return to how authenticity is the key for my worthiness to serve.

The Life of an Addict.

Despite their situation addicts use two tactics to survive: the obsession and the alienated lifestyle.

Tactic one: The obsession-induced altered-state-of-consciousness.

One of the great blessings of being consumed as an addict is that pretty much everything can be interesting. Under the influence of their addiction, an addict can spend hours doing their thing regardless of its social significance wither its playing War Craft, shopping, watching grass grow or just being in a corner. The experience of hustling the next deal is heightened, jokes are funnier, life is more vibrant. And under hallucinogenic drugs, the user is witness to such marvels as the color of music or the sounds of colors.

There are practical benefits of being addicted. Those who are homeless turn, for instance, to stimulants to keep awake: falling asleep often means getting robbed. At a deeper psychological level, David Lensen (1999) reports research that the drug's appeal for an addicted construction worker is that it inspires the worker to find interest in a job that has, while sober, no personal meaning. Without the drug, the worker would be overwhelmed with boredom and quit.

Tactic Two: The alienated lifestyle

The second tactic is the lifestyle. For non-addicts, one of the more baffling dynamics of addiction is the addict's apparent need to live life at the level of a soap-opera. In my Addicts Prayer, I mentioned the tensions and the walls of separation. "We made mountains out of molehills," says Narcotics Anonymous (1982, p. 93). Addicts know how to increase intensity of their lives. Relationships are often rancorous facts, thoughts of revenge rival any Hollywood movie, are embellished to make life-stories more interesting. Even a simple flat tire is used by the addict as proof that God, Himself, has singled out the addict for punishment.

The Centering Moment

What is the nature of obsession/alienation for this community and how does it effect my basic stand as an authentic leader, which I claimed earlier was so important? An addicts obsession/alienation is understood as the process whereby they struggle with and against being divorced or isolated so as to conform to the society around them.

The common view of a CEO is that it is limited to one of the following interpretations:

• The first views strategy purely as insight into industry dynamics and customer needs, evaluated on the basis of novelty, distinctiveness, analytical depth, or intellectual elegance rather than on results achieved, lives changed.
• The second considers strategy as the long view, a step-by-step plan toward a comprehensive vision of a future 15 to 25 years distant ignoring the reality that timing matters.
• The third views strategy solely as the province of the CEO and the board of directors, which leaves others in the organization to address the grubby details of execution and fails to mobilize the people who are best equipped to understand emerging opportunities.
• The fourth misconception positions strategy as the first and most important driver of decisions about organization and operations instead of basing strategy on the companys core strengths and competencies.

Nowhere does the CEO confront the social meaning of their vision and mission to change lives. Changing lives is left for religious efforts of social workers and others that have no requirement to produce a profit. This is where I am in tune with the addict my role is also based on alienation in order to be authentic.

In theological terms alienation is represent as an imperfection in history. It is overcome only in that moment when humanity and God are one. My authenticity is summed up in the view on the ends-of-our-work depending on our view of the end of history. The following stand is based in the five categories of H. Richard Niebuhrs classic Christ and Culture, are to some people particular to Christianity but others from other faiths or no particular faith hopefully can gain from these descriptions.

1. For the exclusive Christian history is the story of a rising church or Christian culture and a dying pagan civilization.

2. For the cultural Christian, it is the story of the spirits encounter with nature.

3. For the synthesist, it is a period of preparation under law, reason, gospel, and church for an ultimate communion of the soul with God.

4. For the dualist, history is the time of struggle between faith and unbelief, a period between the giving of the promise of life and its fulfillment.

5. For the conversionist history is the story of Gods mighty deeds and of mans responses to them. He lives some what less between the times and somewhat more in the divine Now than do my various brothers listed above. Eternity to the conversionist, like me, focuses less on the action of God before time and less the life with God after time and more on the presence of God in time. Hence the conversionist is less concerned with conservation of what has been given in creation, less with preparation for what will be given in a final redemption, than with the divine possibility of a present renewal.

Even to use any view of Christ as justification for addiction treatment requires precise articulation. As stated above, I consider my view most closely defined by the conversionist. Given this confession, I still have to accept being blamed by some antagonists as inducing men to rely on the grace of God instead of summoning them to human achievement. I stand on, we are responsible, but we do not control.

Others will claim to be baffled by what seems like contempt for present existence with its great concern for existing men, because we are not frighten by the prospect of doom on all mans works, because we are not despairing but confident.

Then there is the recurring cultural indictment of intolerance, because our speech invites the indignation in its claims of separation from the communion of mankind and in our claims to the exclusive possession of divine knowledge, and our supposed disdaining of every other form of worship except our own as impious and idolatrous. What is often meant is that all claims of religious groups but especially all consideration of the claims of Christ and God should be banished from the spheres where other gods, called values reign.

Christian exaltation of the lowly offends aristocrats and Nietzcheans in one way, champions of the proletariat and capitalist in another. The unavailability of Christs wisdom to the wise and prudent, its attainability by the simple and by babes, bewilder both business and the philosophical leaders of culture or excite their scorn. We are constantly taking hits from all sides and even within the values dialogue.

In general, one encounters two difficulties to understanding how rigorous to hold the authority of an epistemological source, as I hold Jesus Christ.

1. The impossibility of stating adequately by means of concepts and propositions a principle which presents itself in the form of a person: word made flesh.

2. The impossibility of saying anything about this person which is not also relative to the particular standpoint in church, history, and culture of the one undertakes to describe him.

Either one accepts relativity (material realty) or the method of Biblical positivism, pointing to the New Testament and forgoing all interpretation. I admit my tendencies towards the relative. With the ongoing tragedy of having to accept the content of mystery, which I have, that sounds to the positivist as though, I am siding with relativity. Then those to focus on the material see my statements as opiates used head fake the unlearned.

I instead focus on what Christ practiced and taught: Love. His was double love, of the neighbor as well as of God, and that His ethics was two foci, God, the Father, and the infinite value of the human soul. The double commandment, whether originally stated or merely confirmed by Jesus, by no means places God and neighbor on a level, as through complete devolution were due to each. The neighbor is put on the same level of value that the self occupies, the struggle is here. The upside is to strive to moves pass love thy neighbor as thy self to love one another as I have loved you.

The end product for Jesus was the Kingdom there his theory of ethics must come under the conception of replenishment in preparation. Replenishment is moral renewal in the prospect of the accomplishment of universal perfection, the open question does it happen inside or outside of time, but what is sure is its com(ing).

For some corporate voice or governance is essentially Godless in the purely secular sense, as having neither positive nor negative relation to God or Jesus Christ; for others it is Godless in the negative sense, as being anti-God or idolatrous; for others it seems solidly based on a natural, rational knowledge of God, or His law. However, in the language of organizational behavior ones ultimate beliefs rarely come in the vision or mission statement document. It is also true that my personal demographic, educational and other intrinsic predilections (21st Century) is so inextricably intertwined in how I say what I say about Christ. Hence both explorations suffer: analysis of culture and Christ suffer my lens depiction.

The truth of the space just defined is its deeply mystical, calculating and tactical. It is nearly theological as it generates images of genesis and grace: authentic leadership. I believe that what was said of power and strategy could arguably fit Howard Thurmans meditation Our Minor Absolutes--the tension of processes against individuals, daring to make a difference.

It is very hard for us to be in Thy presence. There are so many minor absolutes to which we give our strength and our energies that we are embarrassed before Thee.We seek forgiveness, but again and again as we wait in the silence, we do not quite know for what. Perhaps what we really seek is an awareness of sin and failure, shortcomings. Thus we spread these out before Thee. Thy knowest. We would be better than we are, but as we wait in Thy presence we are not sure that we want to be better than we are..If under the aegis of Thy spirit our lives were changed, we are afraid...of what might become of us. Work over us, knead us, do to us what our spirits require, not that we may be better than we arebut that we may more deeply desire to be better than we are

The Prophet Daniel And End-Time Prophecy

The key to understanding the "abomination of desolation" and much of the end times is to be found in Daniel's prophecy. This will mean a journey back 600 years before Christ to visit a very old and respected man living as a life-time servant of two Empires, yet prospering in the things of God. Daniel, that is, the Spirit in Daniel, has some very important clues for the solving of this mystery. The journey will be well worth the effort. Prayerfully then we go...

First, I assume that the prophecies of Daniel and the history of Daniel, the words on every page, are true. This is the famous man who has been subjected to hungry lions and hungry critics desiring but unable to rip him to shreds. Only unbelievers continue to discredit this most astounding work of the Spirit. Daniel's fulfilled prophecies as well as the to-be-fulfilled continue to astonish us with their accuracy. The fulfilled ones are so on target that they have become a target. "Nothing could be that perfect," say the critics. They say this because they do not know our perfect God and His ability to communicate to man.

Daniel single-handedly answers nearly every question that there is about the world's final ruler before Christ. Where is he from? How does he rise to power? How long will he last? What will be his way of ruling? How successful will he be? What are his supernatural connections? Will saints survive his slaughters?

Jesus refers to him. Paul obviously read and believed him. And the great Revelator at the end of the Bible saw what Daniel saw from the same Spirit-guided messengers.

If you want to know who is the Antichrist, you're in the right place by reading Daniel. God's people can see in Daniel's few chapters the truths of the last days. In fact the recorded prophecies tell the history of mankind from the days of the great Babylonian Empire, through Medo-Persia, Greece, and the various manifestations of the world's last reign in Rome. That last formation of Romanism will be ruled by the subject of our study, called in Daniel "the little horn" or simply "the king."

In chapter two is the giant human statue seen by King Nebuchadnezzar, each part of which represents a phase of history from Babylon to Rome. In chapter seven is a vision of animals seen by Daniel, paralleling Nebuchadnezzar's vision but adding crucial details. Having established twice God's knowledge of the total view of history, the Spirit focuses on two of the four featured kingdoms in chapter eight. Medo-Persia and Greece are singled out for our attention, and finally the period of the late Grecian and early Roman time. It is from out of this period that the man of sin originates, says Daniel. Later in the book are more details about Christ and antichrist, the times of their kingdoms, the steps leading up to them.

Before we begin chapter 8 in detail, some words about Daniel the man. Most that we know about him is drawn from the first part of his book where the wonderful stories of the fiery furnace and the lion's den appear. We meet a young man who even though he is a servant of Babylon, brought against his will from his own land, is sold out to the God of Israel. He repudiates a comfortable life-style, the diet of his time, the gods of Babylon. But God is with Daniel as he was with Joseph in his prison experience. He protects and exalts Daniel and bit by bit honors his love for Israel by telling him details of Israel's future. Of course, in doing so, he touches us, the people of God who have been grafted into the "tree" of which Paul spoke in Romans 11, the very Kingdom which was Daniel's.

In the first chapters of Daniel, he is a teenager, then middle-aged. By the time of chapter eight's vision, he is in his 80's. We see him weak and often confused, and wish God might have visited him this way in his full strength. That is how we think. But God chooses our weakest times to do His strongest work in us. Daniel will receive no credit for having "thought up" the incredible ideas that follow. It is God saying these things, and we will do well to heed the Voice that comes from Heaven.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

Church-Hoppers, Beware!

It hit me again this morning. I was praying in preparation for our weekly Bible study. I'm supposed to be in I Peter, but my mind and heart were led over to the Book of Revelation. There's a curious truth hidden there that many Protestants need to hear.

Since our exit from Romanism lo these many hundreds of years, we protest-ors have been dividing and re-dividing and sub-dividing until we are more known for our splinters than our solid wood. We love to think of ourselves as "separated" when many times all we are is separate. There's a huge difference.

A truly separated, or holy brother, stands out in a crowd. And that's the point. He has to be in the crowd to begin with before he can stand out. He stands out not because he leaves but because God has filled Him and He is different.

Too many of the bretheren are just out-standing, not standing out! Imagine a guy going to a picnic and spending the whole time sitting under a tree thinking nasty thoughts about the picnickers. Some of us are like that. Everyone else is enjoying Jesus, while we sit back and "spy out their liberty", just knowing that they couldn't possibly be real.

God never called His church to walk alone. Once we have come out of Babylon we are to come together in Zion. We are not called to be loners, judges, monks. The calls to one-mindedness as in I Peter 3, are not calls to doctrinal purity but calls to the compassionate mind of Christ, the brotherly love of believers, tenderheartedness, and the like. These things we can experience. Doctrinal unty will not happen until we are all made perfect with Him.

One does not reject his infant child because the child lacks understanding and "agreement" intellectually. So in the churh we do not exclude those with whom we disagree. If they are born again, eventually one or both of the 2 arguing parties will see things exactly the same. Eventually.

But I was talking about the Book of Revelation. You remember the seven churches. Consider, and weep with me when you do, because I have spent much time at the "church picnic" sitting under my tree of judgment, that not once does God tell believers to leave the churches that are described. And some of them are pretty bad. One is lukewarm, one is corrupt, one is actually dead!

But the command is to repent, to hold fast, to continue on, not to walk out! Leaving a church dooms it, if perchance you are the last hope that church has.

Stay with your congregation. Lay down your life for it. Offer your gifts and your prayers and your finances and whatever you have. More importantly, avail yourself of all the giftedness that is available to you in that fellowship. When you stop seeing all the faults God will open your eyes to your own great needs, and to a member of that body that has the answer for it.

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. I have created over 200 blogs and the site features a live news feed, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together! Contact me any time at diakonos5@yahoo.com

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. I love to write Scriptural works. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond.

For the Testimony of Jesus

In the very heart of the new covenant is the testimony of Jesus. (Rev. 19:10 NLT):

"Then I fell down at his feet (i.e. the angel) to worship him, but he said, 'No, don't worship me. For I am a servant of God, just like you and other brothers and sisters who testify of their faith in Jesus. Worship God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.'"

The great binding connection between Jesus and his new covenant is the key to learning the truth, and the essence of all of prophecy. The new covenant is God's golden key that unlocks God's rich treasure house of blessings for believers. When we move forward to enter his house all confusion and conundrums disappear. If He is all that matters to you (Col. 3:11), and not these other earthly kingdoms that lead away from him, then you have already gained much wisdom (I Co. 2:7; Eph.1:17; Col. 1:9, 2:3, 3:16).

The holy Scriptures specifically give "the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus" (II Ti. 3:15). We live by this faith in Christ, "not by sight" (II Co. 5:7. See also Heb. 11:8-18; Ro. 3:24-31; II Pet. 1:1).

"In him lie all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). He opened up the new, life-giving way "through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us" (Heb. 10:20). This wondrous sacrifice stands for all time (v. 10). There is no need whatsoever to be distracted from full attention to him in the rumored resumption of the earthly temple and animal sacrifices. If such obscenities are resumed in Jerusalem and He does return at this time, it will be to take vengeance upon those unbelievers and their supporters who have defiled the truth with blasphemies. Those who are giving a clear witness for Jesus today will shine forth as the sun in the new Jerusalem, the beloved holy city (Rev. 20:9, 21:2) of our God, where they will live with him forevermore.

Such blessed ones are not unbelievers who cling still to the earthly city where He was crucified by those who would not accept his rule, but they are the ones who have followed him all along the higher pathway of his new covenant that leads them directly into the most blessed place where they can draw very close to him, even today. Their faith in him alone has rewarded them with his richest blessings.

Follow this higher pathway today. It will take you into his beautiful city where there is no disappointment!

Anita Whalley has recently authored the Christian book entitled There Is A Kingdom, available in the Christian and inspirational books section in Amazon. com. There Is A Kingdom is the happy outcome of years of intense searching for real answers to the eschatological dilemma of the day. This is a compelling book that sticks to one, giving him a higher form of confidence, peace and joy than is readily available in a mere eschatological study alone.
Anita also authors a page entitled Significant Values on http://www.Blogger.com
Anita has pursued a career in healthcare, but is now retired from that. She continues with her personal Bible studies, though perhaps not as intensely as she did before the great breakthrough discoveries unearthed in Christ's new covenant, which went beyond the finding of just a mere answer to plaguey eschatological questions. She discovered just how truly transcendently enriching and fulfilling God has made his new covenant to be. A very spiritually uplifting experience this is for any child of God to run into and to enjoy, and his answer to our every prayer.

Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, in the Company of the Biblical Prophets

Perhaps no other American is as controversial as Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Mormon Church and a self-proclaimed prophet. Such claims as he made, to have been visited by God, the Father, and Jesus Christ; to have been called to be a prophet to preach the Gospel to a world in apostasy are at least shocking and incredible and at most outrageous. Joseph Smith, his life and his legacy deserve close attention, then, for if true, his claims are the most important message since the discovery of the empty garden tomb.

To understand the issue, however, one must first understand what a prophet is and only then can Joseph Smith be measured against this rubric. To dismiss Joseph Smith as a prophet because he does not fit ones own definition of prophet is a circular argument since that wholly depends upon the persons preconceived image of what a prophet is. We must, therefore, look to the Bible, the record of Gods prophets to begin to understand what a prophet is. In the popular imagination the role of a prophet is to tell the future. This is, however, only one aspect of a prophets calling and likely not a major one. So, what does the Bible tell us a prophet will be like?

There are two words in the Bible that are translated as prophet. One is the Hebrew word Nabi (or Navi), and the other is the Greek Prophetes. Both have the basic meaning of spokesman or one who proclaims something. A prophet of God, therefore, speaks in the name of, and hence with the authority of, God. A prophet says, Thus saith the Lord. Joseph Smith was such a spokesman. He spoke in Gods name. To him, the Lord said, I give unto you my servant Joseph to be a presiding elder over all my church, to be a translator, a revelator, a seer, and prophet (Doctrine and Covenants 124:125).

This mouthpiece of God speaks Gods word. The Lord said to Moses concerning Aarons role as Moses spokesman: Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet [hence, his spokesman] (Exodus 7:1). In a latter revelation to Moses the Lord said:

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him (Deuteronomy 18:18).

Peter thus said in his epistle that prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21). The Doctrine and Covenants (hereafter D&C), which is a compilation of revelations given to modern prophets of the Mormon Church, echoes this statement saying that, whatsoever they [the prophets] shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation (D&C 68:4).

The Bible is a collection of the inspired words and deeds of prophets. Thus, the words of prophets become scripture. Isaiah was a man who saw great visions. Paul was a prophet whose inspirational teachings form the bulk of the New Testament. The revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith including the Book of Mormon and the visions and revelations recorded in the Doctrine & Covenants testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet. He spoke the words he received of God in visions and revelations. These words became scripture, just as in biblical times.

The message for which prophets are spokesmen is of the mission of Jesus Christ and the importance of obeying Gods commandments. In Revelation 19:10, an angel tells John that, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. A prophet, who must by definition have the spirit of prophecy, must also therefore have a testimony of Jesus. Jesus commanded His disciples to read the scriptures, comprising essentially the Old Testament, explaining that, in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me (John 5:39). He later testified that every prophet wrote about Him:

These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me (Luke 24:44).

John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said, there is not a greater prophet, had as his primary mission to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Of him, no record details miracles or great prophesies of the future. Instead, he taught the people to prepare themselves for Jesus coming and when that came he willingly stepped aside (see Luke 7:28 ff). Joseph Smith likewise testified of Jesus Christ. In a vision he received on February 16, 1832, he and an associate Sidney Rigdon saw Jesus Christ much as Paul had centuries earlier. They declared:

And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the FatherThat by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God (D&C 76:22-24).

For Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ was the central figure in every doctrine and deed. Joseph Smith taught that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of all mankind and provides salvation to all those who love and serve him. Prophets also denounce sin and call people to repentances. In 2 Kings 17:13, we read:

blockquote>The LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.

It is the duty of prophets to call people to repent and return to God. This can be seen in many instances. In 2 Kings 12, we read that Nathan, the prophet, was sent to call David to repentance because of his sins with Bathsheba. Nehemiah was sent to call the people of his day to repent and rebuild the temple. Jonah was sent to preach against the wickedness of Nineveh. Joseph Smith said, This we believe to be our duty-to teach to all mankind the doctrine of repentance (History of the Church 2:255). It is the duty of a prophet to denounce sin, call people to repentance and to worship the God of Israel. This last duty, namely calling to worship the God of Israel is essential, for Moses warned that false prophets could accurately predict the future, but if they used these miracles to lead people away from the God of Israel, then they would be false prophets (Deuteronomy 13:1-10).

The Lord says further, If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream (Numbers 12:6). Prophets, then, have dreams and visions in which the Lord is made known unto them. Peter also mentions this as what may be termed the prophetic pattern. In Acts 10:39-44, Peter teaches that God reveals Jesus Christ to chosen witnesses, the prophets, who then teach the world about God. Every prophet is chosen by God, taught by angels or through dreams and visions and finally commissioned to teach others. Isaiah fits this pattern. In a vision recorded in Isaiah chapter 6, this great poet-prophet saw the Lord on His throne surrounded by angels. He is forgiven of his sins, and charged with a mission.

This vision and the charge given to the prophet is the Sowd, the sacred and oftentimes secret intimacy that prophets obtain with God. Sowd in Hebrew translates as counsel, assembly, secret, or divine intimacy. At its root it refers to private correspondence or counseling. The Prophet Amos said, Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret [Sowd] unto his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). That is, the Lord will not act until He has revealed His counsel, His plans, and His secrets to the Prophets. Thus another role of a prophet is to be a diviner, through revelation, of Gods deed present and future. This can refer to prophesying the future, or to determining what work is of God right now and what His will is regarding human actions.

Joseph Smith and his mission fit this ancient pattern perfectly. As a young man, confused but full of faith, he prayed to God. According to href="http://scriptures.lds.org/js_h/1">Joseph Smiths own account, he saw in vision, just as Moses, Isaiah, and Stephen had, the God of Israel. Just as was the case with Isaiah his sins were forgiven and like Moses he learned the true nature of God. In subsequent visions he was taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ by angels and through multiple revelations which are recorded as sacred scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants. He was commissioned by God to translate the Book of Mormon as testimony to Jesus Christ and to Joseph Smiths own divine commission. He was shown Gods counsel and href="http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_prophecies.shtml">prophesied many things that have since occurred.

In connection with this divining of counsel, it is interesting to note that the Samaritan women whom Jesus met at the well in Sychar said, I perceive that thou art a prophet (John 4:19), when He told her about her life previous to meeting Him. Prophets, then, are given such spiritual insights as necessary to fulfill their missions. In this capacity a Prophet may rightly be called a Seer. When Saul sought out a man of God who could give him advice on what course he could take, the record states, Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer (1 Samuel 9:9). A Seer, then, is one who sees what is ahead, who understand the operations of God in the world. He sees accurately not only the future, but also the present and the past. Through this divine insight he can perceive Gods workings in the world.

In a revelation given to Joseph Smith in November of 1831, the Lord said of Joseph Smiths mission:

Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments (D&C 1:17)

The reasons given were:

1. That every man might speak in the name of God the Lord (v. 20)
2. that faith also might increase (v. 21)
3. That mine everlasting covenant might be established (v. 22)
4. That the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple (v. 23)

Joseph Smith was commissioned to be an instrument in the hands of God, but only one of many, who would lay the foundation of Gods Kingdom here in these days. As a Seer and Revelator he taught truth and revealed many things to come, as a Prophet he preached repentance in Gods name and taught the testimony of Jesus Christ, and as translator he translated and published the Book of Mormon. Finally, as a prophet he was a leader. In Hosea we read:

And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved (Hosea 12:13).

A prophet is set to lead the covenant people of the Lord. Paul said that the household of God is built upon a foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone (Ephesians 2:19-20). Apostles, as can be easily shown, are prophets also, since they have the spirit of prophecy which is the testimony of Jesus Christ, but as apostles they have a special mission to go forth and proclaim Jesus Christs resurrection (see Acts 1:22). Prophets and Apostles lead the people of God. In this capacity, Joseph Smith was the leader of the Mormon Church, called of God, and ordained an apostle of Jesus Christ, to be the first elder of this church (D&C 20:2). Until his death in 1844, he led the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Prophet and Apostle of god. Joseph Smith guided the Mormon Church through persecution and trials.

It must be remembered, however, that prophet are human agents working for God and are thus fallible. James said of Elias (i.e. Elijah), that he, was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months (James 5:17). Commenting on this passage Joseph Smith said:

I was this morning introduced to a man from the east. After hearing my name, he remarked that I was nothing but a man, indicating by this expression, that he had supposed that a person to whom the Lord should see fit to reveal His will, must be something more than a man. He seemed to have forgotten the saying that fell from the lips of St. James, that Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, yet he had such power with God, that He, in answer to his prayers, shut the heavens that they gave no rain for the space of three years and six months; and again, in answer to his prayer, the heavens gave forth rain, and the earth gave forth fruit. Indeed, such is the darkness and ignorance of this generation, that they look upon it as incredible that a man should have any intercourse with his Maker. (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 Vols. 2:302)

Of himself he later said, I never told you I was perfect; but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 Vols. 6:366). The Prophets and Apostles of God are human and hence fallible, but the inspired words they reveal, as Peter said, come from the Holy Ghost who is a revelator to mankind. Like Isaiah, Samuel, Moses, Noah, Paul, and Peter before him, Joseph Smith had his faults, which makes his miracles and teachings all the more amazing and inspiring, for God works always through weak and erring servants to accomplish His great purposes.

Perhaps it is the faults of the prophets that make some people reject them. Jesus Christ once remarked that, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house (Matthew 13:57). To neighbors, Jesus was merely a carpenter, the son of Joseph, but to those with faith He was the Messiah, the Son of God. Similarly with the prophets who, unlike Jesus, were not sinless, they are often rejected for trivial reasons. Some rejected Joseph Smith as a prophet because a business venture he participated in failed, or because he enjoyed playing sports. Others were offended by his denunciation of their actions. Finally, on June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith was murdered by a mob with faces painted black while he sat in jail awaiting trial on false charges. Like Paul before him, Joseph Smith was jailed, persecuted, and finally killed. Many prophets and apostles have been killed because of their teachings and deeds and Joseph Smith was no different.

In every possible test Joseph Smith compares favorably with the prophets of the Bible. Like them, he spoke in Gods name and the revelations given to him have become scripture just as Paul or Moses did. He had the testimony of Jesus Christ, the spirit of prophecy, and so devoted his ministry to testifying of the divine mission of Jesus Christ. He was commissioned by God through visions and the visitations of angels to do Gods work here on earth and so received authority to act and speak in Gods name. He was a prophet, a seer, a revelator, a translator, a missionary, an apostle, and a martyr for he was hunted and murdered by angry mobs because he dared to speak against their traditions and because his teachings and deeds stirred up controversy.

Ultimately, one must look at the fruits of Joseph Smiths mission. To know if Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God, one must study his teachings and his deeds. These can be found first and foremost in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. If the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God, then Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God and while argument and evidence may be compiled for pages upon pages, only the Spirit of God will ultimately reveal to a person whether or not Joseph Smith was a prophet. Why this matters, even and perhaps especially for Christians, is that if Joseph Smith was a prophet, then Jesus Christ has a message for the whole world and especially for those who claim to believe in Him. This message is that His Church has been established by prophets and is now being led by them through inspiration of God. For non-Christians, the message is one of faith and hope, that Jesus Christ lives again and through His power all may be resurrected and saved.

Jonathan F. Barney was born and raised in Mapleton, Utah and graduated from Springville High School. He attended Utah State University on full scholarship and graduated in 2004 with a degree in History and Linguistics. He is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Near Eastern Studies, emphasizing the Arab World at Princeton University. From 1999 to 2001, he served as a volunteery missionary for the Mormon Church in Ohio. In 2003 he studied for one semester at the American University of Cairo in Egypt. In his spare time he enjoys reading, hiking, calligraphy (both Latin and Arabic scripts), and writing

To learn more about Joseph Smiths life and teachings visit these excellent sites:

Joseph Smith.net With pictures, writings, and biographical information about Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith.com with Joseph Smith's writings about his life