Our End from the Beginning by Michael Clark

Which Came First, the End or the Beginning?  This might seem like a trivial question to some. But if God is not bound by time for He created it, isn’t the beginning and the end both the same to Him as far as His purposes go? He declares the end from the beginning. Isaiah prophesied,

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: (Isa 46:9-10 Webster)

God also declares things that are not as though they are…

It is written, “I have made you a father of many nations.”(Genesis 17:5) God considers Abraham to be our father. The God that Abraham believed in gives life to the dead. Abraham’s God also speaks of things that do not exist as if they do exist. (Rom 4:17 NIRV)



Oh, how wondrous are the ways of God! I have been pondering these above passages for a long time. God not only knows all, knowing the things that will happen in the end of days as well as the past and present, but He has known it all from the beginning! This same God who through His Son, Jesus, spoke creation into being also had declared what the end of it all shall be from the beginning.

Here we have to deal with two concepts that are beyond our own human limitations. One that God creates all things simply by speaking them into existence. And two, He is not bound by time or any other human limitation as we are. Man can make nothing without first starting with something that God made and man does nothing without being subject to the limitations of time so these two concepts of making something from nothing and not being bound by time are a real stretch for us to comprehend. Both matter and time were the result of creation and God rests in a timeless state outside of His creation ever since it was completed. Yet, He sent Jesus to this earth to become subject to both time and matter. Christ was subjected to all the human frailties and weaknesses just as we are, yet in it all He was in perfect obedience to His Father and many of His acts defied both time and matter such as raising the rotting body of Lazarus from the dead.

Now, consider this passage:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:28-31 KJ2000)

God foreknew each of us who are His in a special way. Not only that, He predestined us not just to be born, to live on this earth and to be saved from our sins, but to be totally conformed to the image of His Son! What image? The image of the babe in the manger? How about the image of the Teacher walking around doing good and miracles? How about the image of Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father in heavenly places? Just what does it mean to be IN Christ? Paul went so far to say, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2Co 5:17 KJ2000).

God KNEW our end — being conformed into the image of Christ — from the very beginning of creation. In the New Testament we read that Jesus learned obedience by the things that He suffered. We also read that He was crucified from the very foundation of the world. Jesus subjected Himself to the hand of the Father from the beginning as the perfect obedient Son of God. I believe that all these wonderful thoughts are wrapped up in the council at the beginning of Genesis where we read these words, “Let us make man in our image and after our likeness… male and female made He them.” God knew what it would take from the very beginning to create many sons (and daughters) unto His glory and put creation in motion from day one with that end in mind.

In the above passage from Romans we see this wonderful progression designed by God to produce His desired outcome in the words; foreknew, predestinate, called, justified and glorified… the divine progression to a desired end starting with foreknew and ending with glorified. He knew our end (glorified in the image of God) from the beginning (foreknown and predestined). He not only foreknew who would be His, but He foreknew what it would take to get us there and incorporated us into that divine plan.

God from the beginning knew that He would be sending His Son to live and die and rise again for us and to lead the way as the Captain of our salvation. Thus we see our faith-trek as His family starting out with Abraham, continuing down through the patriarchs to Moses, and through the Children of Israel to Christ Himself. All that history of Israel (and the linage of Christ) was set in motion to bring forth His Son upon this earth in such a way that man would recognize Him when He came. The whole Old Testament is filled with prophesies and shadows of Christ and only those who received Him by faith were able to read those writings and see Him in it all (see Luke 24:13-36). God designed all that history of the people of Israel so that Christ could come and not only die for their sins, but the sins of the whole world and become manifest to all His creation as the Son of God. He was the First Born of many brethren. In Christ, the Father would have a vast family of many sons and daughters and this was His plan from the beginning.

Now consider this, God not only knew what it would take to save mankind from our sins and conform us into the image of Christ who are called (in a collective sense), but He also knew what it would take to get EACH of us to our appointed end IN Christ. We each have a history designed by God that was set in motion from the day we were born. Think about the chain of events that had to take place to get you where you are today in Christ. We each have had divine appointments and events along the way that were integral to our becoming saved, filled with His Spirit, tested, tried, and becoming “more than overcomers” as we have learned to trust in our Lord for all things. He has got us this far and He will get us to the His desired end for us as the sons of God. “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end” (Heb 3:14 KJ2000).

God has declared the end from the beginning! He has spoken our divine sonship into existence from the foundation of the world and He is arranging our lives so that we will reach that goal. Paul saw that end and wrote,

 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Rom 8:35-37 KJ2000)

Yes, many things that happen in our lives do not seem to be ideal or perfect and often seem adverse to God’s end, but He knows our end from the beginning. Do you not think that He knew from the beginning when we would make a wrong choice or were attacked and also had that worked into His plan? He did not destine us to blow it or others to sin against us, but He did have a plan that would take even that into consideration and redeem us from our mistakes and sins. His mind is always on the end, HIS desired end for us and it is that end, many sons who would share His glory, He has known from the beginning.

Paul wrote,

 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, has made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you are saved;) And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:4-10 KJ2000)

Did you catch that? We are not going to die in order to go to heaven. We are ALREADY in heavenly places as we abide IN Christ as branches of the True Vine. We have been created IN Christ and this is the source of all spiritual fruit and good works… He is our very Life. It is ALL a gift of God. We are HIS workmanship and were created IN Christ from the foundation of the world. It is from THIS enfolded joint life IN Christ that all everlasting works which the Father set in motion from the foundation of the world happen. All we can do is rest in the Son and watch the faith of Christ in us work through the love of God.

So, dear saints, our faith, rest, works, love, life, and even our hope are all bound up in our existence IN Christ and have been from the foundation of the world. This gives the “eternal salvation” of God great scope. Can we grieve the Spirit of God? Yes. Can we fall short of all that He has for us? Yes. But if we continue to walk by faith and not by sight, relying on the Son of God as our hope and salvation, He will make sure that we reach our eternal goal as sons of God. “For it is IN Him that we live and move and have our being.”

 http://awildernessvoice.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/our-end-from-the-beginning/

The Socialist Phenomenon

This book is inspired by the conviction that the cataclysms which humanity has experienced in the twentieth century are only the beginning of a much more profound crisis -- of a radical shift in the course of history. To characterize the scope of this crisis, I had thought of comparing it to the end of ancient civilization or to the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern period. But later I became acquainted with a bolder and, it seems to me, more penetrating approach. For example, F. Heichelheim in his fascinating An Ancient Economic History expresses the supposition that the present period of history...is coming to an end...

"It is quite possible that the economic state controls of the last decades, produced by immanent trends of our Late Capitalist Age of the twentieth century, mean the end and conclusion of the long development in the direction of economic individualism, and the beginnings of a novel organization of labor which is closer to the Ancient Oriental models of five thousand years ago than to the ideals for which the foundations were laid at the beginning of the Iron Age."
It is hardly necessary to demonstrate that one of the basic forces influencing the developing crisis of mankind is socialism. It both promotes this crisis, as a force destroying the "old world," and undertakes to show a way out. Therefore the attempt to comprehend socialism -- its origins, its driving forces, the goal toward which it leads -- is dictated quite simply by the instinct for self-preservation. We fear the possibility of finding ourselves at the crossroads with blinders on, at a time when choosing which road to take may determine the whole of mankind's future.

But it is precisely such attempts to understand which seem to curtail all discussion. The fact that the adherents of socialism themselves have expressed so many contradictory views ought to put us on guard. In addition, notions about the nature of socialism are as a rule strikingly vague, and yet they do not elicit doubt and are perceived as truth needing no verification. This is especially apparent in attempts to make critical evaluations of socialism.

Pointing out the tragic facts that so frequently have accompanied the socialist experiments of the twentieth century usually evokes the objection that an idea cannot be judged by the unsuccessful attempts at its implementation. The task of rebuilding society is so immeasurably complicated, it is said, that in the initial stages errors are inevitable; they are, however, due to the shortcomings of certain individuals or the heritage of the past; in no sense do they follow from the fine principles enunciated by the founders of the doctrine.

The fact that even in the earliest declarations of socialist doctrine there are schemes which in their cruelty far exceed any real system is dismissed as insignificant. It is argued that the determining factor is real life and hardly the constructions of theoreticians or the fantasy of utopian thinkers. Life, it is said, has its own laws. It will temper and smooth out the extremes of the fanatics and create a social structure which, even if it does not quite correspond to their original plans, will be at least viable, and in any case closer to perfection than that which now exists....

It is natural to suppose that socialism, too, contains a fundamental tendency which makes possible its phenomenal influence on life. But it is unlikely to be identified by studying, for example, the Western socialist parties, in which basic socialist tendencies are hopelessly entangled with practical politics. It is necessary, first, to study this phenomenon over a sufficiently long time span in order to ascertain its basic characteristics and, second, to examine its most striking and consistent manifestations.

In pursuing this method we shall be astonished to find that socialism (at least at first sight) turns out to be a glaring contradiction. Proceeding from a critique of a given society, accusing it of injustice, inequality and lack of freedom, socialism proclaims -- in the systems where it is expressed with the greatest consistency -- a far greater injustice, inequality and slavery! Noble Utopias... usually evoke nothing more than a reproach for their "utopian" nature, for their ideals that are too high for mankind at present. But it is enough merely to open these books to be astonished by the scene: disobedient citizens turned into slaves; informers; work and life in paramilitary detachments and under close supervision; passes that are needed even for a simple stroll, and especially the details of general leveling, depicted as they are with great relish (identical clothing, identical houses, even identical cities). ...

The revolutionaries who drew up the "Conspiracy of Equals" understood equality in such a way that they alone formed the government, while others were to obey implicitly -- and those who did not were to be exiled to certain islands for forced labor. In the most popular work of Marxism, the Communist Manifesto, one of the first measures of the new socialist system to be proposed is the introduction of compulsory labor. And it is predicted that this will lead to a society in which "the free development of each will be the condition of the free development of all"!

Attempts to establish the happy society of the future by means of executions may perhaps be explained by the discrepancy between vision and reality, by the distortion that the idea undergoes in being put into practice. But how to understand a teaching which in its ideal version includes both an appeal to freedom and a program for the establishment of slavery?

Or how to reconcile the impassioned condemnation of the old order and quite justified indignation at the suffering of the poor and the oppressed with the fact that the same teachings envisage no less suffering for these oppressed masses as the lot of whole generations prior to the triumph of social justice? Thus Marx foresees fifteen, perhaps even fifty years of civil war for the proletariat, and Mao Tse-tung is ready to accept the loss of half of humanity in a nuclear war for the sake of establishing a socialist structure in the world. A call for sacrifices on this scale might sound convincing on the lips of a religious leader appealing to a truth beyond this world. But not from convinced atheists.

It would seem that socialism lacks that feature which, in mathematics, for example, is considered the minimal condition for the existence of a concept: a definition free of contradictions. Perhaps socialism is only a means of propaganda, a set of several contradictory conceptions, each of which appeals to a given group? The entire history of socialism speaks against such a view. The monumental influence it has had on mankind proves that socialism is in essence an internally consistent view of the world. One needs only to uncover the true logic of socialism and to find that vantage point from which it can be seen as a phenomenon without contradiction. ...

If, for example, Marx repeatedly expresses the thought that man exists only as a representative of the interests of a definite class and has no existence as an individual, of course we are not obliged to believe that the essence of man was revealed to Marx. But why not accept that he is describing a view of the world inherent in certain people, himself in particular, who regard man not as a personality having an independent significance in the world but merely as a tool of forces outside his control?

...Furthermore, since socialism is capable of inspiring mass movements, it follows that many are subject to the influence of such a world view, perhaps even all people are to a greater or lesser degree. If socialism is viewed as the ultimate truth about man, then it unquestionably disintegrates into contradictory elements. But if we consider it to be a manifestation of only one of the tendencies in man and mankind, then it appears possible to remove the contradictions and to understand socialism as a basically cohesive and consistent phenomenon....

This book would never have been written were it not for the assistance rendered me by numerous people. At the moment, it is not possible for me to name them all and to express to each my debt of gratitude. But I can thank two of them here: A. I. Solzhenitsyn, under whose influence I undertook to write this book, and V. M. Borisov, whose criticism was invaluable.

by Igor Shafarevich
Originally published in Russian in France in 1975, by YMCA Press

http://www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/books/revolution/socialist-phenomenon/preface.htm

The United States of Islam

“A specter is haunting Europe — the specter of Communism.” These were the first words of Karl Marx’s “The Communist Manifesto”. More than a century later a different specter has appeared on the threshold of the Old World - the Specter of Caliphate.

A year ago Muhammad Badie – the General Guide of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood - stated:

“improvement and change that the Muslim nation seeks can only be attained through jihad and sacrifice and by raising a jihadi generation that pursues death, just as the enemies pursue life”.

According to Badie, the ultimate purpose of Arabs is to restore the true face of the Muslim world, which is the State of the Caliphate with Sharia Laws - the sacred and the highest form of human civilization.

A veteran member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Sheikh Ahmad Gad called “honorable Al-Azhar to rally the Islamic streams in order to unite the Muslim world and effort, restore the Caliphate… 'O Allah, guide us, open our hearts to faith, and restore this nation to its previous self – one united nation worshiping You and You alone.”'

Dr. Kamal Al-Helbawy, former Muslim Brotherhood spokesman in the West named this future Caliphate – “the United States of Islam”. He implied that Arabs want to erase borders that were drawn up by imperialist nations and build global Islamic State.

This is how another Egyptian Islamic Scholar Ibrahim Al-Khouli has formulated the concept of the Muslim Brotherhood:

"Forget about Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. That’s not what I’m talking about. I am talking about Jihad which is led by the Islamic scholars … I am talking about the Jihad of the entire nation. We must conductjihad against the West, who are aggressors against the Land of Islam.”

One can talk about the democratization of the Arab world, the “Arab Spring”, and liberalization of the Arab society. However, this observation is only external -- from another Time and another World - from the West of the XXI century. An internal perspective is completely different. It’s derived from depths of centuries, and it is reflected in the lexis of Badie and Gad, Al-Helbawy and Al-Khouli, Sheikh Yousef Qaradawi (“Constantinople was conquered in 1453 by a 23-year-old Ottoman named Muhammad ibn Murad, whom we call Muhammad the Conqueror. Now what remains is to conquer Rome ”) and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Muhammad Ahmad Hussein who said:

“The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. … Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs (i.e. Jews) is a war of religion and faith”.

Lastly, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani declared that no efforts will be spared to spread Wahhabi Islam across the world, encouraging Jihad while investing €50 million in restoring Sharia in the French suburbs where hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants reside.

Al-Thani is considered a moderate pro-western ruler. A year ago this type of discourse would have been considered unthinkable. Nowadays these words are not only uttered, but are also validated by donations and financial support. Why one may ask? It is because al-Thani wants to be on the “right side of history”?

 The time has come. All the obstacles, such as corrupt authoritarian regimes, towards the cherished dream have been scattered like sand dunes with the draft of khamsin.

Just like the Jews are coveting to return to Jerusalem and the Christians are longing for the Second Coming of Christ, so the Arabs have been yearning to restore Caliphate for centuries. Caliphate - a theocratic state - was the first and only authentic state in the Arab history, believed to be the embodiment of the Divine will.

Sharia Laws determine the internal structure of this state, Jihad – its foreign policy. Recently only starry-eyed professors, charmed by the Sufi spiritual practices, have been talking about Jihad as a self-improvement. Jihad, however is not a spiritual improvement, it is the fulfillment of the Divine will, and whatever is not a part of the “The House of Islam” (Dar al-Islam) is actually the “The House of War” (Dar al-Harb).

There hasn't been any dispute about the supremacy of Sharia Laws and the divine destiny of the Caliphate. Dividing Islam into “moderate” and “radical” is the flight of imagination of Western intellectuals who confuse, primarily, themselves. Islam (like two other Abrahamic religions) is a fundamentalist one, i.e., literally interprets holy scripture.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries, Christianity (influenced by the Enlightenment) moved toward liberalism and began treating the Bible in allegorical terms. But God is not an impersonal substance of Deists and harmonious deity of Neo-Platonists. He establishes the laws and obliges obeying them.

Muslim theologians' standpoint has its own logic. Why would the Arabs adopt social systems alien to them and imposed on them less than a century ago - whether it is democracy, market economy or socialism? Moreover, they are familiar with the consequences of political experimentation in the recent past.

Liberal democracy? What is the practical meaning of it? The absence of Divine Basis, Shape, Content? Desecration of God and His order? Refusal of values as the supreme value? Rejecting roots as a sacred principle? Desperate loneliness: “We are left alone, without excuse”?[Jean-Paul Sartre] The triumph of “the substantial emptiness”? [Ulrich Beck] Sexual laxity and perversions as an example to follow?

In order to understand someone you need to see the world through his or her eyes. The liberal freedoms are a blessing for the West and a mockery of the will of the Creator for Muslims. The Islamists' victory in last elections in Egypt wasn’t the result of brainwashing, but of a deep inner conviction.

The Arab world is ready for the State of Caliphate. It will resemble the theocracy in Saudi Arabia and Iran: the rough laws of “dhimmi” for the non-Muslims (who will survive the slaughter), the submission of women, stoning for adultery, prohibition of usury and homosexuality.

Creating a Caliphate will, obviously, take time. Primarily, it's necessary to neutralize the resistance of the military junta in Egypt, to eliminate the anarchy in Libya, to sweep away the regime in Syria, to crush the Hashemite monarchy and overthrow the rotten Palestinian leadership, suppress ethnic riots and stop the advancement of the Shiites in Iraq and Lebanon. Secondly, it is essential to affirm the principles of Sharia Lawsin the minds of people, since these still exist in the collective consciousness as vague ideas. Finally, only then the scattered islands will be united into a single religious and cultural realm with the main goal – the beginning of Jihad.

Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis are not in a hurry. Sheikh Ahmad Gad said:

“There is no hope for reform without a return to divine rule, which the Creator chose for man...There is no other way but gradual action, preparing the souls and setting an example, so that faith will enter their hearts...”

Unlike the European people, the Arabs can wait, but they also know how to mobilize their forces. “Be patient if you are an anvil. Be swift if you are a hammer” - says Arabic wisdom. It took Prophet Muhammad two decades to create Islamic Caliphate in the Arabian Peninsula, and it took his followers less than a decade to conquer Persia, Egypt, and to corner the mighty Byzantine Empire.

“There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come” - Victor Hugo wrote.

If you want liberal democracy for Arabs, you will get State of the Caliphate in your own house. “A specter is haunting the Middle East ... the specter of Caliphate...”

Posted with permission Alexander Maistrovoy’s bio: "I was born in Moscow in 1960. In the 80s I began working in journalism and my work was published in various Moscow newspapers. I immigrated to Israel in 1988 where I work for the Russian-language Israeli press. For about fifteen years I’ve been a political analyst and journalist at the newspaper Novosty Nedely (“News of the Week”). I live in Jerusalem, write about politics, social life and religion. A number of English Internet editions and websites have published my work." Mr. Maistrovoy can be reached at amaist@lycos.com

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/2012/maistrovoy/us-islam.htm#.UT8KQ_sgaDc.gmail

Washington: Hizballah has got hold of chemical weapons

When Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at the Pentagon Tuesday, March 5, he heard for the first time in years American criticism of the Israeli army for under-reacting – in this case to the chemical weapons threat emanating from Syria. Israel was also berated for under-estimating this menace and failing to take into account the likely need to send troops into Syria. Barak received official US confirmation that chemical weapons had reached HIzballah.
read more: http://www.debka.com/article/22803/

weapons

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 6, 2013, 6:55 AM (GMT+02:00)

Tags:  Syria   Golan   Israel   Russia   Chuck Hagel   Ehud Barak 

Ehud Barak greeted by Chuck Hagel at Pentagon

For the first time in many years, voices in the US administration were criticizing the Israeli defense forces for under-reacting and, in this case, also underestimating the chemical weapons threat emanating from Syria and neglecting to pursue counter-measures. This is what visiting Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak heard when he met US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at the Pentagon Tuesday, March 5, as the new defense secretary’s first foreign visitor.
DEBKAfile’s military and Washington sources disclose that Barak was berated for “inadequate and cursory” military preparations which failed to take into account that a chemical attack on Israel would make it necessary for the IDF to enter Syria – most likely for an offensive operation coordinated against the common threat with the Turkish and Jordanian armies.
Present at the meeting between Hagel and Barak were also Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the US Chiefs of Staff and Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren. Our sources add that the conversation ranged over the Syrian crisis with no reference to a nuclear Iran.
From the defense secretary, Barak heard intelligence estimates confirmed for the first time by an American official that Hizballah has been able to procure a quantity of chemical weapons from Syria – a development which Israel’s leaders have vowed to prevent.
The proliferation of chemical weapons to HIzballah and other armed bands on Israel’s borders was apparently in the mind of Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin, UN Security Council president for March, when he cautioned Monday that trouble was building up between Israel and Syria.
Read DEBKAfile’s earlier report:
At UN Center in New York, Israeli and Russian delegates separately warned Monday, March 4, of a dangerous situation developing in the area of separation on the Golan captured by Israel in the 1967 war. Syrian troops were forbidden to enter this area under a ceasefire formalized in 1974 between Syria and Israel.
Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor complained to the Security Council about five shells fired from this very area which landed in Israel Saturday, March 2. "Israel cannot be expected to stand idle as the lives of its citizens are being put at risk by the Syrian government's reckless actions," Proser wrote in a Note to the council. "Israel has shown maximum restraint thus far."
Russia’s UN Ambasador Vitaly Churkin then spoke of “a very new and dangerous phenomenon” of armed groups operating in the Golan area of separation. “It’s something which potentially can undermine security between Syria and Israel,” said Churkin, who is acting Security Council president for March. He pointed out that the UN peacekeeping force is unarmed and unable to cope with this new situation. Israel and Syria are technically in a state of war.
DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources note that the exchange of warnings between Israel and Russia touched two sensitive nerves:
1. It occurred the day before definitive talks open in Moscow between the Syrian government and opposition. The Russians fear Israel might embark on military action in response to the round of shells fired from the Syrian Golan Saturday, and force a delay in the talks. The last time this happened, in late January, Israel reacted with a cross-border attack on Syrian military installations.
2. Saturday, too, DEBKAfile exposed the no-man’s lands unfolding along Syria’s borderlands with Israel and Jordan following the withdrawal of the bulk of Syrian forces from these areas. Moscow fears additionally that Israel’s armed forces will seize strategic points in the abandoned territory to clear out armed bands of the pro-al Qaeda Jabhat al Nusra, which are believed responsible for the latest round of shelling into the Israeli Golan.
Churkin’s warning referred to “armed groups” as the potential troublemakers, but he was also cautioning Israel to desist from fighting back so as not to upset Moscow’s diplomatic initiative for resolving the Syrian civil war.  

Light in the Darkness

"My heart is like wax;

It is melted in the midst of my bowels."

Psalm 22:14

"Our blessed Lord experienced a terrible sinking and melting of soul. 'The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?'"

"Deep depression of spirit is the most grievous of all trials; all besides is as nothing. Well might the suffering Saviour cry to his God, "Be not far from me," for above all other seasons a man needs his God when his heart is melted within him because of heaviness.

"Believer, come near the cross this morning, and humbly adore the King of glory as having once been brought far lower, in mental distress and inward anguish, than any one among us; and mark his fitness to become a faithful High Priest, who can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. Especially let those of us whose sadness springs directly from the withdrawal of a present sense of our Father's love, enter into near and intimate communion with Jesus. Let us not give way to despair, since through this dark room the Master has passed before us.

"Our souls may sometimes long and faint, and thirst even to anguish, to behold the light of the Lord's countenance: at such times let us stay ourselves with the sweet fact of the sympathy of our great High Priest. Our drops of sorrow may well be forgotten in the ocean of his griefs; but how high ought our love to rise!

"Come in, O strong and deep love of Jesus, like the sea at the flood in spring tides, cover all my powers, drown all my sins, wash out all my cares, lift up my earth-bound soul, and float it right up to my Lord's feet, and there let me lie, a poor broken shell, washed up by his love, having no virtue or value; and only venturing to whisper to him that if he will put his ear to me, he will hear within my heart faint echoes of the vast waves of his own love which have brought me where it is my delight to lie, even at his feet for ever."

My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense; I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

Psalm 62:5

http://www.crossroad.to/HisWord/notes/spurgeon/1-index.htm#.UT3sQNXyfPA.gmail

Engelse advocaat roept Nederlandse christenen op tot actie

Accepteren dat er geen nieuwe gewetens­bezwaarde ambtenaren meer worden benoemd? „Never ever”, zegt de Engelse advocaat Paul Diamond. „Ik laat mezelf niet verlagen tot een tweederangs­burger.”

Het is goed dat er ‘stille’ christenen zijn, vindt Diamond. Die bidden en verzorgen zieken. Maar er moet ook gevochten worden. Dat doet hijzelf. Diamond was onlangs in Nederland voor een lezing voor een inter­nationaal politiek netwerk van christelijke jongeren. Hij daagde hen uit in hun land te doen wat hijzelf in Groot-Brittannië doet met onder meer het Christian Legal Centre.

Diamond heeft alles wat een Engelse jurist moet hebben. Hij is welsprekend, met het keurige Cambridge-Engels dat het aan de gerechtshoven goed doet. Maar vooral heeft hij de gave de dingen zo te vertellen dat zijn standpunt volkomen vanzelfsprekend lijkt, en dat van de tegenstander on­nozel. „Structureren”, noemt hij dat.

„In structureren zijn wij uniek”, zegt Diamond. Op zijn laptop toont hij krantenknipsels van zaken die het Christian Legal Centre heeft behandeld.

”Groot-Brittannië vervolgt christenen, zeggen bisschoppen”, luidt een kop. ”U mag geen kruisje dragen”, schreeuwt een volgende. Zo is er een hele reeks, uit verschillende kranten; van het kwaliteitsblad The Times tot de populistische Daily Mail. De orga­nisatie heeft zelfs een foldertje met deze koppen.

„Allemaal voorpagina-artikelen”, stelt Diamond met voldoening vast. „Hiermee hebben we eindelijk de vrijheid voor christenen op de politieke agenda gekregen. Premier Cameron moet zich nu overal verantwoorden.”

Duizenden seculiere Britten lazen zodoende dat de luchtvaartmaatschappij British Airways niet toestond dat medewerkers een kruisje bij hun uniform droegen. Sterker nog: dat de overheid voor de rechtbank stelde dat het kruisje geen (essentieel) christelijk symbool is. Diamond: „De mensen in het land denken: Heb je ooit zulke onzin gezien; je mag niet eens een kruisje meer dragen!”

De zaak van het kruisje bij het uniform van British Airways was de enige van vier zaken die Diamond en zijn medestanders half januari wonnen bij het Europees Hof voor de Rechten van de Mens (EHRM). In Groot-Brittannië leidt het kruisje tot veel problemen in arbeidsrelaties, zegt hij. „Veel werkgevers staan alle religieuze symbolen toe, tot de islamitische hijab toe. Maar het kruisje geldt ineens als beledigend. Wij dragen daarom een armbandje met ”Not ashamed”, waarmee we laten zien dat we ons niet schamen voor het kruis.”

Om de zaken in de pers te krijgen, heeft Diamond de hulp van anderen nodig. Zoals de bisschoppen van de Anglicaanse Kerk in Engeland. „Zeven van de ruim vijftig bisschoppen steunden de verpleegkundige die een kruisje wilde dragen.”

In een andere zaak overtuigde Diamond voormalig aartsbisschop Lord Carey om te pleiten voor het terugtreden van „bevoor­oordeelde” rechters. „Dat trekt de aandacht. Ik zorg dat hij de juiste juridische achtergrondinformatie heeft, zodat hij weet wat hij doet. Welke Nederlandse kerkleider tekent protest aan tegen anti­christelijke rechters?”

Vinden de betrokkenen in deze zaken het leuk om –met foto en al– op de voorpagina’s te staan?

„Dat is zeker niet de reden waarom ze bij me komen. Veel christenen zouden hun kruisje afdoen en thuis gaan zitten huilen als ze zouden horen dat ontslag het enige alternatief is. Niemand vindt het leuk om de politie aan de deur te krijgen en te worden meegenomen naar het bureau. Mensen die een advocaat inschakelen, zijn daarom al niet doorsnee.”

Maar de zaak moet wel in de media, en het liefst volgens Diamonds interpretatie. Hij heeft een drang om onrecht aan de kaak stellen. „Christenen worden gewoon ontslagen omdat ze op verzoek van een collega over het huwelijk spreken.”

De media vormen de enige plek waar Diamond nog kan zegevieren. „Van de regering winnen christenen het niet, want die is tegen ons. Van rechters winnen we het ook niet, die zijn eveneens tegen ons.”

Maar wat heeft alles dan voor zin, als u toch verliest?

„Op de lange termijn werkt de publieke opinie in ons voordeel. Wij laten zien hoe krom het recht is.”

En, hebt u die invloed op de publieke opinie?

„Ik denk van wel. Zolang journalisten ons bellen met de vraag om nieuwe verhalen, zit dat wel goed.”

Hoe is de verhouding tussen zaken die u verliest en wint?

Diamond denkt even na en pakt een van zijn folders erbij. „Deze zaak hebben we gewonnen. Die gaat over iemand die demonstreerde bij een abortuskliniek. En deze zaak trouwens ook. Die betreft een straatprediker die werd beschuldigd van homohaat. Hij werd vrijgesproken omdat de rechter begreep dat hij alleen zielen wilde redden en niet tot haat opriep.”

Wel maakt Diamond er een kanttekening bij. „Het zijn kwesties die te maken hebben met vrije meningsuiting. Daar zijn ook de liberalen voor. Dus hierin spelen we het spel met hen mee.”

Maar de liberalen zijn toch ook voor religieuze vrijheid?

„Absoluut niet. Ze zeggen van wel, omdat dat politiek correct is. Maar ze zien religie als bedreiging. Ze is ideologisch ook niet te rijmen met hun opvattingen.

Aanvallen zo’n regering, denk ik dan. De voorzitter van de gelijkheidscommissie in ons land, Trevor Phillips, zegt dat christenen grotere fundamentalisten zijn dan moslims. Kijk, daar houd ik van. Zo’n uitspraak toont de werkelijke agenda van zo’n commissie.

Vergeet trouwens niet dat de homobeweging al dertig jaar topadvocaten inhuurt. Zij heeft er geld voor over. Het resultaat is dat het christendom als een gevaarlijke sekte wordt gezien. Terwijl het in mijn jeugd nog positief was om christen te zijn.”

De straatprediker vroeg de advocaat na zijn vrijspraak wat hij moest doen. „Doorgaan”, zei Diamond. „Preek dezelfde boodschap opnieuw. Deze rechtszaken zijn bedoeld om te intimideren. Als je doorgaat, laat je zien dat je niet bang bent.” Hij gaf wel het advies in het vervolg elk straat­optreden te filmen, ook als de politie langs zou komen.

Diamond is dus een vechter. Daarom trekt hij de wereld over met lezingen en doet hij ook Nederland aan. Ter aanmoediging. „Jullie zijn nog niet eens begonnen met vechten.”

Moet daarbij de pr-machine op volle toeren draaien?

„Zonder meer. Je boodschap moet in de algemene pers. In eigen kring kun je makkelijk de held uithangen. Maar ook de gewone man moet weten dat je zomaar ontslagen wordt als je over het huwelijk praat. Dat is in heel Europa zo.”

In de stelling dat christenen worden vervolgd, zit een overdrijving die veel christenen niet voor hun rekening nemen.

„Op het eerste gezicht is zo’n kop misschien lachwekkend, maar toch denk ik dat het waar is.”

Diamond sprak in Nederland ook met CU-Kamerlid Voordewind. Zo hoorde hij over de sterfhuis­constructie voor de gewetensbezwaarde trouwambtenaar in het VVD/PvdA-regeerakkoord. Over zoiets is hij zeer verbolgen. „Dat betekent dat je als christen nooit meer trouwambtenaar kunt worden en een tweederangsburger bent. Ik zal zoiets dus nooit accep­teren.”

Toenmalig aartsbisschop Rowan Williams wees de stelling over vervolging van de hand, onder verwijzing naar landen waar christenen echt vogelvrij zijn.

„De eerlijkheid gebiedt te zeggen dat Williams ons niet steunde. Zijn voorganger Carey wel, en ik verwacht dat ook van zijn opvolger, Justin Welby.

Christenen in Europa worden inderdaad niet gestenigd. Maar zeiden de rechters dertig jaar geleden tegen homo’s: Joh, doe niet zo moeilijk, in Pakistan zou je worden gestenigd? Ik denk het niet. Dan hoeven christenen nu ook niet alles te accepteren. Zij leven onder constante druk, vooral vanwege de beschuldiging van homohaat.

De stilte hierover vind ik echter ongelooflijk. De meeste christenen willen gewoon twee keer naar de kerk en drie keer met vakantie. Kerken besteden hun geld aan gebouwen en soms aan een extra jeugdwerker, maar hebben geen idee wat er speelt in het parlement.”

In Engeland zijn de afgelopen jaren diverse onderzoeken gedaan naar de positie van christenen, onder andere door de gelijkheidscommissie. Is dat bemoedigend?

„Totaal niet. Het is wel het gevolg van ons werk. Die politieke druk zal ook nog toenemen. De gelijkheidscommissie heeft –net als veel mensenrechtenorganisaties– een gevaarlijke antichristelijke agenda. Zij vroeg zelfs zaken van mij over te nemen, om te laten zien dat ze deugden. Ik heb ze een paar moeilijke aangeboden over homoseksualiteit. Maar die wilden ze niet.”

Diamond begon zijn kruistocht tien jaar geleden, samen met zijn collega Andrea Williams. „Iedereen lachte.” De eerste drie jaar lukte het hem niet om iets in de krant te krijgen. Tot een hoofdredacteur beloofde eens een artikel te proberen. „Zijn verkoopcijfers schoten omhoog. Zo kwam er spoedig een tweede verhaal. Inmiddels geven we primeurs.”

In Nederland is door de aanwezigheid van christelijke media geen pr-machine nodig om iets in de pers te krijgen.

„Toch moet je je boodschap algemeen bekendmaken. Ook buiten de eigen kring moet men weten dat je ontslagen wordt omdat je christen bent. En dat de politie weinig doet als moslims oproepen Joden af te slachten”, aldus Diamond, zelf van Joodse origine.

Dus Nederlanders zouden ook moeten vechten?

„Mijn vrouw is Nederlandse en zegt weleens: Dit en dat zou in ons land op weerstand stuiten. Nederlanders vertrouwen hun overheid meer. Wij Engelsen zijn veel cynischer over de regering. Laten we onze eigen lijn volgen en elkaar niet kopiëren. Onze confronterende manier werkt in Nederland misschien niet. Laten we allemaal om Gods zegen vragen en vooral van elkaar leren. Maar denk niet dat de tolerantie tegenover Nederlandse christenen groter is dan die in Engeland.”

Het reformatorische Platform Present probeert in Nederland via stille diplomatie dingen te regelen. Is die tactiek wel goed?

„Het een sluit het ander niet uit. Onder­handelen is een strategie, zaken openlijk aan de kaak stellen is een andere. Christenen moeten in elk geval geen mede­christenen gaan bevechten juist omdat dezen vechten.”

FREEDOM FROM A SELF-CENTERED LIFE

IN the introductory lecture to his "Character and Characteristics of William Law," Dr. Whyte writes, "I wish some student of Law had reprinted for the Christian public the third and practical part of the 'Spirit of Love.'" Elsewhere he speaks of it as A Golden Dialogue. In this issue of the Dialogue I have left out what appeared to have no direct reference to the practical part of the "Spirit of Love." In the notes I have tried to help some readers, who might not at once be able to take in Law's teaching, and might not be ready to give the careful and continued study needed to master his thoughtful style, to see what really the points are that he wishes to open up and enforce.

His chief thoughts are these. The ordinary Christian life is a state of pupilage, in which, under the influence of the teaching of Scripture, mind and heart have to be educated and disciplined, and the will trained and stirred, to seek after a life in which the Spirit of Love really fills and rules the soul. Such a life is possible, but can be received only by the operation of God, in which our Lord, as the Lamb of God, reveals himself in the heart and takes possession. The great, in fact the one real hindrance to this life of the Spirit of Love within us, is the power of our evil self that poisons our whole nature. The chief object of our time of pupilage, and that on which its length and its issue depend, is that the soul, in its struggle to obey God's law and to overcome this evil self with its tempers, be brought to the confession of its own utter impotence to work deliverance.

The only way to deliverance is by a true and entire death to self. The great secret of this death to self-this is really the secret of his teaching and the central thought of the dialogue-the great secret of the death to self, is to be found in a simple helpless turning from self to God.

This dying to self is the very perfection of faith in Christ as the Lamb of God. At first sight it does not appear how this can bring such a wonderful deliverance from self, or lead to Christ's rising in the soul with the light of heaven and the full birth of the Spirit of Love.

But as he expounds the truth, and shows how in the humility of the Lamb of God lay the secret of the work He did, and the salvation He gives, and how the sinking down before God in humility, meekness, patience, and resignation to God is the very perfection of faith in Christ, and the one only condition of God's doing His work in us, we are compelled to acknowledge that here is indeed the place of blessing.

A great deal has been said against the use of terms like The Higher Life, and A Second Blessing. In Law one finds nothing of such language, but of the deep truth of which they are the, perhaps defective, expression his whole book is full. The points on which so much stress is laid in what is called Keswick Teaching, stand prominently out in his whole argument. The low state of the average life of the believer, the cause of all failure as coming from self confidence, the need of an entire surrender of the whole being to the operation of God, the call to turn to Christ in faith as the one and sure deliverer from the power of self, the divine certainty of a better life for all who will in self-despair trust Christ for it, and the heavenly joy of a life in which the Spirit of Love fills the heart- these truths are common property. What appears make Law's putting of the truth of special value is the way in which he shows how humility and utter self-despair, with the resignation to God's mighty working in simple faith, is the infallible way to be delivered from self and have the Spirit of Love fill the heart.

Some may object to the title "Dying to Self." I have tried in Appendix A to explain my view of it as connected with our being dead to sin in Christ. I pray that the blessing and help his teaching has been to myself may be shared by many, and that this little book may be used of God to open up the exceeding riches of His grace in Christ Jesus.


Andrew MurrayWellington
July 11, 1898 
http://lovestthoume.com/Books/DyingToSelf.html#.UTdoyGL3E_w.gmail

Israël beducht voor sprinkhanen Egypte - Buitenland - Reformatorisch Dagblad

JERUZALEM— Terwijl in Israël voorbereidingen worden getroffen voor de viering van Pesach, waarmee de uittocht van het Joodse volk uit Egypte wordt herdacht, heeft het ministerie van Landbouw alarm geslagen over een grote sprinkhanenplaag in buurland Egypte.

Het ministerie riep de bevolking maandag op om waakzaamheid te betrachten en melding te maken van iedere sprinkhaan die in zicht komt.

Egypte wordt momenteel geteisterd door een sprinkhanenplaag van Bijbelse omvang: de aantallen doen denken aan een van de tien plagen, die voorafgingen aan de Joodse uittocht uit Egypte. Volgens Israëlische en Arabische media gaat het om meer dan 30 miljoen sprinkhanen, veel meer dan gebruikelijk.

De insecten zitten nu nog in Gizeh, een voorstad van de Egyptische hoofdstad Caïro. De beestjes, die jaarlijks over het land trekken, zijn een grote bedreiging voor de oogst. Egypte is met man en macht bezig de sprinkhanen te bestrijden.

Israël is alert; de insecten trekken daar normaal gesproken na een tijdje heen. Er is enige kans dat de sprinkhanen door de harde wind dit jaar richting Saudi-Arabië gaan in plaats van naar Israël, aldus de Egyptische autoriteiten.

Een relatief kleine zwerm van zo’n tweeduizend sprinkhanen stak maandagmiddag de grens naar Israël over. Israël heeft gewassen met bestrijdingsmiddelen besproeid om ze te beschermen.

GOD'S FAMILY & OUR FAMILIES

One night away back in May 1988, not long after we ended our involvement in organised church, I lay awake and was asking the Lord what He is doing with us and others like us, who have left the structured church. As I waited on Him, seeking to listen with my heart, this is what I felt He spoke to me: "I desire to restore My family, to re-establish My family household. (Ephesians ch.2 v.l9), and also it is my desire to heal and renew your families." So, there were two things, My family, and your families.

What was it that Jesus taught us to know above all? It was to be able to say, "Our Father." His whole life, His teaching, His Cross and resurrection, His exaltation to heaven and His pouring out of the Holy Spirit were all to bring us to God, to know Him as Father. "Abba", Dad.
God, our Father in heaven; Jesus "Not ashamed to call us brethren." (Hebrews ch.2 v.ll) " Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Christ Jesus." ( John ch. 1 v.3.) "Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying 'Abba Father!'" (Galatians ch. 4 v.6) We could go on quoting Scriptures. It is all family, family relationships, family love.
I felt the Lord was saying to me, "Your humanly organised churches stand in my way. You have divided My family. If you would cooperate with Me, then all these humanly organised structures, programmes, services have to be laid aside and put away. You cannot retain them and fully know what I want for you as My Family. Structured church and organised religion have hindered people from knowing the simple wonder of a love relationship with Me."

Older fathers, with older children know a special joy when their children become truly their friends. The relationship then enters a new and more wonderful dimension. This was the special joy God had in Abraham, when He could say, "Abraham, My friend." This is what God wants for all of us. This is mature sonship in God, when Father and we are friends. "No longer have I called you servants, but I have called you friends." (John l5:15).

"What I am doing," I felt I heard Father say," is I am working in two dimensions, on two levels.: first to replace your churches and your denominations and your fellowships with My family. I am determined to remove these things which are obstacles to the experience of living in My family. For this purpose each individual must come to really know Me as Father, and for this reason I need to take you, one by one, away with Me alone. That is what I have been doing and am doing in many lives. This is the wilderness wooing described in Hosea ch.2 vs.14-20. I want you to know how to be able to cry, in helpless dependence and utter love and trust, "Abba. Dad!.'"
"And this is just the beginning of My work. for as you come to know Me as Father and Friend, then you will begin to love your brothers and sisters in a new way, a new dimension of loving one another "fervently from the heart" will be birthed."

"Then you will have a desire for family reunions, and I wi11 bring you together, not for services or religious meetings as before, but for times of joyous open relationships and sharing. And I, Father will be amongst you, making My heart known to you as My friends."
"The second level is this: As I work to renew and restore My family, so I will renew and restore your families (Malachi ch.4 v.5.),'Turning the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.'
Religious organisations and activities have not really been building strong family relationships. Many have found, and are finding, that their religious activities and ministries impose severe strains on family life. I felt that the Lord was saying, "When you are willing to lay down these things and stop them, allowing Me to bring you into the reality of My family, then I wi11 restore your families. Fathers will have time for their children and their wives and will see in a new way, the priority of their families in My family."
John the Baptist's Forerunner ministry, (Luke ch.1 v.l7. Malachi ch.4 vs.5-6) had to do in part with family restoration. Satan's assault today is very much concentrated on family life and relationships, and this attack will intensify as he sees God's corporate John-the-Baptist ministry arising.

Pentecostal teaching has laid much emphasis on teaching about family, but this has largely failed of its purpose because leaders and people are so often swept up into a whirlwind of activities, meetings, seminars, groups etc. It has to be recognised that the restoration of our families can come only as God's family is restored and church divisions and denominations are put away, and people learn to know God as Father, He who is the Father "From whom every family in heaven and on earth is named." (Ephesians 3:14-15.)

The Shocking Youth Message by Paul Washer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cncEhCvrVgQ&feature=youtu.be

Faith That Works: Worshiping God or Caesar?”

by Viktor Kostov, PhD  ~  February 26, 2013

Viktor Kostov, PhD is a missiologist and attorney at law. He is based in Eastern Europe, married with three children. He works for the spread of the Gospel, freedom of religion and speech and defending the traditional family.

---

I grew up in communist Bulgaria when public false worship of the national false god was mandatory. One of the major roles of the government, and why not the main purpose, was to ensure obedience to the ideology of the ruling cult – the communist party.

The above photograph has recorded a so called “manifestation” of the people in Bulgaria under communism. All schools, universities, factories, and all workers had to show up for these parades and shout worshipful slogans to the communist party, the state and its leaders. The socialist utopia was at its highest frenzy.

Some of the slogans we had to shout had an unreserved religious overtones: “Eternal glory to the Bulgarian Communist Party!”, “Forever Unbreakable friendship with the USSR!” and many others. They were evoking eternity!? The communists were supposedly banning religion and Christianity as the “opium for the people”, but were engaging in worship of the state and Marx, Lenin and other communist leaders.

If one thinks that socialist utopia is far behind us, in the annals of history, they are mistaken.

Today, western governments are also imposing its ideological tyranny on people. They are redefining the nature of family, education, service, atheism, and human relationships. They are imposing a new, state-sponsored and mandatory view on gender and marriage. These words from the British Prime Minister were publicized by the media:

"Speaking shortly before MPs vote on the gay marriage bill, the Prime Minister said: 'Today is an important day. I am a strong believer in marriage. It helps people commit to each other and I think it is right that gay people should be able to get married too.' This is, yes, about equality. But it is also about making our society stronger."[1]

No, Mr. Prime Minister! This is not about equality. This is about making sinful behavior mainstream and about destroying traditional marriage and the family. This is about announcing to God – “We are strong and your ordinances will not break us. We will set up our own morality, our own family, our own marriage, and we will make your church, accept this!”

I don’t think my statement is an exaggeration. In France, regardless of massive street protests their legislature adopted marriage to be the union between two individuals of different or the same gender.[2]

The conservative members of the UK parliament voiced clearly their position:

"Nonetheless, some Conservative lawmakers added a strident note to Tuesday’s debate. 'It is not possible to redefine marriage,' said Sir Roger Gale, a right-wing backbencher. “Marriage is the union between a man and a woman, has been historically, remains so. It is Alice in Wonderland territory, Orwellian almost, for any government of any political persuasion to seek to come along and try to rewrite the lexicon. It will not do.”[3]

But you may say: “Why should we concern ourselves with politics? Christians should be concerned with spiritual things and the salvation of souls, right?”

God and Caesar

I am not so concerned with politics. I am very concerned with public idolatry. And when idolatry becomes public -- and when the state forces Christians to embrace its idols --  the battle is primarily about religion, faith and souls, not politics.

If one reads the Bible with the appropriate attitude he will be most likely surprised by the ample participation of the secular government in the interaction with the prophets and ministers of God, including Jesus. Three of the gospels record Jesus’ opponents trying to entice him into anti-government statements. The issue of paying taxes was as poignant in the early times as it is today. However, in the mentioned exchange the Lord teaches about more than taxes. He sets up the powers and the priorities for his followers, regarding these powers.

"And they brought [him a coin]. And he said to them, 'Whose likeness and inscription is this?' They said to him, 'Caesar's.' 'Jesus said to them, 'Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's' And they marveled at him. (Mark 12:16-17)

The Biblical context shows Jesus' theological opponents wanting to catch him in a teaching that they could use against him before the government. There are three aspect of this verse I want to point out:

1. There are things that belong to Caesar, (or the state).
2. And there are things that belong to God.
3. These two categories are different; they are not to be confused.

We cannot give to Caesar what is God’s (thus making Caesar God). And we shouldn’t give to God what is Caesar’s, as if our Lord were simply a secular, lower level authority.

What does this message mean for us today? Erwin Lutzer puts it this way:

"We shall discover that we always find ourselves caught between our responsibilities as citizens of earth and our responsibility as citizens of heaven. The church has always been poised between two gods and two crosses.

"On the one side is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who died on a Roman cross, executed for the sins of the world. On the other side are any number of lesser gods and other crosses that promise a false salvation. These other gods are almost always embodied in the state; they most often come to us dressed in the garb of Caesar. And in the end they are committed to crushing religious freedom."[4]

Indeed “statism” is one of the most wide spread idolatries of today.[5] Today's secular state seems determined to have a policy on all kinds of private and family-related issues, which in a "free" nation, would should be outside its domain. Those vital issues include health care, education, the family (caring for children), gender and marriage, and even worship.

Even the "free" nations of the west are now ignoring Christ’s wise command to give God what is God’s and Caesar what is Caesar’s.  The totalitarian state is now reaching out to claim and control what is God’s, and the masses barely notice their loss!

We have come to a time and place where it is not only the Communist or Nazi nations that intrude into areas that are not properly matters of secular government. Even the "free" nations of the west are now ignoring Christ’s wise command to give God what is God’s and Caesar what is Caesar’s.  The totalitarian state is now reaching out to claim and control what is God’s, and the masses barely notice their loss!

So what is going on? What is behind the political debate on… MARRIAGE!?

Socialism is a political society in which the rulers are the source of mores and laws. A new breed of Socialism threatens America as well. We can see that by the emerging laws of “homofascism” – the forced government requirement to uncritically accept homosexualism as a mainstream new morality?[6][7]

The California Congress passed a statute in January 2013 making it illegal to counsel children or youth under age 18 who fear they might be homosexual and therefore seek freedom through therapy. This is a very dangerous law. It outlaws God's natural plan for His people and promotes an unnatural practice that destroys families and devastates many children. It demonizes morality and normalcy. It intervenes in parent’s right and obligation to raise and counsel their children in the counsel of God and the Bible. It is bent on destroying free thought and free speech.[8]

The church, if she is “salt and light,” must respond to the challenge. We as Christians cannot give to the state what belongs to God. The government will want to intervene in our consciences and our souls and our families; and is doing it. The blatant legislating of new gender, family and new made up morality of “tolerance” is threatening the very core of freedom of religion and expression.

If Christians yield to the pressure to appear tolerant and “loving” while forfeiting the true definition of biblical love, then they have become an unsalty. They've chosen a convenient middle ground.

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked." (Revelation 3:15-17)

In post-communist Bulgaria (and for that matter in most European nations) the State is still an undisputed idol even for many Christian. Today the same mind-changing idolatry is rising up in America with unprecedented speed.

Worship God and Acknowledge the State, Not the Other Way Around

The Bible teaches that the reason for homosexual behavior is idolatry (Romans 1:27). A prominent Christian thinker, R.J. Rushdoony puts it bluntly: “Show me your laws and I will show you your god.”[9]

Tertullian, the fourth century Christian theologian and lawyer saw idolatry as the most fundamental problem of mankind:

"The principal crime of the human race, the highest guilt charged upon the world, the whole procuring of the cause of judgment, is idolatry."

Is today’s secular government competent to tell us what marriage is about? Did the state invented marriage? Or did God?

Marriage is defined by God in the very beginning of creation and no one can redefine it without the risk of being in utter and complete rebellion against God’s created order. As we see it prophesied in Psalms 2:1-6:

"Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
'Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.'”

God response however is that such plans cannot shake his established order nor change the ultimate course of history or the delivery of his justice:

"He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
'As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.'”

We live in times where as Christian we must become very clear of what our faith is, what the Scriptures teach, what we believe. And we must stand up for our faith and the name of Christ.

Ephesians 5:8-14 contains the following exhortation:

"Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),  and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.  For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.  But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light."

Part of our good works of salvation is actually to expose the deeds of darkness, not to participate in them. We must be involved in a ministry which the apostle Paul announced as tearing down of strongholds, and captivating minds for Christ:

We can see where this mandate can be applied when we see injustice, deception and public immorality turned into law.

A disclaimer is needed here. I do not appeal for the establishment of some theocracy on this earth where we adopt the Bible as the law of the land. This has been tried before and has not worked out that well. In many cases the imposition of one worldview or religion, ever a Christian-like one, has led to totalitarianism.

Christians are a different people in a different kingdom. If our King was of this world we would want to have him run for President. But Jesus is not running for re-election. He is already King!

Our assignment in public witness is to assert namely that: to show a standard of the Kingdom of God and to thus affect souls and secular governments with the Gospel of Christ. And if public policy changes so be it. If the government honors God’s justice and His Gospel we will support it. If the government is wicked, immoral and corrupt – we will speak against the public unrighteousness. In both cases we will lift men in authority in prayer (1 Tim. 2:1-7).

But either way Christians must be a prophetic voice, an eternal reference to a new generation that lacks any moral compass, any hope in God, and any revelation of His character, judgment and mercy. We cannot withdraw our witness, we cannot be silent, we cannot just sit and watch darkness overtake the minds and souls of so many and destroy the lives of even the new generation.

Now is the time to go to God worship and acquire the boldness and faith that we need to join in the works of righteousness, exposing the works of darkness. We win in the end – the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord. But till then we must issue the warning and the call to obey God’s commands.

Now is the time to prepare for the changes ahead! May God give us the faith and boldness that we need to share in His works of righteousness and expose the works of darkness. We will win in the end; the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord! But until then we must issue His warnings and the call to obey God’s commands.

Romans 13 does state that all authorities are “God’s servants for our good,” to provide order and peace in a fallen society. But what do we do when instead of order and peace those rulers promote a false worship of idols? We must tear down old idols that we have allowed to be erected in the public square. How can that be, you may ask?

The struggle for freedom of conscience and the expression of faith runs through the whole Bible. Here we will point to only a few examples:

1) The Prophet Elijah confronted the 450 prophets of the false god Baal publicly? Those false prophets were supported by the government; they were favored by the queen and king. (1 Kings 18)

2) Three imperial employees Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to bow to the king and were ready to die for their faith and freedom of religion. (Daniel 3)

3) Daniel could have prayed in secret for thirty days, while the law of universal worship of the king lasted. Instead, when he learned of the new limitation on his religious freedom, Daniel opened wide his windows so all could see him praying to his God -- in violation of the new government law. (Daniel 6, see verses 10 and 11)

4) Throughout his ministry our Lord constantly debated the religious leaders who finally submitted him to the secular authorities for execution. (Matt. 12:1-14; Luke 23:1-5; etc.)

5) In Acts 4:1-27 and 5:17-42, preaching in the name of Jesus became the reason for the apostles to be arrested by the authorities.

These were all law abiding citizens, faithful to their secular state government. Nevertheless when the state or the king requested worship of themselves as a god, these law-abiding citizens broke the law of the land without any reservation. And that was a righteous thing to do. Because they knew the true Law-Giver.

Ephesians 6:10-13 states that besides obeying the rulers we must also oppose unrighteousness when principalities and powers impose it by using their authority.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the spiritual powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm."

Although it is clear that this reference in verse 12 refers to spiritual entities, these are spiritual principalities who affect the earthly rulers. False worship and idolatry unleashes these principalities and powers to deceive individuals, families’ nations and their governments. As a result false worship produces more idolatry and injustice. It produces tyrants and tyrannical governments.

We must preach the Gospel to individuals so they can be converted and individually saved. But the Scriptures teach us that sharing the Gospel involves not only evangelism but also confrontation with sin and systemic evil and deception in the public square. We have to defend the standards of God and the standards of Scripture as if they were the only moral reference point people needed. In fact, they are!

However we must be aware that that freedom must work in us first, by the love of God and the power of Christ’s salvation. If we are free inside, in our so called “heart”, no threat of mockery or persecution can stop us from bringing forth the liberating Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

Tortured for His Faith is a small book written by a pastor who started a mission for evangelism to communist lands. He was in Bulgarian communist prisons and labor camps for over 13 years in the mid 20^th century. His struggle to tone down his preaching while his family was in danger is humanly understandable, yet Jesus warned against it. This is written after his wife and children were able to leave communist Bulgaria:

"The remaining years in prison were easier to endure. I was no longer afraid of the communists. They had me, but they could not touch my family!...They could torture me, but they couldn’t touch my one really vulnerable spot – my wife and children!

"Much suffering and torture lay ahead because of my witness for Christ in prison, but no longer was I a prisoner. Surely, there were walls and bars around me, but no one could take away the inner freedom inside me." (p. 64)

Conclusion

1) If we have Christ, we will have works that glorify God;

2) These works are to be conducted in a hostile world which worships false gods, and one of them is the state. Therefore doing good will involve exposing evil;

3) We must be able to discern what things belong to God and what -- to secular government. If the state wants to take away by law or ordinance our God-given rights we must not accept such laws. Secular laws which go against God’s revealed Word will be technically “legal” but morally reprehensible.

A "faith that works" will instruct us to worship God, not the state. Such faith is part of our witness and public testimony of the good news of the coming King and the Kingdom of our Savior – Jesus Christ.

Viktor Kostov, PhD is a missiologist and attorney at law. He is based in Eastern Europe, married with three children. He works for the spread of the Gospel, freedom of religion and speech and defending the traditional family.

See also Dr. Kostov's 2001 article, Haunted by Totalitarianism

1. BBC, “Gay marriage an important step forward, says PM,” Accessed Feb. 23, 2013,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21325702

2. Mark Deen, French Anti-Gay Marriage Protests Draw Hundreds of Thousands, Bloomberg, January 13, 2013,

 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-13/french-anti-gay-marriage-protests-draw-hundreds-of-thousands.html, accessed Feb. 23, 2013.

3. New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/world/europe/britain-gay-marriage-vote.html?_r=0. As ironic as it may sound, the UK government has even “generously” stated that the Church will not be obliged to perform same-sex marriages. It seems UK officials have the idea that they have the right to define the church’s theology about marriage in the first place.

4. Erwin Lutzer. When a Nation Forgets God: 7 Lessons We Must Learn from Nazi Germany, p. 11.

5.  Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction: The Conflict of Christian Faith and American Culture, Crossway, 1990, p. 178.

6. Josh Levs, California governor OKs ban on gay conversion therapy, calling it 'quackery', CNN, October 2, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/01/us/california-gay-therapy-ban .  Accessed Feb. 23, 2013.

7 I use the term “homosexualism” instead of “homosexuality” on purpose. As “sexual orientation” has been promoted to be a “human right” by elites and western governments in the past decade homosexuality has stopped being just a private sexual preference or deviation. It is now a public policy issue, a form of citizen activism and a “justice” issue. It has become a new ideological term and public agenda.

8. Mark Morgenstein, 'Gay Cure' Therapists, 'Cured' Student Sue California Over New Law, CNN,  http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/04/us/california-gay-therapy, accessed Feb. 22, 2013.

9. Some attribute this quote to Nazi-era German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonheoffer, a leader in the anti- Fürher resistance. See here: http://www.fireandhammer.com/quotes.htm

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/0013/kostov/faith-works.htm#.US4h4m0r9LA.gmail