This Is Nothing New Under The Sun ... It Has Been Already In The Ages Before Us

    

     Knowing that I cannot trust the media for truth in these daunting days, I have been even more diligent in searching God's Word for answers to the growing rebellion and discord in our nation. I know that what we are seeing played out on our computer and TV screens is the subversion of the worldly government by agents within that very system they claim to serve; men and women who serve their fleshly desires for money, position, and power while selling jealousy, envy, division and hatred to the masses.

     If we truly want to know the source of our disunity and division, we must look beyond the convenient identifiers of Republican vs Democrat; Black vs White; Patriot vs Traitor; Young vs Old. The truth is that this country has been attacked by an insidious Enemy who has been working under the guise of social and political revolution since the founding of this country. Call it by any of its secular names ... Freemasonry, the New World Order, Socialism, Marxism, Communism, Progressivism ... they all serve the same Master: the Anti-Christ who seeks to establish the Beast System, an end-of-the-world kingdom that controls the globe and serves his selfish desire for power.

     But Christians should be able to see that this same Enemy has been active in the world since the Garden, and again at the Tower of Babel, when men believed the lies of Nimrod, the king of Shinar, who among his many names was known as "One Who Speaks of Dark Things". So God came down and confused man's common language because His purpose for mankind was to live for HIS NAME, scattering over the earth proclaiming HIM! But what we see playing out before us is people whose love of self, power, and greed have supplanted any love for the One who created them to serve HIM.

     I am not denying that grievances are real; that sins have been committed throughout our history. But  destabilization and violence; the perpetuation of intolerance and biogotry (by everyone involved); the struggle for political and social power through civil unrest; a passive government and pulpit -- all of it plays right into the Enemy's hands.

     But, just as Solomon spoke in the Book of Ecclesiastes, "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun... It has been already in the ages before us." The rebellion we see in the streets of America is, in reality, a rebellion against God, and is as old as time. And the Bible clearly warns us that we must be alert for such strategies ... But [in those days] false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will subtly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned. And in their greed they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. (2 Peter 2:1-3). We could easily apply that passage to our college campuses and the twisted set of beliefs often proposed as education -- or the deceptive discourse that our politicians peddle as they try to convince us they are serving us, their constituents. 

     We must recognize that the Beast System has been given the opportunity to establish itself because we have not stood in our identity for which we were created -- as Ambassadors of the Kingdom of God on Earth. Every man, woman, and child is here on the planet to represent their Creator; to refute the lies of the one who seeks to poison their hearts and minds with false identities. Whether it is the rioters in the streets or the government officials who struggle for solutions, people and events have spiraled into a state of confused and violent turmoil.

     But what can we expect when we, the representatives of God's Kingdom, have allowed the citizens of this world's kingdom of darkness to censor God's presence? Prayer has been removed from our classrooms, and college campuses are nearly devoid of any mention of Him. The Ten Commandments have been removed from parks and courthouses. Churches have become businesses in the marketplace, tied to a secular government by their 501(c)3 charters. Christian views are heavily redacted on social media platforms. And to self-identify as a Christian is often met with fingers pointing to our hypocrisy and false righteousness.

     And, sadly, the Church has relegated its authority to secular government. I'm sure you've heard the oft-quoted excuse of Romans 13:1 ... Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist have been put in place by God. That verse has been so misunderstood, and the Enemy has been so successful in convincing Believers that we are subject to all government because it all has been put in place by God. But I submit to you a different  perception of the verse ... No one has authority [in government] except those who have been granted authority by His permission and sanction! Any other authority gained [without His sanction] does not come from Him! And if they have His sanction, then we are to be subject to that authority, which comes from Heaven.

     How will we know? By their fruit! If you are seeking the Kingdom of God, then you will recognize those who come in its authority. Governments who pass abortion laws allowing babies to be killed in the womb are not sanctioned by God. Governments who institute Welfare laws that enslave generations to their hand-outs instead of encouraging and establishing paths out of poverty are not sanctioned by Him. Governments who build and feed a nexus of military-industrial conflicts to maintain global power are not sanctioned by Him. And men who enter the halls of Government for personal greed and power are not sanctioned by Him. As Ambassadors and representatives of the government of the Kingdom of Heaven, our answer should be the same as Peter and the Apostles in Acts 5:29, "We must obey God rather than men [for we have no other choice]."

     Now we see statues commemorating our national history being defaced and destroyed -- as if that wipes out the sins of America. When we decimate [destroy or remove] our history -- flawed, or not --, how will future generations recognize when they are close to repeating it? And I am perplexed at the lack of knowledge and understanding of our history that I see in this Millennial generation! True, the Civil War was a blight upon our country's history, but we cannot ignore that it righted a wrong in our nation's moral conscience, and it is a reminder of just how fragile our foundation is. That fragility is still quite evident.

     So, as children of the Light, we must become more vocal than the children of darkness. We must speak the bigger truths of the spiritual strongholds of Power, Greed, and Deception that are behind the scenes of the protests and division. Our pulpits need to be thundering the message that Satan deflects responsibility on to others, thereby creating victims that serve his purposes. Jesus puts the responsibility right back on us... if my fellow man hates me, I am to love him. If he persecutes me, I am to pray for him. We may not be able to control everything that the Enemy throws at us, but we are responsible for how we react to it.

     So, how are we going to react to what we see in the streets of America and on Capitol Hill? We pray fervently, and we wage war in the Spiritual realms! Let the world compare our fruit with the fruit of those causing destruction. Let us take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. Do not get discouraged and don't be dismayed! We must stay strong in the Lord, no matter what comes. We may be the only image of Christ that those in darkness will ever see. The false prophets and teachers will reap what they've sown, but let us act out of unselfish concern for the lost. God is not silent and He is not absent. And the Lord expects us to endure until He comes. Let us not waver.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9     We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

    

    

    

God Will Bring Order Out Of Chaos

          Our God is a god of order. He brings His discipline and authoritative direction in the midst of confusion and upheaval. The perfect picture of this is Genesis 1:1-2, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Let's dissect these familiar verses, and see if we can get a picture that mirrors what we see coming upon this modern version of the earth.

     "Without form" is the Hebrew word tohu, and "void" is the Hebrew word bohu, giving us a picture of an earth that was a desolate wasteland; an empty ruin. "Darkness was over the land and the face of the deep" .... "darkness" is the Hebrew word chosek, defined as misery, destruction, death, sorrow, wickedness; and "deep" is the Hebrew word t'hom, meaning an abyss (as a surging mass of water").

     "And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters". Here, the word "hovering" indicates movement, as in a shaking, or a tempest [violent storm]. So, we have a picture of an earth that is existing in chaos and turmoil. The environment is one of destruction, death, and wickedness, which results in misery and sorrow. And the culmination of all this disorder is that the Spirit of God begins to shake one of the foundations of the earth: the waters.

     Obviously this is not the same earth about which the Bible says "and God saw that it was good" in verse 10. But I'm not hear to debate the question of whether something happened to a prior earth in Genesis 1:1-2, or that God re-created a new earth beginning in Genesis 1:9 that He was then able to declare "good" in verse 10. My point in dissecting the first two verses in the Bible is to show that God is able to identify when His creation is a wasteland shrouded in chaos and confusion; misery and destruction. And He is not above violently shaking it to bring it back into an orderly state that pleases Him.

     In fact, the Bible is full of references by both Old and New prophets and writers who describe just such discipline from God ... and they aren't referring to what happened in the past in Genesis 1:1-2. They are talking about a future event. The prophet Haggai says, "For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land (2:6)". Isaiah prophesies, "Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of His fierce anger (13:13)". Jesus, Himself, tells us in Luke 21:25-26, "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,  people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken." Even the Apostle Peter declares, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will vanish with a [mighty and thunderous] roar, and the [material] elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and the works that are on it will be burned up."

     So, we must not be like those people "in the days of Noah" who were unaware until the Flood came and swept them all away. God has promised that He will never destroy the world with a flood again, but He is not blind to what is happening upon the earth in these days. There is much deception and lies as men are being used by agents of Satan to cause disorder, chaos, and destruction. There is much misery and sorrow among the fellowship of men, and lawlessness is abiding in hearts that are devoid of the love of Christ.

     The very fact that there are numerous reports of Satanic marches in the major cities of our nation today, on this day of the summer solstice, is evidence that our Enemy is emboldened to openly display his opposition and antagonism towards our God Most High. Our Enemy believes he is closer than ever to gaining complete dominion over the earth and destroying the followers of Christ. We can see wave after wave of evil, fostered by multiple factions within the kingdom of darkness. It has the appearance of that violent storm or tempest which moved over the earth in Genesis 1:2.

     But we must not yield to his wickedness and scare tactics. Our Lord has already defeated him and we must rise up in an even greater tsunami of praise, worship, and spiritual warfare that will crush the devil's waves of evil. Pray fervently that the curtain will be pulled back on every contingent of Satan's conglomerate of evil-doers. Call down warrior angels to expose the duplicity of politicians [both Democrat and Republican; black and white] who are financially/politically benefiting from the very world systems they claim to be against. Ask our Lord to confuse the Enemy's schemes and cause confusion in his camps, just as He did in Joshua 10.

     The demonic realm rejoices over displays such as a Luciferian March for a One World Government, and the rituals and curses that accompany it. But Satan and his hordes also celebrate the chaos and destruction they have been able to convince the men and women of earth to commit on behalf of what they see as a "righteous cause". Pray that the veil that separates dark and Light will be torn by our Lord Jesus, as He reveals what's really been going on behind the scenes. Pray that the Church will rise up to be the voice and representative of Heaven, declaring that this dark kingdom of the world is coming to an end, and the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior is going to reign for ever and ever. Pray that everything that is counterfeit is exposed for the lie that it is, and that the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirits of Wisdom and Knowledge and Understanding; of Counsel and Might, and the Fear of the Lord will sweep this land, making way for the "true" One World Government ... the Government of God's Kingdom on earth.

     So, it's time we discern that God will bring order out of this chaos. He's done it before and His Word says He will do it again. Please pray that mankind rejects the lies and temptations of the Evil One before we've gone too far. The Man of Lawlessness is ready to take the stage, but God, in His Sovereignty, will determine His appearance. Father, we pray for Your protection from the shaking that we deserve! Destroy the plans of everyone whose heart is aligned with the Enemy, and may Your Holy Spirit guide us towards restoration and reconciliation. You are our Hope and Strength and Refuge!

Jeremiah 10:10     But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.

"Why Doesn't God Fix All This?"

     We are now several months into a "new normal" centered around the existence of Covid-19, and several weeks into civil unrest as our nation struggles with how to reinvent law and order in a civilized society. At this point in time, there are new threats of a second phase of the pandemic, and our cities and streets look anything but civilized. Voices are raised in dispute and conflicting ideologies and philosophies. It's clear that change needs to happen; we can no longer turn a blind eye to injustice -- there are too many instances of bad apples spoiling the entire crop, and reform is necessary. But at the same time, violence and lawlessness will not achieve reconciliation nor reformation. It never does. So, the pressure [and panic] is beginning to build in the souls and spirits of Christians across the land, and Mark and I are hearing a lament starting to rise from the ranks ... Why doesn't God just come down and fix this? We've been praying 2 Chronicles 7:14 and He's been silent!

     This is where we always have to have the conversation about the difference between God is in control and God is in control of everything. And this is where the Church needs to do a better job of defining what God's Sovereignty really looks like. So, it's time for me to brush off a post I wrote in September 2016, and update it for the year 2020.
     At first, you may think those two statements express the same idea, but the truth about this theological doctrine is, in reality, more complex. But, let's start with this idea ... I think we can agree that, as followers of Christ, we believe that God is Sovereign and Supreme in all aspects of the Universe that He created.  But what exactly does that mean? It is my understanding that God's Sovereignty means He has the ability to exercise His will in unlimited power and ways. But does that mean He always acts or carries out His will? 

     It is also my opinion that God’s Supremacy is unrestricted, but I also believe that the Sovereignty of God means He can set parameters as He desires. In other words, ultimately God can be in complete control of all things [if He so chooses], though He may choose to let certain events happen according to limits He has established -- again, a matter of His Sovereignty.  So, I believe that God is totally independent and does as He pleases, without having to answer to us.  In fact, Psalm 115:3 says, "Our God is in the heavens. He does whatever He pleases". (As one of my favorite theologians and deliverance ministers, Dr. Charles Kraft, says, "God doesn't [have to] answer Why questions from us").  Then, it is apparent that the next question is, "What might some of those limits be that He has established for Himself?"

     First of all, here is a very important aspect of God's Nature that we need to grasp -- God cannot do anything that goes against His own character.  He can't lie; He can't be tempted by evil; He keeps every promise He makes; He can't contradict Himself; and He won't revoke what He has given or promised us... and that includes our free will -- [In other words, He doesn't pick and choose when He will offer free will. It is an absolute for everyone!] That speaks to His character trait of Immutability -- He does not change.  So that inherently means that if He has given us free will, He will not take it back, nor infringe upon it... no matter how badly He wants to change our actions or the decisions we make. He will remain Sovereign, as He extends free will to us.

     The Bible is full of Scripture and examples of man using his free will to go against the will of God... Adam and Eve chose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; the nation of Israel (God's favored people) chose to rebel and follow after false gods. King Ahab chose to abandon his worship of YHWH to follow after his wife, Queen Jezebel, and bow down to her pagan gods, Ba'al and Asherah, purging Israel of the prophets sent by God. Do you think any of these outcomes is what God desired, or what best served His purpose? Could God, in His Sovereignty, have made Eve reject the serpent's temptation? Or closed the hearts and minds of the Israelites to the snare of the foreign gods? Of course, He could have! But He, in His Sovereignty, chose NOT to! And don't ask WHY?!? Remember, He doesn't owe us an explanation. But if we study His character and His Word long enough we can get some clues.

     So, fast forward to this nation and its history ... Do you think God wanted to see this nation adopt the evil practice of slavery, or exhibit racism towards our fellow man? Do you think He likes seeing our prisons filling up, poor policing practices that result in ever more deaths, increasing disrespect for the "good guys" in law enforcement, or the chaos and anarchy that offer no real solutions? Could He step in and "fix it", as so many of my fellow Christians are imploring Him to do? Yes, but that would violate one of the most precious gifts He has given us... our free will to choose good over evil.

     And if He makes our choices for us, then we are nothing more than robots who have made no choice of our own to please God -- He has made every choice for us, and how does that either please or glorify Him, or represent His Magnificence? Ephesians 1:5-6 explains it better than I can: He destined us to be adopted as His children through the covenant Jesus the Anointed inaugurated in His sacrificial life. This was His pleasure and His will for us. Ultimately God is the one worthy of praise [glory] for showing us His grace; He is merciful and marvelous, freely giving us these gifts in His Beloved.

     By allowing us to make that choice for ourselves, we find worth in our own life, as well as magnifying His. You see, God always acts in the freedom of His own Sovereignty, and He wants us to act righteously in the freedom He has given us. God doesn't want to be in control of everything!  He wants a partner, not a puppet!  He made us in His image and He wants us to act like it!  He sent His Son into this evil world, and transferred His power to Jesus to establish God's Kingdom on earth. Then Jesus transferred His power to us, and here we are 2,000 years later, with scarcely an idea that we possess that power, let alone know how to use it.  It is not God's will that our nation be in the shape it is in, nor that we suffer in our lives from all the slings and arrows of the Enemy -- who, make no mistake, is roaming our land like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

     And I want to make something clear ... God is not a victim of the circumstances we find ourselves in. No, we've done a pretty good job of making ourselves the victims of our own pride, prejudices, and power. He will not be mocked or blamed. He will never be coerced into doing something out of our anger or attempts to find fault with Him. And believe me, there are plenty of people angry at Him for what they see on their nightly news, and are crying out for Him to FIX THIS!

     But I would point you to two Scriptures that should have everyone looking in the mirror ... Proverbs 22:8 says, Those who sow injustice reap disaster, and their methods of oppression will fail. And Job 4:8 says, As I have seen, those who plow wickedness, and those who sow trouble and harm [will] harvest it. I think that just about sums up both sides of the battle lines that have been drawn.

     As Christians, we must realize that God created this world for His good pleasure in seeing His creation emulate Him. And it pleases Him when we choose justice and righteousness. But there was a wrong choice made in the Garden that introduced Evil into our world, and we now find ourselves battling an emboldened foe who is capitalizing on how mankind has chosen to use his free will. Do not blame God and lay at His feet what the Enemy has sown into hearts. Mankind has chosen its own destiny! We have been given the choice whether to obey God, or not. We have been allowed to decide if we will love our fellow man, or choose to continue to hate.

     Right now, on the streets of America, and across the globe, we are reaping the consequences of 2000 years of choices made by man's free will. Not everyone is guilty of the bad choices made, but we must come to terms with the truth that we have a spiritual Enemy who is instigating and stirring up violent sentiments and courses of action against the people of God, because He knows his time is short. The idea of fairness or Christian righteousness does not deter him; he is not afraid of us. He knows the Scriptures that say he will align with, and dominate and control, those who are in rebellion to God. So, his goal is to grow the number of the rebellious for his kingdom of darkness.

     But we speak to the devil from Genesis 50:20, saying, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present outcome, that many people would be kept alive [as they are this day]." Yes, the devil is deceiving those attempting to achieve chaos at all costs. Yes, God could come down here and fix it; snap His fingers and hearts would automatically be changed. But He has limited Himself in order to allow people to examine their own hearts and choose Him over the devil.

     Man was created to glorify God by intentionally choosing Him. Our goal in this time of wickedness and chaos is to take what the devil is sowing in hearts and counter it with the loving heart of Christ. It's a race to the finish line -- the Lord desires to keep names out of the Book of the Dead, and add names to the Book of Life before the Day of Reckoning. But it all centers around the choices that man makes -- whether to use that precious gift of free will to glorify the One who created us -- or to exalt ourselves and our own desires. Why doesn't God fix all this? Because the decision is ours whether to "let our light shine before men in such a way that they may see our good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify our Father who is in heaven" -- or not.

Joshua 24:15    If it is unacceptable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

    

A Page From Satan's Playbook

     I feel like it's déja vu all over again. Yet, I shouldn't be surprised because Satan just uses the same old playbook over and over, because it works! Let me explain ... I am blessed to have friendships with people of all generations. And lately, the thirty-somethings are beginning to awaken to what's going on behind the curtain with this virus pandemic. They are sending me links to papers by the Global Business Network, subsidized by the Rockefeller Foundation, and with chapter titles like this: LOCK STEP: A World of tighter top-down government control and more authoritarian leadership, with limited innovation and growing citizen pushback. 
     As Americans are beginning to protest government control of their lives it's hard to ignore the reality that this plague has affected millions. We are now being warned of food shortages, and the drums of war are being hinted at. Let me see.... in just the last few months we have experienced a global plague. Famine is becoming a very real threat [and not just to third-world countries] -- meat is being rationed in our country, even as I write, and dairy cows have been slaughtered, along with millions of pigs and chickens. And wars and rumors of war are whispered among "those in the know". Where have I  heard that before? Oh, yeah, they are the beginnings of birth pangs that Jesus talks about in Matthew 24. These world events pretty much resemble the four horsemen of the apocalypse in Revelation 6, too -- the red horse symbolizing war and bloodshed; the black horse is famine; and the pale horse is pestilence and death.

     But, I'm not writing to say that we should get ready for the Tribulation, or that the End of the World is here. To be honest, I'm not interested in predicting when that time will come -- no one knows except our Father, not even Jesus, Himself. So, I'm more focused on being alert to what the Enemy's agenda and playbook are, so that I can endure to the end [whenever it is] and be an overcomer. And that means I want to help others be able to see what is happening in the world from a non-political standpoint. We must be able to see in the spirit, and see what is going on behind the dirty veil that the devil is so good at presenting to the general population.
     At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that it feels like déja vu. I say that because beginning in 2014, I was writing about the undermining of our nation's Constitution, our republic, and our basic civil rights; that we were seriously eroding the truth that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." I remember having to memorize this paragraph from the Declaration of Independence in my elementary Social Studies classes, but now I see that "new Government" as being the Kingdom of God, with the faithful acting as the Ekklesia [governing body of Believers acting as representatives of the Heavenly government of the Father]. But there is a spiritual force that doesn't want to see that happen.
     Back in 2014, I made mention of a political activist and theorist named Saul Alinsky. He wrote a book in 1971 titled Rules for Radicals in which he subscribed to 12 rules about how to successfully run a movement for change. That little book has greatly influenced our social and political climate for the last 50 years. And I find it most notable for the dedication of the book, in which Alinsky writes, "Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical ... the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom -- Lucifer".
     There you have it .... the allusion of the kingdom of darkness versus the Kingdom of God. And the rules which Alinsky promoted certainly mimic Satan's agenda and methodology. To begin with, there is rule #3, which states "Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of your Enemy. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety, and uncertainty". The way in which the so-called "experts" have disseminated [dis]information about this virus has resulted in the loss of freedoms that we have taken for granted. This falls right in line with Satan as the Father of Lies whose modus operandi is Deception and false accusations. 
    Another rule of the social and political radicals, as well as the first radical, Lucifer, is "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself". That's certainly true of the Covid-19 scare. The original estimation of deaths in America was 2.2 million or more. As of this date, the number is just shy of 64,000. Please understand that I am not making light of that number. Any death is significant, but you can see how this strategy parallels Satan's strategy of getting us to worry about things that haven't even happened yet, or that are far less devastating than he has given us to imagine. Satan's goal is to demoralize Christians into a state of passivity, resulting in his kingdom continuing to dominate the earth. 
     Rule #12 of Rules for Radicals is "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it". That's pretty much what Satan did to Job, isn't it? He cut off Job's support network, and isolated him from sympathy. He attempted to get Job to turn against the very One who believed in him and had blessed him, and would be there to restore him. 
     These are just a few of Alinsky's rules for instituting social change, and it's not hard to see them at work in our current situation, and see them as similar to Satan's tactics. But let's not forget another diabolical tactic known as the Hegelian Dialect. In short, here's how it works .... Step number one looks like this: Our Enemy knows that, instinctively, people won't go for restricted freedoms, so they cause a problem [that didn't naturally occur] which is step number two, which causes panic and conflict. Then they come up with step number three: a solution to solve the manufactured problem, which turns out to be their original goal [i.e., restricted freedoms]. The people will embrace it because they just want the panic and conflict to go away. 
     For example, we can see this scenario in the world ... a man-made virus being unleashed on the world, causing death, panic, destroyed economies, and loss of jobs. With the threat of an on-going pandemic, the masses will clamor for a solution and agree to mandatory vaccines. In the Spirit, we see that Satan desires men to doubt God in the midst of this pandemic; sending spirits of fear and abandonment to invade our isolation, and causing us to seek solutions in our own power instead of pressing into the power of God in us to help us endure. He wants us to trust ourselves, or human leaders, more than we trust our Father and Savior. It's all about perpetuating Satan's kingdom of darkness and stopping the advance of God's Kingdom on the earth.
     But, we must cling to the truth that we exist in Christ, who is a safe realm that we can step into and be protected during this storm. And we need to walk in our identity in the Kingdom. Our authentic citizenship is in Heaven, seated next to Christ, the King of all Creation -- we are temporary [and secondarily] citizens of this world. We must not get distracted from anything that Satan aligns with in order to divert us from our purpose in this life. We have a destiny that surpasses whatever we may experience during our short lifetime in this realm called earth. 
     We were made for eternity, but we have a job to do while we're here in our temporary home. So, Satan and his minions can develop all the rules and radical ideas they can imagine. But they will never defeat God's sovereign plan for His people or this planet. He will rule and reign as King, and Satan's radicals will pay the price for their rebellion unless they choose to be redeemed. So, don't get discouraged! It may seem like dark days are ahead of us, and we wonder when this nightmare will end. But this is our opportunity to persevere for the Kingdom of God; spreading the Good News that the Light of Heaven has brought a promise of our deliverance into the realm of the Kingdom of God. Let us be about our Father's business until our Lord returns!

Isaiah 9:2      The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has Light shone.

 

Look Behind The Curtain: How Covid-19 and Abortion Are Connected

     While the majority of us are experiencing a slow-down in every area of our lives, Satan is working overtime to advance his agenda while we are distracted with Covid-19. And I want to show you how he is using this virus to interject himself into the pharmaceutical and abortion industries, and how it all intersects.
     I was greatly surprised to find that the celebrated medical journal, Lancet, featured a paper declaring that a “sexual and reproductive health and justice policy agenda must be at the heart of the COVID-19 response.” In an article on the website LifeSite, the paper is also quoted as stating, "Global responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are converging with pervasive, existing sexual and reproductive health and justice inequities to disproportionately impact the health, well-being, and economic stability of women, girls, and vulnerable populations".
    My spirit became stirred up at the language in just these two sentences ... "health and justice policy agenda" and "pervasive, existing sexual and reproductive health and justice inequities" and "vulnerable populations". They don't exactly sound like they fit with my Biblical worldview. In fact the word pervasive refers to an unwelcome influence or physical effect -- you can interpret that to mean a live birth -- and justice inequities points to any governmental policy that bans abortion. But I didn't want to judge based on any false preconceptions I might have, so I decided to look into the medical and educational backgrounds of some of the nine women credited with the paper.
     The first was Kelli Stidham Hall, an Associate Professor in the Departments of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Epidemiology, and Obstetrics and Gynecology at Emory University. Her long bio expresses her interests in the social, behavioral, reproductive, and physical health models of young women, which falls under a term I was not familiar with, "medical demography". But buried deep within her extensive and impressive credentials, the first clue to the purpose of this paper became clear -- She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the National Medical Committee of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
     OK, let's move on to the next contributor to the paper, Goleen Samari. Here, we find a few more clues. Ms. Samari is also a public health demographer, whose research focuses on social inequities and health. Her bio says she largely focuses on "sexual and reproductive health and rights" and "her work also aims to bridge the gap between research and policy." Are you starting to pick up on the code words for abortion ... social inequities and health; reproductive health and rights; research and policy?
     Now, I want to make sure I'm not being unfair to these brilliant young women and researchers, so I looked at the next two contributors, Samantha Garbers and Sara Casey. Ms. Garbers's bio says she works with the "Latina and Black communities, and individuals with limited health literacy" and she "directed the development and testing of a low-literacy, computer-based contraceptive decision-making tool". She also is credited with "evaluating innovative interventions to improve public health for diverse populations including sexual and gender minority youth and adults, adolescent males and women seeking reproductive health care". Now, all that is impressive but rather vague and the repeated use of the word "intervention" in the remainder of her bio again made my spirit sit up and take notice. So I asked the question, "What does the word intervention mean in the medical field"? The answer: "The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modifying the outcome. In medicine, an intervention is usually undertaken to help treat or cure a condition." And just what do you think is the condition she might want to "cure and modify"? Pregnancy! 
     That leaves Ms. Casey. She doesn't even hide her agenda. Her bio reads, "Sara Casey, DrPH, is Assistant Professor and Director of the Reproductive Health Access, Information and Services in Emergencies (RAISE) Initiative. In this role, she collaborates with program partners to identify and respond to challenges to improve contraceptive and abortion-related services in countries whose health systems have been weakened by war or natural disaster." I think it's safe to say that the remaining five women are going to share the same agenda. 
     At the heart of this paper is a  policy agenda that condemns the Trump administration’s ban on foreign aid to abortion groups, and also calls for expanding “telemedicine” abortions (dispensing abortion pills after communicating with a doctor via webcam), and eliminating “legal and policy restrictions to sexual and reproductive health service provision.” In other words, this paper, and therefore this medical journal, have gone beyond the scope of medicine and are promoting a social policy agenda [under the guise of reproductive health] for young people, disadvantaged youth, minorities, and war-torn countries and advocating abortion as a policy objective.
     And in May, 2019, the Lancet chose to abandon its veneer of scientific objectivity in favor of endorsing legal abortion in strikingly partisan terms, declaring abortion a “settled, inviolable right that is central to achieving not only reproductive health goals but women's freedom over their own bodies”; and degrading pro-life legislation as “regressive, religious, and repressive law-making” that’s somehow inconsistent with being “advocates for women.”  Their intentions, along with the research of these young women, are clear. But to take advantage of this Covid-19 pandemic to push this unBiblical social agenda is appalling to me. In essence, they lament that medical treatment for Covid-19 patients is limiting access to abortion, and they demand that the termination of a fetus should have as much priority as saving the live of a victim of the virus. How do they sleep at night?
     As if this pandemic is not being co-opted enough, another article on LifeSite, reported that "Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director of Children of God for Life, a prolife organization whose mission is to end the use of aborted fetal material in vaccines and medicines" discovered that Moderna, the company that has been recently touted in news headlines for its development of the mRNA-1273 vaccine to fight the virus, uses aborted fetal cell lines.
     In short, Moderna is promoting its development of the Spike (S) protein in its bid for a patent and to be among the first to develop an anti-Covid vaccine. Of course, there's big money to be made there, right? Wikipedia reports that in April 2020, the Moderna share price rose on news of imminent phase 2 human trials for its potential COVID-19 vaccine. That means that French businessman and CEO of Moderna, Stéphane Bancel's, stake of about 9% makes his net worth now over $1 billion. And all that money will be made at the expense of aborted babies.
     Obviously referencing the Lancet paper, Ms. Vinnedge countered the accusation that the ban on the use of aborted fetal tissue was blocking important research and treatments for Covid-19 virus. “That accusation is laughable at best and nothing more than a political maneuver,” stated Vinnedge. “In fact, we have morally produced treatments for patients who are already infected, notably Hydroxychloroquine or Plaquenil. And there are more promising treatments on the way to prevent infection entirely... It is deplorable that anyone would want to exploit the remains of aborted babies for financial profit especially when so many people will refuse to use those products because of their deeply held religious, moral and pro-life convictions” she added. “We applaud the efforts of companies [such as Sanofi Pasteur] who are providing morally acceptable options!”
     So, there you have it! Satan never wastes a good opportunity! And neither do those who can't see the heart of God for His creation. I know there will be those who shout for women's rights over their own bodies, but those fetuses are part of their bodies, created by God. And how do they rationalize that the created have any right to question or destroy what the Creator has made? It continues to sadden me that so many are confused over this issue of the rights of the unborn. And many are women who have children of their own that I know they love dearly. Can they not see that the social policy of abortion denies that their precious child was once the fetal cells that they now declare as disposable and expendable? Would they be willing to give up one of their children for the development of a vaccine? Because, in essence, that is what they are approving of by supporting this agenda.
     Lord, the prophets are declaring that we will come out of this with a revival; a refreshed and renewed spirit will sweep the world. I pray that the Ecclesia rises up and governs from the perspective of Heaven's Kingdom and defeats this abhorrent practice once and for all. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done!

Luke 17:2    It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
     
    
 
    

Warning To Parents: Disney Is Pushing Demons Again

     I have been warning about the sinister undertones of Disney for several years now, and it appears that they are upping the game. LifeSiteNews reports that "The Disney Channel premiered a new cartoon – The Owl House – on Friday, January 10, that promises to introduce young viewers to a world of demons and witchcraft."

     According to Disney themselves, the series follows self-assured teenage girl Luz, who discovers a portal to another realm where humans are not well-liked, and she must disguise herself in order to fit in at witch school. Luz partners with a rebellious witch named Eda and her diminutive sidekick, King, who was indeed once a king, and is searching for a way to restore his titles and glory. Despite not possessing any magical abilities of her own, Luz pursues her dream of becoming a witch by serving as Eda's apprentice and learning the ways of magic.
     Furthermore, Disney describes that realm as a “Demon town,” where Luz takes up residence with Eda the Owl Lady, “the most powerful witch on the Boiling Iles.” Luz declares, “Someday, I’m going to be just like her.”
     Deborah Bunting, a writer for the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), wrote a commentary on this new Disney show, in which she said, “Over the years, Disney has gone farther and farther into the darkness of the spiritual world that opposes the living God, coming up with programming and characters that lead the vulnerable into that dark world of deception.”  And the show's art director said the original concept for the show was "girl hangs out with witch in hell", and the show's creator [Dana Terrace] wanted to make the The Owl House, not only a very real demon realm, but make it "feel like home".
     To that end, Disney has created The Boiling Isles as the main setting of the animated series The Owl House. It is a land populated by all sorts of magical creatures with a town located in the remains of a dead titan. The Demon town is pretty much alive, full of random hands and eyes in strange places. Being the creative geniuses that they are, Disney has created a very distinctive and menacing town with fiendish places of interest. There is Bonesborough, a lively town in the Boiling Isles filled with creatures, witches, ghosts and monsters. There is Hexside Academy of Magic and Demonics, the prestigious high school for witches, demons and magic folk. They have created the Witch Arena, a  gathering place located on the most mysterious part of the Boiling Isles: the Knee. Set within the ruins of a castle, groups will meet here for rituals and social functions. You will find the Covention Center, an arena for magical entertainment and competition. It is the site of the annual COVENTION, in which the covens of the Isles vie for new recruits. And believe it or not, they even have a Playground, where in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Bonesborough, it is a popular destination for kindergarteners, their parents and King.
     To show where their heart lies, the Disney fandom website lists as an "interesting" trivia fact, that the design of the woods was originally going to be much more dominated by black colors, but since it was "melting" with Luz's hair too much, the creators went with "bloody red" for the trees.
     At this point, nothing surprises me from Disney anymore. They are getting bolder and less guarded about their intentions. In 2014, I wrote a warning about being aware of the recreation of ancient pagan symbols and gods and goddesses in our current culture. I pointed out the movie Maleficent, which starred Angelina Jolie as a modern reincarnation of Isis (note the horns), and was a re-do of the old Disney movie, Sleeping Beauty. [NOTE: Disney released Maleficent 2: Mistress of Evil this year, in which Jolie is described as "going full evil in the sequel".]
     When I saw Sleeping Beauty at the age of 5, I was terrified by the evil sorceress, Maleficent.  In the rebirth of this classic tale, the demonic Maleficent, who was once pure evil, was morphed into a sympathetic Earth goddess; cursing, yet protecting her surrogate daughter, the sleeping beauty Aurora. But it appears, her "motherly instincts" are short-sighted in the sequel, and Disney seems to have taken extra steps to embrace the Darkness in order to align themselves against those who claim to represent the “Light”.
     But I don't know why we should be surprised. In 2015, I wrote that even as far back as the release of Fantasia in 1940, Disney openly glorified Chernabog, a giant evil demon, who appears as the only main character in the "Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria" segment.  He has been praised as Disney's best representation of pure evil, and as animator Vladimir Tytla's greatest triumph. As a very "raw" representation of evil, he, in his original appearance, is not placed in the context of any real story, and he and his minions' actions are not committed in pursuit of any discernible goal other than general havoc–wreaking and tyranny on all... in other words, "to steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10).
     Chernabog is one of the most powerful villains Walt Disney has ever created because he is depicted as a ruthless monster, feared by all who encounter him.  Walt Disney, himself, said another name for Chernabog was Satan.  Many of his appearances also show him to be somewhat comedic, as seen in The Wonderful World of Disney, and House of Mouse.  But I promise you, he is anything but funny.  His power is shown to be incredibly demonic, being able to unleash hellish realms and spirits. While immensely dark, he has managed to become a trademark Disney villain. [NOTE: I personally know several people who have encountered a demon very similar to this character].
     In fact, Thornton Hee, another Disney animator who worked on Fantasia, recalled wanting to ask Vladimir Tytla (the creator of the character Chernabog) about something, but when he entered the animator's room, he found it was in complete darkness save for the fluorescent light under Tytla's drawing, which lit his face in an eerie way as he worked. This unnerved Hee enough to compel him to leave without alerting Tytla to his presence at all.
     And Thornton Hee was not the only one frightened by this depiction of Chernabog.  At the time of its release in 1940, many parents criticized the film for frightening their children in the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment.  One film critic,  Dorothy Thompson of The New York Herald Tribune, wrote that she "left the theater in a condition bordering on nervous breakdown," because the film was a "remarkable nightmare."  And no wonder... when you read of Chernabog's descriptions on a website dedicated to his creation as an animated character, you read things like "Gigantic, slender, muscular, scary-looking face, black skin and horns, yellow glowing eyes, jagged fangs, giant black wings with purple undersides".  You read that his "occupation" is Demon Lord.  The things he likes are "Evil, darkness, war, chaos, night, fire, shadows, sins, hate, fear, despair, death".  And he dislikes "all that is good, and the light".
     So, add all of Disney's evil machinations to LifeSiteNews reporting that Walmart, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble offered a book inviting young children to learn how to summon demons, and I hope it heightens your awareness of all that is coming against our children. Written for 5 to 10-year-olds, A Children’s Book of Demons directs kids to “conjure gentle demons by writing their sigils, which serve as ‘a phone number’ straight to the spirit. Amazon's description of the book is as follows: Don’t want to take out the trash tonight? Maybe you’re swimming in homework? Perhaps that big bully is being a real drag? Well grab your colored pencils and sigil drawing skills and dial up some demons! This paranormal parody is filled to the brim with funny spirits more silly than scary! But in one review, a parent wrote, "It teaches kids the original Greek, Hebrew and Egyptian names of these malicious demons". In short, it is promoting witchcraft, the occult, and Satanism.
     We must become vigilant and alert to the tactics and schemes of the Enemy to influence our children. They are already immersed in technology, and their iPads have become their baby-sitters. Please be aware! The spiritual health and safety of this vulnerable generation is at stake. These movies and books are not innocent entertainment! They are designed to seduce your children and draw them into the occult. And remember the definition of the occult: any person, group, or organization that tries to gain supernatural power, abilities, or knowledge apart from the Creator God. Protect your children from these demonic forces!

Isaiah 8:19    And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?
 
     

" A Fool Flaunts His Folly"

     I chose the title of this blog [from a phrase in Proverbs 13:16] after watching CBS's 60 Minutes presentation on a research study into the use of psychedelic drugs to help people who suffer from anxiety, depression, and addiction. This episode caught my eye because we are familiar with these spirits of anxiety, depression and addiction in our Inner Healing sessions. I wanted to see how the research corresponded with our findings of healing through Jesus Christ. I was actually pretty astounded at the similarities in the language used and the experiences that were shared. The difference lies in the fact that in the case of the researchers and study participants, the healing is credited to a large dose of psilocybin, the psychedelic agent in magic mushrooms, while participants in our Inner Healing sessions receive their healing from their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
     So, I 'd like to share parts of the transcript from the episode and contrast it with testimony of what I've seen the Lord do (which is in bold). The interviewer was Anderson Cooper, and I will introduce each of the people he spoke to and the connection they had with the study. Cooper states that these powerful, mind-altering substances are now being studied seriously by scientists inside some of the country's foremost medical research centers, and the results are impressive as participants go on a six-hour life-changing journey into their own minds. My response to that is that the Beloveds that come to the table to meet with Jesus spend two-three hours on a life-changing journey with Him into their spirits.

     The first study participant that Cooper interviews is a woman named Carine who suffered from an addiction to cigarettes for 46 years. Her experience under the influence of psilocybin was, in her own words, "terrifying".
ANDERSON COOPER: Do you remember specifically what you were seeing?
CARINE: Yes. The ceiling of this room was clouds, like, heavy rain clouds. And gradually they were lowering. And I thought I was gonna suffocate from the clouds.
    At this point, the episode shifts to Cooper interviewing Scientist Roland Griffiths who is involved with similar studies at John Hopkins Behavioral Biology Research Center.
DR. GRIFFITHS: We tell people that their experiences may vary from very positive to transcendent and lovely, to literally "hell realm" experiences... They come to a profound shift of world view; they are less identified with that self-narrative. People might use the term "ego." And that creates this sense of freedom.

     I will tell you that the Beloved who experiences Jesus's inner healing is not exposed to "the hell realm"; only the love, gentleness and kindness of Jesus. In the couple of hundred [and more] people we have ministered to, no one has encountered a terrifying experience. And, yes, their world view does change -- away from the false identity that the Enemy whispers, to an identity of self in the spiritual realm that is founded on who they are in Christ. And their freedom is unmistakable!  It comes from Him and not a drug. 

     The second participant interviewed was a young man named Jon, who suffered from an addiction to alcohol, drinking a staggering 20 cocktails a night, until his doctors told him he would die if he didn't stop.
JON: During one psilocybin session, [I] was flooded with powerful feelings and images from [my] past. Stuff would come up that I  haven't thought of since they happened.
ANDERSON COOPER: So old memories that you hadn't even remembered came back to you?
JON: Yes, and I felt a lot of shame and embarrassment throughout one of the sessions about my drinking and how bad I felt for my parents to put up with all this.
     Jon took psilocybin in 2016. He says he hasn't had a drink since.

     In our Inner Healing sessions, people are able to visit their past in the spirit, seeing images that always include the presence of Jesus. They see Him; they hear what He has to say about them, correcting the lies of the Enemy that have resulted in feelings of guilt and shame, similar to Jon's. The difference is that, through the Holy Spirit, they are able to hand over those condemning spirits to Jesus and walk in the freedom of their new identity.
     Here's what I discern in both Carine's and Jon's experiences with addiction. We have learned through our experiences and study -- people with addictions are trying to distract themselves from the feelings of being unloved. They have empty holes in their hearts, and when they have not received true, unconditional love as a foundation in their life, they are always in search of getting a need fulfilled. 
     As Dr. Henry Wright says in his profound book, A More Excellent Way, "The need to know God's love can open us up to look for love in all the wrong places. This need leaves us vulnerable to the deception of Satan, who seduces us into believing the world offers us a better substitute". Hence, we see people like Carine and Jon using psilocybin as a better substitute than God.  Jon was listening to the seductive lies of Satan and the spirits of shame and guilt, and was able to get rid of them through a manufactured mind-altering drug.  Those who come to us for Inner Healing defeat those spirits with the love of Jesus, who then fills those empty holes in their heart with the Holy Spirit.
   
     The third interview was with a woman named Kerry, who was diagnosed with stage III lung cancer in 2013. During her psilocybin session, she found herself trapped in a nightmare her mind created.
KERRY: [I was in an] ancient, prehistoric, barren land. And there's these men with pickaxes, just slamming on the rocks. So…
ANDERSON COOPER: And this felt absolutely real to you?
KERRY: Absolutely real. I was being shown the truth of reality. Life is meaningless, we have no purpose. And then I look and I'm [lying there] still, like a witness to a beautiful, shimmering, bright jewel [emphasis is mine]. And then  it was sound, and it was booming, booming, booming. "Right here, right now".
ANDERSON COOPER: That was being said?
KERRY: Yes. "You are alive. Right here, right now, because that's all you have." And that is my mantra to this day.

     How sad! As a Christian, and a daughter of King Jesus, I know she heard a lie from the pit of hell! Did anyone else identify what she was witnessing as a "beautiful, shimmering, bright jewel"? If not, let me quote Ezekiel 28:13 -- "You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared." This is a picture of Lucifer! And I am here to renounce the lies she heard!
     Life is NOT meaningless! We DO have a purpose! And "right here, right now" is NOT all we have.  And that's the beauty of our ministry -- people leave the table knowing that they are valuable to Jesus and the Father; that they were created to represent the Kingdom of God down here on earth. And they learn that they are so valuable to God that the Enemy has done everything he can to stop them from fulfilling their purpose; from knowing who they were created to be. Then they leave with renewed purpose for their life; they are not just waiting to die and go to heaven. 

     And that made me even more sad for Kerry. At the end of 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper finishes up his interview with her. She maintained that her session with psilocybin was freeing. Though her cancer has now spread to her brain, her crippling anxiety about death is gone.
KERRY: Yeah, it's amazing. I mean, I feel like death doesn't frighten me. Living doesn't frighten me. I don't frighten me.
     Cooper reported that most of the 51 cancer patients in the Johns Hopkins study experienced "significant decreases in depressed mood and anxiety" after trying psilocybin. Two-thirds of them rated their psilocybin sessions as among the most meaningful experiences of their lives.
KERRY: To this day, it [the expereience on psilocybin] evolves in me.
ANDERSON COOPER: It's still alive in you--
KERRY: It's still absolutely alive in me.
ANDERSON COOPER: Does it make you happier?
KERRY: Yeah. And-- and I don't necessarily use the word happy. Comfortable. Like, comfortable. I mean, I've suffered from anxiety my whole life. I'm comfortable. That, to me, okay. I can die. I'm comfortable. (LAUGH) I mean, it's huge. It's huge.

     How I wish I could visit with Kerry before her impending death from cancer. I would tell her that anxiety is closely associated with the spirit of fear. And there is so much more than just feeling "comfortable" about her death. Jesus wants her to know the joy that those who leave our ministry session experience. He wants her to know that there is a life to be had beyond this one; that more than her psilocybin experience is alive in her -- He wants to be alive in her and wants a relationship with her! 

     But perhaps the most intriguing part of this episode was the interview Cooper did with author Michael Pollan, who wrote about the psilocybin studies in a bestselling book called "How to Change Your Mind." As part of his research, he tried psilocybin himself with the help of an underground guide.
ANDERSON COOPER: The kind of things that cancer patients were saying, like, "I touched the face of God." You were skeptical about when you hear phrases like that?
POLLAN: Yeah. Or, "Love is the most important thing in the universe." When someone tells me that I'm just like, "yeah, okay." It gives me the willies as a writer. And I really struggled with that cause during one of my experiences I came to the earth-shattering conclusion that love is the most important thing in the universe... And one of the things psychedelics do is they peel away all those essentially protective levels of irony and cynicism that we acquire as we get older and you're back to those kind of "Oh, my God. I forgot all about lo
ve." (Laugh)
     Pollan said he also experienced what the researchers describe as ego loss, or identity loss - the quieting of the constant voice we all have in our heads.

     I hope you are able to see that the research into the use of psilocybin and psychedelic drugs to heal the pain in people's lives comes quite close to mirroring the sessions in our Inner Healing ministry. But as Satan has so convincingly done throughout the ages, he whispers just enough truth that people [who don't want anything to do with God] can convince themselves they are free and living their best life.  Perhaps each of these people did receive some freedom from their addictions, anxiety, and doubt. But it was a temporary freedom from this world. And I believe that the use of psychedelic drugs tears open the veil between this world and the second heaven, where all the spirits reside and spiritual war is conducted against us humans. 
    Rather than "expanding their minds", these people need to be renewed in the spirit and receive the Truth of Jesus Christ, which will set them free, indeed! But as long as the secular and Godless world is willing to take the easy route offered by the devil, there will be those who seek an inferior substitute for the reality and blessing of Christ. I thank the Lord for His persistence in pursuing me. And I will be forever grateful for my freedom in Christ! 

Proverbs 15: 21    Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.  

Vanity of Vanities!

     I was going to title this blog post "Nothing New Under The Sun", a quote from Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, in which the author bemoans, "That which has been is that which will be [again], And that which has been done is that which will be done again. So there is nothing new under the sun ... There is no remembrance of earlier things, Nor also of the later things that are to come; There will be for them no remembrance by generations who will come after them." Then I recalled that I had already used that title in a post from June, 2013. But once again, the headlines have made it relevant.
     As I see God moving among His remnant, and see the Gospel of the Kingdom being rediscovered among Christ's followers, I hear the Holy Spirit and our Lord warning me not to become so immersed in teaching the Good News of the Kingdom that I am unaware of what the Enemy is doing in response to our obedience. They are saying "Don't stay focused on the world, but be mindful of [and informed about] what is going on. That is the duty of a 'watcher on the wall'. And when necessary, give My Sheep the knowledge to overcome". And that is the purpose of today's post.
     If you've paid any attention at all to the news cycle in recent days -- and believe me, I do not obsess over them -- then you cannot escape the evil machinations of Jeffrey Epstein, the politically, financially, and socially well-connected financier, who also happens to be a registered sex offender, and has now been charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors for sex. As abominable as these charges are, they are not the purpose of this post. An article in The New York Times this week revealed that Epstein had plans to repeat one of Satan's strategies that is as old as the Bible. Let me explain...
     The article's headline reads like this: Jeffrey Epstein Hoped To Seed The Human Race With His DNA. A sensational headline? For Sure. But as a Christian, this plan should sound familiar. If it doesn't, then Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 should enlighten you ... There will be no remembrance [of earlier things] by generations who will come after them. So, why should this news about Epstein strike a chord with Believers? God is trying to show us that what the fallen angel, Lucifer, tried to do to prohibit God's plan to redeem mankind is still very much on the Enemy's radar. Those of us who have ears to hear, will know what I am implying.  It's as if, in recent years, God has removed the mystery of Genesis 6:4 to modern-day Christians.  Where once, we just read this passage ("there were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them") as meaning earthly kings married women against their will and produced giants. 
     But as our desire to understand the Hebrew origins and words of the Bible has intensified, we have come to understand that the Hebrew word translated as "giants" in the King James Bible, is actually the word "Nephilim", which in the Hebrew means "to fall; fallen; cast down."  So are you beginning to see where I'm headed?  These "men" who bore children to earthly women were part of Satan's contingent of fallen angels, and part of the spiritual battle to corrupt the DNA of God's creation.  If Satan could pollute man's holy genetic code, (which produces a body worthy of housing a spirit made in the image of God), then he could prevent God's Son (who is perfect) from being born and becoming King of this world; which in turn made it possible for the Kingdom of God to be reinstated upon the earth, thereby defeating Satan's kingdom.
     Satan failed in that plot, and King Jesus was not only born, but He has commissioned us as His ambassadors to overcome the ruler [and god] of this dark world, and to reclaim our dominion over the earth on behalf of our Creator, restoring His will "on earth, as it is in Heaven". But that isn't the only time Satan tried this same strategy. History has recorded that he attempted it through his human agents as recently as the last 90 years or so. In fact, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Adolph Hitler was interested in the occult, magic, and the paganism of his Germanic roots.  He is said to have marked extensive passages in a 1923 book, titled Magic: History, Theory, and Practice, including one that reads, "He who does not have the demonic seed within himself will never give birth to a magical world". Can you see the same ideology as Genesis 6:4?

     Put simply, our DNA is a highly prized target of the Enemy. It plays a critical role in controlling how cells, organs and other tissues behave. When writing this blog five years ago, I ran across an article in which scientists claimed that beginning 5 to 20 years ago, our DNA began changing. Supposedly, the scientific explanation was this:  "It is a mutation of our species into something for which the end result is not yet known."  One doctor reported that "people are changing at the cellular level. I am working with three children right now who have three DNA helixes (we normally have one double helix)."  What was especially alarming was the scientist's response when asked what characteristics these children displayed:  "These are children who can move objects across the room just by concentrating on them, or they can fill glasses of water just by looking at them. They’re telepathic. You would almost think by knowing these children that they are half angelic or superhuman, but they’re not. I think they are what we are growing into during the next few decades."
     That should be a huge warning to us, but it is amazing how quickly our culture will embrace any kind of technology that promises we can escape the deterioration of the human body. Just a few posts back, I wrote about Elon Musk's company Neuralink that is ready to "begin outfitting human brains with faster input and output by next year", all done with a chip to "achieve a sort of symbiosis with artificial intelligence".
     But Satan isn't only relying on new technology to change our DNA. He is still willing to engage in his old plan of a "seed war", as exemplified by Jeffrey Epstein's diabolical story. As The New York Times article alleges, "Mr. Epstein, over the years, confided to scientists and others about his scheme ... [his] vision reflected his longstanding fascination with what has become known as transhumanism: the science of improving the human population through technologies like genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. Critics have likened transhumanism to a modern-day version of eugenics, the discredited field of improving the human race through controlled breeding." But breeding with whom? Or what? Certainly, Genesis 6:4 shows us one view of demonic breeders; Hitler had another plan with his perversion of eugenics; and apparently science now has a way to alter or mutate our DNA through genetic engineering by, of, and possibly with artificial intelligence.
     With his millions of dollars, and his fascination with "perfecting the human genome", Mr. Epstein attracted scientists such as George M. Church, a molecular engineer who has worked to identify genes that could be altered to create superior humans; and Stephen Jay Gould, a paleontologist and evolutionary biologist. Add these scientific connections to Epstein's desire to inseminate multiple women with his sperm to give birth to his babies; and his desire to have his brain and penis frozen through cryonics, and you just have to wonder if this is Satan's latest plot to corrupt humankind's DNA.
     But I just want to go on record as quoting Dr. Fritz Albert Popp, a noted German biophysicist, who said, "We know today that man, essentially, is a being of light ... We are still on the threshold of fully understanding the complex relationship between light and life, but we can now say emphatically, that the function of our entire metabolism is dependent on light."
     Too bad that the world of Science doesn't recognize that it is the Light, with a capital L, that sustains our bodies and our spirits.  If our DNA is mutating, it is by diabolical means in an all-out spiritual battle.  (See this recent post about the ability of AI to bend light in our bodies). Remember, Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:37, "When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in the days of Noah".  Spiritual warfare, and polluted and corrupt DNA is what He is talking about.
     Five years ago, almost to the day, I wrote "We're almost there!" But then, the evidence of Satan's schemes were mostly undercover in the scientific community. Today, the inventions of Elon Musk and the depraved sinfulness of Jeffrey Epstein are freely proclaimed; out in the open, visible and undisguised.  
     "Vanity of vanities" is how Ecclesiastes, chapter one begins. The Hebrew word for "vanity" is Hebel, meaning "something worthless or purposeless: signifying an idol, which is unsubstantial, worthless, and vain".  All these efforts to defeat man's design are part of Satan's schemes, and they are all in vain. And man's vanishing pleasures and empty satisfactions, as terrifying as they may seem, are fleeting. All the answers to life are found in God. Those in opposition to the Holy Spirit and spiritual men will only find that which is futile and temporary; all this has been tried before -- there is truly nothing new under the sun. What has been tried in ages past, will be tried again ... and God will always be Sovereign. But it is incumbent upon us to remember, and watch, and warn. Keep your spiritual eyes open!

Romans 2:5     But because of your calloused heart and refusal to change direction, you are piling up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.