Everyone resembles the God he worships

Everyone resembles the God he worships

You can tell what a person’s God is like by observing the person himself.

There is only one true God of the Bible. God has said that he is God and that there is no God other than him. I [am] the Lord, and [there is] none else, [there is] no God beside me (Isaiah 45:5) There can not be two true gods in this world because there is only one. true God.  Therefore, if you do not worship the true God of the Bible, then you are worshipping a false god.

Some false gods are merely lumps of wood, tin, silver or gold that cannot answer nor save them from trouble for they are merely inanimate carvings or mouldings.
Isaiah 45:20….. they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god [that] cannot save.
Isaiah 46:6-7, 96They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, [and] hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. 7They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, [one] shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. …. 9…. for I [am] God, and [there is] none else; [I am] God, and [there is] none like me
You might as well be praying to a lump of rock, the sun or maybe the crescent moon for they cannot do anything at all for you. But note that worshipping even inanimate false gods is ultimately serving satan and his demons.

But some false gods are beings who were created by the true God against whom they rebelled, and the name of those false gods are of the many names of satan and his demons. While satan and his demons do have powers to do things to and for the people of earth, their authority is limited by their creator, the true God who will one day confine them to an “everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels“. (Matthew 25:41) And those who serve them are destined for that same everlasting fire, unless they repent and call upon the name of the Lord, the true God, to be saved (Romans 10:13).

All who worship any “god”, either the true God or any false god, will be ambassadors for that “god”. They will walk and talk and behave like their “god” whom they worship. In particular, Christians are admonished to be ambassadors for the one they worship. Paul told the Christians at Corinth that they (God’s people, currently the Church but soon to be Israel again) were ambassadors for Christ. He wrote “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20) That means we are to demonstrate to others the one we worship.

It is very true that we will show forth the praises of the one we worship, particularly in living our lives in imitation of that one.
1 Peter 2:9-109But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

There are many false gods in the world but only one true God. And every one will demonstrate what their “god’ is like by the behaviour they portray to others around them. So whether you worship the one true God of the Bible, or instead one of the countless false gods, you will imitate the behaviour and attributes of the “god’ you serve.

Everyone serves a “god” of some sort, whether it be your house, car, success in your job, riches in the bank, or the god of a false religion (one that denies the authority of the one true God of the Bible). Everyone worships someone or something. That which is most important in your life is your “god”, your “religion”. For many, the most important thing in their lives is themselves!

Many serve a religion that claims to worship a “god”. This includes those religions that do not specifically lay claim to a “god”; they will still worship a mode of living that is basically their religion and their “god”.
This includes all world religions other than the worship of the one true God of the Bible.

The “god” that you worship will inevitably influence your mode of living, your behaviour. If you worship a musician or actor, you may seek to dress like that person, or wear the same hair style etc. You may put up posters depicting that person. You may also walk and talk like that person and you may like what they like and disapprove of the things they disprove of. In short, you will to some extent represent the style and behaviour of the one you seek to emulate. By your observed behaviour, others around you may gain some idea of the character of the one you “worship”.

In particular, if you worship a “god’ of a religion, you will seek to emulate that “god”. This must include obedience to the teachings of that “god’ or religion.
By your observed behaviour, others around you may gain some idea of the character of the “god” of your religion. You are an ambassador for that “god” you worship.

If you hate all others except those of your religion, then the “god” of that religion whom you worship likewise hates all others except those who worship him. If you seek to destroy all others except those who live according to your beliefs, then your “god” does likewise. If your religion is a religion of hate and intolerance, then you will act accordingly and be a person of hate and intolerance. A religion that wants a monopoly of worship for its “god” alone lacks love for all others. There is no freedom of choice; you worship that “god’ or be destroyed. You cannot love anyone outside your beliefs because your “god” won’t permit it; he hates all others, and so should you!

So, you can always tell what a person’s “god” is like by observing that person. Everyone who worships a “god” will define their “god” by their behaviour, the way they live. The God of the Bible portrays himself as the one true God and there is none other. Therefore, to worship the God of the Bible you must act according to his nature. God is love; therefore so should we be portraying this love. God is just; therefore we should be portraying this justice to others. God loves all people and forgives and saves to the uttermost all those who call upon his name to be saved. God commands us to love our enemies; Jesus displayed this on the cross when he prayed to forgive them for they know not what they do. God commands us to forgive others who repent just as He forgave His people when they repented.

God is love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control (the fruit of the Spirit as per Galatians 5:22-23). This must be abundantly evident in the lives of the followers of the God of the Bible. If his alleged followers do not evidence this in their lives, then one can logically draw the conclusion that some people might claim to worship him, but by their behaviour they do not worship him.
Isaiah 29:13Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.

There is only one widespread religion that actually worships the God of the Bible: genuine Christians who have called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13). The Old Testament law also specified a religion that enjoined Israel to worship the God of the Bible, but as yet most who claim to be Israel today are not actually worshipping him. Although they may claim to worship him, they do not generally worship him at the moment. However, one day (probably very soon), when the Church is taken home (the Rapture), Israel will return to being God’s people once again. The end times are either already here or close at hand. The war that involves Russia and islamic nations around Israel (Ezekiel 38) does seem just around the corner. In the end times, Israel has just 7 years remaining on God’s timeline before their Messiah returns to save them at the battle of Armageddon. Soon Ezekiel’s prophecy will happen (Ezekiel 37:27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.) Israel will also once more worship the one true God of the Bible.

There are many religions that claim to worship the God of the Bible but by both their statements and behaviour they prove otherwise. Only those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, for the Christian (Romans 10:13) and Israel (Joel 2:32). Many claim that their “god’ will give them paradise (or other equivalent terms) yet unless it is promised by the God of the Bible, then such a paradise will be more like hell! And if they do not act like the God of the Bible, then they certainly cannot be worshipping him.

Many false gods are worshipped allegedly in the name of the God of the Bible, but if they do not truly worship him, then they are worshipping a lie of satan.
Matthew 7:21-2321Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Many false religions will make claims that are self-serving for those who worship their “god”. For example, the mormons originally taught that polygamy was essential for salvation, and even today still teach that a woman can only be assured of salvation if she is married to a man who holds a “priesthood”. This was apparently a self-serving rule of men who desired to have multiple wives. So they made their “god’ ordain it!
Matthew 15:9But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
However, the God of the Bible never taught this; thus to do so is to twist and distort the image of the God of the Bible.

The islamic religion also worships a “god” other than the God of the Bible. Their “god” allegedly promises paradise with 70 virgins (houris) to all who are allegedly martyred for their “faith”.  However, once they get to “paradise”, it’s too late to change if they happen to get it wrong. Certainly, though, the God of the Bible never anywhere promises to grant such a “paradise” to anyone who maims and kills others in the name of their religion, allegedly because the “infidels” (the unfaithful) will not believe in it. If hell is such an evil place, why should anyone delight in sending others there?

Even so-called Christian religions that use their self-serving rules to gain an advantage over others who may believe differently are at fault here. To torture people (often to death) for the crime of not believing everything the catholic church said (as happened in the inquisitions) is not portraying the God of the Bible. And Calvin, who claimed to be reforming the catholic church from such heresy, murdered Anabaptists for the crime of being baptised again as believers. Clearly his “god” also was not the God of the Bible. To murder and pillage in the name of God is to deny that they have any part to play in worshipping the true God of the Bible.

If you hate outsiders, then it’s because your “god” hates outsiders. If you seek to kill outsiders for not believing as you do, then it’s because your “god” seeks to kill all others who do not believe in him. What you are is a reflection of the “god” you worship. And, if it is not the God of the Bible, then it will be those false “gods”, satan and his demons, that you truly worship. You are effectively the image of your “god”.

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Some facts about Israel in the end-times

Some facts about Israel in the end-times

The temple will be rebuilt before or during the tribulation

While it doesn’t state clearly anywhere that the temple will be rebuilt for these end-times, there are end-times prophecies that require a rebuilt temple.

(a) Jesus told the disciples that when they (Israel) saw the abomination (as prophesied by Daniel) stand (or be established) in the holy place, they were to flee for their very lives. The holy place could only refer to the temple in Jerusalem.
Matthew 24:15-1615When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
The abomination (antichrist) needs the temple established for this event to take place.

(b) In 2 Thessalonians, Paul stated that the man of sin, the son of perdition (= the antichrist) would sit himself in the temple requiring that he be worshipped as God by God’s people.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-43Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Once again, this event requires that the temple be established before this event.

(c) Daniel also prophesied that the antichrist will make a covenant with Israel for their final 7-year period, in the middle of which the antichrist will cause their temple worship according to the Law to cease. He will then reveal himself to be the abomination that Jesus warned the disciples about.
Daniel 9:27And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Or that judgment which has been decreed by God shall be poured out upon the desolator (the antichrist), noting that the term for “desolate” is actually a verb.)
This would occur at the mid-point of the tribulation 7-year period. The antichrist would sit himself in the temple to be worshipped half-way through that 7-year period.

Therefore Israel was warned to flee for their lives when they saw this abomination at the midpoint of those 7 years.

All this must assume the existence of the temple before the mid-point of the tribulation, in existence long enough to permit Israel to have established sacrifices by the Law before the midpoint of the tribulation. It is believed that the muslim Dome of the Rock is currently sitting on the very place where the temple used to be. It would have to be removed before construction of the temple could begin. Ezekiel 38 prophesies a war that will draw many countries (including Russia, Turkey, plus many muslim nations from the Middle East and northern Africa) against Israel, a conflict leading to the antichrist signing this covenant with Israel. The armies coming against Israel in Ezekiel 38 will be more or less exterminated (Ezekiel 39:1-7).

It may be assumed that the Dome of the Rock will be destroyed either during this conflict or soon after. Most muslim nations will be largely wiped out in this war and would not be likely to prevent their Dome from being destroyed. While the antichrist is in reality the enemy of Israel, he wants to be seen as their saviour, to be acknowledged as their Christ the Messiah. He’ll fight their enemies, he’ll grant them some relative stability for a few years, and he hopes that this may be sufficient to earn their respect and even their worship. He would like Israel to see that while their God couldn’t save them, he (antichrist) could! But it won’t be enough, for when he sits in the temple to be worshipped as their god, half-way through the tribulation, Israel disappears and remains hidden from the antichrist for 3½ years.

It can also be assumed that the rebuilt temple remains until Christ the Messiah returns. The antichrist allegedly sits in the temple for 3½ years waiting for that worship that never happens. Then with Israel back in Jerusalem, he gathers the greatest ever army and seeks to overcome Jerusalem at Armageddon. He manages to take half the city captive before Christ returns; he probably is planning on forcing them to worship him once he takes the temple. However, even that fails, for Christ returns and destroys his armies and disposes of him before he manages to capture the temple, it seems.

The Church must go first before Israel can come back to being God’s people once more

The Church owes its existence to Israel’s great failure to obey God. Israel was called to be God’s priesthood to the nations.
Exodus 19:5-65Now therefore, if ye (Israel) will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine: 6And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
God gave them the Law and basically required Israel to evangelise the other nations. But instead of teaching and preaching God to the other nations, they were tempted to worship the gods of the other nations, something that God had specifically told them not to do, many times! Time after time God patiently judged them and restored them, finally sending them into captivity to other nations; only Judah and Benjamin were to return to their lands; the 10 northern tribes of Israel were scattered from their lands for almost 3000 years.

When Jesus came, they could have received Him as their Messiah but they rejected Him instead. So the Gentile Church (the other non-Israel nations!) now became responsible for Israel’s tasks and to receive their promises for a season.
1 Peter 2:5Ye (the Church) also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Israel had been effectively sidelined (but not cast away though). Romans 11 says that Israel (the natural olive branches) was pruned off its own olive tree and the Church (the wild olive branches) was grafted in in place of Israel.
Romans 11:17And if some of the branches (Israel) be broken off, and thou (the Church), being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree ….
Romans 11:24For if thou (the Church) wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural [branches] (Israel), be graffed into their own olive tree?

When the Church age has been completed ….
Romans 11:25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
… Israel’s blindness will come to an end. That word “fulness” is pleroma (= that which has been filled). pleroma derives from a nautical term meaning “a ship inasmuch as it is filled (i.e. manned) with sailors, rowers, and soldiers“, “of those things which a ship is filled, freight and merchandise, sailors, oarsmen, soldiers“. (Online Bible)
That is, the ship has been rendered full; the ship’s manifest has everything ticked off as being on board; it is ready to sail. When the Church is rendered complete with all on board, then it will sail. This is the Rapture or the snatching away of the Church.

Once the Church has set sail, Israel will be brought back onto God’s timeline. The wild olive branches (the Church) will have been pruned off again, making room for the natural olive branches to be grafted back onto their olive tree. Israel being grafted back on will trigger their salvation process. The Deliverer (Christ their Messiah) will come out of Zion (God’s holy city – Psalm 48:1-2) and shall put them through the furnace of affliction for 7 years after which they shall come forth purified as gold and silver in the furnace.
Romans 11:26-2726And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
This could happen soon if the current war that Israel is fighting leads into the war of Ezekiel 38. (And all current events strongly suggest this to be so.)

Malachi 3:2-62But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he [is] like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 3And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. 4Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. 5And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in [his] wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger [from his right], and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. 6For I [am] the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Can people still get saved during the tribulation?

Currently people can get saved via Romans 10:13 (For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.). When saved, they become part of the Church, the body of Christ. This is mainly focused upon the Gentiles (non-Israel) because most of Israel has been blinded as a result of rejecting their Messiah when He came.
Romans 11:7-87What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

This blindness was imposed as a consequence of rejecting their Messiah when He came.
John 1:11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Even then, the gospel was first preached to the Jews. (Paul and Barnabas …. said, “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you [the Jews]” – Acts 13:46). However, those Jews of Antioch rejected the gospel preached to them; accordingly, Paul and Barnabas turned to the Gentiles and preached the gospel to them instead.

And in this way the Church took over the tasks and promises once promised to Israel.
Acts 13:44-4744And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. 45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. 46Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 47For so hath the Lord commanded us, [saying], I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

The rejection of the gospel by the Jews of Antioch and the consequent preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles is a watershed event. Israel has now been rejected and the Church accepted instead. The Church has now become the source of the preached gospel, with only a remnant of the Jews hearing and believing, saved by grace into the Church, the body of Christ.
Romans 11:5-65Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6And if by grace, then [is it] no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if [it be] of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
“remnant” represents only a small portion of the whole here.

While it was God who blinded Israel so that they couldn’t see the truth of the gospel, it is satan who continues to blind many of the Gentile world from seeing the light of the gospel. Satan, who is known as “the god of this world”, uses the love of this world to ensnare those who have been tempted to look at the world rather than the gospel.
2 Corinthians 4:3-43But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
As Jesus said to His disciples, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26) Those who seek the world will lose their souls!

Currently Jews can be saved and be added to the Church, but one day soon the Church will be taken away (snatched away; raptured) from this world, and from then on it will be Israel who will once again have the gospel. Revelation 7:3-8 states that there will be 144,000 of Israel (12,000 from each tribe) sealed for God’s work. These will be “instant” evangelists, those who will preach the gospel now of Israel. The gospel they preach will be the same as the gospel of the Church. Joel 2:32 (And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.) is a statement of that gospel preached by the 144,000 evangelists of Israel.

All who are saved will then become part of Israel, just as currently all who are saved become part of the Gentile Church. And just as most who are saved now are Gentiles, most of the saved in the coming tribulation will be of Israel. Just as most of Israel is currently blinded from hearing the gospel, then it will be most of the Gentiles who will be blinded from hearing the gospel during the tribulation period.

Therefore, if you are a Gentile (non-Israel) in the tribulation, you will probably have missed the boat. You had your opportunity while the Church still existed on earth. But Paul makes it clear that missed opportunities don’t necessarily come again.
2 Corinthians 6:1-21We then, [as] workers together [with him], beseech [you] also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.)
Now is the day of salvation; there may not be a further day left to you; today may be all the opportunity you have remaining. The tribulation gospel will be primarily for Israel!

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The coming antichrist
The coming antichrist

While Israel will be victorious to the end (in spite of the greatest tribulation they will ever experience), the biggest enemy of Israel in these coming end-times will be the antichrist (although he is never actually referred to as the antichrist in all of the book of Revelation). The antichrist will be satan’s man in Israel’s final 7-year period before Christ their Messiah returns to save His people Israel at Armageddon. Effectively, the antichrist will be the embodiment of satan, who is the ruler of all that is evil in this world.

Jesus said of satan (the devil) that “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44) While God’s every word is truth, all lies are the work of satan.

A passage in 2 Thessalonians gives us a clear understanding of who he really is.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; 7-123Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. ….
7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way. 8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9[Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

He will be satan’s man; 2 Thessalonians 2:9 declares the antichrist to be “him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.” In that same passage he is called the “man of sin“, “the son of perdition“, the “Wicked“, the one who “opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Satan has always desired to be as God. Note Isaiah 14:12-1512How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Satan (= “Lucifer” here) wished to “be like the most High“. He challenged God and lost. Since then satan has tried to control what he considers his kingdom on earth: its people. 1 John 5:19 says that “the whole world lieth in wickedness” or, more correctly, “the whole world lies in the wicked one” or “under the power of the wicked one” (where “the whole world” here represents all the inhabitants of earth). The people of this world are its citizens while God’s people are no longer citizens of this world but of heaven.
Satan already has the worship of much of the world, but that’s just not enough to satisfy him. He desires the worship of all the world, and in the end-times tribulation period he will, through his servant “the beast” (= the antichrist), demand that all worship him or be executed.
Revelation 13:15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

In particular satan (through his antichrist, the beast) desires to be worshipped by God’s people, Israel. He desired to be as God (“like the most High“) and to him that means being declared God by Israel. He would then be their god and they would be his people. This is the rationale behind him wanting to sit in the temple of God such that he would be seen as their God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-43Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

During the tribulation the antichrist will seat himself in the temple as the one to be worshipped, demanding that Israel worship him as their god. This will occur at the midpoint of Israel’s final 7-year period, the tribulation. Jesus alluded to this when He said, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place …” (Matthew 24:15) Daniel spoke of it in Daniel 12:11And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Daniel 9:27 says “And he (the antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many (the nation of Israel) for one week (Israel’s final 7-year period): and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (the daily sacrifice will be taken away), and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate (the antichrist will sit in the temple to be worshipped), even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Jesus said that when they saw this “abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place“, they were to urgently flee for their very lives, not even wasting any time to get supplies or clothing etc. Note that in Daniel 9:27 this will occur “in the midst of the week“, that is, in the middle of that 7-year period.
Matthew 24:15-2115When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

The following from Revelation 12 refers to that flight.
Revelation 12:6, 146And the woman (Israel) fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.
14And to the woman (Israel) were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
God causes Israel to be assisted to flee from the antichrist abomination in the temple, protecting and caring for her for that 2nd half of the tribulation period while the antichrist sits in the temple to be worshipped. This is really ironic in that all satan’s antichrist wants here is to be worshipped by God’s people but when he sets himself up in the temple to be worshipped, Israel up and disappears! It’s certain that God will do everything to avoid His people, Israel, worshipping satan.

Not only does Israel disappear while the antichrist is in the temple, God’s two witnesses (suggested by many to be Elijah and Moses) cause heaps of trouble in Jerusalem at this time. The antichrist cannot get rid of them in a hurry, either.
Revelation 11:3-63And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

Finally, after 3½ years, the antichrist manages to have them killed. They lie in the streets of Jerusalem for 3½ days with the world throwing thanksgiving parties celebrating their deaths. Then, in view of everyone, the two dead witnesses come back to life and rise to heaven.
Revelation 11:7-127And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

After this, there’s the build-up to Armageddon. Israel has somehow returned to Jerusalem and the antichrist gathers his armies to attack Jerusalem. Instead of destroying the city with a huge weapons-barrage of some sort, the antichrist commences taking Jerusalem bit by bit. He clearly doesn’t wish to destroy the city too badly for it will still be his intention to sit in the temple and force Israel to worship him. He manages to capture half of the city, taking half of the population captive.  
Zechariah 14:2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

But then, just when the antichrist would be thinking that he’s finally going to get Israel worshipping him as their god, Christ the Messiah returns and destroys the antichrist’s armies.
Zechariah 14:3, 123Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
12And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
(It does sound like the symptoms of nuclear warfare!)

Revelation 19:19-2119And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

But where does the antichrist come from? In fact, Daniel 9:26-27 gives us some of the answer.
and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (Daniel 9:26b-27a)
The people who would destroy the city and sanctuary were the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 70 AD. The antichrist is “the prince that shall come” and he will be from that people, the Romans. The Roman empire was in power during Jesus’ day, and Daniel prophesies (in Daniel 2:40-43) the Roman empire and then a ten-nation revived Roman empire in latter days (represented by the toes of the huge image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream). Therefore the antichrist is likely to come from a revived Roman empire (today most likely represented by Europe).

Revelation 13:1 (And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.) describes the antichrist (the beast) as having 7 heads and 10 horns with 10 crowns, referring to the ten nations that put him into power (Revelation 17:12-13). Also see Daniel 7:7-8 & 19-21 which also refer to this antichrist/beast.

Daniel 9:27 (And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week) does mention one more important fact about the antichrist. The antichrist will make a defence pact with Israel at the beginning of this 7-year tribulation period. It will come as a result of Israel being attacked by a confederation of muslim nations plus Russia from the north (Ezekiel 38). God will cause this huge army to attack Israel (“And I will … put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine armyEzekiel 38:4). This will draw the antichrist (probably a European leader) to Israel to effectively save them, and to be seen as a type of saviour to them. This is what brings the antichrist into part-controlling Israel. We could be heading into that war of Ezekiel 38 right now.

The one thing that the antichrist desires above all is to be worshipped as god by God’s people Israel. And this is the one thing God completely denies him having. If the antichrist cannot be worshipped by Israel, then he will destroy them, but God denies him this also; Israel will be victorious at the end, and they will be God’s people and He will be their God!

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Israel’s coming tribulation

Israel’s coming tribulation

While it is clear that Israel will continue until the end, it is also clear that this will be accompanied by severe tribulation and great oppression. In fact, Jesus promised Israel (via the Jews) that it would be the greatest tribulation that they would ever experience in all their history. (For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.Matthew 24:21) Other nations around them also sinned but God held Israel particularly responsible for their sin because they alone of all nations should have known better. The prophet Amos, speaking God’s words to Israel, said, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” (Amos 3:2)

Back around 740 BC, Isaiah gave God’s message to Judah and Jerusalem, long before they were taken into captivity (607 – 587 BC). Even then God pronounced them rebellious, sinful, iniquitous, corrupters, revolting, sin-sick from head to toe. He refused to accept their sacrifices according to the Law because they were corrupted, unclean from their spiritual adultery with the gods of other nations.

Some excerpts from Isaiah 1 demonstrating their serious problem with mixing the worship of God with the worship of false gods:
Isaiah 12Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
4Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 5Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6From the sole of the foot even unto the head [there is] no soundness in it; [but] wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
11To what purpose [is] the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 13Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; [it is] iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 14Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear [them]. 15And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 16Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
18Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken [it].

Judah thought they could enjoy sin as long as they carried out the temple sacrifices as well. They thought that it was OK as long as they also did what God required. But when you mix unclean with clean, the consequence is that it all becomes unclean. Even the “clean” actions of worshiping God according to the Law were rendered unclean by their worship of the unclean. Clean + unclean = all unclean!
Haggai 2:11-1411Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests [concerning] the law, saying, 12If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 13Then said Haggai, If [one that is] unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. 14Then answered Haggai, and said, So [is] this people, and so [is] this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so [is] every work of their hands; and that which they offer there [is] unclean.
There are many today who believe the lie that it’s OK to do sin as long as you “get right” with God on Sundays!

Israel was warned to not serve other gods to see what happened or else they would be ensnared into worshiping them.
Deuteronomy 12:29-3129When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; 30Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

They were told, not just once or twice, but many times to not go after other gods.
Deuteronomy 6:14Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which [are] round about you;

They were to not to listen to close friends or family members who tried to get them to serve other gods. Instead, God ordered them to put such people to death.
Deuteronomy 13:6-96If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which [is] as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7[Namely], of the gods of the people which [are] round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth; 8Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

Even after they (Judah) came back from captivity at Babylon, they went further in their spiritual adultery. Malachi was the last of the prophets of the Old Testament, writing about 400 years before Christ.
Malachi 2:11Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.

And Jesus declared the pharisees (who were effectively the religious leaders of their day, even overruling the Levitical priesthood) to be the children of the devil.
John 8:44Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

So ultimately, Israel (via the Jews) had dug a sinful hole so deep that they couldn’t escape from it. God had sent punishments one after the other, but while they might have temporarily repented and turned back to God, it never lasted; they just went deeper and deeper into spiritual adultery against God.
God had demonstrated His lovingkindness to them as His special people, yet they had abused this privilege. They would not be purged via God’s kindness, but by being refined in “the furnace of affliction“. God sent plague after plague, judgment after judgment, but even today Israel is still under God’s condemnation for their spiritual sin.
Isaiah 48:9-119For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. 10Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 11For mine own sake, [even] for mine own sake, will I do [it]: for how should [my name] be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.

Daniel 9:24 (Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.) makes it clear that one day their sin will be ended and they will be declared righteous for ever. This has never happened yet, in spite of all the affliction God has brought upon them so far. It will take an affliction far greater than they have ever experienced or could ever imagine to bring them to this point, to break them so surely that they will call upon the name of the Lord to be delivered (Joel 2:32). This time of extreme affliction is yet to come, and the fruit of that affliction will be their everlasting righteousness. (For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.Matthew 24:21)

Daniel 9:24 also mentions the 70 weeks determined for Israel, actually 70 x 7 = 490 years remaining on their timeline. When they rejected Jesus (John 1:11) after 483 of those years, Israel (via the Jews) were sidelined with the Church taking over their tasks and promises. They were 7 years short of the end of their timeline.
But one day (very soon, now) Israel will take over again their ministry as God’s people once more. They have one week of years (7 years) remaining, and this 7-year period will involve the most extreme affliction they could ever know, so extreme that Jesus said, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” (Matthew 24:21-22)

At the end of this final 7-year period, Christ their Messiah will return to annihilate their enemies at Armageddon and then set up His thousand-year reign over the earth.
Zechariah 12:9-109And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.
Ezekiel 37:22-2722And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24And David (= Christ the son of David) my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David (= Christ the son of David) [shall be] their prince for ever. 26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Much of Revelation records the extreme tribulation of that final 7 years before Christ returns to save His people Israel. It is only this extreme affliction that could ever turn the hearts of Israel back to their God. It has to be far more extreme than anything they have ever experienced up until then, for nothing else less than that has ever worked. However, it also has to be limited in time or else even the redeemed ones of Israel would not survive.
Matthew 24:15-2215When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Just one final note here. Any who think that Israel being hit with such suffering will enable their enemies to better defeat Israel, think again. In spite of Israel’s extreme tribulation and suffering, they will be the ones left standing at the end after Armageddon! And God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham long long ago has never been rescinded, never been revoked.
Genesis 12:2-32And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Those who today are seeking the destruction of Israel had best keep this in mind. No matter how much weaponry, nor how many soldiers, nor how many countries try to oppose Israel, at this time they will not ever be destroyed.
Zechariah 12:8In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David [shall be] as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

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God’s people Israel and their end-times victory

God’s people Israel and their end-times victory

In the Bible, end-times refers to those days when God will draw His people Israel back to Himself, causing them to be redeemed according to His promise to them in Daniel 9:24Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. That 70 weeks represented a year for each day; thus 490 years yet remained on their timeline until their eventual redemption. Effectively Israel was promised everlasting righteousness as God’s people after a period of 490 years. This was to be counted from the date of an order given to rebuild Jerusalem (including the temple).

Daniel 9:25-26a (25Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26And after threescore and two weeks (following that initial 7 weeks) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:) sets out a period of 7 weeks of years plus 62 weeks of years, making 69 weeks of years (= 483 years) before their Messiah (Jesus Christ) is cut off (= cut down). This occurred when Jesus was put to death on the cross for the sins of the world. This left but 1 week of years (7 years) to bring in the everlasting righteousness of Israel.

But. after that 69 weeks of years (= 483 years), Israel (via the Jews) rejected their Messiah. (John 1:11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.) Consequently most of Israel was blinded from the truth and separated from God’s will for some time, not cast away but sidelined. God has never cast away His people for ever! Their final 7 years before their everlasting righteousness was effectively put on hold; they were sidelined (but not thrown away as some today try to teach).
Romans 11:1-2a1I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin. 2God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.

Israel continued to seek after a God whom they considered to be their special property, but most were blinded such that they just couldn’t see that they were blinded.
Romans 11:7-87What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

A remnant of Israel would continue to seek and find God through repentance …..
Romans 11:5Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
… according to God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:12-1312Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
But most of Israel would be spiritually blinded, shut off from God until He chose to seek them once more; this would mark the beginning of the end-times.

On 14th May 1948 Israel returned to a part of her ancient lands; this was an act of God to commence the countdown to their becoming once again His people and He would be their God (according to Ezekiel 37:24-28). In fact, Ezekiel 37 talks about the valley of dead bones becoming a living whole house of Israel once again. This is happening in our time; Israel will not ever be sidelined again; no enemy will ever be able to destroy Israel again.

However, the refusal of Israel to accept their Messiah 2000 years ago opened the way for the Gentile Church to take over the tasks and promises given to Israel; this would continue until the Church age was completed according to Romans 11:25 (For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.) But now that time is very near. When the Church age is fulfilled (“when the fulness of the Gentiles be come in“), then Israel will be brought back onto her timeline to complete that final week of years. A Saviour, the Deliverer, their Messiah, will return to Zion (Israel) …..
Romans 11:25-2725For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
…. and all the remnant of Israel would be saved according to Joel 3:31-3231The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. 32And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

This is still mostly in the future. Certainly Israel has already returned to some of her ancient lands, and right now it does appear that the war of Ezekiel 38 is approaching fast, that war which will usher in that final 7-year period.

Joel talks a lot about the end times. To begin with, God will return them from where they have been scattered around the world; He will “bring again their captivity” which means that God will restore them back from their captivity. The captivity here could mean restoration back to their lands, but the context does strongly suggest that it includes being restored from their captivity to sin.
Joel 3:1-41For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. 3And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. 4Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly [and] speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
All the nations who oppose Israel’s return to their land and instead desire the destruction of their people, all those who demand pay-back against God and His people, will instead have their demanded recompense paid back to them (Israel’s enemies); it will be upon their own heads. In particular, “Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine” will receive what they have demanded for Israel. Today we can see how relevant this really is!

Over many centuries they have taken from Israel to give to the temples of their gods, and sought to destroy Israel as a nation. They have persecuted and dispossessed God’s people Israel in order that they might steal their lands. But God will raise His people Israel from where they have been banished (Israel became a sovereign state in 1948) and will use Israel to pay back those who have persecuted them over the centuries. Because Tyre, Sidon and the coasts of Palestine have destroyed God’s people Israel and dispossessed them of their lands, behold, God will now do the same to them as Israel’s oppressors. They will receive what they have given to God’s people. Because they have dispossessed and enslaved God’s people Israel, God will sell their sons and daughters into the hands of God’s people, and Israel in turn shall remove them far away from their lands, “for the Lord hath spoken [it].
Joel 3:5-85Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: 6The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. 7Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: 8And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken [it].

Not only will God pay back Israel’s enemies in kind for what they have given to Israel, He demands that they gather all their allegedly mighty men to prepare for war against God who will defend His people Israel.
Joel 3:9-119Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I [am] strong. 11Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.
The start of this appears to be a taunt made to those barely-ordinary men of war who think they are champions in battle because perhaps they are so great in number. Let those who are weak (and ordinary) boast of their mighty acts of war; let them beat their chests and proclaim themselves to be the heroes who will win this battle. Barnes Commentary says: So universal shall be the rage of Israel’s foes for invading her, that even the weak among them will fancy themselves strong enough to join the invading forces. Age and infirmity were ordinarily made valid excuses for exemption from service, but so mad shall be the fury of the world against God’s people, that even the feeble will not desire to be exempted.
It does remind one of their “so courageous, such mighty” cowards who do not dare go into battle without the protection of women and children gathered around them! All may feel brave when they are with a lot of other like-minded people or surrounded by women and children!

thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord – This seems to be praying that God would cause His mighty ones (gibbowr) to come down (from heaven) to fight in this battle. Revelation 19:19 (And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.) says that the armies of earth will gather to fight Christ the Messiah and his army (which may be assumed to be angels).
Also note that angels are used to gather people for judgment: Matthew 13:41-4341The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Psalm 2:4He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. God will mock Israel’s enemies for their futility.

This next passage from Joel 3 does appear to jump forward to that greatest of battles opposing Israel: Armageddon. At the end of that final 7-year period of Israel’s timeline, the nations of the world will gather a huge army to oppose Jerusalem itself. Christ the Messiah returns to slaughter Israel’s enemies and then sets up His thousand-year reign over the whole earth.
Joel 3:12-1512Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great. 14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord [is] near in the valley of decision. 15The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

Judgment comes to all those who oppose God’s people. The sickle cuts down all the enemy armies; it pictures all the dead being placed into a huge wine vat and crushed so that the blood runs freely at a depth of about 1.2 metres for a distance of around 300km.
Revelation 14:16-2016And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 17And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.

And, at the end of this final 7-year period of Israel’s timeline, Israel will be the victorious nation who goes into the thousand-year reign of Christ their Messiah. All those of other nations who are yet alive after Armageddon will go every year to worship Christ the King, the Lord of hosts.
Zechariah 14:16And it shall come to pass, [that] every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Those who choose to not worship Christ the King at Jerusalem each year will be punished with drought.
Zechariah 14:17And it shall be, [that] whoso will not come up of [all] the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

Jesus the King will rule forever and there will be no end of His kingdom, ever.
Luke 1:32-3332He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

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Israel cannot and will not lose

Israel cannot and will not lose

Right now Israel is being attacked in the media across the world, with many world leaders trying to outdo each other in condemning Israel. It does seem to be the in-thing to bash Israel these days. Why anyone would want to praise the murderous atrocities committed by those cowardly wimps of terrorists in Gaza I cannot fathom. Like all bullies, they seek control over all around them, even to the extent of using women and children as shields to protect the cowards in case someone actually stands up against them. And in order to reinforce their self-perceived “right’ to be dictators among their people, they use religion to convince their population that only they can be right; all others therefore must be wrong!

Those around the world who support the cowardly terrorists seem to want to focus on Israel’s alleged genocide against Palestine while trying hard to either avoid mention of the atrocities of October 7th 2023, or, in more than a few cases recently, even justifying the murder and mutilation of around 1200 people in Israel as “legitimate acts of resistance“. Adel Salman (president of the Islamic Council of Victoria) said: ” “We denounce any violence and killing of civilians. What we don’t denounce very clearly is legitimate acts of resistance,” Mr Salman said. “And for the Palestinians to rise up on October the 7th, and say, we’re no longer going to tolerate this siege, this occupation, that’s legitimate.” ” (Sky News 29/02/2024)

And that the terrorists of Gaza took around 250 hostages on October 7th seems to be considered more of an inconvenience for the world to explain, rather than the terrorists’ desired use of them as human shields to protect the bullies. What moral cowards! And by resting the rightness of their atrocities on the dictates of their religion, they have also become religious cowards.

The world has tried to negotiate an end to the strife while seemingly attempting to avoid too much condemnation of hamas. However, to use the hostages as bargaining assets in negotiations is also merely using them to protect hamas from consequences as Israel goes after them with a heavy fist to try to destroy them. And after October 7th it is clear that Israel must deal with these attacks on their sovereignty or else their enemies will just wipe them from the map (a goal the cowards have stated many times before and since Oct 7th).

In its efforts to condemn Israel, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has declared Israel’s leaders to be criminals: “The decision by the International Criminal Court prosecutor, Karim Khan, to request arrest warrants for Israel’s PM and its defence minister subverts justice and finally destroys the court’s reputation.” (The Australian 21/05/24) ….. and the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to stop its “invasion” of Gaza: “The UN’s top court ordered Israel to stop its Rafah invasion, in an emergency measure imposed on Friday.” (ABC 24/05/24) Note that Karim Khan was an appointee of the UN leadership which has regularly demonstrated its biased support for Palestine; thus the ICC and the ICJ are merely pawns used in support of the cowardly terrorists who dared not attack Israel head-on but instead declared war on unarmed civilians including women, children and babies!

Yet what is Israel supposed to do after they were violently attacked on Oct 7th? Are the cowardly terrorists to be permitted to inflict all sorts of perverted atrocities upon around 1200 innocent and unarmed people in Israel, murder, atrocities, gang-rape, and mutilations (such as the beheading of children) of many of those killed, as well as taking around 250 hostages in order to use them as human shields?
The Wall Street Journal found evidence of sexual violence on October 7 through photographs, interviews with first responders, survivors, families of victims and forensic experts. Photos viewed by the Journal taken by first responders on the scene show bodies were mutilated, including sex organs. The bodies of women and girls displayed signs of sexual assault. ….. In addition to sexual violence, the UN report found widespread mutilation of bodies, including “attempted and actual decapitation, numerous gunshot wounds, and various other forms of extensive violence”. The Wall Street Journal viewed photographs of at least four victims whose heads were partially or fully decapitated.” (The Australian 5/03/2024)

Yet some, even with overwhelming evidence to the contrary, openly dismiss this as a hoax.
Sociology professor (Sydney University) Sujatha Fernandes told a class in April that the media was “distorting” the conflict, and the terrorist group’s mass rapes on and after October 7 were a “hoax”.
“Western media has played the role of an ideological state apparatus by suppressing coverage of the atrocities, peddling fake news (promoted hoaxes that Hamas beheaded babies and carried out mass rape, in order to shore up support for Israel), and distorting events,” Professor Fernandes said.
The UN has said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Hamas engaged in mass and gang rape across multiple locations on October 7.” (The Australian 31/05/24)

As many commentators have noted, Israel is currently fighting for her very existence. Since Israel was declared a state on 14 May 1948, they have been involved in ongoing and never-ending skirmishes against the surrounding nations until now. This includes two major wars of 1967 and 1973. The 1967 war occurred when Egypt closed off the Straits of Tiran, blockading Israeli shipping in May 1967 and provoking Israel by depleting its supplies, and then mobilising the Egyptian army in readiness along its border with Israel. Known today as the Six-Day War, Israel took much extra land as a result.

The 1973 war was against a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria who initiated the attack, desiring the return of land taken off them by Israel in the 1967 war. It was called the Yom Kippur war after Israel’s enemies attacked on one of Israel’s holiest sabbaths. Israel’s borders were extended in each of these wars.
Since 1973 Israel has tried to avoid any full-scale war against her neighbours, in spite of its war capabilities being far superior to those of its neighbours.

While Palestine is often referred to as an Arab nation, in actual fact it is not necessarily so. The history of this land goes back to the Philistines (as noted in the Bible) who lived along the coastline much where Gaza is today (although Philistia had maybe double the coastline that Gaza currently has). Philistia was one of the nations of Canaan, the land settled by Israel after their exodus from Egypt around 1500 BC. The Philistines as part of the nations of Canaan, never had any more than the strip of coastline along the Mediterranean, when Israel took the Promised Land of Canaan in around 1450 BC. There were five cities of the Philistines: Ashdod (the northern-most city today, around 29km south of Tel Aviv), Ashkelon (south of Ashdod), Gaza (the southern-most city of the Philistines), Gath (east of Ashkelon) and Ekron (east of Ashdod). “Palestine” is believed to be the Greek form of “Philistia” as noted by Herodotus, a Greek historian of 5th century BC.

Israel commenced as a nation in the land of Canaan in around 1450 BC, continuing until the 2nd century AD when the Romans crushed the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136 AD), establishing Jerusalem as a Roman colony (Aelia Capitolina) with the land of Judea being renamed as Syria Palaestina. Jews were banished from Syria Palaestina but many continued to dwell around the area, especially Galilee, southern Hebron Hills and the coastal plain.

If today’s Palestinians claim to have held their land for longer than Israel, then they are also claiming to be descended from the Philistines of Canaan. This people was not Arab but ultimately descended from Ham, the 2nd son of Noah.
Ham, according to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis, was the second son of Noah and the father of Cush (generally associated with Ethiopia), Mizraim (Egypt), Phut (probably ancient Libya) and Canaan (the land between the Mediterranean and the river Jordan). Ham’s descendants are interpreted by Josephus and others as having populated Africa and adjoining parts of Asia.” (Wikipedia) The Philistines were just one of many nations inhabiting the land of Canaan. “The Philistines were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia.” (Wikipedia)

If on the other hand, today’s Palestinians claim to be Arab by descent, then they may only go back as far as 636-640 AD when muslims conquered Palestine. As a result, many of the original inhabitants were removed, either by death or displacement, with the muslim Arabs becoming the dominant people of the area. Therefore, it is likely that today’s Palestinians are predominantly Arab and can thus trace their possession (by conquest) of Palestine no further back than 636-640 AD.
Note that if Palestine were settled by muslim Arabs in the 7th century AD, Israel therefore can trace its possession of this land over 2000 years before current Palestinians took possession of their land. And, even if they (as Philistines) claim to have possessed the land from before 1450 BC, then it always ever only included the coastal strip of land next to the Mediterranean.

In 1947 the UN proposed that Israel and Palestine accept a two-state partition. Israel agreed albeit reluctantly, but the Arab states chose to begin a war to exterminate all of the Jewish population in Palestine. Palestine had then refused to accept a two-state solution and has continued to this day to refuse a two-state solution. For them, there can only be one solution: Palestine as the only state in this part of the world, and thus Israel must be exterminated!
When a majority of the UN General Assembly endorsed that (two-state) resolution on November 29, 1947, the major Zionist forces reluctantly accepted the proposed partition, despite it being vastly unfavourable to them. But the Arab states not only rejected the plan, they launched what the Arab League described as “a war of extermination” whose aim was to “erase (Palestine’s Jewish population) from the face of the earth”. Nor did the fighting give any reason to doubt that was the Arabs’ goal.
At least until late May 1948, Jewish prisoners were invariably slaughtered. In one instance, 77 Jewish civilians were burned alive after a medical convey was captured; in another, soldiers who had surrendered were castrated before being shot; in yet another, death came by public decapitation. And even after the Arab armies declared they would abide by the Geneva Convention, Jewish prisoners were regularly murdered on the spot.
While those atrocities continued a longstanding pattern of barbarism, they also reflected the conviction that unrestrained terror would “push the Jews into the sea”, as Izzedin Shawa, who represented the Arab High Committee, put it.
(“Nakba, where Palestinian victim mythology began”, The Australian,  18/05/2024)

The term “a war of extermination” is attributed to “Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam, the Secretary-General of the Arab League from 1945 to 1952, in which he declared in 1947 that, were a war to take place with the proposed establishment of a Jewish state, it would lead to “a war of extermination and momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacre and the Crusades.” (Wikipedia)
Israeli Ben Gurion paraphrased Azzam as saying: “As we fought against the Crusaders, we will fight against you, and we will erase you (Israel) from the earth.

The Bible makes it clear that if these are the end-times leading up to Israel’s final 7-year tribulation period (Daniel 9:24-27), then it can only end with Christ their Messiah returning to slaughter the huge enemy forces gathered against Jerusalem at Armageddon, and with a victorious Israel then entering the millennial rule of Christ.

Ezekiel 37:21-2821And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever. 26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

From the moment when God brought His people Israel back from around the world to dwell in their land of Israel once again in 1947-48, Israel cannot (and will not) be removed ever again. What God has begun will now only end with Israel going into their millennium of peace ruled by Christ their Messiah.

If they are backed into a corner, they will not be defeated, for God will fight for them as He did in the long-distant past. There are so many today who hate Israel and would seek to destroy them but Israel will be standing as a nation long after the armies of their enemies have been utterly destroyed. We are approaching that time when God will say to His people Israel: I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Beware all those who might think it expedient or maybe more politically-correct, to oppose Israel today. Beware all those who think that their religion will triumph over Israel and her God. Beware all those who might think that because they seem to have the numbers to defeat Israel that it is the day of their god. Most bullies think that when they have far superior numbers that they will win. But numbers have little to do with this. As Paul wrote to the Romans: What shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who [can be] against us? (Romans 8:31)

Also note that God promised Abraham that he would be the beginning of a great nation (that is, Israel). God would bless all those who blessed Israel, and would curse all those who cursed Israel. This is known as the Abrahamic Covenant.
Genesis 12:2-32And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
This covenant has never been revoked and therefore still applies today. To curse Israel is to draw God’s curse upon one’s self, and many are doing just that today.

Israel is fighting an intense religious warfare opposed to their very existence. But God will overcome all their enemies and establish Israel as His people for ever.

Ezekiel 39:7So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.

Zechariah 12:3-103And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. 4In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. 5And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem [shall be] my strength in the Lord of hosts their God. 6In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, [even] in Jerusalem. 7The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify [themselves] against Judah. 8In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David [shall be] as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. 9And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.

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Ezekiel’s tribulation and Armageddon timeline

Ezekiel’s tribulation and Armageddon timeline

Ezekiel has a lot to say when it comes to the end-times of this world as we know it. If Ezekiel’s prophesied war of Chs 38 & 39 occurs, then the world as we know it may have little more than 7 years to run before Armageddon heralds the second coming of Christ the Messiah to rule the earth. And the tribulation of the 7 years leading up to Armageddon will be more extreme than any period in history before it. That 7 years will have disasters aplenty – judgments from God – that will wipe out huge numbers of mankind, plus destroy much of the world as we know it today.

7 years remains on Israel’s prophetical timeline before her everlasting righteousness

Firstly, Daniel 9:24-27 says that there would be 490 years (70 weeks of years) after which Israel would be brought to everlasting righteousness.
Daniel 9:24Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
According to Daniel 9:26, 483 of these years would go by before Christ their Messiah was cut off (crucified), with the final 7-year period then being held off (because of their unbelief in their Messiah) until the times of the Gentiles (the Gentile Church) should be fulfilled, and then the Deliverer would come into Zion and all Israel would be saved. (The Gentiles here means the Christian church.)
Romans 11:25-2725For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
The final 7 years would be triggered by a covenant between the antichrist and Israel as per Daniel 9:27aAnd he (the antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many (Israel) for one week. (This is the final week of years remaining on Israel’s timeline.) The antichrist will be very evil, controlled by satan; he will seek to take control of the whole world, but will be defeated by Christ at the battle of Armageddon at the end of this final 7-year period – Revelation 16:16; 19:11-21)

Note that it is futile to claim (as some do) that the Jewish year was only 360 days and therefore should be counted differently to our years, because the Jews have always added extra days and months into their years as necessary to keep the seasons in the right months. Effectively the Jewish years were exactly the same length as our years. See the Addendum at the end for further details.

The remnant of Israel will be redeemed by the end of that 7-year period

During this final 7 years before Armageddon, Israel will be back on centre-stage as God’s people once more. In order for this to happen, the Gentile church will be snatched away from this earth in an event known as the Rapture. (They will literally disappear from the face of this earth.) God will unleash on this world such tribulation as the world has never known before, nor ever will know (Matthew 24:21). By the end of this 7-year tribulation period, the remnant of Israel who call upon the name of the Lord will be called and redeemed (Joel 2:31-32), and the world will be drawn into the battle of Armageddon where Christ their Messiah (whom they now recognise) will fight for them, utterly destroying the antichrist and his huge army.

The Christian Church and the remnant of Israel will be saved, but many others will die

For those not of Israel and who do not get taken with the Church in the Rapture, most will not survive past the end of that 7-year tribulation period. And only the remnant (a part only) of Israel will be redeemed. In particular, if the end-times are coming upon us now, then those who currently oppose Israel must be aware that while the remnant of Israel will be saved, those opposed to Israel will not survive this great time of trouble brought by the God of Israel upon the world. And the Christian church will have gone to be with Christ before this 7-year tribulation period commences.

Ezekiel’s prophecy in Chs 36-39 does point to the end-times being close at hand.

Firstly, Israel must come back as a nation (Ezekiel 36)

In 1948, Israel established itself as a sovereign nation after approximately 1878 years of being scattered among the nations of the world. Ezekiel 36 says that God will gather Israel again; they will be His people and He will be their God.
Ezekiel 36:8-11; 24-288But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. 9For, behold, I [am] for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: 10And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, [even] all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: 11And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better [unto you] than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord. …..
24For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.25Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do [them]. 28And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

For those who claim that Israel is dead and buried and in the past without any future, these words from God surely prove their lie. Israel has come back as a nation and will continue to be a nation established by God. A saved remnant of this same Israel will rule with Christ during His millennial rule, after the battle of Armageddon.

It is the whole house of Israel, not just a part, that will be victors in the end

And it will be all Israel (that means all 12 tribes) that wins in the end. Israel has been resurrected (brought back to life as a nation) by God in order to bring them to everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:24). Israel will be there at the end, and no nation today will be able to prevent God’s prophecy from happening just as He said it would. In Ezekiel 37:1-10 we read of a valley full of dry bones being brought back to life again, a picture of the whole house of Israel being brought back as a nation.
Then God explains to Ezekiel what this valley of bones represents.

Ezekiel 37:11-1411Then he (God) said unto me (Ezekiel), Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 12Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13And ye shall know that I [am] the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken [it], and performed [it], saith the Lord.

Some say that this has already happened when Judah returned from their captivity at Babylon many years before Christ. However, note Ezekiel 37:11: “these bones are the whole house of Israel”. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin returned from their captivity, and it says that it is all Israel here, not just Judah and Benjamin. (The 10 northern tribes did not come back to their land after their captivity.) Therefore this must be referring to a time when all Israel returns as a 12-tribe nation. This has not happened yet.

When does this prophecy of Israel’s return happen?

This picture of the valley of dead bones may refer to Israel taking possession of their land in 1948, or it may refer to the events leading directly into that final 7-year period. But at some point in time, God will take charge of Israel’s destiny and lead them to redemption (including through the great tribulation period of 7 years which ends at Armageddon). I personally consider that God has been establishing Israel, preparing them for their eventual redemption, from May 1948 when Israel was established as a nation again.

What about the 12 tribes of Israel? Who are they exactly?

Even today most people of Israel are not fully aware of their tribal background. Note that 12 tribes are listed at the start of the Tribulation in Revelation 7:4-8. Also note that in most lists in the Old Testament, Levi is not one of the tribes listed separately, yet in Revelation, the priestly tribe of Levi has been restored to that list of 12 tribes, taking the place of Dan who is assumed by many to be an apostate tribe rejected by God. The priestly tribe is no longer required, with Jesus replacing the Levitical priesthood as per Hebrews 7:11.

The valley of dry bones will become one nation under God

Ezekiel 37:21-2321And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

When King Solomon died, the 12 tribes broke up into the 10 northern tribes (called Israel) and the 2 southern tribes (Judah, which included Benjamin). Judah and Benjamin returned from Babylon to the land around Jerusalem (which is known as God’s holy city).
They have never been one nation of 12 tribes since the death of Solomon. This passage defines all 12 tribes coming together as one nation. All those dead bones becoming living people again was not referring to individual people but instead the one single nation of Israel who would be God’s people, and He would be their (national) God. Therefore this event has not occurred yet; one day still in the future all 12 tribes of Israel will be united as one.

And Christ the Son of David will be their sovereign Messiah for ever

Ezekiel 37:24-2824And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever. 26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

There will be wars and strife leading up to and during this tribulation of 7 years duration

Ezekiel not only foretells the return of the whole house of Israel as God’s people one day, but also says that after they come back as a nation (which happened in 1948), they will face extreme strife and warfare. In particular, this passage in Ezekiel leads into what has to be seen as the war that triggers Israel’s covenant with the antichrist and therefore starts that 7-year countdown to Armageddon.
Ezekiel 38 mentions quite a few nations whom God will put hooks into their jaws (Ezekiel 38:4) to draw them into this battle; it appears that these nations will have no choice but to face battle with an Israel whom their God will be fighting for.

Armageddon will follow 7 years after this battle of Ezekiel 38

This war will mark the beginning of Israel’s final 7-year period, 7 years before their Messiah returns to defeat their enemies at Armageddon. This war is not Armageddon; however, once this war commences, there will be no turning back from Armageddon maybe little more than 7 years later! The only question right now is whether or not we are currently approaching this war of Ezekiel 38. If we are, then all of us might face our Maker sooner than we planned for. The war of Ezekiel 38 will trigger the antichrist’s covenant with Israel, and the clock will commence ticking toward the destruction of Armageddon 7 years later.

Who are the nations mentioned in this army that will attack Israel?

There is uncertainty over who many of these names actually refer to, but in general it does strongly appear to refer to nations to the north of Israel, especially north and east of modern-day Ukraine and nations to the east and south-east of the Black Sea, plus many of today’s Arab nations. It could also include Ukraine itself, but this does not appear likely, unless Russia were to take control of Ukraine, something it has tried to do for some time now..
It does appear to include the Moscow area of Russia, and the nations to the east of Ukraine and the Black Sea, plus many of the islamic nations such as Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, and many of the nations in the north of Africa (most of which are also islamic nations). In fact, apart from Russia (and perhaps some other northern nations), this huge army that attacks Israel will be largely muslim by belief. This army would most likely include Palestinian peoples, many of whom are currently involved in, or in support of, warfare against Israel.

The list of nations comes from the north down, plus some from Africa

While many of the nations in Ezekiel’s list are not easy to define, it is clear that in general, it will involve many nations to the north and east of Israel, plus another group from northern Africa. Most of these nations are already opposed to Israel.

Ezekiel 38:1-21And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Gog – It is suggested that Gog is the nation which derives from Magog. Others say Gog was Gyges (a king of Lydia – Turkey)
Magog – Often associated with Lydia which today is Turkey. Josephus, though, says that they were the Scythians on the north of the Black Sea (they took up the area of Ukraine and much of the lend to its east). The name of one of the sons of Japheth.
The word “chief” is “ro’sh” which some say means Russia but cannot be proven. However, Meschech does appear possible to refer to the area around Moscow in Russia.
Meshech – Originally said by some to be Meskheti (a province of Georgia which is just south of Russia, on the east side of the Black Sea (or in that general area). Later opinions say it is Moscow. There was a son of Japheth named Meshech, and some Russian tradition claims that Moscow was founded by King Mosokh son of Japheth (that is, Meshech) which was named after him and his wife, Kva. (Moscow is properly known as Moskva.)
Tubal – Also the name of a son of Japheth. Said to be Tabal, an Anatolian state also associated with the area of modern-day Turkey.  They were said to be the neighbours of the Mushki (of Meshech).

Ezekiel 38:3-43And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 4And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts [of armour, even] a great company [with] bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
It won’t be left up to these armies from the north to decide if they want to come, because God will give them no choice.

Ezekiel 38:55Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
Persia – Iran
Ethiopia and Libya – Some say that this is Egypt and surrounding countries, but Ethiopia here is Cush. Cush was the oldest son of Ham, and Mizraim (= Egypt) was his brother. Libya would be much the same as Libya today. Cush may also include the land of Yemen. Egypt isn’t specifically mentioned but other biblical references strongly suggest that Egypt will be included in this huge largely-islamic army.

Ezekiel 38:66Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: [and] many people with thee.
Gomer – The name of Japtheth’s oldest son. Said to be the Cimmerians of southern Russia, to the east of the Black Sea. Josephus placed Gomer and the “Gomerites” in Anatolian Galatia. Anatolia is mostly the same as Turkey today and Galatia is in this area. (Galatia was an area of Anatolia settled by the Gauls of Europe, thus the name Galatia.)
Togarmah – A descendant of Japheth, he was associated with Anatolia; his descendants may include Armenians and Georgians.
Note Genesis 10:2-32The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. 3And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

Ezekiel 38:77Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
This appears to be spoken to all these armies gathering together against Israel: Be ready, be prepared (all you nations and peoples) for the time when God draws you into battle against Israel.

Israel will be attacked by Palestine and southern Lebanon

Joel 3 (which deals with the tribulation, leading up to Armageddon) commences with a condemnation of the coasts of Palestine plus Tyre and Sidon (southern Lebanon today). God prophesies that the “payback” that Israel’s enemies demand of her will end up being “payback” for her enemies (upon their own heads!).
Joel 3:4Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly [and] speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

Other nations will see Israel’s riches as spoils of war

Israel has been gathered out of the nations (probably referring to 1948) and has gathered much goods and possessions, which the enemy will see as spoils of war. (Ezekiel 38:11-12)

Ezekiel 38:13Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
Sheba and Dedan of Arabia, and Tarshish possibly a Phoenician port in Spain and associated with the Phoenicians, are all trading nations. These are merchant nations seeking to take a share of the spoils. Like vultures they will seek profit from the misery of others.

This mighty army will seek to destroy Israel with superior numbers

Israel may consider that she can protect herself safely because of her superior weaponry and tactics. But this mighty army will attack in such huge numbers that they will cover the land. (“as a cloud to cover the landEzekiel 38:16) in order to overwhelm Israel’s perceived superiority. And God says that this is all according to His plan which He spoke to the prophets, and that the other nations will know that this is the hand of God (Ezekiel 38:14-17). It is clear that many of Israel will die when the enemy attacks, but this mighty army from the north will cause great fury with God who will oppose them in demonstration of His sovereignty so that many nations will see the hand of God and know that He is indeed God. (Ezekiel 38:18-23)
Psalm 2:4He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

It is when Israel is attacked by this huge army that will draw the antichrist with his forces (most likely from Europe) to make a covenant to protect Israel – see below.

Today Israel has limited time before Iran produces nuclear weapons that would shift the balance of power away from Israel.

This army attacks and 5 out of every 6 of them will die
(alternatively it could mean that the whole army is drawn to total extermination)

Ezekiel 39:1-21Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 2And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
This army that attacks Israel from the north will be huge but only one sixth of this army will ever return to their land again. 83.3% will die on the mountains of Israel. This will literally be a slaughter!
Some commentaries say that it actually reads “I will turn you around and lead you on.” The term used is shawshaw. It is only used once in the OT and could be based on the number six (= shishshah), or it could be based on being led or drawn into a situation (note that shabah = to be led captive). However, we do read further down that there will be so many corpses that they will take 7 months to bury them all (Ezekiel 39:11-16). This huge army that attacks Israel will be slaughtered.

Also note Ezekiel 39:3-43And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 4Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that [is] with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and [to] the beasts of the field to be devoured. This does indeed suggest that all in that army that attacks Israel shall be killed on the mountains of Israel.
Ezekiel 39:5Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord God.6And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I [am] the Lord.
There will be corpses everywhere!

Israel will burn the weapons left by the enemy for 7 years

Israel will be burning the weapons of the enemy for 7 years (Ezekiel 39:9-10). This is significant because the culmination of this battle appears to be the trigger that sets this final 7 years counting down toward the end (at Armageddon). It is uncertain how they will burn modern weapons, but possibly this is symbolic of the utter defeat of the enemy, or symbolic of the destruction of all the enemy’s weaponry.

It could involve nuclear or similar weaponry

Ezekiel 39:6And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles (or coastal regions): and they shall know that I [am] the Lord.

This does seem to suggest that God causes fire to be sent upon the countries from where these armies came. This may explain Damascus (capital of Syria) being turned into a heap of ruins as prophesied (Isaiah 17:1). It hasn’t happened yet, and it does suggest atomic warfare.

The heathen will know that God is the God of Israel and they are His people

Ezekiel 39:7So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
God has prophesied this and it will happen in order to prove that God is sovereign and that Israel is still His people. Therefore God is saying to take note, all you heathen!

God will purify Israel by subjecting them to extreme affliction

This final 7-year period (yet in the future) will be the greatest tribulation that they will ever face, purifying them in the fire so to speak. Israel being purified in the furnace of affliction to be acceptable to holy God.
Zechariah 13:9And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It [is] my people: and they shall say, The Lord [is] my God.
Isaiah 48:10Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
Psalm 66:10-12 10For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. 11Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. 12Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy [place].

Israel will be God’s people forever after this

In spite of their sin, God has covenanted to bring them back as a nation (after 70 weeks of years – note Daniel 9:24) and therefore it will certainly happen (Ezekiel 39:25-29).

Ezekiel 37:24-28 –  24And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever. 26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

The antichrist will lead a European army into battle to save Israel
The antichrist will lead a “ten-kingdom” army from the revived Roman empire. This revived empire will be largely based upon the nations ruled by the Roman empire of the past. See Revelation 17:9-14 (where the seven mountains refers to Rome which is known as the city of Seven Hills) and Daniel 2:40-44 (where the ten toes of clay and iron are the ten kingdoms that will serve the antichrist). The antichrist will be a ruler (or prince) of the same nation that destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. “and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; …..  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week” (from Daniel 9:26-27). That is, the nation of the coming prince (the antichrist) will be that nation (the Romans) that destroyed the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the Temple), and he (the antichrist) will make a covenant with Israel for one week (in the context of this passage this clearly means a week of years, or 7 years). The antichrist will arise from the old Roman Empire, therefore most likely from Europe, and will make a covenant with Israel for 7 years.

This covenant will most likely be made after the huge army attempts to wipe Israel out, and the ensuing massive death toll of that enemy army will probably be largely due to the antichrist coming to the aid of Israel.

Current world politics suggest that these end-times may be almost upon us

When we look at current world politics, we see that Russia is trying to take Ukraine, probably the port of Odessa on the Black Sea, which would make it easier to attack Israel. Its principal ally is Syria with Iran (Persia) providing a lot of weaponry, especially drones etc. All the nations listed in Ch.38 are strongly opposed to Israel, with many being islamic. Last year Turkey was staying neutral on the Ukraine situation, but this year a warning has gone out, especially in Israel, strongly advising tourists to avoid Turkey due to militancy. And currently Turkey is strongly opposed to Israel. The current Israel/Palestine unrest has increased dramatically since October 7th last year and even now some extremist Israeli politicians are calling for Israel to use atomic warfare to wipe out Gaza. The current Israeli govt is refusing to use such extreme measures, although this might change if Iran were to look like gaining nuclear weapons. Syria and Iran also play a large part in assisting with opposing Israel, and Iraq is likely to join them. Is it possible that Israel might try to hit Syria’s capital, Damascus (Isaiah 17:1) with a bomb, in retaliation for terrorist acts, especially if Syria is seen to be behind a massive terrorist action maybe in the near future? Ezekiel 38-39 might be happening soon, if not already! It wouldn’t take much for Iran to come into the action, with Russia and her northern allies joining in, noting that Russia already works closely with both Syria and Iran.

And God will draw them by their jaws (Ezekiel 38:4), indicating that when the time comes they will be drawn to their defeat whether they like it or not.

News reports today are suggesting that if Israel were to provoke Gaza (or the Arab world in general) more severely than she has already, it might draw islamic fighters from other nations around the world, drawing them in to a holy war (as many of Israel’s enemies  see it). Note – as of August 1 2024 the assassination by Israel of 2 major terrorist leaders now threatens to escalate into a major war in the Middle East. Is Israel attempting to trigger a war before Iran manages to get nuclear weaponry? For, it is certain that Iran is currently striving to produce such, and possibly Israel considers it better to fight a war before Iran gains nuclear weapons.

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Addendum

The Anderson timeline calculations are grossly incorrect!

Anderson calculated that if we assume the old Jewish calendar year to be 360 days (and not the solar calendar year of 365.25 days), then he could adjust the number of days to determine the exact day (as long as he had exact starting and completion points). He decided on a certain date of the commandment in 445 BC, then, by assuming 32 AD as the year of the crucifixion, claimed the date of Palm Sunday to be April 6th 32 AD. Then by certain mathematical manipulations, he then claimed to have established the exact number of days involved, and then claimed that they ended exactly upon the date of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem in 32 AD.

But he made two gross errors of judgment here.

Firstly, he assumed that Jesus was born at zero years (effectively meaning that 1 AD was His first year). But the Herod who ordered the death of boys up to 2 years old in Bethlehem, died in 4 BC, according to historical records. Thus Jesus could not have been born after 4 BC. This would put Anderson’s calculations out by at least 3 years.

Secondly, his assumption of 360 days per Jewish year failed to take into account that the Jews in the Old Testament regularly added a month to their year when their seasons began going out of time with the calendar (noting that the Passover, a spring festival, typically commenced on the first full moon after the northern vernal equinox). So, every 5 or 6 years they would add an extra month of 30 days, making those years 390 days instead of the 360 days. Effectively, their Jewish years in the long term were no different in length to our solar year calendars.

Even today the Jewish calendar works on 6 x 29-day months plus 6 x 30-day months, a total of 354 days in their year. “The solution is to periodically insert an extra (thirty-day) month into a year, creating a thirteen-month year. Such a year is called a shanah meuberet (“pregnant year”) in Hebrew; in English we call it a leap year, and it makes up all the lunar calendar’s lost days. It happens about once every three years.” (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/526875/jewish/The-Jewish-Calendar-Year.htm)

So we may correctly assume that 483 Jewish calendar years were the same as (equivalent to) 483 of our solar years of 365.25 days each today.

Freemason sin in the family

What to do with freemason sin in your family

In fact, this post will explain how to deal with the fall-out from any form of satanism in your immediate ancestry. In particular, I will look at how to cope with the evil consequences of freemasonry on your family. For freemasonry is a satanic evil that continues to bind so many families under the curse that God placed upon such worship. If you as a Christian can understand the situation that freemasons covenant on behalf of their families, then you’ll better understand how to deal with its evil.

God promises consequences for those who worship false gods

The 2nd commandment is very explicit concerning the consequences of worshipping false gods on the families of such people.
Exodus 20:4-54Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth: 5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;

False god worship is opposed to the worship of the God of the Bible

We may assume, quite biblically, that any serious worship of any god, other than the one true God of the Bible, is therefore effectively worshipping satan. (Many of satan’s demons represent false gods, but worshipping demons is still effectively worshipping satan.) Such false gods would include anything to do with the occult (= hidden or secret), witchcraft and satanism. However, it would also include any serious commitment to worship a god who was not the God of the Bible. This would include all false religions, including the plethora of cults that declare they are Christian but are definitely not of Christ. You really have two choices in this world today: to be with Christ, or against Him. “He that is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30)

But what is serious worship?

It is one thing to dabble in occult things and another to be committed as a servant of such. One (especially a Christian) should never dabble at all in anything occult or satanic, such as witchcraft, seances, astrology, divining, etc. Such activity will degrade your Christian witness. Even attending a false-teaching church group should be avoided. But it is more serious when you commit yourself to the service and support of such things, such as becoming a member, or making a solemn vow, or signing a contract, undergoing an initiation, or any form of binding commitment to such worship (including the teaching of that false religion).

Freemasonry is worshipping a false god.

False-god worship would have to include freemasonry which is actually the largest witchcraft organisation in the world today. To join freemasonry, you have to make a very serious commitment to uphold and support all its requirements. This is reinforced by having to undergo an occult initiation ceremony. Once a member, you are now breaking the 2nd commandment and are subject to its consequences. And, not only are you subject to those consequences, you have also committed your family (to the 3rd and 4th generation) to suffering God’s promise to visit them with your iniquity.

If you join freemasons, your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will suffer.

Your iniquity in joining a satan-worshipping organisation will also apply to your family. God will visit “the iniquity of the fathers (that’s you) upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation]” You will certainly suffer for your false-god worship. But this suffering will also be applied to your descendants.
The 3rd and 4th generation simply depends upon what you call the 1st generation. If you are the 1st, then your children are 2nd, grandchildren are 3rd and great-grandchildren are 4th. However, if your children are the 1st generation (after you), then the next two generations are the 2nd and 3rd.

This iniquity will affect them spiritually.

While the iniquity may not prevent your family from becoming Christians, it may affect them in their service to God as Christians, even if they themselves are not in any way part of this false-god worship. Note that illegitimate children were prohibited from entering the congregation of the Lord to the 10th generation (Deuteronomy 23:2). This would have referred to service for the Lord God; they could be God’s people but probably prevented from serving God in the temple, for example. And also note carefully that being illegitimate could never have been their fault! But, they still suffered for it. Never think for one minute that your decisio0n will affect only you!

A satanic contract will involve demons

If you make a satanic contract with the god of freemasonry, you’ll certainly involve demons, not only in your life but the lives of your family down to your great grandchildren. Such demons are named ancestral spirits or generational demons. They are contracted via that covenant you make with freemasonry. Effectively, your freemason membership will infect your family with demons.

Paul had a similar problem with a demon

Most Christians are aware of Paul’s statement “there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me” (2 Corinthians 12:7). Most Christians try to explain this as a physical weakness (such as eyesight) in Paul. But that word “messenger” is the same word (aggelos) as used for “angels” in most NT occurrences, including “angels” in “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” (Matthew 25:41). aggelos means “messenger”; angels are spiritual messengers, and can be either good (= God’s angels) or evil (= demons).
What Paul was really saying was that he had been given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of satan to buffet him.

Was Paul’s thorn in the flesh a demon sent by satan?

If Paul’s thorn in the flesh were really a demon sent to torment him, then why would Paul, such a godly man, have been given it? Keep in mind that God visits the iniquity of the father upon his descendants (2nd commandment), and that this can involve generational demons by reason of the covenant that a person has with worshipping satan. Therefore, we should see if Paul’s family had covenanted to worship satan. And the answer is Yes: Paul’s family did indeed worship satan. They were pharisees whom Jesus declared to be the children of the devil. “Ye are of [your] father the devil” (John 8:44).

Paul was born into a family of pharisees, the sons of the devil

Paul said, “I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee” (Acts 23:6) and Jesus said, “Ye (the pharisees) are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” (John 8:44) The pharisees here are described as children of satan and therefore were effectively accused by Jesus of breaking the 2nd commandment to not worship false gods. Paul was born into such a family and was a pharisee himself; therefore he was a covenanted servant of satan, as well as being born into a family that had covenanted to worship satan. There would have certainly been demonic influence on Paul’s life.

But Paul was saved and therefore set free, wasn’t he?

Yes, Paul was set free by entrusting his life to Jesus Christ. But then, why did he ask God 3 times to remove that satanic messenger (= demon) from his flesh, only for God to refuse to do so, but instead to provide him with grace to bear it? (2 Corinthians 12:8-9) It does appear possible that a satanic covenant can abide even after a person becomes a Christian!

The messenger of satan was embedded in Paul’s flesh like a thorn.

This is the key to it all. Paul faced a constant battle between his spiritual life and his old flesh nature (Romans 7:14-25). It was the old flesh nature that kept hanging upon him. He couldn’t get rid of it.
So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25)
And it was the old flesh nature where this thorn embedded in the flesh had its effect.

To avoid this thorn in the flesh affecting him, Paul had to walk in the Spirit.

Paul recognised that walking after the Spirit was the answer, not walking after the flesh. While he still fell into sin via the flesh, Paul knew that his desire was to walk after the Spirit, for in that was the victory he knew he needed.
Romans 8:1[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Many churches teach that we must simply renounce evil such as freemasonry in the family.

My father was a freemason (and also a calvinist Presbyterian elder), and my mother came from an upper class Scottish family where most men were expected to become freemasons. I grew up with this burden. While growing up, I found life quite confusing. There was never a time when I doubted that a sovereign God existed, yet I could never accept His control. My life was cluttered with conflict, so much so that I ended up withdrawing from much of social life. After I became a Christian at age 19, I could see that something was really out of place in my life. After finding out about the evil of freemasonry in my family, I wanted to cut this out of my life. I believed what I was taught by the church, that in order to remove the burden of freemasonry from my life, I had to fully renounce it and all its evil. Then, I was assured, I would be alright.

Just renouncing freemasonry in my family didn’t really work

But the conflict in my life just continued on and on. It was hard to actually define but it was real and it was there! Of course, if freemasonry introduces generational demons to the freemason’s descendants, then they are there by covenant of the freemason with satan and, as a legal contract, cannot be overruled by just tearing it up. No matter how much I renounced the evil of freemasonry in my life, the conflict just kept on happening.

The only way to escape it was to not walk in the flesh

As Paul demonstrated, breaking free from the old flesh nature was the answer to breaking free from that which was embedded in the old flesh nature. Renouncing the evil of freemasonry is good, but it can have little effect unless you are prepared to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.
Romans 8:4-54That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
It means being squeaky-clean, like walking a tightrope, not permitting any swaying to the side at all. Now, being absolutely free of sin seems to be an impossibility (and Paul did note this in Romans 7:14-25), but the Christian affected by any generational demons such as with freemasonry must be prepared to strive for that perfection of life.

God’s grace is certainly necessary to be a squeaky-clean Christian

Instead of taking away the demon embedded in Paul’s flesh nature, God simply said, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9) so that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

Generational demons can be involved with any satanic worship, not just freemasonry

Paul’s generational demon (ancestral spirit) would have been due to his family’s pharisee background. Covenanting with satan and his demons to worship a false god (occult, heretical belief systems, witchcraft etc) will invite demonic oppression for both you and your family. Yes, if you wish to be a freemason, then that’s your choice. But are you aware that in doing so you will commit your family and descendants to demonic oppression as well? And if you, as a Christian, happen to be born into a family that has covenanted to give you that demonic oppression, then the only real solution is to be as squeaky-clean a Christian as possible.
The problem with such inherited demonic oppression is that it has some right to be there simply because your ancestor covenanted to serve satan. You may not be able to deny the demonic contract, but you can keep them at bay by not giving in to their temptations. Note well what James says: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) Many will say that this means to we cannot suffer spiritual warfare against us by demons. But if a demon has permission from God to attack us, how may we make it flee. Note well that satan was given permission by God to attack Job. Thus the context of James 4:7 is actually dealing with temptation; read the whole passage carefully. Such demons can only hit us when we stray into their territory by giving in to temptations set before us. Stay clear of temptations and we can stay clear of any demon covenanted to our lives.

How does one try to be squeaky-clean?

To stay squeaky-clean, one must be prepared to assess all thoughts and actions according to biblical teachings. It must not just sound OK, but if there’s any question at all about anything, then it must be tested against biblical teachings. Our thinking can at times be misplaced, especially if we are tempted to desire something, but only the Bible may be trusted (even ahead of our thinking!) to assess good from evil. We might think our thinking is acceptable (it is often all too easy to convince ourselves that a sin is actually necessary!), but if it could be questionable according to the Bible, then don’t proceed, or, if you cannot stop yourself, proceed with extreme caution (this option is certainly not preferred nor recommended). It is best to not do something than to later on wish you had been more discerning in the first place.

Don’t be tempted to see what false-god worship is like

The Hebrews in the desert were warned to not be curious about what it was like to worship false gods. They were told to not ask, “How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.” (Deuteronomy 12:30) So, don’t let curiosity lead you to dabble with evil things. Do not ask, “What would it be like if I …….?” etc. Just leave it alone, not only for your sake but for the sake of your family. For once you start playing with unclean things, you will end up contaminated by them. “Clean” never makes unclean clean; rather, “unclean” always makes clean unclean! (Haggai 2:11-14) And you will spread that contamination to your family!

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments may be recorded on the Comments page. However, I may choose to reply to reasonable comments via email.

List of all my posts on this site.

If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

Sermons and Messages

Calvinist heretics & heresies

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However, due to the lack of logical comments, most comments will not be recorded.

Four-point calvinists believe in universal salvation

Four-point calvinists believe in a universal salvation for all mankind

Yes, that’s right! Calvinists who believe that Jesus died for the sins of all mankind without exception actually believe in a universal salvation for all mankind, because:
(a) Four-point calvinists do not believe in limited atonement; they believe that Jesus died for all mankind without exception.
and (b) calvinism teaches that no-one whose sins have been paid for will ever be sent to hell to pay for their sins.
Therefore (c) if the atonement is for all mankind, then no-one will ever go to calvinist hell; they will all go to calvinist heaven.

Limited atonement is impossible to defend biblically
You see, of the five points of calvinism (commonly referred to as TULIP), limited atonement (“L”) is the most difficult to swallow. Full 5-point calvinism teaches that Jesus only died for the sins of those whom their God has chosen for heaven; the calvinist Jesus didn’t die for any others at all. However, the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus died for all the sins of all mankind without exception (1 John 2:1-2). It is therefore impossible for calvinists to biblically defend their heresy of limited atonement for the elect only.

Many calvinists reject limited atonement
Because the Bible clearly teaches full atonement for the sins of all mankind without exception (1 John 2:1-2), many calvinists, sick of trying to defend their non-biblical “limited atonement” belief, accept the biblically correct “full atonement for all sins”. They thus reject the calvinist limited atonement (while continuing to accept the other 4 points (T, U, I, P). Consequently they declare themselves to be “Four-point calvinists”.

No-one ever goes to hell to pay for their sins
MacArthur (that false teacher so beloved by calvinists) says: “If Jesus actually paid in full the penalty for your sins, you’re not going to go to hell, that would be double jeopardy.” But MacArthur is so wrong here! No-one at all ever goes to hell to pay for their sins. You go because you refused the free pardon for sin offered by God by not calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13).

It is impossible to pay for even one sin in hell, ever
Just think it through carefully! If you could pay for even one single sin in hell, then, given enough time, you could pay for every one of your sins. There’s no time limit; you will have eternity to pay for those sins. But there is no escape from hell, no matter how many works you achieve to pay for any number of sins. Your sins are not infinite, but your time in hell is indeed infinite. Not one person will ever pay for even one single sin in hell, ever. 

No escape from hell even if you did pay for your sins
Even if it were possible to pay for your sins in hell (you do have eternity to do so!), you could never escape from hell and go to heaven. What then would be the point of paying for your sins in hell? Hell is a place of torment, not redemption. Redemption is what you seek in this life, not the next!

No amount of works will ever permit you to escape hell
Romans 4:4-5 makes it very clear that you go to hell because you decided to trust in your works to get you off the charge of sin. It is those who trust in Christ for their righteousness who will be admitted to heaven, none other at all.

You must choose in this life to trust in your works, or in Christ, for salvation
Romans 4:4-5 gives mankind his two options in this life for his eternal future:
(a) to trust in your own works (and be found in debt before God as Judge – Vs 4). You will go to hell.
or (b) to believe on him that justifies the ungodly (and your faith will be accounted as your righteousness – Vs 5) You will be admitted to heaven.

The catholic purgatory permitted payment for sins
Keep in mind that Calvin never left the catholic church. He taught that the catholic baptism (and no other) was necessary for salvation, and that salvation could only be found within the walls of the Mother Church (which he defined as the catholic church). He wished to see reform in the catholic church, thus the term “Reformation”. Catholicism teaches that those of the church who die with unforgiven sins will enter purgatory before being permitted to enter heaven. Those outside the catholic church would all be sent straight to hell for eternity with no option at all for purgatory.
Purgatory (from a word meaning to cleanse or purge) was where you paid for those sins yet unpaid for, a purification process; and only the pure could enter heaven.

Calvinism has its own purgatory
Calvinism redefines purgatory as a place (the calvinist hell) where the non-elect go to pay for their sins. It’s like purgatory and hell combined. You go there to pay for your sins, yet also exist there in torment for eternity.
It is clear that calvinism has drawn much of their false teaching from the catholic church, and no wonder, for both Calvin and the catholic church built much of their teachings upon Augustine’s writings.
However, the catholic purgatory never has and never will exist. It is not in the Bible anywhere; instead it is an invention used to control the members of their church.

MacArthur says that full atonement in calvinism means universal salvation
That “hero of the faith” MacArthur says: “If you believe that Jesus paid in full the penalty for all the sins of all the people who ever lived, then you have to be a universalist.” Of course, he vehemently teaches that the atonement is limited. His reasoning is that the atonement could not have been for everyone or else we’d all go to heaven. Therefore, he says, there must be a hell for those who still need to pay for their own sins. “So the Bible promises there is a hell. The only way to avoid it is to not die in your sins. And to not die in your sins, you have to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you don’t, you’re going to pay the penalty of eternal destruction. That proves that the atonement is limited. It does not apply universally. God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited. Now we all have to accept that or be universalists.
For MacArthur, an atonement for all mankind without exception would result in all mankind going to heaven and not one soul lost in hell.

Five-point calvinism teaches that Jesus only died for the sins of their God’s elect
Therefore, if Jesus died for the sins of all mankind without exception, then all mankind without exception are on the calvinist God’s list of his elect. Again MacArthur says: “Is the death of Christ a work that potentially saves willing sinners or is it a work that actually provides salvation for unwilling sinners who by God’s sovereign grace will be made willing?” MacArthur then teaches that it is an actual salvation for all whom Jesus died for, saying: “Jesus’ death then is to be understood as a full satisfaction to God’s holy justice on behalf of all whom God will save.

Therefore four-point calvinists must believe in universal salvation
They reason correctly that Jesus must have died for all sin of all mankind exactly as the Bible teaches. But in calvinist teaching, this would mean that no-one would go to hell, and therefore everyone would go to heaven. In fact, a four-point calvinist must believe that no-one actually goes to hell, and that all mankind ultimately goes to heaven.

A challenge to calvinists
If you consider my statements here to be biblically and logically incorrect, then are you brave enough to be willing to challenge me concerning my argument re four-point calvinists? Or, if you are not able to challenge my reasoning here, then do you accept the charge that four-point calvinists must accept the doctrine of universal salvation for all mankind?

(All quotes from MacArthur are from “The doctrine of actual atonement”, Pt 1)

Addendum: Some extra points to consider for those less than five-point calvinists.

(a) If Jesus died for all mankind without exception (1 John 2:1-2), then why does the calvinist God choose only a few of them for heaven. What is the point of paying for the sins of all mankind if most of them cannot ever benefit from such payment? It is clear that calvinism must rely upon those of the elect being exactly the same group who have had their sins paid for. Why would Jesus need to die for anyone who wasn’t chosen to go to heaven (as one of the calvinist God’s unconditional elect)? Why pay for anyone’s sins if they have been foreordained by the calvinist God to go to hell to pay for their sins there? Why give all mankind a free ticket to calvinist heaven while at the same time sending most of them to hell to pay for those “free” tickets?

There is no logical nor scriptural answer to these questions.

A doctrine of full atonement for all mankind would destroy the heresy of a calvinist elect unconditionally chosen by their God. And because full atonement is biblically correct, then doesn’t this therefore destroy calvinism? Truly, all it takes to demonstrate that calvinism is a doctrine of devils is to reveal the heresy of limited atonement. Take away limited atonement and calvinism falls like a house of cards!

(b) The biblical truth is that Jesus died for the sins of all mankind without exception to make all mankind potentially saveable, and that to be actually saved one must call upon the name of the Lord to be saved, as per Romans 10:13. The free will of mankind to choose this day whom he will serve is what determines who actually goes to heaven and therefore who goes to hell. Those who do not choose to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved are condemned already until they do so call (John 3:18). It is your free will in this life that will determine your destination in the next.

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments may be recorded on the Comments page. However, I may choose to reply to reasonable comments via email.

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If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

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However, due to the lack of logical comments, most comments will not be recorded.

Review of Living Springs Baptist Church, Rockbank, Victoria

Review of Living Springs Baptist Church, Rockbank, Victoria

Once upon a time, Living Springs Baptist Church used to be a conservative biblical church in the western suburbs of Melbourne. That now seems to be a long way in the past. It was bad enough that over the years it should develop an unhealthy preference for Hillsong-type music over standard godly music. (Hillsong is a huge music-producing industry that is seemingly totally focussed upon (even obsessed with) making money rather than making and building Christians. Those churches who flock to the support of Hillsong music should be more discerning regarding the actual Christian witness – or lack of it – at Hillsong itself.) This slide of Living Springs into apostate music was certainly a put-off for the genuine Christian who sought to worship God and Him alone.

But when Living Springs permitted reform belief (calvinism) (via local calvinist church: GraceWest Bible Church) to permeate its beliefs, it crossed that line in the sand that divided Christian from non-Christian. It was apparent that GraceWest exerted a significant calvinist influence on Living Springs. One look at the Living Springs Facebook page makes it clear what side of that line in the sand they now occupy.

They trumpet forth the calvinist dogma of the “solas”. Along with other calvinists they say that salvation is “In Christ Alone”, yet calvinism requires that a person be born again (they call it being regenerated) before one may call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. But how may one be born again “In Christ Alone” before responding to Christ’s call to be saved? I quote from an email from a member of Living Springs church (18/01/2017): “John 3: 3. (man must be born again first before he can repent and believe.) In this super clear verse our Lord and saviour himself tells Nicodemus that he cannot even see the kingdom of God unless he is born again first, surely that puts to rest that regeneration must take place first and foremost.” And yet, doesn’t 2 Corinthians 5:7 teach that faith is in opposition to sight?

I had a number of email discussions with this person who just couldn’t see the wood for the trees! I note that the Living Springs Facebook page regularly quotes from MacArthur, Sproul, Lawson, Spurgeon, etc, all of whom are considered calvinist heroes of the faith. This email-writing member was especially enamoured with the perfection of MacArthur’s teachings. When I pointed out (with much documentation) that MacArthur had misquoted and misused a Greek rule known as the Granville Sharp rule (see link to  “MacArthur is Wrong!” at end below), he wrote the following: “I must admit I am not too familiar with the Granville sharp rule (obviously!) and you have certainly done your research which I thank you for. (Note that he correctly admits his ignorance of the subject.)  I should do some researching myself when I get the opportunity, (True, he certainly should research a subject before he condemns it as false!) I’m thinking perhaps the rule itself can be interpreted in a way to suit one’s belief in whatever point one is trying to get across. (Really? This does seem to be a basic rule of calvinist Bible study: that with enough twisting of Bible verses you can make them appear to teach non-biblical doctrines! If you want a Bible verse to support your false doctrine, then, hey, find a rule and interpret it such that it supports the “point one is trying to get across”!)  There is one thing I am certain of and I have no reason to think otherwise and that is that I see no evidence that Macarthur would purposely mis-interpret anything to make his point. (What? No evidence? After I have documented MacArthur’s misinterpretation? This email-writer just did not research this topic seemingly because he has already determined that as MacArthur must be right, therefore I must be wrong – all this without even reading properly what I have written about it!)  I have read and listened to probably six or so different teachings from Macarthur (What, he’s read only six or so teachings from MacArthur? I’ve read much more than that. It does seem that the more I read of MacArthur, the more non-biblical teachings I come across.) and I see no error in his sermons or lectures (If he read them as thoroughly (ha ha!) as he read what I wrote, then he’s never going to see any error, ever!), he is a widely respected scholar theologian world wide (To calvinists maybe.) the only criticism seems to come from free will believing Christians which is fine but some of the criticism is out of line and I know we will find out the truth one day. But until someone can show me hard facts about some of the things Macarthur has supposedly said or done I will dismiss them. (And yet, after presenting him with these “hard facts”, he, according to his own admission, failed to research the subject sufficiently in the first place. Hard facts become irrelevant if they are ignored like this.)” (20/01/2017)

This email-writing member showed his calvinistic interpretative style a number of times. (He was foolish enough to put it in writing!) When I raised the topic of the foreknowledge of God (and presented biblical support), he took the typical calvinist viewpoint that denies God the right to foreknow future decisions of any kind being made by mankind. Piper, another calvinist, says: “God does not foreknow the free decisions of people to believe in him because there aren’t any such free decisions to know. …. As C.E.B. Cranfield says, the foreknowledge of Romans 8:29 is “that special taking knowledge of a person which is God’s electing grace.” Such foreknowledge is virtually the same as election: “Those whom he foreknew (i.e. chose) he predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” (from “What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism” Piper, 1998)

1 Peter 1:2 says that we are “Elect (chosen) according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”. Calvinism defines the election as those who are chosen from the beginning of time by God to live with him forever in heaven. But if they are chosen by God’s foreknowledge (as the Bible teaches), then this must be based upon those decisions which God knows will be made by man in the future concerning his salvation. This is the most straight-forward interpretation of 1 Peter 1:2. But God using His foreknowledge to determine future decisions for salvation denies calvinism’s teaching that it is God alone who chooses who gets saved. Calvinism teaches that where you go when you die has been predetermined by God from the beginning and that nothing you can do or say can ever change that, ever!

MacArthur re-interprets this foreknowledge as a predetermined relationship God has with his people. Therefore, to MacArthur, God’s foreknowledge can only apply to God’s people? Clearly MacArthur does interpret the Bible “in a way to suit one’s belief in whatever point one is trying to get across”!

When I quoted 1 Peter 1:2 to demonstrate that God chose His elect according to His foreknowledge of future decisions, this email-writer said: “You have misinterpreted 1 Pet 1:2a the word foreknowledge (foreknown) does not refer to awareness of what is going to happen (for God never learned anything, he already knows all things) but it clearly means a predetermined relationship in the knowledge of the Lord. …… Now if you can find me one verse where it can be emphatically  proven that God predestined his chosen elect because He first saw that we will choose him first, I will surrender in defeat.” (6/07/2018)

And yet the word “foreknowledge” in the Greek is prognosis which literally translates as “a knowing (of the future) beforehand”. Even today a doctor gives a medical prognosis which is literally a knowing beforehand what your medical condition might be in the future. In fact, the word prognosis was used as such by Hippocrates (known as the father of medicine) over 400 years before it was used in the New Testament.

Note that this email-writer probably got his false teaching from MacArthur who pushes this idea of foreknowledge being a relationship that God establishes with his people. Calvinists do strongly tend to mirror the teachings of their false-teaching “biblical heroes”!

As I noted earlier, the Facebook page of Living Springs clearly defines its doctrines as calvinist (or reformed). As such they will believe in the false doctrines of calvinism which claims “sola scriptura” (the Bible alone), yet uses so many other non-biblical sources to support its teachings. Note that according to the Bible alone, calvinism is a false doctrine, a doctrine of devils which removes all options for mankind to choose to call upon the Lord to be saved. Calvinism removes the need for the gospel, for evangelism in general, for missionaries, for outreach of any kind, because all these involve decisions that their God has already made from the beginning of time without any option for change, ever.

If any from Living Springs would like to debate this with me, then feel free to do so. Any discussion must be based on the Bible alone, of course. And (here’s a big problem for calvinists), there must be no changing the topic if the debate gets too uncomfortable. When I visited the above-mentioned email-writer at his home, he had a long list of topics to discuss. He introduced each topic in order, and, whenever he was unable to discuss a topic (that is, he had no satisfactory answer), he deftly (and sometimes not so deftly) changed to the next topic on the list. (It was likely that someone from GraceWest had carefully groomed him for this meeting.)

I remember introducing one topic: I asked him what he understood by 1 John 2:2 where it teaches that Jesus died, not only for the sins of all those who would be saved, but also for the sins of the whole world. This verse alone destroys any idea of an atonement limited only to those who would be chosen by the calvinist God. Calvinists are unable to defend their doctrine of limited atonement without openly denying the biblical truth of 1 John 2:2. So, I was curious to find out how he would deal with this verse.

He said that he didn’t know enough about this verse to give a satisfactory answer and immediately changed the topic to the next on his list. Like the JWs who come visiting with a prepared agenda, it was clear that this verse was not on his prepared list of discussion points, and just as clear that it had been purposely left off this list. That is, he was avoiding any discussion on this verse like the plague! So much for the Bible alone (sola scriptura)! If he had been any sort of genuine Bible student, he would have at least said he knew insufficient on this verse and would have offered to do some study on it so that we could continue discussion on it at some future date. But calvinists never like to promise to study and research a topic that they do not think they could defend satisfactorily if it has to be based upon the Bible alone. They prefer to change the topic to another that feels more comfortable to them. Calvinists are known for their ability to change the topic whenever they feel they might be losing the debate. And, if they can’t change the topic, then they will either challenge your credentials as a Bible teacher, or else refuse to discuss things any further with you. Anything that would get them out of the firing line! This Living Springs member was simply being a good calvinist. Like those JWs at the door, he knew how to change the topic, and how to move to an acceptable topic when an unacceptable topic was introduced. He was learning fast!

After many fruitless emails attempting to demonstrate the false teachings in calvinism, I gave up. You just can’t rescue everyone from heresy! In fact, to adapt a saying, you can always tell a calvinist ….. but not much! They are such know-it-alls that they “know” you are wrong even before you open your mouth! In the end I wrote him a final reply, which I also published on the website: “Final reply to a calvinist who just won’t listen” (see further down for the link)

At that time I also pointed out to a number of the Living Springs members (via email) some of the truths concerning MacArthur’s teachings on evangelism. There was no response; hearsay did suggest that the members had been warned by the “leadership” to avoid any discussion with me on the matter. It is clear, though, that the members were either not as biblical as they claimed to be, or else they didn’t want to get involved with any dissension. Their website soon after that stated that they were a like-minded sister church to GraceWest Bible Church, a local reformed (calvinist) church with whom they shared a number of facilities by then, including the pulpit. (The doctrinal statement of GraceWest was, at that time, almost identical to that of MacArthur’s church.)

After this adoption of calvinist heresy, Living Springs then taught some doctrinally questionable material from Todd Friel / Steven Lawson (both calvinists); Friel teaches the calvinist heresy that people who ask Jesus into their hearts are not saved and they will perish on the Day of Judgment. And Lawson is a calvinist who managed to significantly reduce the membership of a church in Mobile, Alabama, when he tried to force his calvinist doctrine upon those who would rather believe the Bible.

Then, if that weren’t enough, they committed the unforgiveable sin of using material by Gary Thomas which contained unacceptable blasphemies (is any blasphemy acceptable?). Thomas’ book “Sacred Marriage” quotes favourably from “Conjugal Spirituality” (by Mary Anne Oliver), a book that teaches how to use kundalini yoga and tantric sex, both of which involve demonism. Thomas also quotes from Friedrich Nietzsche (who teaches nihilism, and that God is dead). Gary Thomas elsewhere also advocates heresies such as contemplative and centering prayer (which is little more than crying out endless mantras to demons, a very un-Christian practice). He also wrote that “a healthy look at sex can provide fruitful meditation on our need and desire for God”! How is this Christian in any way?

It is apparent that Living Springs went downhill fast after they joined forces with GraceWest. I’m not suggesting that GraceWest advised on these ungodly teachers, but it is clear that the calvinism that Living Springs now embraces is not afraid to dabble in demonic teachings and sinful doctrines. A biblical doctrine should teach one to avoid the teachings of the world, to deny the world, not to love it.

Today’s Living Springs is very much resting upon the calvinist heresies of the Reformation. Keep in mind that Calvin never left the Catholic church, never renounced his Catholic membership, and that at all times he was merely trying to reform his church that he was yet a member of. Calvin also taught that it was his Catholic baptism that was the foundation of all salvation (which is why he persecuted the Anabaptists), and that there was no salvation to be found outside the walls of his Mother Church (which he defined as the Catholic church). Calvin remained a Catholic all his life!

If you are looking for a biblical church in the western suburbs of Melbourne, you would be well-advised to steer clear of Living Springs Baptist Church. If, however, you do decide to attend this church, please be very discerning in what you accept of their teachings. Read your Bibles and, like the Bereans of Acts 17:10-11, test all things and hold fast to that which is true (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Any who think that MacArthur is an honest god-fearing, biblical Christian should make up their own minds after reading the information contained in the following documents (in which I ask a number of questions concerning MacArthur).

Is MacArthur a Freemason?

MacArthur is Wrong!

MacArthur is Wrong – Again!

MacArthur teaches works salvation

And as far as sola scriptura (the Bible alone) is concerned, reformed belief (calvinism) would rather quote the Westminster Confession and/or one of their false teachers such as MacArthur. All I have to do to scare off calvinists is to request that they discuss issues with me from the Bible alone. They never do! Try The Westminster Confession – A Scholarly Critique.

For further information, also read Gary Thomas – New Age Teacher.

Link to Final reply to a calvinist who just won’t listen”.

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments may be recorded on the Comments page. However, I may choose to reply to reasonable comments via email.

List of all my posts on this site.

If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

Sermons and Messages

Calvinist heretics & heresies

Please feel free to comment on the Comments and contact page
Reasonable comments and replies may be recorded on the Comments page.

However, due to the lack of logical comments, most comments will not be recorded.

The Rapture

The pre-tribulation rapture enables Israel to fulfil her 70 weeks timeline

With this document I will demonstrate that the only logical time for the rapture is at the start of a seven-year tribulation, in order to remove the Church so that Israel can return to its timeline (according to Daniel 9:24-27) completed. The passage in Daniel is very important but must be consistently lined up with all other references to the same event.

1/. A period of seven years still remains on Israel’s timeline.

Daniel 9:24-2724Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
(For further study on the prophecies of Daniel 9:24-27, please go to Special Report on Daniel 9:24-27.)

This passage is critical to our understanding of the end-times timeline. It is clear that Daniel meant each day to represent a year. The command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was given to Ezra in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes (465 BC to 425 BC) – also known as Longimanus because his right hand was said to be longer than his left.
Ezra 7:11-1311Now this [is] the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, [even] a scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of his statutes to Israel. 12Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect [peace], and at such a time. 13I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and [of] his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.

This places the command around 458-457 BC. 69 times 7 years = 483 years takes us to around 27 AD, with the crucifixion (assuming Jesus was 33 years old) generally around 28-30 AD. So we can assume that Daniel’s prophecy means the time of Jesus the Messiah on earth after 49 weeks of years. Note that the uncertainty of the absolute date of that command, means that to arrive within one to three years of Jesus’ crucifixion has to be fairly conclusive! (And it is possible that the 483 years ended on Jesus’ baptism and His anointing to be their Messiah, as is noted by some. This viewpoint is certainly worth considering.) Thus Daniel’s prophecy leaves us just one week of years remaining of Israel’s timeline. (History notes that the Herod who ordered the deaths of boys in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18)  died in 4 BC, and the order by Augustus Caesar to tax the whole world (Luke 2:1) was given in 8 BC. This order may have taken up to 2-3 years to be carried out. Thus Jesus was probably born around 5 BC at the latest.)

The whole 70 weeks was to finish the transgression of Israel and to bring in everlasting righteousness. This hasn’t happened yet, nor will it until after Jesus returns to reign as King at Jerusalem for a thousand years (the Millennium). Thus, sometime between Jesus’ ministry on earth and the second coming is a seven year period (the last week of years) yet to run on Israel’s timeline. It is logical to assume that this will be the last seven years before their Messiah returns. Clearly it hasn’t happened yet! But one day yet in the future they will look upon Jesus as their Messiah.
Zechariah 12:10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.

The seven year period appears to be reinforced by Ezekiel in what appears to be the war that triggers Israel returning to God as His people.
Ezekiel 39:1-101Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshechand Tubal: 2And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: 3And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 4Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that [is] with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and [to] the beasts of the field to be devoured.  5Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord God. 6And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I [am] the Lord. 7So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this [is] the day whereof I have spoken. 9And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:  10So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down [any] out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.

We also have a number of times mentioned which correspond to around three and a half years, or in two cases with extra added on.
a time, times and a half” = 3½ years (Eg Daniel 12:7)
a time and times and the dividing of time” = 3½ years (Eg Daniel 7:25)
a thousand, two hundred and ninety days” = 3½ years plus 30 days (Eg Daniel 12:11)
thousand three hundred and five and thirty days” = 3½ years plus 75 days (Eg Daniel 12:12).

Also note “forty {and} two months” = 3½ years (Revelation 11:2)
a thousand two hundred {and} threescore days” 1260 days = 3½ years (Revelation 12:6).

It is generally accepted that the tribulation will last either for 3½ years or 7 years, depending on whether you determine the timespans to be concurrent or consecutive. On this basis, some determine the rapture to be either 3½ or 7 years before the second coming. Some consider the tribulation period to be 7 years with only the second half being a time of great suffering. However, a reasonably literal interpretation of the Bible has to assume a 7 year period left of Israel’s timeline between Jesus’ ministry on earth and the second coming. Therefore, because Israel has a 7-year period yet to go before the return of their Messiah, then the rapture must be 7 years before the 2nd coming. And, because the Church took the place of God’s people when Israel was put aside (read Romans 11), then the Church has likewise to be sidelined or removed in order for Israel to resume her position as God’s chosen nation for that remaining 7-year period.

2/. A complete unbroken 7 year period is indicated by Daniel.

Daniel 9:27aAnd he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation (offering) to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate,
overspreading – out of 108 usages in KJV, 74 are “wing” and 14 are “skirt”. It has the idea here of a thorough or complete spreading of abominations over all.

he” in Daniel 9:27 is “the prince that shall come” in Daniel 9:26.
Daniel 9:26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof {shall be} with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
In 70 AD the people of Rome destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple, and it shall be the prince of this same people (that is, the Romans) who will then confirm the covenant with Israel for that final week of years.

The idea appears to be that this prince (the antichrist) will make full use of abominations, causing them to serve his purposes to make the temple (or the city of Jerusalem) desolate. Daniel states that this prince of Rome, the antichrist, will set up abominations in the midst of his covenanted week with Israel, clearly using the offense to attempt to take greater control of Jerusalem and the temple in particular.

The abomination mentioned by Daniel is in the midst of the week of years. This verse says that he (the antichrist) will make a covenant or agreement with many (including Israel) for a week, apparently to reinstate the sacrifices in the temple. Note that the daily sacrifice is taken away when the abomination of desolation is set up (in the temple, in the middle of that covenant week).
Daniel 12:11And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

This 1290 days (Daniel 12:11) includes the 1260 days Israel is protected in the wilderness (Revelation 12:6).
Revelation 12:6And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days. (= 1260 days or 3½ years). Also in Revelation 12:14 it is recorded as “a time, and times, and half a time” (= 3½ years).That is, after the abomination in the midst of the week, a period of 3½ years follows until the lead-up to Armageddon and the second coming. This therefore has to also assume a corresponding period of 3½ years before the abomination.

The extra 30 days (of Daniel 12:11) appears to be the time taken for the 7 bowls of wrath of God leading up to Armageddon (Revelation 16). This is the culmination of the tribulation. It is likely that Israel, after being protected by God in the wilderness for 1260 days (3½ years) is brought back to Jerusalem to face the build-up to the battle of Armageddon, a time period of probably only 30 days. Thus the 1260 + 30 = 1290 days.

Jesus taught about the “abomination” of Daniel 9:27 and 12:11 as a real event yet in the future in Matthew 24.
Matthew 24:15-2215When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

(Luke 21 also appears to be talking about the same event. However, though many aspects are similar, he is really writing about the lead-up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD.)

Some say that Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy is of Antiochus IV Epiphanes who, in 167 BC, desecrated the temple.
…..the worship of Yahweh and all of the Jewish rites were forbidden on pain of death. In the Temple an altar to Zeus Olympios was erected, and sacrifices were to be made at the feet of an idol in the image of the King. (Encyc. Britannica)
He also allegedly sacrificed a pig on the temple altar to punish the Jews. However, Jesus talked about the abomination as yet in the future. It is likely, though, that Antiochus IV Epiphanes was a first level of the prophecy, yet still just a figure of the main event in the future. This often happens in prophecy.

Another passage in Daniel (8:13-14) appears to mention the tribulation, yet makes it 2300 days, a bit short of the seven years. Some commentators also say this relates instead to Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Antiochus is probably a type of the tribulation to come, but 2300 days is too short; yet some say the original read 2500 days. It is clear, though, from the context, that the 2300 refers to 2300 morning and evening sacrifices, and therefore could only apply to Antiochus’ violation of the daily sacrifices and not to the coming end-times.
Daniel 8:13-1413Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spake, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily[sacrifice], and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

Likewise, Daniel 11:31, which appears to be about Antiochus who is but a type of the antichrist; there is so much prophecy that is on two levels though.Daniel 11:31And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily {sacrifice}, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
Note also Daniel 7:25And he shall speak [great] words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Once again that 3½ years appears.)

3/. This final 7 year period is for Israel and not for the Church.

The Bible makes it clear that the Church has taken the place of a rejected Israel (Romans 11), being grafted as wild olive branches onto the natural rootstock of the olive tree representing Israel. However, it also makes it clear that Israel cannot be grafted back on again until the purpose for the Church to be on the olive tree is completed or fulfilled.

Romans 11:24-2724For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural [branches], be graffed into their own olive tree? 25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
fulnesspleroma (that which fills or with which a thing is filled:-
(a) of those things which a ship is filled, freight and merchandise, sailors, oarsmen, soldiers
(b) completeness or fullness of time. That is, the full complement or manifest of people are on board when the ship sails. Thus, the full complement of the Church (the Gentiles) must be included on the manifest so that the ship can depart and Israel can then “see” again and be saved. This will happen seven years before the second coming of Jesus.

There are those (primarily from a more reformed or calvinistic persuasion) who do not accept that Israel comes back onto her own timeline for the last seven years. They prefer to teach that there are three main covenants, the covenants of redemption, works, and grace, and that these covenants have then been transferred to the Church (which either stands in Israel’s place, or even totally replaces Israel). The two covenants of works and of grace are those which apply to mankind. This is called covenant theology.

Historical Reformed systems of thought treat covenant theology not merely as a point of doctrine or as a central dogma, but as the structure by which the biblical text organizes itself. (Wikipedia)

….. the Covenant of Redemption, is the agreement within the Godhead that the Father would appoint his son Jesus to give up his life for mankind and that Jesus would do so (cf. Titus 1:1-3). ….. the Covenant of Works, was made in the Garden of Eden between God and Adam and promised life for obedience and death for disobedience. Adam disobeyed God and broke the covenant, and so the third covenant was made between God and all of mankind, who also fell with Adam according to Romans 5:12-21. …. (the) third covenant, the Covenant of Grace, promised eternal blessing for belief in Christ and obedience to God’s word. …. Covenant theology has roots in the writings of Augustine and John Calvin (Institutes of the Christian Religion 2:9-11). https://www.theopedia.com/covenant-theology
(Note that the origin of covenant theology is here accorded to Augustine and Calvin, the main instigators of the heretical calvinist theology.)

Covenant theology is also clearly outlined in Chapter 7 of the Westminster Confession (a declaration of calvinist or reformed beliefs).

In the covenant of grace, God freely offers to sinners (that is, those who fail to live up to the covenant of works) eternal life and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Covenant theology is often seen as Replacement theology; that is, the covenants remain in place, but the Church replaces Israel as the one with whom God makes the covenants. The covenant theology supporters say “Replacement theology” is an incorrect label and that there isn’t a sharp distinction between the Church and Israel.
The following is from a calvinist-oriented website:
Some have accused Covenant Theology as teaching what is called “Replacement Theology” (i.e., the Church replaces Israel). This couldn’t be further from the truth. Unlike Dispensationalism, Covenant Theology does not see a sharp distinction between Israel and the Church. Israel constituted the people of the God in the OT, and the Church (which is made up of Jew and Gentile) constitutes the people of God in the NT; both just make up one people of God (Ephesians 2:11-20). The Church doesn’t replace Israel; the Church is Israel and Israel is the Church (Galatians 6:16). All people who exercise the same faith as Abraham are part of the covenant people of God (Galatians 3:25-29). https://www.gotquestions.org/covenant-theology.html

Thus, in covenant theology, Israel ceases to exist separately from the Church. That is, in prophetical passages concerning Israel, the Church has taken on the role of Israel, including all the actions and responsibilities. Some, though, teach that Israel has ceased as a people of God, and that the Church has completely replaced Israel; that is, every time Israel is mentioned after her rejection, it is really the Church that is involved. Extreme views of this are held by such as the British Israelites, although strict calvinists generally believe in this also. Others, though, including many calvinists, teach that Israel and the Church have merged such that both co-exist as “The Church”, with Israel losing sovereignty to The Church, especially in the end-times. However, most old-fashioned reform (calvinist) beliefs not only wipe Israel off the religious calendar completely; they also go further and remove the event that follows the tribulation, the millennium reign of Christ. Thus, they do not believe in a literal millennial reign of Jesus. This view is termed amillennialism. Presbyterian and other reform belief, such as Dutch Reform, fall into this category.

However, the above (largely reform) views have no place for a literal or real rapture. Where Israel is mentioned (for example, in Revelation), it really means the Church which has either merged with Israel or completely replaced Israel. Some believe the rapture is symbolic and that when the Messiah returns, He will redeem all His people, and others believe that the rapture occurs just before the second coming, such that Jesus comes with clouds (of believers, that is). Much of this is believed by reformed or calvinist people.

Therefore, we will dismiss a rapture at the end of the tribulation as non-scriptural. Such an event presupposes that Israel is no longer a separate entity from the Church. However, many fundamentalists still maintain that the rapture will be 3½ years before the end, that is, around the time when the abomination is set up. They look at passages such as Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 to support their views. However, they must assume that such passages are discussing more than just Israel (covenant theology may still be a problem in their thinking here) whereas it does seem clear that Jesus was talking about Israel in each case, noting the connection of the Matthew 24 and Mark 13 passages with Revelation 12 where Israel flees into the wilderness for 1260 days during the tribulation. Note too that Luke 21 is about something that occurs before the Great Dispersion which occurred after 70 AD.
Luke 21:24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Also note that where it discusses what appears to be the rapture in Matthew 24:37-42, it is a different section of that passage. For if Matthew 24:15-22 is talking about those people of God who must flee for their lives (it is clear that Israel is indicated here), then why flee if those people of God are also going to be snatched away (raptured) instead? Thus there are two separate events involving two separate groups of people here, (a) Israel which has to flee when they see the abomination, and (b) the Church which will be snatched away (raptured) 3½ years before this.
Matthew 24:37-4237But as the days of Noe (Noah) [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe (Noah) entered into the ark, 39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Other things to note are that the Church isn’t mentioned playing any part in any tribulation after the letters to the seven churches are completed in Revelation Chapters 3 & 4. Only by making the Church part of Israel (or Israel part of the Church, or Israel replaced by the Church) can you make the Church logically be part of the tribulation of Revelation. A pre-tribulation rapture is consistently supported by teaching that demonstrates that the ministry of the church is fulfilled (relating to the full ship’s complement or manifest being on board before the ship sails, that is, “the fullness of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:25) before salvation can come back to Israel, and then “all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26).

Another point to note is that, while many teach that the two witnesses in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:3-14) are present during the first half of the tribulation, also note carefully that the seven final vials (bowls) of wrath (= the last woe) follow immediately after those two witnesses ascend to heaven. This is more consistent with the two witnesses being present in the second half of the tribulation, ascending to heaven just before the final seven vials are poured out upon the earth (Revelation 16). These final seven vials probably span a period of only thirty days, culminating in the battle of Armageddon.

Revelation 11:3-143And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days (1260 days = 3½ years), clothed in sackcloth. 4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 7And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. 13And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14The second woe is past; [and], behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
(This third and last woe includes the seven vials of the wrath of God leading up to Armegeddon.)

Biblical consistency shows that the Church (which is collectively the temple of the Holy Spirit) as per Ephesians 2:22 (In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.) must be removed before the antichrist may be revealed.
2 Thessalonians 2:7-87 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

This following passage describes the rapture, yet it says little concerning the timeline, other than the already dead Christians will rise first.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-1716For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

It is also generally believed that the wedding feast of the Lamb will take place between the rapture and the second coming, although this is likely to be on a timeline independent of earth’s timeline! However, this is not clear yet, nor will be until it happens, apparently.

4/. Conclusion

So we know there is going to be a seven year period at the end; complete, though in two sections, yet consecutive (that is, one following the other). Revelation makes it clear this is to do with Israel with the sealing of 12,000 from each tribe in Revelation 7:4-8, and that the Church must “leave” before Israel can come back on stage. The only logical conclusion is that the Church must sail with its full complement on board (= fulfilled) before the final seven years commence (Romans 11:25-27). Consider the alternatives: the Church sits around doing nothing for 3½ to 7 years? The Church joins up with Israel? The Church is Israel? There is no tribulation period? There is no millennium? Most of Revelation (and other end-times prophecy is hypothetical or allegorical? Or perhaps the rapture is actually just before the seven year tribulation period commences, just as the Bible teaches!

We would have to re-write much of the Bible to prevent Israel from coming back for her final week of seven years on Daniel’s timeline! And why not also re-write the creation account to also be allegorical? And perhaps everything else? We have lost the desire to seek the truth for what it is, because we have disobeyed God’s command to test all things.

(For further study on the prophecies of Daniel 9:24-27, please go to A Special Report on Daniel 9:24-27.)

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Are you a real Christian or just a fake?

Are you a real Christian or just a fake?

Yes, you might have prayed the sinners’ prayer, but did you mean it, or was it just taking out eternal life insurance for when you die? Are you serving God, or are you continuing to serve the world as you have in the past?
Genuine Christians should live according to biblical principles. Any “Christian” who does not live by these principles may not actually be a Christian. Just because someone claims to be a Christian does not automatically mean that they are Christian! Be discerning!
Note that while good works themselves cannot save you, they are the evidence of your salvation in Christ. Faith without any works is demonstrated to be dead (James 2:17-26). Your commitment itself to the Christian life won’t save you, but it will demonstrate the genuineness of your saving faith in Christ.

The world is an enemy of the genuine Christian
If your worship is acceptable to the world, then it cannot be acceptable to genuine Christians. The world system hates the genuine Christian, and the genuine Christian has no love for the world (1 John 2:15).

If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, ….. therefore the world hateth you.” (John 15:19)
The world is the enemy, not the friend, of the genuine Christian.
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4)
So, if you or your worship is acclaimed by the world, then it probably isn’t very Christian! You will either love the world or you will love God. You cannot do both!

So what is a biblical Christian?
They must have called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13). No matter what terminology is used, it must come down to this one simple fact:

Romans 10:9-10; 139That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Becoming a Christian is a covenant between you and God
If you call upon the name of the Lord, you are making a contractual agreement with God, by which God promises to save you to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25) and to never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). But contracts involve commitment by both parties. You as the saved Christian should also abide by the requirements of this covenant. And, that includes taking up your cross of suffering, following Jesus, denying yourself and forsaking the world.

Matthew 16:24Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Praying is easy but the commitment is tough.
Praying a simple prayer from the heart might be easy, but it must lead into a commitment to live the Christian life. You must take up your cross of suffering, follow Jesus, deny yourself and forsake the world, without which you cannot be Jesus’ disciple (Luke 14:27), nor are you worthy of being called by Jesus’ name (Matthew 10:38). When the going gets tough, the tough Christian gets going!

Living the Christian life is tough
Living the Christian life is not for the faint-hearted! Being saved might be as simple as calling upon the name of the Lord, but living the Christian life is tough. It means suffering and trials (1 Peter 2:21; 2 Timothy 3:12). It means taking up your cross, following Jesus, denying yourself and forsaking the world. It means accepting your side of the salvation covenant that you have made with God.

And, if you want to follow Jesus, then you should live like Him.
Matthew 16:24Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Also Luke 14:33.

If you don’t take up your cross, you cannot be Jesus’ disciple.
If you aren’t prepared to take up your cross of suffering, you cannot be Jesus’ disciple. If you think that being a Christian is all fun and no pain, then think again.

Jesus said “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27) That is, if you love the comforts of this present world too much (like Demas did – 2 Timothy 4:10), then you are not an acceptable disciple of Jesus. A genuine Christian has to get out of his comfort zone!

If you do not take up your cross, you are not worthy of being a Christian.
If you don’t want to suffer for the sake of Christ who suffered for you, do not bother applying for this task. Clearly being a Christian is not a fair-weather task. It could cost you your possessions, your job, your family, even your life. If you cannot make this commitment, then you may not be a genuine Christian.

And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:38)

If you don’t forsake all your worldly goods, you cannot be Jesus’ disciple
If you love anything in this world more than your love for God, if you cannot bear to give up worldly possessions in order to serve God, if your worldly security is too important to you, then you cannot be Jesus’ disciple. “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33)

A genuine Christian should let go of anything that is in conflict with his worship of God. That even includes his family and loved ones. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37)

The genuine Christian fulfills his side of the contract with God
The true Christian will take up his call to suffer for the sake of Christ his Master.

1 Peter 2:21For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
If you aren’t suffering for Christ, then you may not be the genuine Christian you claim to be.
Also, it is the good Christians, the godly ones, who are most likely to suffer.
2 Timothy 3:12Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Are you suffering for the sake of Christ? If not, then why not?

The mark of the genuine Christian
You will have prayed (from the heart) to God to save you through Christ. This is essential, for God will not save you unless you call upon Him to save you (Romans 10:13). But, in praying the sinners’ prayer, you are accepting the conditions of the covenant that you are asking God to make with you. Those conditions are tough and demanding. They may cost you everything you have. But unless you accept those conditions when you pray the sinners’ prayer, then your prayer may not be genuine. Even the genuine Christian can stumble and fall at times, but you should never lose that desire for a genuine commitment to Christ. And it is this desire that will lead you to confess your sins to be forgiven (1 John 1:9). A genuine Christian can never be satisfied with worldly living.

The genuine Christian has genuine salvation and eternal life
If your desire to be saved does not include a desire to forsake all and suffer with Christ, then your prayer may be just so much hot air. If you think that you need to pray that prayer as life insurance for when you die, but intend to live your worldly life until then, then do not be surprised if you are denied that eternal life in the judgment. Not everyone who claims to be Christian will be accepted. If you genuinely want God to save you, then you must also genuinely commit yourself fully to God. If you love God, then you will obey His commandments (John 14:15). If you think you are saved but have little or no thought of living your life for God, then your sinners’ prayer may have been false. Works in themselves cannot save you, but faith without works is dead (James 2:17). And not everyone who thinks they are saved are really saved!

Matthew 7:21-2321Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

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“rainbowtoken.com” the false cult of “The Church of Almighty God”

“rainbowtoken.com” (the false cult of “The Church of Almighty God”)

Beware of the lies and deceptions of this satanic cult!
I was asked recently about what I knew about a secretive religious cult who run a website called www.rainbowtoken.com. So I did some research, and uncovered a large number of dangerous heresies of this secretive chinese cult. To keep this report short, I will focus on just some of their false teachings.

1/. They do not have a clear statement of beliefs
Their website does not have any clear statement of faith (a listing of what they believe) or doctrinal statement (their doctrines defined generally in point form). This alone is enough to set alarm bells ringing, for any site that refuses to say clearly what they believe always has something to hide. And they do have a lot to hide!

2/. They teach that the biblical gospel cannot save man
And so, if you only understand the Bible, and understand nothing of the work God intends to do today, and if you believe in God but do not seek the work of the Holy Spirit, then you do not understand what it means to seek God. …. From the word of Almighty God we can see that the Bible is just a historical record of God’s past work and cannot save man.” (https://www.rainbowtoken.com/the-truths-in-the-bible.html)

3/. They teach that salvation is only through belonging to the Church of Philadelphia.
Only by belonging to their church may you be kept from God’s judgments.
Nowadays, disasters are everywhere, and only by finding the church of Philadelphia will we be able to be raptured up before the throne of God before the great disasters arrive.” (https://www.rainbowtoken.com/church-of-philadelphia.html)

4/. Their God’s new name is “Almighty God”
The Bible says “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).
They say that no longer is Jesus the name of the Lord that we must call upon.
“My new name” clearly refers to the Lord having a new name when He returns, and since He has a new name, He cannot be called “Jesus” again—this is for certain. Therefore, that which the people of the church of Philadelphia pray to and call on will not be the name “Jesus,” but rather it will be God’s name in the new age. …. We can therefore be certain that the name “Almighty God” is indeed God’s new name(https://www.rainbowtoken.com/church-of-philadelphia.html)

5/. Their cult is really called the Church of Almighty God
So their church is no longer the Church of Jesus Christ, but the Church of Almighty God!
Actually, the church of Philadelphia has arisen already, and it is Eastern Lightning that everyone has heard about—it is The Church of Almighty God.(https://www.rainbowtoken.com/church-of-philadelphia.html)

6/. The “Church of Almighty God” was started by Zhao Weishan in 1991
Zhao Weishan commenced this church in 1991, proclaiming that Christ had returned to earth in the form of a chinese woman, Yang Xiangbin.
In 1986, Zhao was a member of a Christian house church, and in 1987 he was baptized into a branch of The Shouters which venerated their leader Witness Lee as “Lord Changshou”. Zhao rose to a leadership position within the group and, according to Chinese governmental sources, preached that he was himself the “Lord of Ability.”” (Wikipedia)

7/. Yang Xiangbin was the second coming of Jesus Christ
In 1992, Yang’s revelations propagated by Zhao announced that Yang herself was more than a prophetic voice; in fact, she was the second coming of Jesus Christ on earth and the incarnated Almighty God. Since then, Yang was referred to as “he” rather than “she,” as she was in fact regarded as Jesus Christ.” (Wikipedia)
Yang is sometimes known as “Deng”. Reports strongly suggest that she is the lover of her alleged high priest, Zhao Weishan.

8/. Yang Xiangbin is worshipped as “Almighty God”
Yang Xiangbin is declared to be the Almighty God himself.
Eastern Lightning holds that Jesus has returned as a Chinese woman, worshiped by the sect as Almighty God, hence its official name.” (Wikipedia)

9/. Yang Xiangbin’s words are considered the words of God Almighty
Her words are taught as the words of Almighty God himself. In the following she is named as “Almighty God”.
With respect to this point, let us read a passage of Almighty God’s words, “I was once known as Jehovah. I was also called the Messiah, and people once called Me Jesus the Savior with love and esteem. Today, however, I am no longer the Jehovah or Jesus that people knew in times past; I am the God who has returned in the last days, the God who shall bring the age to an end.” (https://www.rainbowtoken.com/church-of-philadelphia.html)
Like most cults, her words have become the official word of their god, overruling the Bible itself.

10/. The Church of Almighty God is also known as Eastern Lightning
This is based upon Matthew 24:27 (For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.) Thus, if Yang is the returned Christ, then she must have come from the east, therefore her worshippers belong to Eastern Lightning.

11/. rainbowtoken.com also claims to be Eastern Lightning and the Church of Almighty God
Only by finding the church of Philadelphia can we be raptured before the great disasters. So where exactly is the church of Philadelphia? Actually, the church of Philadelphia has arisen already, and it is Eastern Lightning that everyone has heard about—it is The Church of Almighty God.(https://www.rainbowtoken.com/church-of-philadelphia.html)

12/. rainbowtoken.com is therefore the cult of “The Almighty God” church
So, even though they try hard to hide this fact, rainbowtoken.com is actually just another name for the Church of Almighty God which teaches that God has returned in the flesh in the form of a chinese woman who now speaks “God’s word” as the new revelation of “Almighty God”. Its teachings are (by its own admission) not biblical, but instead they have produced their own false bible with its false teachings.

The very fact that they do not broadcast the real truth of their false teachings up front (that they are, in fact, an unbiblical chinese cult worshipping a woman who claims to be God in the flesh) is deceptive indeed. Deception is not (and never should be) a trait of the genuine biblical Christian.

So Christians, beware having anything to do with this unbiblical cult. Do not soil your lives with this heresy. Their teachings are from satan their master and have nothing to do with the one true God of the Bible. Anyone who claims to have an extra-biblical revelation of God, or Jesus Christ, must immediately be declared a cult with false teachings.

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Review of GraceWest Bible Church, Albion

Review of GraceWest Bible Church, Albion

GraceWest declares itself to be a reformed church
GraceWest Bible Church of Albion, Australia declares itself to be a reformed church. This means that its doctrines rest upon those taught by Calvin when he attempted to reform the catholic church in the 16th century, hence the name “the Reformation”. Calvin never left nor denied the catholic church but merely desired to reform it.
Calvin believed in the teachings of that same Augustine who is declared the “Doctor of Grace” by the catholic church. Augustine based his doctrines largely upon his Manichean beliefs (a strict Gnostic sect) and taught that all things are predestinated without any freedom of will for mankind to alter his direction in life.

They teach that all mankind is foreordained for either heaven or hell
GraceWest doctrine rests upon a belief that God has foreordained all things according to his will, including the salvation or condemnation of all people. In particular, where you go when you die is predetermined from the beginning by their allegedly sovereign God who, according to Calvin, predestinated all mankind to either life or death.

Reformed doctrine has conflicting teachings
Now this reformed doctrine has certain conflicting teachings built into it. If you attend this church or one with similar beliefs, or are considering doing so, then please think very carefully for yourself about the following. Your eternal future (heaven or hell) will depend upon how you deal with these issues. Don’t just believe something because a person with alleged learning says so! Read (particularly the Bible – sola scriptura) and research for yourself to determine what you will believe. When you stand before God as Judge, these “experts” will not be able to take your side, nor can they be your advocate. You will either stand alone or you will stand with the Lord Jesus as your Advocate. It is what you do with the Son of God that will determine your eternal destiny!

Reformed doctrine says you will go where their God tells you to go
Because reformed or calvinist churches teach that man has no free will to have any say in his eternal destiny (heaven or hell), then they will teach that God alone will decide this for every person without exception. They teach that God has determined your eternal future from the beginning, and that this decision cannot ever be altered. For example, in their
doctrinal statement, GraceWest states that “sovereign election will result in what God determines.” Therefore, reformed churches must believe that only those who are chosen to be saved may in fact be saved. If you weren’t chosen by their God, then you can never be saved. For example, GraceWest states that All whom the Father calls to Himself will come in faith, and all who come in faith the Father will receive (John 6:37-40, 44; Acts 13:48; James 4:8)” That is, only those on that list of the elect (the chosen ones) can ever be saved; no-one else at all!

(Their supporting verses do not support this doctrine anyway)
Note that those supporting verses added here do not actually teach what they say they do.

For example, John 6:44 does not say that all who are called must come, but that all who come must have been called. Think carefully on this!
Acts 13:48 mentions that the Gentiles received the eternal life that the Jews themselves rejected 2 verses before in Acts 13:46. The Gentiles merely accepted what the Jews had just previously rejected of their own free will.
James 4:8 does not appear to be particularly relevant here.
John 6:37-40 actually discusses two separate groups: all mankind who will be present at the resurrection to either life or death (see John 5:28-29), and those who choose to follow Jesus as His disciples.

Reformed belief teaches that man is unable to want to seek God
Reformed churches must believe that man can do nothing at all to seek God, and that God must make the first move by giving man new life through the Holy Spirit in a process called “regeneration” (= being born again). MacArthur (who teaches a similar doctrine to that of GraceWest) teaches that the gospel is the outward ineffectual call of God and that it is the inward call of the Spirit that is effectual in saving man. (“The Doctrine of God’s Effectual Call”) That is, MacArthur teaches that the gospel is unable to save anyone until after they are born again. But, how can you be born again yet not saved??

(Note that GraceWest currently (July 2022) offers classes based on Fundamentals of the Faith by MacArthur.)

Reformed belief teaches that all people start off as spiritual corpses
Reformed churches teach that all people are like spiritual corpses, dead to God, unable to respond to God in any way, and that they must be born again by the Spirit before they are able to respond to the gospel and be saved. Thus, in reformed doctrine, man cannot respond to the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ until after he has been born again (regenerated) by the Spirit. In reformed doctrine, the gospel is only effectual to save after a person is regenerated (born again).

In reformed belief, spiritual corpses cannot respond to the gospel
Some reformed churches teach that the gospel is what God uses to draw man to himself. But, how can any man respond before he is regenerated? Claiming the use of the gospel to draw man to God would then assume that man can respond to God before he is regenerated by the Spirit. Evangelising using the gospel is in conflict with their teaching that man is a spiritual corpse until God makes him alive again first.

Reformed church evangelism of the lost is an oxymoron
So why does GraceWest also claim that “
According to Matt. 28:18-20, our ultimate task is to reproduce ourselves by proclaiming Christ to every man and to bring him to the knowledge of the Saviour. This involves a compassion for the lost condition of those around us, a clear communication of the gospel to them, and a persuading and pleading with all to embrace Christ. (https://gracewest.org.au/what-we-believe/)
Especially noting that most people are not on their God’s list of the elect (chosen ones), and therefore unable to be saved, ever, no matter how much the gospel is preached to them, according to their reformed teachings! And all the elect chosen ones will be saved in spite of whether or not the gospel is preached to them.

Reformed church preaching to the lost is like reviving bodies in a cemetery
Please consider this carefully. If the gospel is ineffectual for the non-regenerated, then it is only effectual for those who are already born again and therefore already saved. And therefore, what purpose does the gospel fulfill then? Can a person enter heaven after being born again yet before he hears the gospel, believes in Christ and is saved? Is their Jesus really the only way to the Father according to John 14:6? Reformed church evangelism is like preaching to the already converted!

The reformed gospel is based upon random selection by their God
The reformed church teaches that their God has chosen (elected) his people from the beginning. And, as Calvin taught, this means he has also chosen from the beginning those people whom he will send to hell, also without any say from those people. They declare this election to be unconditional. The definition of “unconditional” means “without any conditions applied” or, in other words, “random”.

Unconditional election is really random selection
Thus the unconditional election is actually random selection where their God selects by chance (via his celestial lottery) whom he will permit to go to heaven. Those of the elect have won the lottery and will be paid their prize of eternal life. The rest have lost and will therefore be sent to hell for losing.
Just one single condition at all would prevent it from being unconditional. The reformed gospel has no conditions applied at all, other than perhaps the number chosen for heaven (that is, the size of the sample group).

If you don’t understand reformed doctrine, then don’t accept it
If you cannot refute these statements without declaring it to be a mystery hid in the secret counsels of sovereign God (this is the calvinist’s favourite response), or if you are able to observe serious inconsistencies in reformed doctrine, then please check it out. Test all things; hold fast to that which is true (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Do not ever assume that any church or spiritual teacher is correct without checking him or her out. It is your spiritual future that may well rest upon who you listen to and what teachings you accept.

Don’t wait until the judgment to find out if you are right or wrong
It is too late to do this when you stand before God in the judgment, so be absolutely certain of what you believe! Only the foolish would believe everything they are told without checking it out first!

The only assurance of calvinist salvation is to persevere to the end
Calvinists can never be assured of their salvation until they have persevered until the end, so how can they assure you of your salvation if they cannot even be assured of their own? All they can say is see if your works persevere to the end. Calvin taught that if you fell away before the end, then God had given you a temporary faith which he termed an inferior operation of the Spirit. And, that the only way to discern between a real faith and a temporary faith was whether or not you persevered to the end. Calvinists can believe as much as they like, but they cannot have assurance of eternal life until they persevere to the end.

Whatever you believe of any of this should be the consequence of your personal research into it all (Acts 17:11). Don’t take my word for it, either, but test what I have written, check me out, and believe what you personally will believe. After all, it is God who will judge all things, no-one else.

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Calvinism teaches that good is evil, and evil is good!

Calvinism teaches that good is evil, and evil is good!
According to Calvin’s hero and “mentor”, Augustine, evil is good and what is good is always evil. Therefore, Calvinists must believe that “bad” is simply “an evil good”, that evil is good and good is evil! In simple terms, this is Gnostic theology, where it is the obtaining of total knowledge (both good and evil) that saves you.
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evilIsaiah 5:20

Calvinists have to accept Augustine’s teachings or reject Calvin
Calvin placed Augustine on a pedestal above all other sources of teaching, writing that “all ancient theologians, with the exception of Augustine, are so confused, vacillating, and contradictory ….., that no certainty can be obtained from their writings.” (Institutes Bk 2; Ch.2; Section 4) To reject Augustine’s teachings would then to be reject Calvin’s teachings also.

Therefore Calvinists must accept Augustine’s Gnostic heresy
Therefore calvinists must believe, like Augustine, that evil and good are equivalent terms, that a balance must be always achieved between the two, must also believe in the Gnostic teaching: that salvation (transcendence) is to be found through perfect knowledge, both good and evil. To deny this would be to deny Augustine’s Gnostic teachings as heresy (and thus, by logical progression, to deny Calvin’s teachings also as heresy).

Gnosticism teaches that good cannot exist without evil
That is, one must know all things to become transcendent, all good and all evil; that it is impossible to know all good without also knowing all evil; that good cannot exist without a counter-balance of evil, and evil cannot exist independently of good. This is also the meaning behind the yin and yang teaching: that good and evil must exist in a balance between the two; and that some evil must exist in all good and some good must exist in all evil.
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evilIsaiah 5:20

Augustine taught that evil is good and good is evil
Augustine, whose teachings are the basis for Calvin’s teachings, said (in his “Enchiridion”) “that since every being, in so far as it is a being, is good, if we then say that a defective thing is bad, it would seem to mean that we are saying that what is evil is good, that only what is good is ever evil and that there is no evil apart from something good. ….. Now, if a man is something good because he is an entity, what then, is a bad man except an evil good? ….. if there were no good in what is evil, then the evil simply could not be, since it can have no mode in which to exist ….
Can any calvinist please explain what Augustine is talking about?  How is it biblical? Is Augustine rational? And if Augustine is irrational, then so is Calvin.
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20)

If Augustine teaches false doctrine, then calvinism is likewise false doctrine
This dualism of good and evil appears to be based on Augustine’s Manichean Gnostic roots where salvation depended upon man obtaining ultimate knowledge, both good and evil. It relates to occult yin and yang beliefs which teach that a necessary balance must exist between good and evil. Can any calvinists give any support for Augustine’s irrational thinking here (sola scriptura!)? Doesn’t it simply prove that in a calvinist world, evil has to be seen as good or else evil cannot exist??
Just note Calvin’s support for this Gnostic good-evil teaching in his “The Eternal Predestination of God” where he tries to explain that what God wills for good, when a man does what God wills, it is then evil. For example, if God ordains that man should commit murder, then God’s will is good, but when man does it, man’s will is evil, even if he does what God ordained that he should do. He writes: “I have shown that He wills the same as the criminal and the wicked, but in a different way.
He goes on to say:
Augustine has a useful admonition, that, for all their agreement here, there is a great difference between God and man. For God wills for good what men will for evil; and He does not will for good what men do not will for evil. So too, in their disagreement, men and God are not quite incongruous. For men will for good what God does not will for good; and they do not will for good what God does will for good.

According to yin and yang, gnosticism is an eastern religious view of Christianity
yinyanghouse.com says that “Without generalizing too much, the gnostic views provide an almost eastern edge, so to speak, to our judeo-christian western philosophy.  ….. First and foremost is that, as a primarily Christian sect, Gnosticism can provide westerners an arguably more eastern view of their own traditions. …..

According to Gnosticism, salvation comes from a knowledge of good and evil
yinyanghouse.com (quoting from The Gnostic Religion” by Hans Jonas) that salvation is found in the dualistic knowledge such as good and evil, life and death.
…all of these currents have in some way to do with salvation… all of them exhibit an exceedingly transcendent conception of God and in connection with it an equally transcendent and other-worldly goal of salvation… they maintain a radial dualism of realms of being – God and the world, spirit and matter, soul and body, light and darkness, good and evil, life and death…

It was the sin of Gnosticism that caused all mankind to be condemned
Gnosticism is the knowledge of good and evil, and as such is clearly defined as a sin against God. Adam was told that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (= gnosticism) then he would die. This defines Gnosticism as the sin that would condemn Adam (and all his descendants) to eternal death.
Genesis 2:17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

When Eve saw that the tree was to be desired to make her wise (with the knowledge of good and evil), she ate it. She also gave some to Adam who also ate it.
Genesis 3:6And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Adam and Eve could have lived forever without sin, but they chose to know good and evil, and therefore were now forbidden to eat any more of the tree of life.
Genesis 3:22And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

It was Gnosticism that required Christ to die for the sins of all mankind
For all have sinned according to Adam’s sin, and that same “All” have been justified freely” by Christ.
Romans 3:23-2423For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

All may be justified by faith in Christ:
Romans 3:25-2625Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, [I say], at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

All, that is, who call by faith upon that name of the Lord to be saved
For whosoever (that is, everyone without exception) who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).

All you calvinist and reformed believers, think very carefully indeed!
If calvinism is dependent upon Augustine’s teachings which were the Gnostic sin that condemned mankind through Adam’s sin, then calvinism is also that very same sin. Offload Augustine and his knowledge of good and evil, and your calvinism dies. Call upon the name of the Lord to be saved and you will live. Keep Augustine and you are condemned (as was Adam) for your sin of the knowledge of good and evil. When you stand before God in the judgment, will your knowledge of good and evil save you? No! Will Augustine or Calvin be your advocate to defend you before God? No! Will your religious leaders and teachers be able to save you from God’s wrath? No! You alone will stand before God and it is what you alone (not Augustine, Calvin or your church teachers) have done that will determine your eternal destiny. That is, have you called upon the name of the Lord to be saved, or have you been told that such a prayer opposes your God’s sovereignty? Check all things out for yourself; read the Bible for yourself; test all things; hold fast to that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). And “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evilIsaiah 5:20

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The real truth about the Doctrines of Grace

The real truth about the Doctrines of Grace

 

Calvinists love to declare their beliefs as the doctrines of grace. But do you know why? You see, calvinists used to believe in the doctrine of puritanism, where if you fell off your spiritual horse and couldn’t get back on again, you were declared non-elect, not having persevered to the end. This is bad news for those calvinist pastors who desire mega-salaries from their mega-churches. It’s very bad for business to offload all those who aren’t able to persevere as good puritans. Dismissing the failures as non-elect removes money from the offering plate.

 

New calvinism demands evidence of God’s grace to be declared elect

Enter new calvinism, where the emphasis is no longer on being good obedient puritans, but on being restored sinners. Now it is good to fall off your spiritual horse, because if you get up and in the running again, then you are said to have been restored by God’s grace. In fact, the only way for calvinists to experience God’s grace is to sin in order to confess your sin so that you can be restored to fellowship. That is, new calvinism requires that you fall off your horse regularly so that you then have the opportunity to demonstrate God’s grace in restoring you. Hence the name: the doctrines of grace.

 

Therefore the calvinist is required to sin to experience God’s grace

New calvinism now encourages its elect to confess their sins regularly to one another. If you do not confess sin regularly (particularly to your friendly church biblical counsellor), then you may be harbouring sin, and therefore not the recipient of God’s grace, and thus at risk of being judged not one of the elect. Sounds a lot like the catholic confessional, doesn’t it? Then note carefully that Calvin never actually left the catholic church; he merely tried to reform it, thus the name “The Reformation”.

 

New calvinism grants the elect a licence to sin

New Calvinism derived from Sonship Theology which many (even calvinists) declare to be a licence to sin. For example, from Covenant Presbyterian Church: I heard of one preacher who said that as sons, we are free to sin. …. The freeness of our Father’s grace should never be turned, even slightly, into a license to sin. ….
Sonship Theology is an attempt to elevate grace.” (7th Oct 2007)

 

Sonship theology teaches that there is no sin that any child of God can possibly commit that could ever prevent that elect person from entering heaven. That is, if you are one of the elect and commit a sin, then you will be the recipient of God’s grace in restoring you to fellowship. (Note that according to calvinism, God has foreordained your sin anyway!) The calvinist God will always show grace to his elect, no matter what sin they committed; to not be restored means a lack of God’s grace due to not being one of the elect. Only the elect of the calvinist God may have such a licence to sin!

 

A licence to sin means more money in the offering plate

So, “the doctrines of grace” can be re-worded as “a licence to sin”, as long as it translates to sufficient money in the offering plate to justify it.

 

Keep in mind that if the calvinist God has predestinated all mankind to either heaven or hell, then:

(a) Praying for someone to be saved is useless

Praying for anyone’s salvation cannot change where that person goes when they die. The calvinist (reformed belief) God has decided from the beginning of time where every single person will go when they die and there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to change this. Any calvinist who prays for another’s salvation is literally wasting his time (or else he shouldn’t be a calvinist).

And could praying for someone’s salvation be judged by the calvinist God as a sin of rebellion against his totally sovereign will??


(b) Evangelisation and mission work are a total waste of time

Calvinists have to believe that the future eternity for everyone on the mission field has already been decided before you even decided to be a missionary or evangelist. Nothing you can do can ever alter that which has been decided from the beginning. Even trying to change the calvinist God’s decisions could be seen as rebellion against his sovereignty! Trying to evangelise someone foreordained to hell would be to oppose the calvinist God’s sovereignty!

 

(c) Doing good works cannot make any difference

Even doing good works is of no benefit at all to you. The calvinist God has foreordained everything you will do before you were even born, so whatever you do must be according to what the calvinist God has determined for you. Some calvinist “teachers” say that if you are not sure if you are of the elect group of God, then you should work to ensure that you are. This is a major contradiction in their doctrine which also says that you cannot change anything regarding your eternal future.

 

(d) It is impossible for a calvinist to know that they are saved until they die

And how can anyone actually know that they are one of the elect until the day they die? According to calvinist teachings, the only certain evidence that you are one of the elect is that you will persevere until the end. Calvin recognised this as a serious problem with his doctrine when he observed a number of the “elect” falling away before the end. He taught that if you fell away, then you were never one of the elect in the first place. But many were deemed to be of the elect before they fell away, prompting Calvin to declare his doctrine of a temporary faith which he described as an inferior operation of the Spirit. Not one calvinist is able to be certain that he or she has not been granted a temporary faith until they persevere to the end.

So, how many calvinists out there are willing to guarantee that they will make it to heaven? And will you argue this with God in the judgment if He pronounces you lost?

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments may be recorded on the Comments page. However, I may choose to reply to reasonable comments via email.

List of all my posts on this site.

If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

Sermons and Messages

Calvinist heretics & heresies

Please feel free to comment on the Comments and contact page
Reasonable comments and replies may be recorded on the
Comments page.

However, due to the lack of logical comments, most comments will not be recorded.

How to be a good calvinist without being a Christian!

How to be a good calvinist without being a Christian!

Calvinists blame others for ignorance and lack of understanding of their doctrine.

I often get told that I get calvinism wrong because I do not understand its theology. For example, from an email: “your argument there does not stack up because you have misunderstood the theology of Calvinisim (sic)”.

It is understanding, not lack of it, that proves calvinism wrong.

But such people are so wrong, because I understand calvinism very well indeed. In fact, I spent the first 19 years of my life being a good calvinist before I called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (as per Romans 10:13). I know exactly what it’s like to be an accredited elect person heading for an eternity in heaven, in spite of not actually being saved.

I grew up being told by my calvinist church that I was one of the elect.

You see, for the first 19 years of my life I thought I was saved, and everyone around me at my calvinist church declared the same. In fact, even for a while after I was saved, I still considered the calvinist Presbyterian church to be Christian.

Proper research led me to question and reject calvinism, especially its corrupt gospel.

It was only after I started to look seriously at their doctrine that I realised that their doctrine was faulty. By then I was attending churches where the doctrine was more acceptably biblical. But it was to be a long time before I was able to see that the calvinism I grew up with was not in any way compatible with biblical doctrine. It was when our reasonably biblical local churches were overtaken by calvinists that I was forced to assess whether or not calvinism was compatible with the Bible, and discovered that it was a non-Christian doctrine, especially its gospel.

I was brought up to be a good calvinist.

I was born into a good (calvinist) Presbyterian home with church-going parents who would never miss out on church attendance without very good reason. (The Presbyterian statement of faith is the very calvinist Westminster Confession.)

Many calvinist leaders were also freemasons.

My father was an elder. He was also a freemason, as were most Presbyterian elders that I have ever known. I knew that many of our local Presbyterian ministers were also freemasons, and that many of their churches exhibited freemasonry symbols carved into both wood and stone. (And if you think freemasonry is in any way Christian, then think again!)

Calvin taught that baptism purified us from all sin.

We ought to consider that at whatever time we are baptised, we are washed and purified once for the whole of life.” (Institutes Bk 4, Ch.15, Section 3) Therefore good calvinists must be baptised (christened) as early as possible to establish their elect status. Calvin was proud of his catholic baptism.

I was baptised very young as befits a good calvinist elect.

I was christened at an early age (thus adopted into the church as one of the elect). Presbyterian doctrine assured me that I was now properly cleansed for acceptance before God.

All good calvinist Presbyterians must be confirmed in their elect status.

Presbyterian teachings require this baptismal “faith” to be confirmed at their Confirmation later on, at which time they are admitted into full membership of the church. This is similar to the catholic confirmation ceremony. (Calvin never actually left the catholic church. His intention was always to reform the catholic church, not commence a new church, thus the term “the Reformation”.)

My Confirmation certificate “proves” my elect status.

In my early teen years I did a series of lessons which led to the church confirming my status as one of the elect. In this respect calvinism is little different to the catholic church which baptises its infants into the church, requiring this to be confirmed later on in order to become members of the church.

Until I was 19, as one of the elect, I was guaranteed to go to heaven.

Therefore, up until I was 19 years old, I was declared “saved”, one of God’s chosen elect, heading for heaven, and all I’d had to do was to be born into a good calvinist Presbyterian household, be baptised and confirmed, and follow the church rules. To break one of their rules without good reason was to be declared non-elect.

Calvinist Presbyterian rules existed to maintain one’s elect status.

I had to attend church regularly and to take communion at least once each 3 months. This was required to maintain my elect status. Not attending church regularly would prompt the church to require that you give good reason for your non-attendance or else be struck off the membership roll (and effectively also off the list of elect, too). In particular, non-attendance at more than two communion services in a row would also require good reason or else lose your elect status.

Keeping these rules proved one’s perseverance.

This rule-keeping demonstrated your perseverance, without which you could never endure to the end and therefore you were not one of the elect and would not go to calvinist heaven! Good calvinist Presbyterians demonstrated their perseverance by their continued attendance especially at communion services. Not attending was interpreted as a falling away, and the elect could never fall away!

If you didn’t endure to the end, you were never saved in the first place.

The Presbyterian doctrine was based upon obedience to the rules. Disobedient people could not be elect and therefore obedience became the measure of your salvation.

Therefore obedience to rules becomes your salvation itself.

The calvinist Presbyterians with their adherence to the Westminster Confession teach a salvation based upon the works that you do. In all my younger years, I heard little or nothing of biblical salvation. It was through obedience to the rules that you were declared one of the elect. You had to be baptised as a child, be confirmed in that faith when a teen, and thereafter attend all required church meetings and fulfill all church requirements. Calling upon the name of the Lord was never one of those requirements.

How do I know all this?

I know all this because I grew up learning all about how to be a good calvinist (as a Presbyterian). I experienced calvinism; I was immersed in calvinism; but I was never saved until I was finally asked if I had called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (and this didn’t happen in any Presbyterian church!). It happened after I had left my family home to get an education elsewhere, and at the age of 19 I found salvation in Jesus Christ, something that I knew nothing about all the time I was growing up in the Presbyterian church.

So how can you be a good calvinist without being a Christian?

Easy, far too easy, in fact. I managed to be a good calvinist without being a Christian for 19 years, and never in those 19 years realised that this was in any way unbiblical. It is true that many calvinists have also called upon the name of the Lord and been saved, yet never realising that calvinism is a burden, not a blessing, on their salvation. They are still saved, in spite of being calvinist, not because they are calvinist, but because they have also called upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

But there are many, many calvinists out there who don’t actually realise that they are not saved, and will only find out when they stand before the judgment throne of God. They will be told that their names are not in the Lamb’s book of life because they never called upon His name to be saved! Where do you stand today, calvinist? Please do not wait until the judgment to find out if you are right or not!

By the way, have you ever wondered just what calvinists mean when they say they believe in the Doctrines of Grace? Take this link or scroll down further to discover the real truth behind this.

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments may be recorded on the Comments page. However, I may choose to reply to reasonable comments via email.

List of all my posts on this site.

If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

Sermons and Messages

Calvinist heretics & heresies

Please feel free to comment  Comments and contact page
Reasonable comments and replies may be recorded on the Comments page.

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Here’s something extra to think about:

On a “christianforums.com” thread, I read the following from someone who declares himself to be a Presbyterian:

How do you respond to the common criticism of Calvinism such as God being the author of evil?
I simply remind them that Calvin never taught that God is the author of evil.
https://www.christianforums.com/threads/convince-me-to-become-calvinist.7987248/

But Calvin did teach that God was the author of evil, in fact, all evils.
He wrote that “if all things are done by the will of God, and men contrive nothing except by His will and ordination, then God is the author of all evils.
(Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God – John Calvin)

I just wish that calvinists could be a bit more educated, enough to be able to actually know what their doctrine really teaches!

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The real truth about the doctrines of grace

Calvinists love to declare their beliefs as the doctrines of grace. But do you know why? You see, calvinists used to believe in the doctrine of puritanism, where if you fell off your spiritual horse and couldn’t get back on again, you were declared non-elect, not having persevered to the end. This is bad news for those calvinist pastors who desire mega-salaries from their mega-churches. It’s very bad for business to offload all those who aren’t able to persevere as good puritans. Dismissing the failures as non-elect removes money from the offering plate.

Enter new calvinism, where the emphasis is no longer on being good obedient puritans, but on being restored sinners. Now it is good to fall off your spiritual horse, because if you get up and in the running again, then you are said to have been restored by God’s grace. In fact, the only way for calvinists to experience God’s grace is to sin in order to confess your sin so that you can be restored to fellowship. That is, new calvinism requires that you fall off your horse regularly so that you then have the opportunity to demonstrate God’s grace in restoring you. Hence the name: the doctrines of grace.

New calvinism now encourages its elect to confess their sins regularly to one another. If you do not confess sin regularly (particularly to your friendly church biblical counsellor), then you may be harbouring sin, and therefore not the recipient of God’s grace, and thus at risk of being judged not one of the elect. Sounds a lot like the catholic confessional, doesn’t it? Then note carefully that Calvin never actually left the catholic church; he merely tried to reform it, thus the name “The Reformation”.

New Calvinism derived from Sonship Theology which many (even calvinists) declare to be a licence to sin. For example, from Covenant Presbyterian Church: “I heard of one preacher who said that as sons, we are free to sin. …. The freeness of our Father’s grace should never be turned, even slightly, into a license to sin. ….
Sonship Theology is an attempt to elevate grace.” (7th Oct 2007)

Sonship theology teaches that there is no sin that any child of God can possibly commit that could ever prevent that elect person from entering heaven. That is, if you are one of the elect and commit a sin, then you will be the recipient of God’s grace in restoring you to fellowship. (Note that according to calvinism, God has foreordained your sin anyway!) The calvinist God will always show grace to his elect, no matter what sin they committed; to not be restored means a lack of God’s grace due to not being one of the elect. Only the elect of the calvinist God may have such a licence to sin!

So, “the doctrines of grace” can be re-worded as “a licence to sin”, as long as it translates to sufficient money in the offering plate to justify it.

Calvinists lack good debating skills

Calvinists lack good debating skills.

Calvinist comments to this website are, in general, irrational and disorganised. Very few would be able to present an acceptable debate. They are either incapable of intelligent rational discussion, or pretending to be so.

Good post-writing is like a well-presented debate

You see, I do a lot of research and study before putting any of my documents and posts online. I check reference details, I assess biblical consistency, and I definitely focus on the specific point I am trying to make. All in all, it takes a lot of time and effort to write something properly. Like a good debate, I seek to present my views clearly and accurately.

Calvinists totally lack good debating skills

However, calvinists on the other hand appear to totally lack any idea of good debating skills. They rarely try to refute my views, and often try to change the topic. Their statements lack cohesion, and they rely far too much on merely quoting some alleged “expert” (verbatim) or give unexplained lists of biblical references to check out. They will even quote large amounts of scripture without any explanation, obviously assuming (quite falsely) that the Bible must always be read according to their interpretations alone. In any debate, such behaviour would score very low, if at all.

Calvinist comments disagree with me yet are so vague that defence is impossible

You only have to check the Comments page to discover that calvinists regularly disagree with me, yet never actually clearly specify exactly what it is that I have written that they disagree with. It is impossible to effectively defend against such vague statements, and they know this. In fact, they prefer this.

Calvinists do not like to commit themselves too much for fear they might be refuted

The more specific a statement is, the more easily it can be accepted or refuted. Vague statements merely suggest certain things without presenting a clear topic that can be refuted. Calvinists hide behind such vague statements because they are afraid of being shown up as incorrect. This is a sign that calvinists do not fully trust their own doctrines as being biblical. They are afraid to go out on a limb in defence of their doctrines.

Calvinists attack the person, not the belief

Most calvinist comments are focused upon the person and not the actual belief itself. This is poor debating and not worthy of refuting. It demands that their opponent defend his/her own reputation rather than their beliefs. One only has to read many comments posted on my website to see the truth of this statement.

Comments must be made according to good debating practice

Calvinists do not appear to have much understanding of good debating practice. Keep in mind that it is my website and that the comments must be based on an agreement or disagreement of what I have written. Anything else is an irrelevancy.

I will state some basic rules.

1/. The topic must be clearly understood and reinforced by those who debate.

If calvinists disagree with anything I have written, they must clearly define what I have written that they disagree with. This will usually be a reference to a specific document, even quoting what it is that I have stated that they disagree with. Without the establishment of the topic in this way, there can be no debate.

2/. A good debater must be able to refute his opponent’s claims.

If a calvinist cannot refute anything I have written, then there is no point in presenting any counter claims of his own. If he cannot destroy opposing statements, then he is effectively agreeing with them. Calvinists tend to ignore or make light of opposing claims. They may say that my opposing claims could be right but that their claims also could be right. For example, a recent comment stated “The 1 Pet 1:2 verse could mean God’s foreknowledge of a sinners repentance and faith in Salvation and Jesus as Lord”. Could mean? Could be right? Since when is a debate won on “could mean”? If they are to be right, then they must demonstrate me to be wrong! Otherwise I remain right! Debaters must be definitive, not vague!

3/. A good debater must produce proof statements directly related to the named topic.

Calvinists are far too prone to presenting topics that they feel more comfortable with rather than dealing with what I have actually written. They do tend to avoid trying to directly refute what I have written because that so often takes them out of their comfort zone (something they very much dislike). And, as well as avoiding directly refuting my statements, they attempt to divert attention to topics that keep them in their comfort zone. Therefore, instead of sticking to the named topic, they would rather select one of their “calvinist proof passages” as a substitute topic. And, if they quote a verse normally used to “prove” calvinism, and I counter with a question that undermines them, they will quickly move on to another topic again.
For example, one calvinist stated that John 15:16 demonstrated that God chose us (and not us Him). I then asked if he realised that Judas was one of those chosen here. His next correspondence totally disregarded this issue and went onto another unrelated topic. My query regarding Judas went unanswered!

4/. A good debater must express himself personally.

A good debater will use references judiciously to support his own views of the topic. He may name expert references that support his stated views, but should always concentrate on said references supporting his own views. The quoted references should not be independent views in themselves. The debate is focusing on the skills of the debater, not the skills of his references. His references should always be in support of his own views. The debater should avoid quoting long passages verbatim from some alleged “expert” reference; otherwise it would be that expert reference who is debating, and not the debater himself. Expert references should only be used as support and not as extra debaters on the team.
Too many calvinists think that presenting a list of Bible references and/or long passages quoted verbatim is sufficient in itself to prove their views. Therefore, comments may only use Bible references demonstrated to be directly supporting the debater’s views. Long Bible passages should be avoided; the debate is not a lecture or sermon.

5/. A good debate is concise.

A good debate should be limited in size. Most debating competitions have a time limit on the time each team member may speak. Many debating teams may have perhaps 3 members on each team, with each person limited to 3 or 5 minutes. (Team numbers and time limits may vary.) No-one wants to sit listening to a speaker drone on for ages; such people can quickly lose the attention of their listeners. So keep it short and sweet, and straight to the point – no waffling on.
Unfortunately, calvinists tend to be long-winded and vague; by the time they get to the end, most listeners have forgotten where they started. In particular, calvinists rarely get straight to the point. Being too specific permits opponents to home in on indefensible points, so calvinists tend to be vague on purpose, making it more difficult for others to point out specific errors.

6/. A good debater always focuses on the topic, not the opponent.

A poor debater who has little to offer in support of his topic will be tempted to make personal comments about his opponent. It is a tactic often used by lawyers: that if you are likely to lose the case, throw some dirt and some might stick. Discredit the opposing counsel and/or his witnesses.
Time after time, calvinist comments focus on me as a poor example of a Christian. (Just check the Comments page to see this!) According to them, I am a satanist (actually a good one, too!), I have pride, I am arrogant, I am not humble, I disdain and abuse other Christians, I am clueless, rude, a slanderer, non-elect, etc etc.
(Of course, they provide little to support such claims other than they have been unable to demonstrate me to be wrong doctrinally.)

7/. A good debater avoids deception in his statements.

If a debater thinks he is fighting a losing battle because the topic favours his opponents, then he may hope to get in first by taking the high ground before his opponents get a chance to speak. That is, to take a great weakness and present it as a great strength. This is deception. The idea is to make the first move and hopefully put your opponent on the defensive from the start, making your opponent defend what they should be attacking with. It is effectively using lies to cover up your weaknesses. Deception may win debates but only if the opposition fails to recognise the untruths being told.
Calvinists make use of this tactic so often that it is amazing more have not seen the pattern. For example, they will regularly claim Romans 9 to be a most definitive passage in support of calvinism. And yet, if you look at Romans 9 carefully, it is clear that it opposes calvinism. (Just look at Romans 9:1-3 to see that Paul himself could not have been a calvinist!) Every one of their claims re that chapter is actually a weakness and not a strength at all. Note that this lying tactic is not likely to work with those who have a good knowledge and understanding of the Bible.

8/. A good debater does not use the debate as his soapbox.

A good debater sticks to the selected topic and does not let himself be distracted onto personal views unrelated to the topic.
Calvinists often commence by stating a vague opposition to something I have written, only to then go onto another topic that is probably more to their liking. (That is, probably a topic more easily discussed vaguely than the one I have presented.) I have accused a few of trying to treat my website as their soapbox. If they want a place to air their own personal views, then they should start their own website!

In future all comments will have to adhere to good debating rules.

Future comments will need to be focused on the topic (as defined by one or more of my documents). They will be concise, rational and logical.
If calvinists make vague, unintelligent and irrational discussion, then they will not be published on this website. In fact, this requirement will apply to all comments. If you disagree with any statement I have written, then clearly define that statement and why you are opposed to it. (Or, in fact, why you are in agreement with it.) Do not change the topic. Keep your debate concise.
You may use Bible references where they are integrated into your debate. Please do not quote Scripture verbatim, especially long passages. Keep in mind that any Bible quoted must be public domain. Any literary references must be properly documented.

If I had used these requirements to assess Comments up until now, many who write in disagreement would not have been published.
I will be more lenient with those who agree, of course. This is not unfair; it is, after all, my website (I pay all costs without using advertising). I may choose how I assess any incoming mail. Note that all people tend to accept emails more readily from supportive people, and this is no different to that. To any who disagree with this policy, I would ask how many of you move unwanted emails to the trash or spam folders rather than dealing with them. Naturally you prefer friendly emails; so do I. Therefore, any unacceptable Comments (that do not adhere to the above listed requirements) will be moved to the trash or spam folders. Thank you.

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments may be recorded on the Comments page. However, I may choose to reply to reasonable comments via email.

List of all my posts on this site.

If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

Sermons and Messages

Calvinist heretics & heresies

Please feel free to comment  Comments and contact page
Reasonable comments and replies may be recorded on the Comments page.

The Westminster Confession – A scholarly critique

The Westminster Confession – a scholarly critique

After some serious study of that belief statement much beloved and much quoted of calvinists – the Westminster Confession – I have concluded that it is quite contradictory and encourages confused thinking. This is to be expected, seeing as it is based upon those likewise contradictory and confused teachings of Calvin.

Calvinism teaches that sin and evil are perfect and therefore good.

In “Calvinism is madness itself”, I pointed out that calvinists are forced by their doctrines to believe that all things in this world must be perfect, including sin and evil.

Yet sin can only be by the free will of man

Calvinism teaches that man has no free will to choose to sin. Spurgeon (that preacher much-loved-and-quoted by calvinists) said: “It has already been proved beyond all controversy that free-will is nonsense.” (“Free will – a slave”) Yet, Spurgeon was unable to provide any scriptural evidence to support this.

Free-will proves calvinism to be a lie.

Calvinism stands or falls on whether or not such free will exists. In particular, calvinists strongly oppose any freedom of will to choose to obey or disobey God. They teach that God created a class of people who could never seek after God and could never be saved.

Man sins by his free will alone.

The issue of who created sin is a much-argued subject, even between calvinists. The Bible teaches that man chooses to sin (to disobey God’s will) of his own free will. This alone is biblical; any option that takes man’s free will from him when sinning is to make God a sinner against His own will. God cannot sin against His own will; he cannot disobey Himself, nor will He cause or incite someone to sin against His will. He doesn’t even permit sin – He can only permit the free will of others to choose to sin in disobedience to His will.

The Westminster Confession teaches that God cannot be responsible for sin.

The Westminster Confession says: “the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God; who being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.” (Ch.5 Part 4) This on its own is biblical.
It also says that “Every sin” is “a transgression of the righteous law of God”. (Ch.6 Part 6) That is, disobeying God’s will (as enshrined in His law) is sin. This, too, is biblical.

The Westminster Confession also teaches that God ordered sin for his own glory.

But this document also says “Our first parents, begin seduced by the subtlety and temptations of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit. This their sin God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory.” (Ch.6 Part 1)
That is, God has not only permitted them to sin, but has ordered it for his glory. Note that Calvin clearly stated thatGod is the author of all evils.

The calvinist God orders sin for his glory while also condemning it?

How can God “purpose to order” sin “for his glory” if he is not “the author or approver of sin”?

God cannot ordain, decree, nor even permit sin.

God cannot ordain or decree sin, ever. It would be the equivalent of decreeing that He disobey Himself. Nor can God even permit man to sin, for permission itself assumes approval of such action. Thus permitting man to sin would require God to approve of disobedience against Himself. Holy God cannot do this. In Genesis 2:16 God gave Adam permission to eat of all the trees in the garden, but denied him that same permission to eat of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:17).

Sin is an act of disobeying God’s will.

Sin is defined as man disobeying God’s will. God is holy and cannot have anything to do with sin. Even the Westminster Confession admits this much: “Every sin” is “a transgression of the righteous law of God”. (Ch.6 Part 6)
Because God neither orders nor approves of sin (Ch.5 Part 4), it was impossible for Him to make Adam sin, or even to influence him in any way to cause him to sin. When Adam sinned, he was committing an act of disobedience by his will alone against God’s will. God told him to not eat the forbidden fruit; this was God’s law to Adam. Therefore, to eat of it was disobedience against God’s law and therefore sin. It could only be an act of Adam’s free will to choose to sin against God.

Everything God does must oppose sin.

It could never have been God’s will in any way that Adam should sin because then God would be inciting sin against Himself, and holy God cannot do that, ever. Adam’s sin was opposed to God’s will, and therefore an independent act of a will other than God’s holy will. God will at all times oppose disobedience against Himself. Everything God does must oppose sin (which is disobedience against Himself) or else He is no longer holy.

God did not create Adam with a sin nature.

Some calvinists, recognising that Adam has to have chosen to sin by his own free will, then say that it was Adam’s nature that caused him to sin. But this would require God to have created Adam with a sin nature that had to sin of necessity. And that would also require God to incite disobedience against Himself, thereby committing sin against His own will.

The calvinist “free-agency” makes man do only that which God has decreed that he do.

Others say that while Adam had no free will, he had a free agency to sin. But free agency merely says that while Adam was free to choose, he could only choose that option which God had already provided for him to choose, and no other. Effectively free agency is no freedom at all; free agency would still require God to provide the sinful option that Adam would be required to choose. And that would still make God a sinner against Himself.

The Westminster Confession says that man has liberty to choose between good and evil.

The Westminster Confession says: “God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that is neither forced, nor by any absolute necessity of nature determined to good or evil.” (Ch.9 Part 1)

The Westminster Confession also says that God foreordained all things that will ever happen.

It also says: “God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass” (Ch.3 Part 1)

Therefore it teaches that man has free will to choose, yet only what God has foreordained that he choose.

Literally, therefore, God has given man free will to choose between good or evil, yet God has also ordained all things that will happen, including all good and evil. Thus, God has given man free will to choose whatever God has already ordained that he should choose. This is the classic definition of the calvinist “free agency”.

Salvation is a free gift offered to all mankind.

God has offered a free gift of salvation and eternal life to all mankind. To reject such a gift would be to disobey God whose will is that all mankind be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Calvinists say that man does not have the free will to make such a choice; that God has ordained from the beginning who will obey and who will not obey God’s will here. Those who do not obey will be sent to hell for eternity for their disobedience against God’s will. However, according to calvinism, their disobedience can only be the consequence of not being ordained to obey.

Calvinism makes God complicit in man’s sin.

This makes the calvinist God at the very least a co-sinner alongside those whom he will send to hell for their ordained disobedience. And, at worst, the calvinist God is the only wilful sinner in the universe! The true God cannot make anyone sin, nor will He ever set up circumstances that inevitably send people to hell without any option of being able to obey Him.

The Westminster Confession teaches that God has predestinated most of mankind to hell without man having any say at all.

The Westminster Confession says: “By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death.” (Ch.3 Part 3) Not only does this teach double predestination, but in Ch.3 Part 5 it states that this was decided “before the foundation of the world”.

The Westminster Confession teaches that the calvinist God randomly selects who will go to heaven.

Ch.3 Part 5 also states that God’s decision regarding predestination was “out of his free grace and love alone, without any foresight of faith or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving him thereunto”, that is, unconditional. It doesn’t matter who you are or how you behave, for every single person has just as much chance of being chosen as anyone else (or else a condition would exist). And, noting Westminster Confession Ch.10 Parts 3 & 4, even Hitler could have been one of the elect. Or Judas (oh, that’s right, according to the Bible, he was one of the elect!). Unconditional election equals random selection.

Therefore in calvinism eternal life or death rests upon a celestial lottery of all mankind.

But if the election is unconditional, then all mankind is in this celestial lottery, and theoretically everyone has an equal chance of being drawn. But no, it does appear that white Caucasians are far more likely to be chosen than any other racial group. Maybe the calvinist God stacked the draw, or rigged it somehow so that those people were favoured? But then it wouldn’t be unconditional! Or, perhaps, unreached nations could actually have the elect among them too, only they do not produce the works and therefore we aren’t counting them, but maybe we should? Note that Tim Keller (a co-founder of the new calvinist Gospel Coalition), believes (along with C S Lewis) that God may have a back door somewhere for such unreached peoples to access heaven. And maybe many of those who claim to be of the elect because of their good works may not actually be saved! ………

The Westminster Confession teaches God’s foreknowledge doesn’t really exist.

Note that God’s foreknowledge is discounted in the Westminster Confession Ch.3 Part 5 (“without any foresight of faith”) as a means of selecting his election. Calvinists hate foreknowledge to mean God’s perfect knowledge of the future because it demands the free will of man to choose salvation which would then be known by God according to His foreknowledge. Genuine foreknowledge demands future decisions to be foreknown!

Even Calvin taught that foreknowledge was irrelevant for God.

…… or to just state that discussion of foreknowledge (or prescience) is futile because God would already foreknow all things by reason of having appointed them from the beginning. (eg Calvin – “If God merely foresaw human events, and did not also arrange and dispose of them at his pleasure, there might be room for agitating the question, how far his foreknowledge amounts to necessity; but since he foresees the things which are to happen, simply because he has decreed that they are so to happen, it is vain (irrelevant) to debate about prescience, while it is clear that all events take place by his sovereign appointment.” – Institutes, Bk 3, Ch.23, Section 6) Yet the Bible says (in 1 Peter 1:2) that our election is by that “irrelevant” foreknowledge!

If God’s foreknowledge is true, then calvinism is heresy.

Therefore, prove foreknowledge to be God’s perfect knowledge of the future and you destroy calvinism’s “no-free-will”. If foreknowledge exists as such, then the free will of man to choose salvation must also exist.

Holy God will never have anything to do with sin.

God is holy, and can have nothing to do with sin at all, ever. All sin therefore is a free-will act against the will of holy God, an act that God condemns. If man has no free will to choose to obey or disobey, then the responsibility falls back upon God who must therefore be effectively making man’s choices for him. Either man has free will to choose to obey or disobey God, or God has made that choice for him. Whoever makes such a choice is responsible for the consequences of that choice. If man makes that choice to disobey, then he deserves God’s condemnation. If that choice were by God’s decree (as calvinism clearly teaches) then God has put himself into the awkward situation of putting himself on trial and being found guilty. God can neither ordain (decree) nor approve (permit) sin.

The Westminster Confession teaches that those without works can still be saved.

Please note that the Westminster Confession has a few more problems. Apparently there are those who live their lives without any outward evidences of salvation because of some alleged incapability who are also among the elect. This obviously would cover those calvinists who turn up to church when required but otherwise have no works to demonstrate their faith!
Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth. So also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.” Ch.10 Part 3)

And others who show evidences of being called by the ministry of the Word are not actually saved.

Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may have some common operations of the Spirit, yet they never truly come to Christ, and therefore can not be saved: much less can men, not professing the Christian religion, be saved in any other way whatsoever, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature, and the law of that religion they do profess; and to assert and maintain that they may is without warrant of the Word of God.” (Ch.10 Part 4)

This rests upon Calvin’s doctrine of a temporary faith.

Of course, Calvin taught the same: that by “an inferior operation of the Spirit” … “by Christ himself a temporary faith, is ascribed to them.” (Institutes Bk 3, Ch 2, Section 11) Some who were chosen for hell from the beginning could be made to think they were saved, and would even have the works to demonstrate to others that they were saved, yet would be dropped from God’s grace before they died.

The Westminster Confession is irrational, contradictory and unbiblical.

People can be of the elect even though they have no supporting works, and others can be not of the elect even if they do have supporting works. Sounds like none of them can actually know if they are saved or not until they die and stand before God. In fact, according to the Westminster Confession no-one can really be sure what their God has chosen for them until they stand before him in the judgment. So, which Westminster Confession set of options do you choose? And what if you choose the wrong options? And stand before God one day and be told to depart from Him because you were never one of His!

Matthew 7:22-2322Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

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Calvinists blame the internet for comments that oppose them

Calvinists blame the internet for comments that oppose them

(Excuses, excuses! Always excuses! All because they think they can never be wrong!)

Calvinists blame the internet for much of the opposition they get from biblical Christians. The fact is that calvinists do not want you to think for yourself! They want to tell you what they believe and to stifle all others who might oppose. Calvinism seeks to control people, and those who think for themselves are harder to control.

Calvinists allege that the internet has “contributed to the rise of anti-Calvinism in our church“. (This is certainly true; we who disagree with calvinism have a right to expose their heresies. It’s called “freedom of speech”!) They allege that anti-calvinists have “skewed sources that unfavorably misrepresented” calvinism. (We declare that calvinism uses skewed sources that misrepresent the Bible itself!) They blame “the intrusion of internet hotheads” for the subsequent division. (Yet, if those “hotheads” were calvinists, then they’d be declaring them to be “heroes”!)
Everyone should research as widely and as deeply as they can in order to arrive at their own conclusions without undue pressure from either side. Test all things for yourselves!

There is a growing list of websites today that openly oppose the heresies of calvinism. And many calvinists are quite upset about this. They don’t mind using the internet to ram home their own doctrines; in fact, they are often quite aggressive in their use of internet forums. (Just try opposing their doctrines on most forums and see how quickly the moderator will caution you and then shut you down if you don’t toe the correct doctrinal line!)  But when their opposition uses the internet to expose calvinist heresies, calvinists are very quick to cry, “Foul!” However, it’s just a case of you can’t have your cake and eat it! If they can use the internet, then others can too.

A lot of calvinists blame the availability of the internet itself for the opposition they face from non-calvinists. They say that the internet has fostered an age of “experts”.
They claim that everyone thinks he is an expert on calvinism just by reading someone’s opinion on a website post, and that such opinion is without basis because it is wrong (because they say so!). Of course, if the opinion favours calvinism, then, they claim, it must be true, but, on the other hand, it must be false if it opposes calvinism. That is, the internet can only be true if it agrees with calvinism. Any website that disagrees with calvinism can not be true. This is extremely biased thinking indeed!

So, is there any logical basis for such biased thinking? After all, we do tend to be very biased against such non-Christian cults as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. If one side is very clearly biblical, and opposes doctrines that are just as clearly non-biblical, then such bias may be justified. If calvinists could biblically demonstrate clearly that their doctrines were true and that opposing non-calvinist doctrines were false, then fair enough. But can they??

You see, that would require biblically-sourced solutions (sola scriptura) that consistently supported their doctrines, and just as consistently denied the doctrines of non-calvinists. According to calvinist logic, my website consistently tells lies, while those who oppose my teachings must be consistently correct. However, if this were so, then it would be quite simple to demonstrate me wrong by quoting the Bible alone to demonstrate my errors. Any inconsistency between beliefs and the Bible always indicates such beliefs to be false. If the Bible were to consistently teach calvinism while consistently denying non-calvinism, then any inconsistency would expose my lies. But, after many years of challenging calvinists to try to prove my statements to be inconsistent with the Bible, not one calvinist yet has taken up the challenge.

Oh yes, I do get calvinists opposing me. Often they won’t even quote any Bible verses at all, probably considering it beneath their dignity to overstate the “obvious” (obvious to them, anyway!). And when they do quote verses, they rattle off a reference without much (if any) explanation, as if to say that the verse quoted is definitive proof of their doctrinal truth. I sometimes get a whole passage of many verses without any reasoning as to why it is good for calvinism.

For example, they’ll quote John 6:44, stating that it proves the unconditional election. MacArthur uses it to support his doctrinal statement “All whom the Father calls to Himself will come in faith and all who come in faith the Father will receive.” But John 6:44 does not say that all who are called must come. Instead it says that all who come must have been called. (If you cannot see the difference, you must be a calvinist!) Think! If all dogs have four legs, that does not mean that everything with four legs must be a dog!

Others use John 6:39that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing” to prove that it is only those who are given unconditionally to Jesus who can be saved. However, when I ask how Jesus lost Judas who had been given to Him (John 17:12), they never answer this.

Again, they sometimes quote John 15:16 to demonstrate that we do not choose God; God chooses us. When I ask if they are aware that Judas was one of those chosen here, they refuse to go any further on that discussion. I also point out that Judas was one of the twelve chosen disciples in spite of him being a devil (John 6:70), and also chosen to be an apostle in spite of him being a traitor (Luke 6:13-16). They never answer this either.

Many other scriptural examples can be presented – just ask me!

In fact, often in my replies to comments, I point out the scriptural inconsistencies with their claims. (Just read the Comments on this website to find out just how many questions I raise about their claimed doctrines, over and over ad infinitum.) Why has not one made any serious effort to defend calvinism by refuting my statements? If they reply (of course they mostly will never reply to my comments) it’s to change the subject, trying to push another heresy which I then refute as well (and which they also refuse to argue with any further).

So, if the calvinists are always right and the non-calvinists always wrong on the internet, why has not one single calvinist ever been able to refute scripturally (sola scriptura) any of my accusations against them? Why do calvinists in general refuse to take me on in serious biblical debate concerning their doctrines? And does this, in fact, prove that they are the ones who are misusing the internet, not the non-calvinists?

To tell the truth, it was the internet that has given calvinists their greatest opportunity to spew forth their heresies. Calvinism has endeavoured to take control of as much media as it can: literature, video, internet etc. In particular, calvinism would like a monopoly on the internet where their views may be put forward without opposition. It declares its views to be the only acceptable ones, yet is unable to present any serious debate against those who refute their heresies. Calvinism does not desire any dialogue at all with those who oppose because many of those who oppose can effectively demonstrate the falsehoods of calvinism. They will steer well clear of those who know their Bibles well! So why should this be so, eh?

Calvinists want to be the only ones talking here. No-one else may join the discussion unless they support calvinist teachings. The internet is good if it supports calvinism and bad if it doesn’t. This is calvinist internet philosophy in a nutshell. Only their doctrines may be taught; all other views must be declared lies.

So, here’s the challenge for calvinists. If you disagree with my internet “opinions”, if you think that my views are misinformed and misleading, if you consider that I am misrepresenting calvinism, then say so. Make sure you use the Bible alone to demonstrate your views, for I will not pay much attention if any to your so-called “experts” such as MacArthur, Piper, Sproul, Mohler, Edwards, Boettner, Pink, etc etc, people who make up opinions with little regard for biblical truth.

If you could refute me, you would, but because you cannot refute me, you remain silent. Your silence is deafening; it is your defeat. If my opinion is false, then refute it or admit that you cannot. (Your silence itself admits of your defeat.)

And those of you who are still considering whether or not calvinism is scriptural, ask yourselves: Where is the clear and indisputable demonstration of my “misrepresentation”? If there is none, it is because no such demonstration can be made. I have many documents on my website that demonstrate the heresies of calvinism. Not one has been biblically refuted yet. Calvinists just don’t want to know what I write because they are afraid of losing the debate. (I used to print all reasonable comments, both positive and negative, but now I refuse to reply unless the actual document is referenced, plus the exact wording quoted. Even then, if I have dealt with that issue already on the website, then I may choose to ignore you. I dislike stating the obvious more than once!)

And so I will continue to use the internet to proclaim the lies of calvinism in the hope that as many as possible will read and carefully consider its doctrinal claims, weighing them up against the truth of the Bible alone (sola scriptura). Please do not take anyone’s word for anything either but test all things against the truth of the Bible alone. It is you who has to believe one way or the other. Do not ever let anyone else at all tell you what you must believe. That also includes checking everything I write against the Bible.

It is you who will stand before God as judge one day and answer for what you believe. No-one can stand there for you. No-one else can believe on your behalf. (Ezekiel 18:20) So test all things against the Bible for yourself. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

And calvinists, keep in mind that one day you (yes, even you!) will stand before God as judge to answer for your actions. If you have taught falsely such that others are condemned for eternity, then you will be judged accordingly. (We will all be judged one day; no-one will be excused, even calvinists. (This is what the first half of John 6:37 actually means!)
Matthew 18:6But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and [that] he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

If you twist meanings using verbal gymnastics to cause people to be lost, then you will certainly face eternal condemnation.
2 Peter 2:3And through covetousness shall they (false teachers) with feigned (plastos = carefully sculpted) words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

If you don’t like the KJV, then your NIV says: In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
or in the calvinist-preferred ESV: And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
or the Amplified Bible: And in their greed they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. Their sentence [of condemnation which God has decreed] from a time long ago is not idle [but is still in force], and their destruction and deepening misery is not asleep [but is on its way].

In fact, whatever version you read will condemn false teachers to eternal condemnation. False teachers, be warned now!

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments may be recorded on the Comments page. However, I may choose to reply to reasonable comments via email.

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If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

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What qualifications does a calvinist need?

What qualifications does a calvinist need?

This post came about because calvinists who make comments on this website generally make wild accusations without presenting a shred of evidence to support their claims.
The latest one simply said, “You are clueless”. So, what was the point of his comment? Absolutely no point at all! With an abundance of such point-less comments from calvinists, I have now concluded that a lack of rational thinking must be a prerequisite for being a calvinist. So here’s a short-list of my observations after a few years of receiving calvinist comments.

Here’s some suggestions on what a calvinist should attach to his resume.

(Of course, many calvinist prospective pastors will refuse to acknowledge much of the following to any church which might use the Bible to select their pastor. These resume points below are only going to look right to a non-biblical calvinist church.)

1/. He must always be right.

He must have an unshakeable confidence in the rightness of his beliefs in the face of much logical opposition. He must know he is always right and therefore anyone who disagrees is always wrong. To admit that he could be wrong would be to accept that others who believe differently could be right. This is unacceptable to a calvinist, that someone else might actually be right!

2/. He must have an ability to believe what the Bible cannot teach.

Even if the Bible says that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, he must still stubbornly state that Jesus only died for a few that their God has chosen for heaven. Even when the Bible says we must choose whom we will serve, he must maintain that choosing never means to actually have a choice!

3/. He must be able to ignore anyone biblically challenging his beliefs.

Time after time I get calvinists quoting verses that “prove” their doctrines. Yet, when I point out questions the Bible raises against their interpretations, they will not reply, or else they will change the topic. A few have quoted John 15:16 to “prove” that God chooses us and we do not choose Him. But when I ask if they realise that Judas was one of those chosen there, they either do not reply or push on with a different set of “proof” verses.

4/. He must believe that the Bible doesn’t mean what it says.

For example, “all” often means “some”, “many” often means “all”, “the whole world” often means only Christians, and “does not” means “cannot”!

5/. He must believe that his God has divine schizophrenia (multiple personality disorder).

He must teach that God desires one thing (the salvation of all mankind) yet decrees something quite different (most of mankind goes to hell). You have to ask why Piper should want to defend his God against a charge of divine schizophrenia! He says: “Affirming the will of God to save all, while also affirming the unconditional election of some, implies that there are at least “two wills” in God, or two ways of willing. It implies that God decrees one state of affairs while also willing and teaching that a different state of affairs should come to pass.” Yet “his will to elect unconditionally those who will actually be saved is not a sign of divine schizophrenia

6/. He must have a lack of ability to engage in meaningful and intelligent debate.

When others oppose his doctrines, the calvinist must stick to his guns and maintain that he is right because (a) he has been to an approved Bible college, or (b) he reads books by calvinists who teach the same “truths”, or (c) only calvinists are qualified to assess the deeper truths of the Bible, or (d) there are mysteries that God does not want us to know, or (e) you cannot be one of the elect! If you will not play his game by his rules, then he won’t talk to you again!

He must have a supply of names he can call biblical non-calvinists who dare to use the Bible to refute him. Because he cannot abide using the Bible alone for his debates (because he knows he would lose), he must have an arsenal of names and epithets to fire at his “enemy”. These include “clueless”, “non-elect”, “misrepresenting”, “rude”, slander”, “out of context”, “unbiblical”, “you are trying to twist things to fit your own agenda”, “you are teaching heresy”, “both your name and qualifications could very well be an issue with what I believe”, “unbecoming of a brother in Christ”, “very arrogant and hostile”, “lack discernment”. I have been declared the servant of satan, of the devil, evil, hateful, and worse. Yet not one of these people actually demonstrated why they said it. They declare me wrong yet are unable to say why.
The latest comment, by the way, accused me of tirades, yet all he could do was present a tirade of his own soap-box variety! Of course I won’t reply, nor will I print his heresies. Let him commence his own webpage and say what he wants on that. See lower down for my conclusions on his tirade!

7/. He must be unable to present logical debate when refuting said opposition.

In fact, he will usually refuse to engage in any serious debate with someone who knows the Bible well. Those who know the Bible well and quote it in support of their beliefs are considered to be not playing the game by the rules (their rules!). Mormon Joseph Smith had special glasses that only he could use to interpret the extra-biblical writings of the angel Moroni and therefore considered himself above human debate. Many calvinists have their own special set of such “glasses”. They claim that only calvinism categorises the Bible such that only calvinists may understand the deeper “truths” of the Bible. In fact, calvinism is an esoteric knowledge system where only those who are initiated may be permitted to know its deeper truths!

8/. He must declare non-calvinists to be theologically untaught.

He must be prepared to call out non-calvinists as theologically untaught with man-centred thinking, such as stated by calvinist Steven Lawson who said of those non-calvinist Christians that: “In my earlier years, the greatest challenges I faced were preaching the doctrines of grace to congregations that were theologically untaught. To say the least, it was difficult and demanding to try to establish God-centered truth and a biblical philosophy of ministry where there had previously been a stronghold of man-centered thinking concerning the work of God in salvation. Though it was obviously a painful process, the only way to meet such an obstacle was head-on, unashamedly preaching the full counsel of God.

9/. He must be willing to teach that only calvinists are biblically correct.

He must declare that calvinists are the only evangelical, biblical, theologically correct Christians, such as calvinist Al Mohler states: “Where else are they going to go? If you’re a theological minded, deeply convictional young evangelical, if you’re committed to the gospel and want to see the nations rejoice in the name of Christ, if you want to see gospel built and structured committed churches, your theology is just going end up basically being Reformed, basically something like this new Calvinism, or you’re going to have to invent some label for what is basically going to be the same thing, there just are not options out there

10/. He must be good at verbal gymnastics.

That is, he must be good at interpreting the Bible to mean the opposite to the clear straight-forward meaning. He must be persuasive, believable, even when telling lies. Like the false teachers of 2 Peter 2:3, he must use “feigned words” (verbal gymnastics) to mean the opposite of what he appears to be saying.

11/. He must be good at mentoring gullible Christians.

He must be able to choose the right people to mentor into the philosophy of calvinism. He has to be careful not to get into a debate with those who might show him up to be the charlatan that he is. Young, immature, naïve, gullible Christians are ideal for his purposes. When he joins a church, he’ll set his sights on such people in order to do the “I am biblical” boast in front of. He’ll talk very biblically-sounding talk, and walk a very biblically-acceptable behaviour, in order to convince these naïve Christians that he is a mature Christian who has all the answers. Of course, he’ll work on individuals or small groups only, in order to better ensure that he will not be opposed by one of those nasty biblical Christians who know their Bibles well.

12/. He’ll boast of the superiority of his God.

And, therefore, will boast of his own superiority in believing in a more sovereign, more gracious (though also more judgmental and less loving) calvinist God. He’ll claim to have experienced a higher view of God that clearly must make him a better Christian.

13/. He might even teach that only calvinists can be saved.

It does sound like those in many Pentecostal churches who boast of the superiority of their spiritual experience because they have spoken in tongues etc. And like such people who claim to be real Christians because they have spoken in tongues (I have met a few), there are calvinists who maintain that it is only calvinists who may be of the elect. Even if I say I have called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13) calvinists have to say that unless God chose me, then I still cannot be saved.

14/. He must believe that God ordained or decreed sin.

Because the calvinist God makes all the decisions in his universe, then the calvinist must believe that his God is responsible for the existence of all sin. Many prominent calvinist “theologians” acknowledge that God created/decreed/ordained/authored sin. Even Calvin stated “But the objection is not yet resolved, that if all things are done by the will of God, and men contrive nothing except by His will and ordination, then God is the author of all evils.” (“Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God” P 179)

15/. He must believe that satan is an obedient servant of God.

Calvin said that “Satan cannot possibly do anything against the will and consent of God” (Institutes Ch.1, Bk.14, Section 17)

16/. He must believe that his God created most of mankind to go to hell.

Calvin said “By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death.” (Institutes Ch.3, Bk.21, Section 5) And because most of mankind will go to hell according to the Bible, then they were predestined to go to hell by the calvinist God.

17/. He must believe that God hates most people.

While God tells us to love our enemies, the calvinist God creates his enemies by predestinating them to hell for no other reason than he doesn’t love them enough to want them in heaven. The calvinist God hates most of the mankind he has created.

18/. He must believe that prayer is ineffectual.

If the calvinist God has foreordained all things from the beginning, then no amount of prayer can ever make any difference at all, because no-one can ever change what the calvinist God has willed should happen.

19/. He must believe that preaching the gospel is not to save people.

Calvinists will often say that they preach the gospel in obedience to God, for if God has already established from the beginning who will be saved (and no-one else), then no amount of evangelizing can ever change what God has predetermined.

Calvinist Bryan Liftin (professor of theology at the Moody Bible Institute) saysBut then why evangelize anyone if God’s decree is already fixed? The mistake is thinking that we evangelize in order to save people. That is incorrect. …. The right reason to evangelize is to be obedient.

20/. He must believe that the gospel is completely irrelevant.

He must believe that it is impossible for anyone to respond to the gospel until after he has been born again (they call it being regenerated). You cannot be saved until after you have been regenerated.

21/. He must believe that only those chosen from the beginning will go to heaven.

And he must believe that there is absolutely nothing that he or anyone else can do that can ever make any difference at all regarding who goes to heaven or hell. If you are not on the list for heaven from the beginning of creation, then you were always earmarked to go to hell.

22/. He must believe that it doesn’t even matter what you believe.

In calvinism it doesn’t matter how good or bad you are, because if you are one that God has chosen, you will go to heaven, and if you were not chosen, you will go to hell. This is the calvinist gospel in a nutshell.

23/. He must believe that God has a celestial lottery to choose his elect.

Calvinism teaches that God unconditionally chooses his elect to go to heaven. The rest he chooses to send to hell. An unconditional election means a statistically random selection. It is a celestial lottery that determines where you go when you die. Most of course will go to hell, unless you are one of those special ones whom he loves. And the calvinist God chooses whom he will love via his celestial (unconditional) lottery. Everyone has an equal chance of being drawn out of the barrel. Unfortunately, 99% or more will remain in that barrel. And those names that remain in the barrel will be sent to hell. No matter how good a life you live, if you were not chosen in that lottery, you will go to hell.

24/. He must believe in a temporary faith, an inferior operation of the Spirit.

There are those who appear to be of the elect yet fall away before the end. Calvin taught that these had been given a temporary faith, “an inferior operation of the Spirit”. Calvin also says that “Hence it is not strange, that by the Apostle a taste of heavenly gifts, and by Christ himself a temporary faith, is ascribed to them. Not that they truly perceive the power of spiritual grace and the sure light of faith; but the Lord, the better to convict them, and leave them without excuse, instills into their minds such a sense of his goodness as can be felt without the Spirit of adoption.
(Institutes Bk.3, Ch.2, Section 11)

25/. He must believe that no-one can know if they are saved until they die.

Calvinists must believe that a proof of their election to heaven is that they will persevere until the end. If they do not persevere to the end, then they had a temporary faith only, and were never programmed to persevere to the end. Not one calvinist can ever be sure that he is one of the elect until he dies and stands before God in judgment. Only perseverance to the end proves your faith!

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments will be recorded on the Comments page.

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Addendum
The tirade mentioned above claimed a belief in predestination. Keep in mind that if God has predestinated all mankind to either heaven or hell, then
(a) praying for anyone’s salvation cannot change where that person goes when they die
(b) evangelisation and mission work are a total waste of time
(c) even doing good works is of no benefit at all to you

MacArthur is Wrong!

MacArthur is Wrong
This is a summary of a much longer document I published a while ago. This summary is recommended for most people. 

The much longer, more technical, original “MacArthur is Wrong” was one of the first documents published on this website.

(You could also take a look at the madness of calvinism inCalvinism is madness itself“.)

MacArthur’s besotted followers can’t accept that he can ever be wrong!
It is apparent that MacArthur, along with other calvinist “teachers”, is guilty of intending to deliberately distort the truth of the Bible and thus knowingly teaches doctrines designed to deceive. Many of his besotted followers think that he just cannot be wrong, yet wrong he is, indeed. This deception involves the misuse of alleged “scholarship” in order to confuse those who may think that MacArthur just cannot be wrong, and therefore mistakenly believe everything he says.

MacArthur changes the meaning of foreknowledge to deny man’s free will to choose
Calvinists like MacArthur apparently have a great need to somehow “prove” that God’s foreknowledge is predetermined by God, thus allowing the false doctrines of unconditional election and limited atonement to appear to have Biblical doctrine status. For, a foreknowledge not dependent upon predetermination (or predestination, or fore-ordination) would permit the free will of man to choose this day whom he will serve, something that calvinists like MacArthur refuse to accept, even though the Bible does teach such free will consistently.

MacArthur twists Acts 2:23 to change meaning of “foreknow” in Romans 8:29
I was given (by a calvinist) a quote from MacArthur’s Study Bible in support of calvinist teachings. It appeared as a footnote to Romans 8:29For 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.

(cf. Acts 2:23—an inviolable rule of Greek grammar, called the Granville Sharp rule, equates [pre]determination and “foreknowledge”; see notes on 1 Pet. 1:1–2, and cf. with Rom. 1:20—the term must be interpreted the same in both verses.)

You see, MacArthur, like any strict calvinist, appears unable to accept that “foreknow” and “foreknowledge” actually have anything to do with God knowing the future! He desperately wants “foreknowledge” to mean “predetermined” because calvinism demands the lie. If foreknowledge means God’s perfect knowledge of the future, then it also means that man makes free-will choices regarding his salvation, and that God did not unconditionally predestinate man to either heaven or hell from the beginning.

God chooses His elect by foreknowledge of free will decisions for salvation
Calvinists hate the idea that foreknowledge actually means a knowledge of the future! For if it did, then 1 Peter 1:2 destroys their teaching that God has predetermined the eternal future of all mankind from the beginning without any free-will input by anyone. It is apparent that MacArthur won’t accept the clear teaching in 1 Peter 1:2 which says that God used His foreknowledge to choose His elect.

1 Peter 1:2aElect according to the foreknowledge (prognosis) of God the Father
Of course, that word “foreknowledge” is the Greek word prognosis (knowledge of the future before it happens) which is derived from proginosko (to have knowledge beforehand). God’s prognosis in salvation literally means God using His knowledge of the future to determine those who had called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13), those whom He would then record in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 17:8), that is, the elect or chosen of God. For further information on the foreknowledge of God, please go to The Foreknowledge of Sovereign God.

But the Biblical use of foreknowledge uses man’s free will choice to accept the free gift of salvation offered in Christ (Romans 10:13), something calvinists refuse to accept (clearly by their free will too, no doubt). Therefore calvinists won’t accept that God uses foreknowledge to determine His elect (because calvinists deny man any option of free will to accept the salvation of Christ). Thus, they have to teach that foreknowledge means something else, in fact, anything else other than its proper meaning. However, because foreknowledge does mean simply the perfect knowledge that God has of the future, calvinists have to muddy the waters somewhat. So, if they can find some reasoning (however spurious) that sounds intellectual enough, then they’ll use it. It doesn’t matter if it is correct or not; the requirement is to at least introduce sufficient confusion to create some doubt in the minds of those Christians who haven’t the desire to “waste” time and energy testing all things for themselves.

So what is the Granville Sharp rule?
Granville Sharp (1735 – 1813) was an abolitionist (that is, against the slave trade). He was also a strong Trinitarian, that is, he believed very strongly in the Trinity of God, and thus opposed Unitarians (those who believed that only the Father was God and that Jesus was a lesser being created by God). A number of controversial verses (including Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:12; 1 Timothy 5:21; Ephesians 5:5) were interpreted either to mean that Jesus was God, or that He wasn’t God, depending upon how you interpreted the Greek grammar. And that, in turn, depended upon which side of the fence you were on, either Trinitarian or Unitarian. So, he formulated the following rule in support of Trinitarianism: (Note that it applies to “the same person“.)

When the copulative kai connects two nouns of the same case, if the article ho, or any of its cases (te, to), precedes the first of the said nouns or participles, and is not repeated before the second noun or participle, the latter always relates to the same person that is expressed or described by the first noun or participle.

Trinitarian A. Bowser states it more simply: (Note again that it applies to “the same person“.)
When the copulative `and’ connects two nouns of the same case, if the article precedes the first noun and is not repeated before the second noun, the latter always refers to the same person that is expressed or described by the first noun.
(What Every Jehovah’s Witness Should Know, Arthur M. Bowser)

Basically, Granville Sharp’s rule states that when you have two nouns, which are not proper names (such as Cephas, or Paul, or Timothy), which are describing a person, and the two nouns are connected by the word ‘and,’ and the first noun has the article (‘the’) while the second does not, both nouns are referring to the same person.” – (Granville Sharp’s Rule, Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1, James White, calvinist) (Note once again it applies to “the same person“.)

Note that all the statements of this rule relate the nouns to the same person, not thing.
Eg Titus 2:13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Take the phrase “the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ”. Unitarians (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses) teach that “the great God” and “our Saviour Jesus Christ” are two separate persons. But, if the Granville Sharp rule is applied, we get the following:
the (definite article tou) great God (1st noun) and (copulative kai) our Saviour Jesus Christ (2nd noun).
The rule then establishes that “the great God” and “our Saviour Jesus Christ” refer to the one and same person, thus supporting the Trinity of God. But while the two nouns apply to the same person, the two nouns themselves are not equivalent.

This same rule could be stretched to be applied to other relevant verses with similar construction, where the two nouns still refer to the same person.
Acts 2:23Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
where “determinate counsel” and “foreknowledge” are the two nouns with the definite article before the first noun (but not the second noun) and both joined by the copulative kai (= “and”), and both nouns refer to the same person, who is, in this case, God. Please note that the two nouns are not synonyms though. The Granville Sharp rule can never be used to make the two nouns mean the same thing but instead requires that they both refer to the same person, in this case, God.

MacArthur misquotes the Granville Sharp rule to support his false teachings
MacArthur misquotes this rule in the following from his commentary on Romans (Romans 8:29). (Note that MacArthur uses “plan” as a synonym for “determinate counsel”)

Both words include the idea of willful intention. “Foreknowledge” is from the noun form of the verb translated foreknew in our text. According to what Greek scholars refer to as Granville Sharp’s rule, if two nouns of the same case (in this instance, “plan” and “foreknowledge”) are connected by kai (“and”) and have the definite article (the) before the first noun but not before the second, the nouns refer to the same thing (H.E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament [New York: Macmillan, 1927], p. 147). In other words, Peter equates God’s predetermined plan, or foreordination, and His foreknowledge.
(Note that MacArthur has changed “the same person” to “the same thing“.)

That reference MacArthur “quoted” actually says: “The following rule by Granville Sharp of a century back still proves to be true: “When the copulative kai connects two nouns of the same case, if the article ho or any of its cases precedes the first of the said nouns or participles, and is not repeated before the second noun or participle, the latter always relates to the same person that is expressed or described by the first noun or participle; i.e., it denotes a farther description of the first-named person.”” (P 147, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament – H E Dana & Julius R Mantey)
Note that it says “person” and not “thing”. MacArthur says that the nouns refer to “the same thing“, whereas his “quoted” reference says that “the latter always relates to the same person”. Note that even the reference MacArthur uses states that the rule applies to a “person”, so why has MacArthur changed “person” to “thing”?

For one thing, the two nouns of the same case (“determinate counsel” and “foreknowledge”) should refer to the same person (not “thing”) under the Granville Sharp rule, and, in this case, that means “God”. Even if they referred to the same thing as MacArthur says, then it still would not equate the two nouns but merely have them both refer to the same one thing (if not a person). However, the rule always requires that it refer to the same person. In either case, there is absolutely no justification for teaching that the two nouns become the same or similar in meaning! MacArthur is clearly wrong here!

MacArthur misuses this rule to “establish” a lie against God’s truth
It is apparent that MacArthur has misused the Granville Sharp rule in his notes on Romans 8:29 to “establish” an untruth, one that “equates [pre]determination (= KJV “determinate counsel”) and foreknowledge” (referring to Acts 2:23). That is, MacArthur is trying to establish that God’s “foreknowledge” is the same as God’s “determinate counsel”. If he can equate the two terms, then he can declare that God’s foreknowledge is basically predetermined, or fore-ordained, and thus cannot be understood as God using His perfect knowledge of future events for His sovereign purposes. This teaching from MacArthur, if true, would destroy the idea of God using foreknowledge to determine the future free will salvation choices of mankind, since MacArthur would have then established that such knowledge of said free will choices would already be known beforehand only because of God’s determinate counsel! (That is, God’s foreknowledge would become the equivalent of God’s determinate counsel.) And, thus, free will choices become irrelevant because God had already pre-ordained them from the beginning! And that would make the use of foreknowledge irrelevant for determining the future, according to calvinist teaching. This is unbiblical!

MacArthur’s efforts demonstrate that foreknowledge does not equal predetermination
Thus, MacArthur’s efforts to make “determinate counsel” and “foreknowledge” equivalent terms are incorrect and non-scriptural, and for whatever reason he has done this, he has established himself to be somewhat non-biblical in his teaching in this matter. If he has to resort to this to demonstrate something, then the truth is probably other than that which he seeks to teach here.

Therefore, through his unsuccessful efforts to demonstrate that “foreknowledge” means the same as “predeterminate counsel”, MacArthur has effectively demonstrated that God does indeed use foreknowledge to determine the future decisions of people to be saved.

If MacArthur is wrong here, then expect him to be wrong elsewhere
If MacArthur is not able to teach clearly and correctly on this, especially when he claims to be a teacher of the Bible, then there are likely to be other occasions when he makes mistakes. His mistake, as demonstrated above, concerning the Granville Sharp rule, should be unacceptable for an educated person, and seems to be somewhat uneducated instead. It is likely to be deliberate attempt to mislead God’s people. It does seem interesting that a person of allegedly such learning might make such a fundamental error in interpretation. Could this, perhaps, be how MacArthur might call himself a fundamentalist?

Further examples of MacArthur’s unbiblical teachings on the Granville Sharp rule
So, having demonstrated beyond any doubt that MacArthur’s use of the Granville Sharp rule is invalid, I did some further research on MacArthur’s use of this rule. His website says: Acts 2:23 says that Christ went to the cross, listen to this, “By the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.”  …. Foreknowledge means in that passage — by virtue of an old Greek rule that some of you know, the Granville Sharp rule — foreknowledge in the passage Acts 2:23 means the same thing.  So foreknowledge means determinate counsel. 

(“The Progress of Salvation” Scripture: Romans 8:29-30 Code: 90-181)

In another document from MacArthur’s website he says:
In fact, I think it’s Dr. Wuest who says this is where one of the sort of traditional Greek language rules comes into play, what’s known as Granville Sharp’s law, that two nouns in the same case connected by kai, first with an article and second without, must, therefore, refer to the same thing.  And so we could say that “foreknowledge” and “determinate counsel” mean the same thing.
(“The Ultimate Security of Our Salvation” Romans 8:29-30 Code: 45-66)

So “refer to the same thing” then becomes “mean the same thing”? Absolute rubbish! It is the height of illogical debate to say that two items that refer to the same thing must therefore mean the same thing!! I could say, for example, that the knife and fork both refer to the same setting at the table, yet it is sheer idiocy to assume that “knife” and “fork” then mean the same thing, that is, that they are synonyms! If you don’t understand this, just try holding some meat with your knife and then cut it with your fork!

MacArthur is not the only calvinist to twist facts to support his false teaching
Talking of synonyms and the Granville Sharp rule, here’s another calvinist explanation using (misusing!) that rule.

Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, … Acts 2:23
Here, determined purpose and foreknowledge are linked by a Greek grammatical form called the Granville-Sharp Rule. This makes the two nouns synonymous. It is used for emphasis, like saying right and good or evil and bad.

(“Does Foreknowledge Explain Election?” by Roger Smalling).

MacArthur also tries to define “foreknowledge” as not actually “foreknowledge”!
Also, in “The Progress of Salvation”, MacArthur talks about foreknowledge as an expression of love of God for his people. “It is a predetermined, foreordained, foreseen love relationship born in the eternal purpose of God. ….. For example, you go back in the book of Genesis and it says, “Cain knew his wife.”  Now that means more than he knew who she was, or where she was, or what she was like because it follows it by saying, “Cain knew his wife and she bore a son.”  The word “know” is used sort of like a euphemism in Scripture to express the most intimate expressions of love. ….. The concept of knowing then carries that beautiful, intimate love that brings two together.  It has the idea of caring for someone.  In Hosea, for example, 13:5, “I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.”

The Hebrew word for “know” here is yada. See if it means what MacArthur says it does in Genesis 19:4-9: Vs 5 “that we may know (yada) them“; Vs 8 “that have not known (yada) men”.
And in Judges 19:20-30: “that we may know (yada) him” Vs 25 “they knew (yada) her … all the night”.
Do you really think these people wanted a “predetermined, foreordained, foreseen love relationship”? Were they “the most intimate expressions of love”? And if a doctor gives you a prognosis, does MacArthur’s definitions apply to him too?

In fact, MacArthur desperately wants “foreknowledge” to mean anything other than God’s perfect knowledge of the future. But foreknowledge (Greek prognosis) does mean simply God’s perfect knowledge of the future. Just as the doctor gives you his prognosis of your future health based on what he can understand of your future right now (and just as Hippocrates taught the use of prognosis around 400BC), foreknowledge (prognosis) should never be twisted to fit MacArthur’s false calvinist doctrines.

You be the judge: can anyone still claim that MacArthur is biblical?
If, after reading this, you still think MacArthur is completely Biblical in all his teachings, then you need to do some serious research to determine whether in fact you might actually be considering MacArthur to be an authority superior to even the Bible! No-one but God may dictate what is and what isn’t truth, and for that we must go to the Bible, not man-made doctrines (commandments) that are made to appear like the doctrines of God.

Matthew 15:9But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.

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You might wish to check out my other recent posts:

Calvinism is madness itself
Calvinists are either mad, stupid or simply absolutely naïve! You see, calvinists have to agree with the following two statements:
(a) God is perfect and everything He does is perfect.
(b) All things in this world happen according to God’s sovereign will and ordination alone.
Therefore calvinists must believe that:
(a) All things in this world must be perfect, including sin and evil.
(b) Not one imperfect act may exist in a world where the calvinist God rules.
Otherwise, if they declare sin to be evil in any way, then they must accept that their God is not perfect or that his will is not the only will in the universe.

Why do calvinists believe lies?
What is it that makes calvinists think they have the truth when the Bible clearly demonstrates that they are actually believing lies? There has to be some big attraction that tempts them to want to believe, because it is certainly not biblical truth that leads to such lies. In fact, the attraction of calvinism appears to based upon a self-worth-building program. All those with low self-esteem should apply.

Calvinist Interpretations
Scenario No.1
A woman has 5 children. She tells them all to eat their food. Only one child eats his food; the other four do not eat their food.

Calvinist interpretation: “The woman makes one child eat his food and makes the other four not eat their food. Because she never intended to feed them all, she only provided food for the one that she made to eat. She didn’t provide any food for the other four because she never intended feeding them in the first place, even though she told them all to eat their food.”
MacArthur says,God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement, Part 1)
Thus the woman never intended to feed them all. She is boss. She could have intended to feed them all. She could have fed them all. She would have if that had been her intention. The feeding is limited.

Calvinist cop-outs
T
hose of you who oppose calvinism because of its non-biblical teachings may have noticed that the moment you try to use the Bible alone (sola scriptura) to discuss issues with a calvinist, he or she usually tries to avoid open and frank discussion. So I’m proposing some of the more common ways that calvinists use to avoid having to defend their heresies. After all, most calvinists know that they will lose any debate on calvinism using the Bible alone. And fear of losing drives them to avoid resorting to the truth of the Bible alone.

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Calvinists believe that “bad” is simply “an evil good”, that evil is good and good is evil! Augustine, whose teachings are the basis for Calvin’s teachings, said (in his “Enchiridion”) “that since every being, in so far as it is a being, is good, if we then say that a defective thing is bad, it would seem to mean that we are saying that what is evil is good, that only what is good is ever evil and that there is no evil apart from something good. ….. Now, if a man is something good because he is an entity, what then, is a bad man except an evil good? ….. if there were no good in what is evil, then the evil simply could not be, since it can have no mode in which to exist ….
Can any calvinist please explain what Augustine is talking about?  How is it biblical? Is Augustine rational? This appears to be based on Augustine’s Manichean Gnostic roots where salvation depended upon man obtaining ultimate knowledge, both good and evil. It relates to occult Yin and Yang beliefs which teach that a necessary balance must exist between good and evil. Can any calvinists give any support for Augustine’s irrational thinking here (sola scriptura!)? Doesn’t it simply prove that in a calvinist world, evil has to be seen as good or else evil cannot exist??

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments will be recorded on the Comments page.

List of all my posts on this site.

If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

Sermons and Messages

Calvinist heretics & heresies

Please feel free to comment  Comments and contact page
Comments and replies are recorded on the Comments page.

Calvinism is madness itself

Calvinism is madness itself

Calvinists are either mad, stupid or simply absolutely naïve!
(And if you disagree, please properly demonstrate why you consider me to be wrong. I have given reasons; so should you!)

You see, calvinists have to agree with the following two statements:
(a) God is perfect and everything He does is perfect.
(b) All things in this world happen according to God’s sovereign will and ordination alone.

Therefore calvinists must believe that:
(a) All things in this world must be perfect, including sin and evil.
(b) Not one imperfect act may exist in a world where the calvinist God rules.
Otherwise, if they declare sin to be evil in any way, then they must accept that their God is not perfect or that his will is not the only will in the universe.

Calvinist “expert” A W Pink attempted to deflect such accusations by declaring that “though God does not esteem evil to be good, yet He accounts it good that evil should be”. (“The Total Depravity of Man”).
However, Pink failed to address the real problem here: that, according to calvinists, sin must exist by God’s decree alone, and therefore must be good!

MacArthur says that “Ultimately, we must concede that sin is something God meant to happen. He planned for it, ordained it – or, in the words of the Westminster Confession, He decreed it.” (The Vanishing Conscience and Hard to Believe).
Logic demands that MacArthur also believe that if God decreed sin, then it must be perfect.

Calvin wrote: “But the objection is not yet resolved, that if all things are done by the will of God, and men contrive nothing except by His will and ordination, then God is the author of all evils.” (“Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God”)
And if everything that God does is perfect, then all evils must therefore be perfect and therefore good.

In fact, every calvinist is forced to believe that God created all sin to be perfect in a perfect world, or else accept that by God’s will and ordination he created imperfection. Some calvinists try to resolve this dilemma by stating that ultimately sin is a necessary part of God’s perfection and that he cannot exist as sovereign God without sin present.

The calvinist Gospel Coalition says: “it’s reasonable to infer that God’s primary purpose in allowing the fall was to showcase his glory both in the original creation and also in his powerful and merciful restoration of that creation from its rebellion and corruption. ….. A world with no fall and no salvation is altogether less God-glorifying than a world with a tragic fall but also a wondrous salvation.” (“Why did God allow the Fall?”)
So God’s glory could not be fully revealed without sin present?

Piper says: “In God’s ultimate plan, sin has a necessary place.” (“Does sin have a necessary place in God’s plan for the Universe”)
That is, Piper considers that God’s ultimate plan must include sin!)

But then Piper goes even further with a document he has presented on his “desiring God” website: “it isn’t just that God manages to turn the evil aspects of our world to good for those who love him; it is rather that he himself brings about these evil aspects for his glory.
This includes — as incredible and as unacceptable as it may currently seem — God’s having even brought about the Nazis’ brutality at Birkenau and Auschwitz as well as the terrible killings of Dennis Rader and even the sexual abuse of a young child:” (“All the Good That Is Ours in Christ: Seeing God’s Gracious Hand in the Hurts Others Do to Us”)
So the calvinist God causes pain, brutality and suffering for his glory? Does the calvinist God totally lack compassion for his creatures?

And then, Piper takes this sin-for-God’s-glory and quotes calvinist Jonathan Edwards whom he declares “to be the greatest religious thinker America has ever produced”.
He quotes this “greatest religious thinker” as saying: “Thus it is necessary, that God’s awful majesty, his authority and dreadful greatness, justice, and holiness, should be manifested. But this could not be, unless sin and punishment had been decreed; so that the shining forth of God’s glory would be very imperfect, both because these parts of divine glory would not shine forth as the others do, and also the glory of his goodness, love, and holiness would be faint without them; nay, they could scarcely shine forth at all. …..
So evil is necessary, in order to the highest happiness of the creature, and the completeness of that communication of God, for which he made the world; because the creature’s happiness consists in the knowledge of God, and the sense of his love. And if the knowledge of him be imperfect, the happiness of the creature must be proportionably imperfect.” (“Is God Less Glorious Because He Ordained That Evil Be?”)
What?! Man cannot properly know God without sin present? Man’s knowledge of God is incomplete without sin? And thus man’s happiness may only be fully fulfilled if sin exists? It sounds like calvinists are trying to justify their evil by declaring it to be somehow good!

You would have to be mad, stupid or naïve to believe in such ludicrous doctrine. If God is perfect and all things are done by his will alone, then calvinists have to believe that this world with everything in it is absolutely perfect! Even sin must be considered perfect. For, if sin is imperfect, it therefore defines their God as imperfect, and therefore not God at all. Their God is only as perfect as the world he has created by his will.
So, in order to protect the alleged godhood of their God, they are forced to declare sin to be perfect and good, a necessary requirement for their God’s glory. They can admit to nothing imperfect at all or else admit that wills other than God’s will may exist in opposition to the will of their God.

They are also forced to see sin as a necessary part of their God’s sovereignty. Calvinist “teacher” A W Pink said: “Plainly it was God’s will that sin should enter this world, otherwise it would not have entered, for nothing happens except what God has eternally decreed. Moreover, there was more than a simple permission, for God only permits things that fulfill his purpose.” (“The Sovereignty of God”)

Therefore, looking at my statement at the start:

Calvinists have to agree with the following two statements:
(a) God is perfect and everything He does is perfect.
(b) All things in this world happen according to God’s sovereign will and ordination alone.

Therefore calvinists must believe that:
(a) All things in this world must be perfect, including sin and evil.
(b) Not one imperfect act may exist in a world where the calvinist God rules.
Otherwise, if they declare sin to be evil in any way, then they must accept that their God is not perfect or that his will is not the only will in the universe.

So calvinists, here’s the challenge. See if you can logically defend both the perfection and sovereignty of your God yet still declare sin to be an imperfection in God’s creation. Please do not declare this to be a mystery hidden in the secret counsels of your God. That is a straight-out cop-out that ignorant people use, and you know it. Don’t hide behind your ignorance. Open your Bible and see for yourself what God says (sola scriptura – the Bible alone). If the Bible doesn’t support your doctrine, then it is heresy. Do you have the integrity to admit the truth? Or will you hide behind your excuses and cop-outs that permit your conscience to feel OK as long as those Bible-believing Christians stop asking difficult questions that calvinism cannot answer sola scriptura?

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You might also wish to check out my other recent posts.

Why do calvinists believe lies?
What is it that makes calvinists think they have the truth when the Bible clearly demonstrates that they are actually believing lies? There has to be some big attraction that tempts them to want to believe, because it is certainly not biblical truth that leads to such lies. In fact, the attraction of calvinism appears to based upon a self-worth-building program. All those with low self-esteem should apply.

Calvinist Interpretations
Scenario No.1
A woman has 5 children. She tells them all to eat their food. Only one child eats his food; the other four do not eat their food.
Calvinist interpretation: “The woman makes one child eat his food and makes the other four not eat their food. Because she never intended to feed them all, she only provided food for the one that she made to eat. She didn’t provide any food for the other four because she never intended feeding them in the first place, even though she told them all to eat their food.
MacArthur says, “God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement, Part 1)
Thus the woman never intended to feed them all. She is boss. She could have intended to feed them all. She could have fed them all. She would have if that had been her intention. The feeding is limited.

Calvinist cop-outs
Those of you who oppose calvinism because of its non-biblical teachings may have noticed that the moment you try to use the Bible alone (sola scriptura) to discuss issues with a calvinist, he or she usually tries to avoid open and frank discussion. So I’m proposing some of the more common ways that calvinists use to avoid having to defend their heresies. After all, most calvinists know that they will lose any debate on calvinism using the Bible alone. And fear of losing drives them to avoid resorting to the truth of the Bible alone.

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Calvinists believe that “bad” is simply “an evil good”, that evil is good and good is evil! Augustine, whose teachings are the basis for Calvin’s teachings, said (in his “Enchiridion”) “that since every being, in so far as it is a being, is good, if we then say that a defective thing is bad, it would seem to mean that we are saying that what is evil is good, that only what is good is ever evil and that there is no evil apart from something good. ….. Now, if a man is something good because he is an entity, what then, is a bad man except an evil good? ….. if there were no good in what is evil, then the evil simply could not be, since it can have no mode in which to exist ….
Can any calvinist please explain what Augustine is talking about?  How is it biblical? Is Augustine rational? This appears to be based on Augustine’s Manichean Gnostic roots where salvation depended upon man obtaining ultimate knowledge, both good and evil. It relates to occult Yin and Yang beliefs which teach that a necessary balance must exist between good and evil. Can any calvinists give any support for Augustine’s irrational thinking here (sola scriptura!)? Doesn’t it simply prove that in a calvinist world, evil has to be seen as good or else evil cannot exist??

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List of all my posts on this site.

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Why do calvinists believe lies?

Why do calvinists believe lies?

What is it that makes calvinists think they have the truth when the Bible clearly demonstrates that they are actually believing lies? There has to be some big attraction that tempts them to want to believe, because it is certainly not biblical truth that leads to such lies.

The attraction of calvinism appears to based on a self-worth-building program.
MacArthur gives us some idea of the attraction when he says: “You hear people say, “Well, you know, when you say the atonement is limited, people don’t feel very special.” Well, I’ll tell you what. I don’t feel very special if you say to me, “Christ died for you, He loves you just like He died for the millions in hell.” That doesn’t make me feel very special. That’s kind of a hard way to do evangelism. Christ died on the cross for your sins and all the people in hell, too. That’s not special. That’s anything but special.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement Part 1)
It seems as if MacArthur would feel cheated of some measure of importance if Jesus actually died for all mankind.

MacArthur also says: “A true sense of self-worth comes from understanding our position in Christ. We have been chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world. Knowing that gives us a sense of our significance and value to God. We were so important to Him that He gave up His Son to die on our behalf. … Thank God for considering you valuable enough to bestow such riches upon you.” (The Body Formed in Eternity Past, Part 1)
If you’re struggling with a lack of self-worth, remember that you were important enough for God to give you to Jesus as an inheritance.” (Divine Promises Guaranteed)
Clearly it is being important to the calvinist God that permits the calvinist Jesus to die for us and apparently not for those less-important to God. In particular, knowing that we were so important to God must be a great help for those who struggle with low self-worth (or low self-esteem). This boost to self-worth is a huge selling point for calvinism; we’ll get onto this further on.

Phil Johnson says: “God’s love for the elect is a particular love. He loves them with the love of a Father for His own children. He loves them each uniquely. He loves them in a special way. His love for them is the highest and most sacred kind of love known to man. No greater love can possibly be extended to any creature. And that great love is manifest in a particular way. It is a sacrificial kind of love that will stop at nothing to preserve its object. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Christ’s love moved Him to give His life for His friends.” (Why I am a calvinist Part 7)
Which means that the calvinist God doesn’t love the non-elect because they are not deserving of such special attention. Thus the calvinist God cannot love his enemies, yet tells us to love our enemies. What a hypocrite!  Only his elect are important enough to love! It would be perhaps excusable if those whom he didn’t love had chosen for themselves to reject him, but, no, the calvinist God has  done this choosing; he has chosen whom he will love and therefore has chosen from the beginning whom he will not love! No-one ever gets any say in this matter except the calvinist God.

Only the calvinist elect are worth dying for!
MacArthur has hit on the real reason why calvinism is so attractive. Because it only applies to those whom their God has selected as important enough to be saved, they can have “A true sense of self-worth”. He even clarifies this by pointing out that those struggling with a lack of self-worth can be reassured by that very importance of being one of the chosen ones. “If you’re struggling with a lack of self-worth, remember that you were important enough for God to give you to Jesus as an inheritance.Get it? Only the calvinist God’s chosen ones are worth dying for; the calvinist Jesus didn’t die for any others because they were not worth it!

It is the whole idea of being special enough for Jesus to die for us, and important enough for Jesus to save us, that is so attractive to those drawn to calvinism. If you have low self-esteem, then calvinism is your answer (but only if you were important enough for the calvinist God to choose you, for if he didn’t choose you, then your self-esteem will only get worse, much much worse!).

I’ll begin by looking at the usual profile of those won over to calvinism (based on observation of such people).
(a) Those attracted to calvinism will often be immature Christians with a limited knowledge and understanding of the Bible (although they themselves may think otherwise) and may be new Christians (although it is common these days to find people who have been Christians for some time still at the baby-Christian stage). They can often have a low sense of self-worth if they are not regularly involved in active ministries of the church.
Some instead may not be born-again Christians (and therefore probably never will be) but are drawn to calvinism because of a desire for self-improvement in their lives. Low self-worth is also a factor here. To such people calvinism is a means of assisting them to become better people, more acceptable to the society around them. Calvinism is therefore a tool to achieve their aim to become better people, thereby improving their feelings of self-worth (their perceived value to society).

I’ll focus only on the immature Christians in the following points.

(b) These immature Christians usually have a desire to be better Christians, to serve God better, to be more “Christian” in their lives (especially true if they suffer from a sense of low self-worth). This  desire in itself is very commendable; it would be good if all new Christians had such a desire. But this desire without sufficient biblical knowledge can be easily manipulated by those who have the appearance of being very biblical, people who know all the right buzz-words and are good at “sculpting” those words into what can look very much like biblical truth to a novice. 2 Peter 2:3 says these false teachers use “feigned words” (plastos + logos) – carefully sculpted statements that give the appearance of truth to their lies.

(c) These often self-appointed calvinist “teachers” target enthusiastic yet immature Christians, knowing that they are a fertile field to harvest. Immature Christians often have low self-esteem when in a church that claims to be ultra-biblical. They can feel that they have little to offer such esteemed Bible scholars! They would like to be able to be a part of this biblical-ness in order to feel more useful in such a church. If only they could get this as soon as possible. So, to answer their need, a calvinist “teacher” (who has cultured the appearance of being well-qualified to teach biblical doctrines) comes to their aid. These false teachers usually target individuals and small groups, while trying to avoid those groups which include people who really know the Bible. (Calvinists avoid Bible-only people!) These false teachers will offer (so kindly!) to mentor the younger Christian, promising special assistance in “understanding” difficult biblical doctrines.

(d) The young Christian would very much like to have a short-cut to biblical understanding and eagerly agrees to extra tutoring (mentoring) in how to be a better Christian. He sees the false teacher mentor as a good “Christian” and a suitable role model to follow. In his desire to fast-track his Christian growth, the immature Christian often fails to check out everything he is told against the truth of the Bible. He has made a dangerous decision to trust his new mentor, never dreaming that someone who sounded so biblical could be anything else but biblical.

(e) By use of carefully worded teachings (“verbal gymnastics”) involving calvinist writers and their teachings, the calvinist can subtly introduce interpretations that sound extremely plausible. If the young Christian suffers at all from low self-esteem, he is unlikely to challenge the mentor when something doesn’t sound quite right. His lack of biblical understanding inhibits him from questioning anything up front, and he thinks that if he did question his calvinist mentor, then his mentor might stop helping him and thus he would lose his opportunity (as he sees it) to fast track his Christian service and worship. So in order to avoid confrontation, the young Christian may hold back any questioning, hoping that he’ll understand it better one day. After all, his mentor is such a good “Christian”, so how could he be anything else but on the ball?

(f) In order to “sell” his teachings better to the young Christian, the calvinist mentor will emphasise the need to have a higher view of the sovereignty of God, along with God’s heightened attributes of love, grace, mercy, etc, which he claims is necessary to be able to worship and serve God more effectively. And, after all, what young Christian is going to deny or condemn such lofty aims?
Of course, the calvinist rarely advertises openly that his beliefs are anything else than biblical; his specific calvinist heresies of limited atonement and unconditional election will not be mentioned until the young Christian is well and truly on the hook.

So what does calvinism really do to biblical beliefs? How have they managed to turn the truth into lies?
It’s simple, really. Imagine a bright torch that lights up a wide area in front of you. There is no area more or less well-lit than any other area. This demonstrates God’s sovereignty over all mankind with not one person being outside His care and attention. Everybody can come to His light. It was God’s love for all mankind that sent Jesus to die on the cross for all mankind. God’s love is for all mankind and He desires that all should be saved. It is only man’s free will refusal that prevents God from actually saving all mankind. Most of mankind rejects God’s love! Nevertheless, the God of the Bible is sovereign over all mankind (and the whole universe) without exception. There can be no greater sovereignty than this!

Calvinism then takes that torch and turns the focus up so that the light is concentrated on a small area. Now most things in front of you are in darkness with only a very small area intensely lit up. This is a picture of the calvinist God’s sovereignty focused upon a very small group of people, his calvinist chosen. The calvinist God’s sovereignty is concentrated on that very small group, and that group alone will receive the calvinist God’s sovereign attention: his love, grace, mercy etc. God’s promises to mankind have now been focused on this small group with the rest of mankind now missing out. The spotlight is on those of the calvinist election and no others. That is, the calvinist God’s greater sovereignty over his chosen people is at the expense of all the rest of mankind missing out on any of it. The calvinist God only cares about his own; the rest can literally go to hell as far as he is concerned (and he will make sure that they do, too!). He can afford to be “more” sovereign when he has less than 1% of mankind to be sovereign over. And those calvinist chosen ones can be made to feel so much more important because they are the only ones who are getting the special attention of their calvinist God, such that they no longer feel that lack of self-worth. Life is so good to them now, so who cares about the rest of those unchosen ones? It would be a terrible blow to their self-esteem if those others also could join their exclusive club! As MacArthur says: “That doesn’t make me feel very special ….. . Christ died on the cross for your sins and all the people in hell, too. That’s not special. That’s anything but special.

Of course, the God of the Bible is sovereign over all mankind for all time. He loves all mankind too, yet the calvinist God can only be bothered with his small group of calvinists, his chosen and eligible elect, his elite group.

Calvinism is a self-esteem booster, pure and simple!
The big attraction of calvinism is that it appeals strongly to those who have a need to feel special, to feel more important than the average person. Belonging to an exclusive group or club has always had a lot of appeal to many, especially those who have low self-esteem (or self-worth). Low self-worth is huge issue today with electronic media taking the place of face-to-face contact, particularly among the younger generations. Being a member of a club that not everyone can join is an esteem-booster for many. Calvinism offers what so many with low self-worth are looking for. Calvinists are a select group especially chosen by their God to be saved and go to heaven. 99% or more of mankind will never be chosen, so it can give to those 1% who belong a sense of importance, of real self-worth. If the calvinist God is the most important being in the universe, and he has chosen you to be one of his, then it can quickly overcome those feelings of low self-esteem!

Observe that the word used for “elect” (adjective) in the New Testament is eklektos (elect; chosen ones) and its related word is eklegomai (chosen; chose).
We get our word “elect” from the Latin electus / eligere which is derived from or related to the Greek eklektos. “elite” and “eligible” are also derived from the same ancient root words.
Only those chosen (elected) by their calvinist God are eligible for salvation and therefore only calvinists may be part of that elite election of the calvinist God. Being part of a select elite group who alone (and nobody else) have been chosen for salvation is a powerful incentive for those who need a boost to their self-worth. No wonder MacArthur says: “Well, I’ll tell you what. I don’t feel very special if you say to me, “Christ died for you, He loves you just like He died for the millions in hell.” That doesn’t make me feel very special.” It clearly would spoil MacArthur’s day if he were to find out that God actually loved all mankind enough to send Jesus to die for them all! And one day he will indeed find this out, when he stands before the Judgment throne of God.

If you have low self-esteem, then become a calvinist!
So, if you are feeling down, that no-one loves you, no-one appreciates your “work” in the church, no-one notices your zeal to be a better Christian, and you have low self-esteem (low self-worth), then, hey, there’s that special group of people who have been chosen by the calvinist God because he thinks they alone are important. They are the elite unconditional election of the calvinist God; they alone are eligible for special privileges from their God; they alone are going to heaven. They can feel special, important, wanted, needed; they can have a warm fuzzy feeling that at least their God likes them, even if no-one else really cares.

As MacArthur says: “A true sense of self-worth comes from understanding our position in Christ. We have been chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world. Knowing this gives us a sense of our significance and value to God. We were so important to God that He gave up His Son to die on our behalf. … Thank God for considering you valuable enough to bestow such riches upon you.” (The Body Formed in Eternity Past, Part 1)

But, the true God of the Bible did not choose unconditionally a small elite group to be saved. He died for all, so that all could have the opportunity to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13). And, our self-worth, our self-esteem, is not in ourselves at all; all our self-worth rests entirely in the person of Jesus Christ who died in our place, our Redeemer. All were condemned by their sin to die; all now may choose to live through Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:18Therefore as by the offence of one [judgment came] upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [the free gift came] upon all men unto justification of life.

Calvinism’s biggest lie is that they have secretly switched Gods on their followers, a clear case of “bait-and-switch”!
A lot of genuine Christians are enticed into calvinism because they seek to be better Christians. But calvinism’s greatest deception is that it has replaced the God of the Bible with their own false god, a “bait-and-switch”! Effectively, calvinists worship satan, deceiving genuine Christians into thinking that the calvinist god is the true God of the Bible, only better and more sovereign. But the God of the Bible is already absolutely sovereign, so how can you improve upon that? Simple – you make it look like an improvement by focusing that sovereignty on a small group of chosen ones who are made to feel extra-special because they are the only ones who get this special attention. (Or so they are told, because they are so important to their “God”).

Many calvinists who are genuine Christians end up leaving calvinism because their “God” failed to deliver on so many things they’d expected of him. They end up disillusioned because they’ve given so much. They’ve tried so hard to worship their God properly, and in the end he doesn’t seem to care about them. The whole experience was more likely to plunge them into a lowered sense of self-worth!

And so they decide that if that’s what God is really like, then they don’t want to know him. Many will never go to another church again. Their Christian lives have been destroyed and thrown out on the rubbish heap because of the failures of their God (who is really the calvinist false god, but they have never grasped this aspect of their worship). Improved self-worth is only available if you play by the calvinist God’s rules. And all because they were enticed by calvinism’s lie, to make good Christians better! So, if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is!

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Addendum:
A man has just entered heaven and is being given a guided tour by St. Peter. As they walk past a certain group of people, Peter tells him to be extra-quiet and not to disturb them. The man asks why and Peter replies, “They’re the calvinists. They think they are the only ones here!”

A calvinist is about to enter heaven. There are two lines, one labelled “Chosen” and the other “Free will”. He decides that the “Chosen” line is the one for him and lines up. When his turn comes, he is asked why he joined that line. He replies that he chose to join it.
“No!” he is told. “This is only for those who do not choose. You have to go to the other line. It’s the one for those who choose.”
So he lines up at the “Free will” line. When he gets to the official at the head of the line, he is asked, “Why did you join this line?”
He replies, “Because I was told to join it.”
“Then,” replies the official, “You’re in the wrong line. This is only for those who choose to join it.”

Calvinist Interpretations
Calvinist interpretations

Scenario No.1
 A woman has 5 children. She tells them all to eat their food. Only one child eats his food; the other four do not eat their food.

Calvinist interpretation
: “The woman makes one child eat his food and makes the other four not eat their food. Because she never intended to feed them all, she only provided food for the one that she made to eat. She didn’t provide any food for the other four because she never intended feeding them in the first place, even though she told them all to eat their food.”

MacArthur says, God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement, Part 1)

Thus the woman never intended to feed them all. She is boss. She could have intended to feed them all. She could have fed them all. She would have if that had been her intention. The feeding is limited.

Scenario No.2
A man is walking past a well into which three boys have fallen. The boys cannot reach the top of the well, and will drown if not rescued. It is impossible for anyone to get out without help from above.

Normal solution: A man who is passing by rushes over and realises that if he jumps in, he too will be trapped. The water level is a long way below the top and the man cannot reach any of the boys. He tells the boys to stretch up their hands so he can reach them in order to pull them out. All who reach up are then rescued, one by one.

Calvinist solution:
Either 1/. The man reaches down, selects one of the boys, and tells him to reach up and grab his hand. The man drags the boy out and delivers him safely to his parents. But what of the other two boys? He left them there to drown, regardless of whether or not they raised their hands. That man could have saved all three, but chose to save only one.
(Is he a saviour or murderer? Did he, by merely ignoring the other boys, effectively become the cause of their deaths? Of course, if that man had tried to save the other boys but they had refused to grab hold of his hand, then the responsibility for their deaths then falls upon those boys left in the well. The man remains saviour for that one boy who was rescued, but only if he also offered the same salvation to the other two. Even if they refused, the man remains saviour to the boy who was saved, and a potential saviour to the other two who could have been saved if only they had accepted it.)

Or 2/. The man refuses to even notice whether any actually want to be rescued. He randomly chooses one boy, and with a hook he lifts that boy out, telling him that he is special enough to be chosen to be wonderfully rescued. He leaves the other two boys to drown regardless of whether or not they wanted to be rescued; they were not special! He has decided, end of story! No-one else may change his mind, for he rules! He doesn’t care what anyone else thinks, either.

Calvinism teaches that Jesus only died for those whom God chose for salvation. Any who was not chosen for salvation can never go to heaven, even if he wants to, because his sins can never be forgiven by the calvinist Jesus who didn’t die for his sins.

MacArthur says, God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement, Part 1)
MacArthur also says (in that same document) that he would no longer feel special if Jesus died for all mankind without exception. “I don’t feel very special if you say to me, “Christ died for you, He loves you just like He died for the millions in hell.”
MacArthur’s god would follow calvinist solution 2/. above. He would force one to be rescued, and leave the other boys in the well, and walk away without pity.

God’s solution: Christ was not a calvinist! He died for all mankind without exception (1 John 2:2) in order to rescue any who would call upon His name to be saved. Not one person who cries out for help will ever be ignored and left to die! (Romans 10:13)

Scenario No.3
A person buys a supermarket with all its stock.

Calvinist application: He decides that he doesn’t want it all, so in spite of paying a price sufficient to buy all the stock, he chooses some of it and dumps the rest at the local rubbish tip. He paid enough to buy all the stock yet only chose to use some of it, thereby wasting the rest.
Calvinists often say that Jesus’ payment was of infinite value and certainly sufficient to be able to pay for all sins, yet God chose to make it efficient only for the few that he chose for salvation. But, isn’t it the height of absurdity to be able to pay for all yet refuse to do so simply because he didn’t want to? So, calvinists, if your God could have paid for all, then why didn’t he?

MacArthur says, God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement, Part 1)

God says: “3For this [is] good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

Scenario No.4
A debtors’ prison is full of people who are unable to pay their debts. It was common in the past to send such people to prison until their debts were paid. Jesus even taught about this in Matthew 18:21-35. One particular debtors’ prison has 100 people locked away. They will remain there until their debts are cleared.

Calvinist solution:  A rich man has pity on them and pays an amount sufficient to be able to cover all their debts. But he decides to apply this payment to just one of the prisoners. His payment could have made it possible to set all the prisoners free but instead he chose only one to be set free. Even though his payment could have paid for the rest, he chose to leave them in prison.
Most calvinists preach that the atonement was infinite in value, sufficient for all, yet efficient for only the few who are chosen. They generally explain this by saying that while Jesus’ death was of sufficient value to be able to have paid for all sins of all mankind, yet it was only efficiently applied to the lives of the unconditionally elect of God.
The calvinist Jesus supposedly paid an infinite price on the cross, yet used it to only save those whom he had chosen to go to heaven. Even though he could have set others free (and even if they wanted to be set free), he decided that they would go to hell instead without any option at all for heaven.

And again MacArthur says, God did not intend to save everyone. He is God. He could have intended to save everyone. He could have saved everyone. He would have if that had been His intention. The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement, Part 1)

However, God says that He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
It is God’s intention that all should be saved; it is man himself who refuses God’s offer of a free pardon for all sin for all time. God desires that all should repent and be saved. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

Here’s an excellent comment from https://anticalvinistrant.blogspot.com/ regarding Scenario No.4 above. Please consider its logic very carefully.
The only thing I would add to the Calvinist Interpretation to make it even more representative of Calvinism is that the rich guy who paid enough money to get all the prisoners out of prison but who only chose to free one man is also the very reason they are in prison to begin with.  Because in Calvinism, God causes us to be the way we are and to do the bad things we do which land us in prison in the first place, and then He “graciously” frees one person while letting the others face the penalty for “their” crimes (crimes they had no choice over, crimes they had to commit because He pre-ordained it for them).  That’s even worse than simply passing over the ones He chose not to free.  It’s sad that most Calvinists do not draw out their beliefs to the logical ends, to see what damage Calvinism does to the Gospel, God’s character, and Jesus’s amazing sacrifice for mankind.
For more interesting and informative information about the dangers of calvinism, I strongly recommend https://anticalvinistrant.blogspot.com/.

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If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments will be recorded on the Comments page.

List of all my posts on this site.

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Calvinist cop-outs!

Calvinist cop-outs

Those of you who oppose calvinism because of its non-biblical teachings may have noticed that the moment you try to use the Bible alone (sola scriptura) to discuss issues with a calvinist, he or she usually tries to avoid open and frank discussion. So I’m proposing some of the more common ways that calvinists use to avoid having to defend their heresies. After all, most calvinists know that they will lose any debate on calvinism using the Bible alone. And fear of losing drives them to avoid the truth of the Bible alone.

1/. “I’m not a calvinist.” or “I don’t believe in calvinism.”

Yet so many who say this will then say that they don’t have any issues with it. Often they will end up defending calvinism, which is rather weird for people who do not believe in it. Sometimes they will add that they don’t want to talk about it, either (see No.2 below). This is “calvitalk” for “I know calvinism is right but I don’t know how to justify it from the Bible alone.” Many calvinists “know” that they are right but do not know “why” they are right, and will try to avoid confrontations by denying that they are calvinists. Yet, if they are right, then why hide the truth (if it indeed be truth) from others? That’s certainly not very Christian, is it?

2/. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Most calvinists realise that their beliefs cannot be fully supported by the Bible alone. They may try to quote from their favourite calvinist authors, but if you demand to discuss it using the Bible alone, they will say that they do not want to talk about it (or a number of variations on this theme). Most calvinists know that the Bible cannot actually demonstrate the alleged truth of their beliefs and do not want to be drawn into an argument that they know they cannot satisfactorily defend from the Bible alone. They are certain in their minds that they are right and therefore can justify manipulating the Bible to defend their “truths”. However, they also know that if taken in a perfectly straight-forward way, without any explanations from calvinist authorities, the Bible can easily be used to prove them wrong. In this they have the same outlook as JWs: calvinists “know” they are right because their calvinist teachers have said so! They will claim to be so biblical, but run away at the first sign that someone might actually use the Bible alone to oppose them. They fear the truth of the Bible! (Is there a word for Bible-phobia?)

3/. Go silent and ignore the nuisance!

A common variation on No.2 above is to go silent, turn their backs and stay away from those who threaten their teachings through the use of the Bible alone. Such people are so scared that their beliefs will fail the test of the Bible alone that they avoid anyone who appears to know the Bible well. They may even call them names, accuse them of bigotry, or use all manner of put-downs in an effort to divert attention from their inability to properly defend calvinism from the Bible alone. Their policy is that if you throw enough mud, some of it might stick, and then people might just not notice their failure to defend calvinism from the Bible alone.

4/. “I’ve been to an approved Bible college and you haven’t.”

They clearly don’t realise that Calvin had no formal theological training at any Bible college, approved or otherwise. He initially studied Latin, then philosophy (especially Plato, whom he quoted in his Institutes) and then went on to study law. “He was intrigued by Andreas Alciati, a humanist lawyer. Humanism was a European intellectual movement which stressed classical studies.” (Wikipedia)
And, like all good lawyers, he knew the value of verbal gymnastics, or, as the Bible defines it. “with feigned words” (2 Peter 2:3), or “with carefully sculpted words”.

5/. They cannot defend calvinism using the Bible alone!

On this website we have challenged over and over again the false teachings of calvinism. A few have responded with wild accusations, including that we are of satan, or non-biblical, or lacking respect for great calvinist teachers, and so on. Name-calling occurs, although it isn’t usually recorded on our Comments page. Some make accusations about what I’ve written but don’t quote what it is that has offended them, or they incorrectly quote me, or, as is most often the case, don’t actually quote anything that they have disagreed with (yet still disagree with it!), nor do they explain why they disagree (especially using the Bible alone!).
If I explain factually and biblically why their statements are inadmissible or even false, they will not reply to defend themselves from my biblical facts. The reason is clear! They know they cannot defend themselves from the Bible alone and so, once the Bible is used to demonstrate their false teachings, they refuse to say any more about it. This in itself proves that they do not believe the Bible alone is able to defend their beliefs. As I say in some documents, silence is interpreted as their inability to defend from the Bible alone.

A challenge most calvinists can’t afford to take up:

Most calvinists know that they cannot successfully defend their beliefs against the straightforward truths of the Bible. Therefore most calvinists will avoid writing genuine comments to this website. I know calvinists disagree greatly with what I say, yet they are also afraid to get involved in a debate here because they fear the probability of losing, especially if using the Bible alone. Some calvinists still do write in, but they are usually the ones who do not realise (yet?) that the Bible alone does not support calvinism. These naïve ones usually are not great thinkers and rarely present their thoughts in any coherent fashion. They do occasionally use the Bible alone (but without much understanding of its meaning) and almost always parrot off the teachings of their false calvinist teachers to explain the Bible. They obviously do not know any better.

However, here’s the challenge (which has been presented before but never taken up). If calvinists believe that their teachings are supported from the Bible alone, then take up the debate with me. If you believe you are right, then what have you to lose? Of course, you are risking calvinism being demonstrated as non-biblical, but if you are so sure you are right, then you should have nothing to lose. You must use the Bible alone of course. But, if I am right, then you will refuse to take up the challenge because you know that the Bible alone does not teach calvinism. (You just don’t want too many people to know it, though, do you?)

I have added an addendum at the bottom of this post with 3 examples of calvinist “silence” when faced with serious questions that require an answer Sola Scriptura (the Bible alone).

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An addendum to Calvinist Cop-outs. Two examples of calvinist “silence”.

Example 1

Earlier this year (2020) I had a series of emails from someone who was apparently calvinist.
His initial comment (18th April) concerned my alleged treatment of Todd Friel. He wrote (in part): “You are willing to stand up in your pride, and slander Mr.Friel and gossip about other Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

He also wrote a second comment that same day in which he proposed some Bible verses and suggested how they should be interpreted. It was indeed a pleasant surprise to actually have someone try to use the Bible to explain things, so I commended him for this.
Thank you for being brave enough to at least try to defend your beliefs from the Bible. It makes a pleasant surprise from the standard calvinist fare of name-calling and failure to use the Bible when making a point.

I certainly did appreciate his efforts here, so I wrote a comment reply to politely explain my views here and asked some questions for him to research for himself.
One of his questions was: “Do you really think that mere man can determine their eternal salvation?” and he quoted John 15:16. In my reply I said: “John 15:16 does say that Jesus chose the disciples to bear fruit. Please note that Judas would have been among this group. Jesus also said that He had chosen (as one of the 12 disciples) Judas who was a devil (John 6:70-71). Was Judas therefore one of the elect?

The next email received from him (15th May) tackled not even one of those questions I had raised. Instead he raised some unrelated issues. I was disappointed that he had not considered it possible to reply to my questions.

He also asked at that time if he could have our website email address for more private communications. “Also, I would like to get your email in order that we could have further conversations. I do not have a phone number, and would like to talk privately.” I gave him our website communications email address.

In my reply to that email I noted that “Of course, there are some non-biblical issues that do affect the credibility of Bible-teachers. These include such as the foul-mouthed statements of Mark Driscoll, the unacceptable personal activities of some such as R C Sproul Jr, the refusal of MacArthur to deal with the freemasonry problem in his ancestry, etc.

On 16th May 2020 I received an email from him in which he said: “So, you mentioned John Macarthur’s Great-Grandfather’s freemason stuff. What relevance do you think that has to Macarthur’s ministry? I would also like to hear more of what you have to say about Macarthur and Piper’s ministries. What are your biggest issues with them?

I replied with the following email.

In answer to your question regarding MacArthur, I’ll present some material for you to assess and consider.

1/. MacArthur says that freemasonry is “a Satanic false religion”. (https://www.gty.org/library/print/sermons-library/2006) This is definitely a true assessment.

2/. MacArthur’s great grandfather (Thomas Fraser Fullerton) was a Presbyterian minister and a 32-degree freemason who held the office of Provincial Grand Master. (https://peifreemasonry.com/thomas-fraser-fullerton-pgm/)
(Note that both John MacArthur and his father have Fullerton as their middle names. Why is the Fullerton name so important?)

3/. John MacArthur praises the spiritual harvest of his great grandfather and claims that his own ministry results from the spiritual crop planted by Thomas Fullerton.
The good news is, when the soil is prepared by God, there’s going to be an explosion of spiritual fruit and the harvest will go on and on and on and on and on and on. A nice young man in our church was recently in Prince Edward Island and I had said in the church service that my great grandfather was a pastor of St. James Kirk Presbyterian Kirk in Prince Edward Island back in the 1800’s. So when he was up there, he started digging around and found all kinds of things about my great grandfather. Thomas Fullerton was his name and he was pastor there at the main church in Charletown(?) (Charlottetown) for about twenty-eight years. He was a chaplain in the Canadian Military and he went to the Bower(?) (Boer) War in South Africa and fought and did ministry among the troops. And you look back and that and you say, “Okay, there’s a…his father was also a pastor who had been in Scotland and then gone to Australia and come there and at some point the Lord plowed the heart of that family and it just kept going and it just kept going and it kept going and it came down through my…from my great-grandfather to my grandmother, his daughter, and then through her to my father and then through me and this is the explosion and we’re all in this process somewhere.
(https://www.gty.org/library/print/sermons-library/41-18
)
So, what exactly is MacArthur’s spiritual harvest? Is this not relevant to MacArthur’s ministry?

4/. MacArthur wrote in A Father’s Legacy in 2005:
My Dad, Dr. John “Jack” MacArthur, was born March 30, 1914, in Calgary, Alberta, to Harry and Olivia Fullerton MacArthur. His mother’s father was a Presbyterian minister on Prince Edward Island, and his father, who dedicated his life to Christ as an adult, served as a pastor and an example for his young son. …….
My grandfather took over the church’s pastorate in 1943 as Dad moved to Fountain Avenue Baptist Church in Hollywood, California. At Fountain Avenue, Dad helped establish the Holly wood Christian group, an outreach to people in the film and television industries. He counted Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, who came to Christ under his preaching, as close personal friends.

(https://www.voiceofcalvaryradio.com/legacy3.htm
)
(Note that Roy Rogers – real name Leonard Franklin Slye – was a 33-degree freemason. While this doesn’t implicate John MacArthur directly, it does raise questions. It is claimed that Jack MacArthur led Roy Rogers to Christ in 1948, yet Rogers rose to the 32nd degree in 1950 and 33rd degree in 1979.)

So I’ll let you consider these points. See what you think. Why does MacArthur seem to avoid the issue of the high-ranking freemasonry of his great grandfather, yet praises the spiritual harvest of his ancestors including his great grandfather? Doesn’t it raise serious doubts concerning his alleged Christian ministry? (Especially when he declares freemasonry to be “a Satanic false religion“.)

I have not received any communication from him since then.
Stop News: As of 9/03/21 I have now received a reply which I have placed on my Comments page. I have also removed my other comments here regarding his non-reply up until now. I appreciate his reply even though it has taken a while to arrive. All who make genuine efforts to respond should be treated with respect, whether or not I actually agree with them. It is not about winning arguments but instead is about determining the truth.

Example 2

We had a family friend who was a good calvinist. A few years ago he commended his current pastor as someone whom he could fully agree with, and offered to have him send us this pastor’s newsletter. That pastor was Terry Arnold who was aggressively calvinist. We told our friend that Terry Arnold didn’t believe in free will and that his calvinist doctrines were false. Our friend has been ever-ready in the past to explain anything else using the Bible, but in this case he just cut communications with us. He replied that “I don’t think it would be profitable for us to continue in correspondence.” And we haven’t heard from him since. Again, it is likely that he knew that the Bible actually opposes calvinism unless the explanations of calvinist writers are added to “explain” their apparent non-biblical skew. We would like him one day to give biblical reasons for his disagreement with our beliefs but it doesn’t seem likely that he will do so. We have simply honoured his request that we do not continue in correspondence, realising that we may offend by causing further conflict if we write at this time. It is in God’s hands now and we can only pray that God will open his eyes to the truth one day before it is too late.

Example 3

A comment in 2018 said: “Calvinism simply quantifies many passages of the bible, and the doctrines of Calvin or doctrines of the Bible. He merely helps to magnify theology.” This is exactly the point I am making: that calvinism is an esoteric belief system (that is, only those initiated into its belief system can understand its full knowledge). Therefore only calvinists may be permitted to understand the deeper theology of the Bible, and therefore only calvinists are qualified to assess true doctrine. Non-calvinists can thus be rejected as lacking the higher knowledge that only a calvinist is permitted to know. This is a satanic esoteric knowledge belief system. Most calvinists are afraid to dig too deeply into their doctrines in case they find something truly abhorrent!

The Future of the Church and Israel

The Future of the Church and Israel
One day yet in the future today’s Church’s ministry will be completed in order for Israel to take back her position as God’s chosen nation. This will happen; the only question that remains is when.

Today’s challenges are unprecedented.
Today we are facing unprecedented challenges for the future. This year’s virus pandemic (2020) has caused predictions of world-wide financial doom and gloom. Many countries are facing bankruptcy with impossible debt to repay. The only way out appears to be to have a global financial reset to stabilise our world trade. Or so it seems to be if we take note of many leading economists. In fact, a global financial reset is in the process of being planned.

A global financial reset is planned for January 2021.
In January (26th – 29th) there will be a World Economic Forum held at Davos, Switzerland, where the global economy will be reshaped.
(Correction: “The Great Reset” will now be held later, for reasons yet unannounced, probably around June or July, 2021.)
The Great Reset is a new initiative from the World Economic Forum and HRH the Prince of Wales to guide decision-makers on the path to a more resilient, sustainable world beyond coronavirus.
The economic fallout from COVID-19 dominates risk perceptions, but there is a unique opportunity to reshape the global economy.” (World Economic Forum)
“The Great Reset” is a commitment to jointly and urgently build the foundations of our economic and social system for a more fair, sustainable and resilient future.’ (World Economic Forum)

The Bible prophesies total economic control in the future.
During what is referred to as the Great Tribulation, a global leader will legislate total control over all man’s financial dealings.
Revelation 13:16-1716And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
The Bible calls this global leader of Revelation 13:16-17 the “man of sin” and “the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) He is also known as the antichrist, a man under the control of satan. Revelation 13 calls him “the beast”, and “the mark” of Revelation 13:17 is known as “the mark ….. of the beast”.

Satan will try to use this evil global leader to gain total control of the earth.
During the final 7 years before Christ returns to take up His millennial reign on earth, satan will use this man to attempt to gain authority over the whole earth. Of course, satan will fail, because God will protect His people, Israel, from destruction by the antichrist (see Revelation 12) and God is sovereign over all His creation, including satan.

Much biblical prophecy remains unfulfilled, especially the end-times prophecy.
There is much biblical prophecy still unfulfilled. Most of this relates to what is commonly referred to as the Apocalypse, Armageddon, the second coming of Christ, and the millennial reign of Christ (that is, Christ the Messiah will return to earth to reign as King for 1,000 years). And, of course, the consequent judgment that will send all mankind to either heaven or hell: the great white throne judgment of Revelation 20:11-15.

Many (including calvinists) deny a literal end-times tribulation and millennial reign of Christ.
Many (mainly including those of calvinist or reformed beliefs) consider such end-times prophecy to have already been fulfilled in the past (the preterist view) or that such prophecies (including the millennial rule of Christ) are allegorical, and that there will be no literal thousand year (millennium) rule by Christ (the amilliennial view). These views also believe that if there is any end-times prophecy yet unfulfilled, then it is the Church, not Israel, that is involved. They believe that whenever Israel is mentioned (especially in prophecy), it is the Church that fulfills it. They teach that Israel has either been made a part of the Church or has completely ceased to exist in her own right. This is the general view of calvinism, that if God’s people go through any end-times tribulation, then it is the Church, not Israel, that is involved. But the Bible declares them to be wrong!

Israel is the nation central to end-times prophecy.
However, Israel is named as God’s people who are involved with the end-times tribulation leading up to Armageddon, as taught in Revelation Ch 7 through to Ch 19. This is also strongly supported by OT books such as Daniel and Zechariah.
God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham through his son, Isaac.
Genesis 17:19And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him.
And an everlasting covenant will only be broken if God should lie, and God will not lie! It will last forever, just as God has promised!
Numbers 23:19God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Daniel prophesied a timeline of 490 years for Israel’s everlasting righteousness.
Daniel 9:24 foretold of a 490-year (70 times 7 years) timeline for Israel that will culminate in her everlasting righteousness.
Daniel 9:24 – Seventy weeks (of years) are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
This is literally God’s mission statement for His chosen nation of Israel. It has never been revoked. One day Israel will return to being God’s chosen nation.
Ezekiel 37:25-2825And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever. 26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

There would be 483 years to the time of the crucifixion.
In Daniel 9:24-27 Daniel prophesied that “from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks” (Daniel 9:25) It is clear that a week represented 7 years; therefore 69 weeks of years is 483 calendar years and this appears to bring them to Christ’s time on earth. Note that the Jewish year was 360 days, not 365¼ days as is used today. Also, “after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off” (Daniel 9:26); this clearly refers to His crucifixion (although some might argue that it applied to His rejection by His people). We are not certain exactly which commandment went forth to commence the count-down, nor precisely when that commandment was issued. But all calculations considering all reasonable events brings the end of that 69 weeks to around 20 to 40 AD (many place it between 25 and 30 AD).

The future world leader would be of the Romans.
After the 69th week, “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary” (Daniel 9:26). We know that the generation of Jews who rejected Jesus also were to see Jerusalem and their temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. It was the Romans who destroyed “the city and the sanctuary” and therefore the prince who would come later would be of that same people: the Romans. This is likely to refer to a revived Roman Empire that rises from the ruins of the Roman Empire of Jesus’ day.

The following passage describes the 4th kingdom (or empire) of Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of a man in Daniel 2. It refers to the Roman empire which will be strong as iron, yet will in future times break up into 10 separate kingdoms, after which God will set up the millennial reign of Christ the Messiah.
Daniel 2:40-4440And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all [things]: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42And [as] the toes of the feet [were] part of iron, and part of clay, [so] the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, [but] it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.  

There will be 10 kingdoms which give their power to the antichrist.
These 10 kings (as per the 10 toes of the figure in Daniel 2) are ten kings who help put the antichrist into power.
Revelation 17:12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

This future “Roman” prince will make a covenant with Israel for 7 years.
It is that same prince who will “confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Daniel 9:27). This is that final, yet-to-happen 7-year period on Israel’s timeline. Israel has but 7 years left to run, after which God will bring in everlasting righteousness for them. That final week of years will commence with the antichrist making a covenant with Israel, probably to protect them in exchange for authority in Jerusalem, something satan has always desired.

The antichrist (indwelt by satan) demands all to worship him.
The antichrist (indwelt by satan) will demand allegiance from the world.
Revelation 13:4And they worshipped the dragon (satan) which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who [is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Those who refuse to worship the antichrist will be executed.
Revelation 13:15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

In the middle of that final 7-year period the antichrist sets himself up to be worshipped in the temple at Jerusalem.
Satan has always desired to be as God, yet has always failed so far. This is his final effort to try to be as God, and he will fail then too.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-43Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
In the middle of that final 7-year period satan (via his antichrist) will cause other temple sacrifices to cease so that he can take their place as the one worshipped.
in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Daniel 9:27)

Jesus warned Israel to flee for their lives when they saw this happen.
This event is yet in the future; note that it applies to Israel!
Matthew 24:15-16; 20-2115When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
The flight of Israel into the wilderness is also foretold in Revelation 12.

Finally Israel turns to God.
Israel turns back to God after the antichrist has spent 3½ years in Jerusalem seeking the worship of God’s people, Israel. After a massive earthquake in Jerusalem, “the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (Revelation 11:13)

Christ their Messiah returns to win the victory at Armageddon.
Revelation 19:19-2119And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Israel will recognise Jesus whom they crucified.
and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him” (Zechariah 12:10).

Following this, Christ their Messiah sets up His 1,000 year reign.
Satan is bound for 1000 years and God’s people reign with Christ for 1000 years.
(Revelation 20:1-5)

The Church is currently taking the place of Israel.
Romans 11 talks of Israel being the natural olive branches on their olive tree. After rejecting Christ, they are pruned off their olive tree and wild olive branches (the Gentiles) are grafted on in their place. One day those wild olive branches (Gentiles) will be pruned off again (when their “fulness …. be come in” – Romans 11:25) and Israel may then be regrafted back onto their olive tree and so “all Israel shall be saved” – Romans 11:26. This event may be drawing very close indeed.

One day, before the end, Israel will resume her position as God’s people.
The following word “fulness” is a word which was used to demonstrate that all passengers and merchandise was on board a ship and therefore would then sail (depart).
Romans 11:25-2725For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Thus, when the Gentile Church is complete and all are on board (as “fulness” signifies), then Israel will come back onto centre stage as God’s chosen nation once more.

When the Gentile Church is fulfilled, they will depart.
When the Church has fulfilled her purpose on earth, and Israel has retaken her rightful place as God’s people, the Gentile Church will be taken away. We use the word “Rapture” which means the snatching away. God (assumed to be Christ) returns here to take home those who are His.
1 Thessalonians 4:14-1814For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The Rapture will happen (7 years before Christ the Messiah returns to reign) when the Gentile Church is fulfilled (its full manifest is on board) and Israel returns to complete her final 7-year period (as prophesied by Daniel) before being brought to everlasting righteousness by God as per Daniel 9:24. Nothing can ever deny Israel this wonderful privilege, for God Himself has promised it, even as early as Abraham.

This global financial reset may be the trigger which starts the final countdown to Armageddon!
All it will take for Israel’s final 7-year period to commence is for the world to slide inexorably toward a global new world order run by a man whom satan will choose for his special servant, the antichrist. If the proposed global reset makes significant steps toward the removal of national sovereignty of world nations, if the world is reshaped to become a more unified entity, then you may anticipate a probability that the final world events are rapidly approaching the time of Israel’s return to centre stage as God’s nation. If there is any effort to take significant control of our finances and sovereignty of our nations, then know that the end may well be very close indeed.

*************************************

If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments will be recorded on the Comments page.

List of all my posts on this site.

If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

Sermons and Messages

Calvinist heretics & heresies

Please feel free to comment  Comments and contact page
Comments and replies are recorded on the Comments page.

Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 6
Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 6

Calvinists won’t answer straightforward questions
Calvinists
can’t answer straightforward questions
Calvinists
can’t answer any questions

But they can say, “It’s a mystery!

Calvinism is a cleverly disguised heresy pretending to be Christian. But it is non-Christian because it denies mankind the right to choose this day whom they will serve.
God says: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19)
The Bible also says: And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)

Calvinism teaches the heresy that all mankind is unable to choose life, or to choose this day whom they will serve. Why would God ask them to choose life, or to choose whom they will serve, if they were unable to choose? Yet calvinism demands that their God chooses everything for us. The calvinist God tells us to choose, yet prevents man from obeying him? Calvinists, is your God sadistic? Does he delight in preventing man from obeying him?

Every calvinist doctrine is forced to assume no free will for mankind especially in matters of salvation. Yet the Bible teaches free will to choose to obey or disobey God. If you were to accept the truth of free will as a basic biblical doctrine (which it is), every calvinist doctrine becomes a terrible heresy. If man has free will, no calvinist doctrine can stand. This is why calvinists have to teach no free will for man. Can you refute this (sola scriptura), calvinists? At least try, or is it the impossible question for you?

In Why are calvinists afraid to answer simple straightforward questions? I have asked so many questions with only one response so far (as of 20/04/20). The list just kept on growing exponentially; currently it stands at 50 questions plus Nos. 51-70 added below.

For Questions 1 – 10 go to Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 1.
For Questions 11-20 go to Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 2.
For Questions 21-30 go to Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 3.
For Questions 31-40 go to Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 4.
For Questions 41-50 go to Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 5.

So calvinists, here’s the challenge! Can you answer any of these questions sola scriptura, or will you by your silence admit your inability to answer them? The choice is yours!

51/. Calvinists repeatedly say that the sinners’ prayer is not in the Bible. Then is not the following in the calvinist Bible? Luke 18:13-14a13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [his] eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to (or “propitiate me”) me a sinner. 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [rather] than the other: Calvinists, isn’t this a sinners’ prayer? Calvin says of this: “All that is said is, that after obtaining the pardon of sins he was regarded in the sight of God as righteous.” (Institutes, Book 3, Ch.11, Section 3!)
And how can whoseover call upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13) if one is not permitted to pray?

52/. Calvinists teach that Jesus died only for the sins of those whom the calvinist God chose for heaven, and absolutely no-one else (= limited atonement). They teach that Jesus died to save man, not to make man saveable. For example, gotquestions.com says that Christ died not simply to make justification a possibility but to actually justify those He died for. He died to save them, not to make them savable.
But the God of the Bible died to make all mankind saveable. Romans 10:13 says For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. God has stated that whosoever shall call ….. Whosoever means anyone!
Calvinists say that only those chosen for heaven may call …. but Romans 10:13 clearly means anyone at all who calls upon the name of the Lord. The calvinist God only died for his elect, not for whosoever! Calvinists teach that only the elect may call upon the name of the Lord to be saved; and that anyone else who calls upon the name of the Lord to be saved will not be saved!
Can calvinists please explain why their God did not die for “whosoever” but only for his chosen ones? Jesus certainly died to make all mankind saveable. Any saveable person (that is, all mankind – 1 John 2:2) who calls upon the name of the Lord will activate that “saveability” in his life. (see Romans 3:23-26)
Calvinists, your God is clearly not the God of the Bible, is he?

53/. Boettner (in “The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination” P 172) says: “And since the plan of redemption is thus traced back into eternity, the plan to permit man to fall into the sin from which he was thus to be redeemed must also extend back into eternity; otherwise there would have been no occasion for redemption. That is, establishing the plan of redemption then required that Adam must fall into sin in order to not waste that plan! It’s like putting in an alarm system and then making sure someone breaks in so that the expense of the alarm system can be justified. How can calvinists explain this absurdity?

54/. Boettner also says on P 173: Yet God in no way compelled man to fall. He simply withheld that undeserved constraining grace with which Adam would infallibly not have fallen, which grace He was under no obligation to bestow. That’s like the calvinist God throwing Adam over the cliff and ordering him to fly, yet withholding the wings with which he could fly! Calvinists, is your God sadistic? Does he delight in preventing man from obeying him?

55/. Boettner also writes (P 30): “Common sense tells us that no event can be foreknown unless by some means, either physical or mental, it has been predetermined. That is, unless the calvinist God predetermines all things, unless he writes the script out beforehand, then he cannot know the future. Boettner says that if man has a free will, then God has to wait until that choice is made before he can act. Furthermore, if the acts of free agents are in themselves uncertain, God must then wait until the event has had its issue before making His plans. (P 31) But the God of the Bible knows all things! Calvinists, why doesn’t your God know the things that the God of the Bible knows?

56/. Piper says (in “What kind of Jesus do you worship?”): “Or if you’re playing Scrabble at home and stick your hand into the bag and pull out your letters, God decides what letters you get. So now Piper is the spoil-sport! No more games, for the calvinist God has played them all already and you won’t do anything unless he has written it into the script from the beginning. In fact, you’ll only be playing because the calvinist God ordained that you should play, and even if you feel like playing, if God hasn’t ordained that you should, then you can’t. Piper’s website also says that the calvinist God “even brought about the Nazis’ brutality at Birkenau and Auschwitz. But then, the calvinist God can do whatever he wants to do, according to those disillusioned calvinists. His followers will believe anything, if only because their God has ordained from the very beginning that they should be created in order to make everyone else look intelligent. Calvinists, can you think for yourselves or do you passively let your God do all your thinking for you?

57/. A W Pink said (in “The Total Depravity of Man”) that “though God does not esteem evil to be good, yet He accounts it good that evil should be. Can any calvinist explain rationally what he is talking about??

58/. Al Mohler saidIf you’re a theological minded, deeply convictional young evangelical, if you’re committed to the gospel and want to see the nations rejoice in the name of Christ, if you want to see gospel built and structured committed churches, your theology is just going end up basically being Reformed, basically something like this new Calvinism, or you’re going to have to invent some label for what is basically going to be the same thing, there just are not options out there
In other words, Al, you are claiming new calvinism to be the only right option, aren’t you? That only those who agree with you are theologically correct? Then demonstrate it by answering the previous 57 questions sola scriptura! Not one calvinist so far has tried even one question yet! Can you defend your statement above or admit defeat by your inability to answer? Can you demonstrate from the Bible alone (sola scriptura) that calvinism is the only theologically correct doctrine? Remember that silence is the greatest compliment a calvinist can ever pay to those who oppose him.

59/. Calvin calls satan God’s minister (or servant) (Institutes Bk 1, Ch.18, Section 2) and says that “Satan cannot possibly do anything against the will and consent of God and that Satan is under the power of God, and is so ruled by his authority, that he must yield obedience to it.” (Institutes Bk 1, Ch.14, Section 17) Calvin also teaches that satan is completely under the command of God: even Satan when he is the instrument of divine wrath, is completely under the command of God, who turns him as he will in the execution of his just judgments.” (Institutes Bk 2, Ch.4, Section 2)
So, calvinists, what is the point of satan as an enemy if what he does is by the command of God? Does this mean that the calvinist God is also the enemy of his elect by ordering satan to oppose his elect as their enemy?

60/. Augustine, whose teachings are the basis for Calvin’s teachings, said (in his “Enchiridion”) that, “since every being, in so far as it is a being, is good, if we then say that a defective thing is bad, it would seem to mean that we are saying that what is evil is good, that only what is good is ever evil and that there is no evil apart from something good. ….. Now, if a man is something good because he is an entity, what then, is a bad man except an evil good? ….. if there were no good in what is evil, then the evil simply could not be, since it can have no mode in which to exist
Can any calvinist please explain what Augustine is talking about?  How is it biblical? Is Augustine rational? This appears to be based on Augustine’s Manichean Gnostic roots where salvation depended upon man obtaining ultimate knowledge free from corrupting evil. It also seems to relate to occult Yin and Yang beliefs. Can any calvinists give any support for Augustine’s irrational thinking here (sola scriptura!)?

61/. Terry Arnold (with Mike Claydon) of taministries teaches (in “Arminianism, Hyper-Calvinism, Strawmen…and The Truth”) that “‘free will’ in salvation is never shown in the Bible after the fall of man.” He quotes John 6:44 (No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him). But this verse does not say anywhere that all who are drawn must come! Instead it is saying that all who come must have been drawn! This verse cannot deny the free will of man to resist such drawing, noting that all are drawn to the cross in John 12:32. So, Terry, John 6:44 does not teach that no free will exists; instead you rest your teachings here upon a mere assumption that no free will exists. On its own, an assumption cannot be stated as fact. And such an assumption here is false. Your teaching here is inconsistent with the biblical truth that man has free will to choose.
Arnold (with Claydon) also uses Romans 3:11 to defend his teachings here. However, not seeking after God is an act of the will. Man will not seek after God. It does not say that man can not seek after God! Can you prove (sola scriptura) that Romans 3:11 can not mean “will not”? If you can’t, then you cannot disprove the free will of man!
And how do you make this agree with Jeremiah 29:13? Why would God say: And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart, if He knew they couldn’t do so?
For further information see Questions 6, 47, 50 of Why are calvinists afraid to answer simple straightforward questions?

62/. Calvinists teach that God’s will cannot be influenced in any way by any free will decisions of man. Calvinist Slick says Saying that He simply knows what free will choice they’re going to make is problematic because it means that God is then contingent upon the choices of individuals. ….. what you’re saying is that His choices are contingent upon the so-called free will choices of man, and that violates the doctrine of God’s aseity.
So it didn’t influence God’s will at all when the king of Nineveh repented after being told that Nineveh would be destroyed?
And did the calvinist God foreordain (or decree) the sin of mankind in order to justify the bringing of a flood upon them to destroy them? Then such a God is sadistic. Or did the sin of mankind influence God’s decision to destroy the world in a flood?
And the ultimate question: If the calvinist God’s will cannot be influenced by man, then doesn’t that prove that all sin and wickedness are created by the calvinist God?
Can you explain how God’s actions here can possibly be independent of (not influenced by) any choices that man made??
See Questions 63 and 64 below for further notes on this topic.

63/. Calvinists teach that the will of their God is the only independent will that may exist in the universe. No other will may ever oppose or influence God’s will at any time. They also teach that the calvinist God is incomplete if he cannot demonstrate his wrath against sin ( calvinists teach that wrath is an attribute of their God). Therefore the calvinist God must create that sin in order to be angry at it and thus be fulfilled. According to calvinism, man cannot influence the calvinist God’s will by choosing to sin because man would then be manipulating the calvinist God to react. Calvinists, did your God create sin so that he could be wrathful against those who sin? The God of the Bible didn’t!!

64/. Likewise, the calvinist God must demonstrate his grace to be fulfilled. If his elect never sinned, then he could show no grace in forgiving them. Therefore the calvinist God must decree that his elect sin in order to be able to forgive them by his grace. Because no other will may influence the calvinist God in any way, he must decree that the elect fall into sin so that he may rescue them. They themselves cannot choose to sin because that would be influencing the sovereign calvinist God’s will. Calvinists, does your God make you sin in order to reveal his sovereign grace in you, his “elect”?

65/. If a non-calvinist Christian opposes calvinism, does he do this by his own free will or by the decree of the calvinist God? Calvinists have to deny both options. (And opposing calvinism certainly cannot be a random event!) Calvinists have to deny that the non-calvinist could have free will to choose salvation and to also choose to not believe in calvinism, yet also have to deny that their God would choose to save someone yet decree that person to oppose him. So how can calvinists accept non-calvinists as Christian brethren without compromising their beliefs?

66/. Calvinists often overuse a small number of verses to teach their heresies. One of their more over-worked misused verses is Romans 9:16 (So then [it is] not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.) They claim that it proves that man has no free will to ask God for mercy because their God does all the choosing. But, the context of this chapter is the rejected nation of Israel (who used to be God’s elect nation but had been replaced by the Gentile church). So calvinists, where does it say that people have no free will to plead for God’s mercy unless God has willed it first? What about the publican in Luke 18:13 who chose to pray, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”?? Didn’t God show him mercy because he pleaded for mercy (clearly by his free will choice)?  So how does Romans 9:16 deny free will?

67/. Why do calvinists base the assessment of their beliefs on how well they evangelise? After all, if the level of evangelism is the measure of your biblical correctness, then the JWs and mormons would have you beaten hands down! Does that make them more biblical than you? False religions also evangelise! It’s the converts you produce who determine your biblical correctness! Calvinists, isn’t it true that your evangelism produces puritans, and not necessarily saved Christians?

68/. On Sept. 5, 1536, Calvin began his rule of Geneva by giving lectures at the Church of St. Peter. Schaff (History of the Christian Church, Vol 8) wrote: “On July 29, 1537, the Council of the Two Hundred ordered all the citizens, male and female, to assent to the Confession of Faith in the Church of St. Peter. ….. On Nov. 12, the Council even passed a measure to banish all who would not take the oath. The Confession was thus to be made the law of Church and State. This is the first instance of a formal pledge to a symbolical book by a whole people. It was a glaring inconsistency that those who had just shaken off the yoke of popery as an intolerable burden, should subject their conscience and intellect to a human creed; in other words, substitute for the old Roman popery a modern Protestant popery. Of course, they sincerely believed that they had the infallible Word of God on their side; but they could not claim infallibility in its interpretation.” Doesn’t this make Calvin a dictator? Isn’t it clear that Calvin was a bully-boy? Can calvinists explain how Calvin’s protestant rule was any different to the catholic rule? Isn’t it apparent that Calvin merely took the place of the pope of Rome?

69/. Calvinists, was King David one of the elect of God? If you say he was, then please answer this: Did the calvinist God ordain that King David should commit adultery and murder? Remember, calvinism cannot permit King David to have chosen of his own free will to commit such sin.
And how could you say King David was not one of the elect of God, when God had said, “I have found David the [son] of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” (Acts 13:22)???

70/. Why do reformed churches try to hide the truth about some pastors who commit adultery? I personally know of a Presbyterian minister who ran off with another woman and no-one in the church wanted to talk about one of their guaranteed elect committing adultery. And I was acquainted with a Lutheran pastor who likewise ran off with another woman. I was told that he was not dismissed for doing so, but instead was transferred to another position. Why is it so hard for reformed pastors to be removed from their pastoral position for serious sin? Is it because they have been declared elect when ordained, and are required to persevere until the end?

Some of you reading this may not be calvinists but instead may be reading this through curiosity, or maybe you have a problem with calvinist conflict at your church, so please note that not one single calvinist has presented (on this website) a logical and biblical challenge to my forthright statements about their heresy. Are they so afraid of losing that they dare not commit themselves? Surely this alone tells you the quality (or lack of it!) of their arguments when challenged to defend them from the Bible alone – sola scriptura. Also note that just being a calvinist doesn’t necessarily make you lost. Many good Christians have been corrupted by false calvinist heresies, and merely need to get out of those false teachings to come back to biblical doctrines. But, if you are relying on your calvinist gospel to save you, then be aware that only the biblical gospel can save: Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved! Without the application of the biblical gospel, you are lost! You must choose this day whom you will serve! The God of the Bible will not force you to go to either heaven or hell against your will; He asks you to choose life through Jesus Christ or you will be condemned to hell for refusing to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

So, is there any calvinist sure enough of his beliefs to argue them from the Bible alone? Remember, no comment means no opposition! Silence is always taken as agreement. If your calvinism is worth defending, then defend it. But no defense means nothing worth defending! Does your belief in calvinism dissipate like so much hot air in the face of any reasonable opposition?
So far the silence has been deafening, spurring me on to accuse more and more simply because no reason has been presented to me to not do so. By your silence you are hereby found guilty as charged! If I accuse and no-one defends, then I am free to accuse further. Calvinists, it is in your hands to defend or to acknowledge your guilt!

There are just so many questions calvinists cannot answer that it would be far quicker (and shorter, too) to list all the questions calvinists can answer!

Go to the complete list of questions Why are calvinists afraid to answer simple straightforward questions?

OR
For Questions 1 – 10 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 1.
For Questions 11-20 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 2.
For Questions 21-30 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 3.
For Questions 31-40 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 4.
For Questions 41-50 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 5.

For further reading also please try the following:
Calvinisms
1/. The calvinist gospel in a nutshell.
2/. Calvinists teach universal salvation.
3/. Calvinists teach that God’s elect have eternal life before they can come to Christ to receive eternal life.
4/. The calvinist god cannot be eternal.
5/. Calvinist salvation is not a gift of God.
6/. Calvinists teach that if we willingly receive this gift of salvation, then that makes the gift imperfect.
7/. The calvinist unconditional election is really a conditional election.
8/. Calvinism does not teach assurance of salvation.
9/. The calvinist god is a dictator.
10/. The calvinist god is the only willful sinner in the universe.

The Oxymorons of Calvinist Doctrine
Oxymoron No.1 – God created sin and then punished Adam for it!
Oxymoron No.2 – Merciful, loving and gracious God predestined most of mankind to go to hell without any other option!
Oxymoron No.3 – Calvinism is the gospel!
Oxymoron No.4 – Be born again before you can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!
Oxymoron No.5 – Evangelize the world without the gospel?
Oxymoron No.6 – Calvinists claim to be Christians yet are not saved by Christ.
Oxymoron No.7 – The calvinists cry “Christ Alone”, yet leave Him out of the picture until after a person is “saved”.
Oxymoron No.8 – The calvinists cry “The Bible Alone”, yet ignore its truths in favour of Calvin’s teachings.
Oxymoron No.9 – The calvinists cry “Faith Alone”, yet faith is not part of their salvation until after they have been born again.
Oxymoron No.10 – God chose Israel as His special nation, and then ordained that it sin and be rejected.

And here’s another post to check out with a lot of good reading about the bad logic of calvinism and the god they serve.
Try When Calvinism’s “Bad Logic” Traps Good Christians
The author of this post speaks from first-hand experience in defining the evil deception in the calvinism that caused her to leave her church of many years. Why does calvinism (which proclaims the loving goodness of their allegedly sovereign god) cause so much division and heart-ache?? It’s those who have escaped this vile deception who can speak most authoritatively about it. But, be prepared for a long read! Calvinism has so much deception that it just cannot be dealt with in a few sentences!

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Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 5

Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 5
Calvinists won’t answer straightforward questions
Calvinists
can’t answer straightforward questions
Calvinists
can’t answer any questions

But they
can say, “It’s a mystery!

Calvinists just won’t answer simple straight-forward questions! Why? The answer here is simple: they can’t! These questions have been online for a while now and only one response has been received. (And I have defended my accusations – see Comments.) It’s clear that calvinists just do not have the sola scriptura answers to even one of  these questions. It proves my point: that calvinists tell a bunch of lies, claiming them to be biblical, and hoping everyone listening to them is as gullible as they are. But sola scriptura (the Bible alone) proves them wrong! In Why are calvinists afraid to answer simple straightforward questions? I asked so many questions with one response after 8 months. The list just kept on growing exponentially; currently it stands at 50 questions. So now I am presenting 10 questions at a time; here I present Questions 41 – 50.
Read Questions 1-10 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 1.
Read Questions 11-20 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 2.
Read Questions 21-30 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 3.
Read Questions 31-40 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 4.
And continue with Questions 51-70 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 6.

41/. I have a question or two for someone named Phil Johnson who put the following online (Does Calvinism Make God the Author of Evil?) in which he claims that God is not the author of sin nor is He the approver of sin. He says that “God is wholly sovereign and has decreed all things according to the sovereign counsel of his own will (Isaiah 46:9-10); yet He is not to blame for the evil His creatures do.
Well, Phil, if the God who has decreed all things is not to blame, then who is? Or do you think sin is a random event like your unconditional election? (A choice without conditions = random selection!) Only a fool would declare sin a random event. And, if the calvinist God has decreed all things, then man is only doing what the calvinist God decreed that man should do. And if man should refuse the calvinist God’s decree to do evil and instead do good, is he then, by doing good, being disobedient and therefore evil??
Man cannot be held responsible for choosing evil if the calvinist God has decreed that he should commit evil! But Johnson, like a typical calvinist, quotes the Westminster Confession and Calvin to support his views; how is this compatible with the calvinist claim of sola scriptura (the Bible alone)? Are the Westminster Confession and Calvin’s writings more authoritative than the Bible? Is Phil saying that he cannot rely upon the Bible alone to support such heresy?
In fact, doesn’t calvinism make their God the author of evil? Calvin said “
that if all things are done by the will of God, and men contrive nothing except by His will and ordination, then God is the author of all evils.” (“Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God”) Or maybe you can’t give a straight answer (sola scriptura!), Phil??

42/. Can calvinists please explain why free will is effectively any different from free agency? They say that man does not have a free will, yet remains a free agent. No free will means no choice. However, being a free agent means that God does not force man to choose something, but permits him to choose only that which the calvinist God has already chosen for him. That is, you may choose whatever you wish, as long as it is what the calvinist God has chosen for you. Calvinists, isn’t this just another case of verbal gymnastics? How is free will any different from free agency? Isn’t denying man’s free will yet permitting him to be a free agent just saying the same thing disguised as something different? Isn’t this a clear case of deception?
For further reading, try Free will Vs Free agency? What’s the difference??

43/. And here’s one for you, John MacArthur. You claim to be so biblical, yet you seemingly cannot understand simple biblical logic. You say in The Doctrine of God’s Effectual Call when the call of God came on the life of the apostle Paul, it was a sovereign, divine, gracious, and irresistible summons.  He was slammed in to the dirt on the road to Damascus with nothing to do but respond.  He is called as an apostle.  …… Paul understood that he was just grabbed by the neck by God and awakened to the glory of Christ and saved and made an apostle.” Yet Paul says he was obedient: “I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). You say Paul had no choice other than to respond, but Paul says he was obedient (which requires a choice). Can you explain your logic in this matter? Why does Paul disagree with your highly emotive words (much of it invented because the Bible just does not say most of what you say it says here!). If you are so biblical, MacArthur, then will you defend it, or admit your folly by your silence?

44/. You know the saying: “The devil made me do it.” But calvinists, you believe that your God “from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass” so, logically, shouldn’t you be claiming that “God made me do it!”??

45/. Is the calvinist God double-minded? Is he unstable in all his ways? James 1:8 says that A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways. So, if God desires that all men should be saved (1 Timothy 2:4) yet the calvinist God did not choose to save all men, then isn’t the calvinist God clearly double-minded according to the Bible? Thus the calvinist God is unstable in all his ways! Try and demonstrate otherwise from the Bible, calvinists! But you can’t, can you, calvinists, because your God is indeed double-minded, unstable, unjust, unloving, vindictive, unmerciful, ungracious ……. Doesn’t sound like the God of the Bible, does it?

46/. On the Internet calvinist Bryan Liftin says “But then why evangelize anyone if God’s decree is already fixed? The mistake is thinking that we evangelize in order to save people. That is incorrect. ….. The right reason to evangelize is to be obedient.That’s right, folks, calvinists don’t preach the gospel in order to save people because their God has already chosen who’s going to heaven and who’s going to hell. Evangelising makes no difference at all! Can calvinists please explain why they bother to evangelise the lost when the only ones who can be saved will go to heaven without their preaching?

47/. Calvinists teach that man cannot seek after God,  quoting “there is none that seeketh after God.” (Romans 3:11). They ignore the correct interpretation which is that man has no desire to seek after God. They say that because man has no free will to choose to obey God, then it is impossible for man to seek after God.
Then how was it possible for people to choose by an act of their wills to not come to Jesus in
Matthew 23:37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I (thelo) have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would (thelo) not! where thelo means to will; intend; to purpose; desire; like to do a thing; be fond of doing; take delight in; have pleasure in. thelo is also used for “willingly” in 2 Peter 3:5a (For this they willingly are ignorant). Calvinists, please tell me how they can refuse to come by an act of their wills if they have no free will to respond to God in the first place?
Also, not seeking after God can mean either you cannot, or you will not, that is, either you are unable to do so, or you do not want to do so. Calvinists, can you prove sola scriptura that Romans 3:11 cannot mean “will not”?? If you can’t, then your whole doctrine of total inability goes out the window with the rest of the rubbish!

48/. Calvinists today teach that their God predestines his elect to eternal life, yet did not predestine the non-elect to eternal condemnation. They say that their God just passes over them and lets them go their own way; thus they choose to go to hell. But calvinists, are you so ignorant that you don’t know what Calvin clearly taught on this? He wrote “By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death.(Institutes Bk 3, Ch.23, Section 5) Note that the calvinist God chose what he wanted for “every man“! Calvinists, you don’t like such teaching because it makes your God to be a vindictive ogre, doesn’t it? But Calvin taught it, so stop arguing! And if your God just passes over the lost, then how can he be sovereign over them? So calvinists, do you agree with Calvin here, or are you calling Calvin a false teacher?

49/. A calvinist once told me that James White was an outstanding theologian and scholar. This is hard to believe, considering he has difficulty in understanding basic grammatical logic! White says  (of John 6:44):all who are drawn are also raised up – the Father draws, and the Son raises up those who are drawn.This assumes no free will, yet Question 47 above demonstrates otherwise. The Father draws all through Christ (John 12:32); none may come unless he is invited. However, not all those invited will come (see Matthew 22:1-14). Note well that John 6:44 doesn’t say that all who are drawn must come, but rather that all who come must have been drawn. If man has free will to resist (and he does), then all are drawn yet only those who accept such drawing will be raised up on the last day.  Is there any calvinist who is brave enough to defend (sola scriptura, of course) White’s unbiblical and illogical reasoning?

50/. Calvinists teach that man is unable to seek after God, quoting Romans 3:11. But Romans 3:11 does not say that man cannot come, but that he does not seek after God. (Can’t you read properly?) Jeremiah 29:13 says And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Why would God say this if He knew that man was unable to seek Him? Also see Question 47 above. Total depravity of man is true; total inability of man is a lie. Prove otherwise, calvinists, or else admit defeat by your silence. Remember, silence is the greatest complement that a calvinist can pay to those who oppose him!

So, is there any calvinist sure enough of his beliefs to argue them from the Bible alone? Remember, no comment means no opposition! Silence is always taken as agreement. If your calvinism is worth defending, then defend it. But no defense means nothing worth defending! Does your belief in calvinism dissipate like so much hot air in the face of any reasonable opposition?
So far the silence has been deafening, spurring me on to accuse more and more simply because no reason has been presented to me to not do so. By your silence you are hereby found guilty as charged! If I accuse and no-one defends, then I am free to accuse further. Calvinists, it is in your hands to defend or to acknowledge your guilt!

There are just so many questions calvinists cannot answer that it would be far quicker (and shorter, too) to list all the questions calvinists can answer!

Go to the complete list of questions Why are calvinists afraid to answer simple straightforward questions?
Read Questions 1-10 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 1.
Read Questions 11-20 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 2.
Read Questions 21-30 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 3.
Read Questions 31-40 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 4.
And if you haven’t read enough impossible calvinist questions, try Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 6.

For further reading also please try the following:
Calvinisms
1/. The calvinist gospel in a nutshell.
2/. Calvinists teach universal salvation.
3/. Calvinists teach that God’s elect have eternal life before they can come to Christ to receive eternal life.
4/. The calvinist god cannot be eternal.
5/. Calvinist salvation is not a gift of God.
6/. Calvinists teach that if we willingly receive this gift of salvation, then that makes the gift imperfect.
7/. The calvinist unconditional election is really a conditional election.
8/. Calvinism does not teach assurance of salvation.
9/. The calvinist god is a dictator.
10/. The calvinist god is the only willful sinner in the universe.

The Oxymorons of Calvinist Doctrine
Oxymoron No.1 – God created sin and then punished Adam for it!
Oxymoron No.2 – Merciful, loving and gracious God predestined most of mankind to go to hell without any other option!
Oxymoron No.3 – Calvinism is the gospel!
Oxymoron No.4 – Be born again before you can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!
Oxymoron No.5 – Evangelize the world without the gospel?
Oxymoron No.6 – Calvinists claim to be Christians yet are not saved by Christ.
Oxymoron No.7 – The calvinists cry “Christ Alone”, yet leave Him out of the picture until after a person is “saved”.
Oxymoron No.8 – The calvinists cry “The Bible Alone”, yet ignore its truths in favour of Calvin’s teachings.
Oxymoron No.9 – The calvinists cry “Faith Alone”, yet faith is not part of their salvation until after they have been born again.
Oxymoron No.10 – God chose Israel as His special nation, and then ordained that it sin and be rejected.

And here’s another post to check out with a lot of good reading about the bad logic of calvinism and the god they serve.
Try When Calvinism’s “Bad Logic” Traps Good Christians
The author of this post speaks from first-hand experience in defining the evil deception in the calvinism that caused her to leave her church of many years. Why does calvinism (which proclaims the loving goodness of their allegedly sovereign god) cause so much division and heart-ache?? It’s those who have escaped this vile deception who can speak most authoritatively about it. But, be prepared for a long read! Calvinism has so much deception that it just cannot be dealt with in a few sentences!

*************************************

If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments will be recorded on the Comments page.

List of all my posts on this site.

If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

Sermons and Messages

Please feel free to comment  Comments and contact page
Comments and replies are recorded on the Comments page.

Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 4

Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 4
Calvinists won’t answer straightforward questions
Calvinists
can’t answer straightforward questions
Calvinists
can’t answer any questions

But they
can say, “It’s a mystery!

Calvinists just won’t answer simple straight-forward questions! Why? The answer here is simple: they can’t! These questions have been online for a while now and only one response has been received. (And I have defended my accusations – see Comments.) It’s clear that calvinists just do not have the sola scriptura answers to even one of  these questions. It proves my point: that calvinists tell a bunch of lies, claiming them to be biblical, and hoping everyone listening to them is as gullible as they are. But sola scriptura (the Bible alone) proves them wrong! In Why are calvinists afraid to answer simple straightforward questions? I asked so many questions with one response after 8 months. The list just kept on growing exponentially; currently it stands at 50 questions. So now I am presenting 10 questions at a time; here I present Questions 31 – 40.
Read
Questions 1-10 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 1.
Read
Questions 11-20 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 2.
Read
Questions 21-30 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 3.
Read
Questions 41-50 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 5.
And continue with Questions 51-670 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 6.

31/.  Calvin taught (in his Institutes Book 3, Chapter 2, Section 11) that his God gave some a temporary faith which he described as “an inferior operation of the Spirit“. Such people could even think they were of the elect, and other elect people could believe they were saved. But they are not of the elect and never will be. Calvin says: “Hence it is not strange, that by the Apostle a taste of heavenly gifts, and by Christ himself a temporary faith, is ascribed to them.” But their sins are not forgiven and they will not be permitted to go to heaven. Their faith is only temporary! Can calvinists please explain where the Bible alone teaches any of this or else admit that Calvin was a hopeless liar who made up doctrines as it suited him?
Try reading
The living-dead calvinist zombies – as taught by Calvin

32/.  Here’s an interesting question that calvinists avoid like the plague. How do you know you are going to heaven? They cannot say that they called upon the name of the Lord to be saved, because they say this is works and therefore not permitted. In fact the only evidence that a calvinist can have of assurance of heaven is that their works define them as puritans, therefore they are of the elect of their God. Ask a calvinist for his testimony and he can only say that he is one of the elect because his works demonstrate this to be so. He might say that he was regenerated (born again) by the Spirit. Then ask him when that happened. How long has he been one of his God’s elect? Did his God send him a letter? Or maybe a telegram or email or SMS? How does he know he is actually regenerated? His testimony is his works, nothing else! (And good works alone is insufficient evidence of a new life!) I can say that on a particular day in my life I called upon the name of the Lord to be saved; therefore I know I have eternal life, and I know I am going to heaven (1 John 5:12-13). Calvinists, how do you know you have eternal life, and how do you know you are going to heaven? For further on this, please read How does a calvinist know he has eternal life?

33/.  Calvinists claim the perseverance of the saints (that is, God’s elect people are guaranteed entry into heaven for eternity). This is the letter “P” in TULIP. But is there even one calvinist out there who is prepared to claim right now that he or she is guaranteed eternal life in heaven? What if you fall away before the end? Note that calvinism teaches that one must persevere to the end in order to enter heaven. If you fall away before the end, then you were never saved in the first place. This is what Calvin taught, that you could be given a temporary faith, an inferior operation of the Spirit (Institutes Bk 3, Ch.2, Section 11). Is any calvinist brave enough to guarantee that he will not (absolutely not) fall away before the end? John Piper admits the possibility of falling away! (https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/when-is-saving-repentance-impossible) If a calvinist falls away he was never saved in the first place; his God has given him a temporary faith! So how sure are you, calvinist, that you are one of your God’s elect? Can you prove it??

34/.  Calvinists teach that their God created/decreed/ordained sin and then blamed Adam for it. They all must agree that Adam could not have sinned of his own free will because that would have required free will and the calvinist God refuses to permit man to have any free will to choose between good and evil. Therefore, if Adam effectively had no free will to choose to obey God, then neither can his disobedience be considered an act of his free will against God! Adam is originally commanded not to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit, yet it is the calvinist God’s will that Adam should sin by now eating that forbidden fruit. If Adam refuses to eat the fruit because God has previously forbidden it, then he becomes guilty of disobeying God’s command to now eat the fruit. On the other hand, if Adam now obeys God’s command to eat the forbidden fruit, then he is doomed by his disobedience to God’s original law that forbade him to do so. Poor Adam! He just can’t win! The deck is literally stacked against him! Calvinists, why is your God so vindictive? And where in the Bible does it teach this garbage? No-one has ever been able to answer this without depicting the calvinist God as a dictator who can’t take responsibility for his own mistakes.
Try reading
Calvinists declare their God to be a liar! and Calvinists teach that their God is the only wilful sinner in the universe!

35/.  Calvinists teach that their God requires evil in order to be perfect, according to Jonathan Edwards whom Piper declares “to be the greatest religious thinker America has ever produced.” Edwards says that the calvinist God ordains evil for the perfecting of His glory. He says that evil is necessary for the highest happiness of man who is only truly happy when his perception of God is perfect, and that God can only be perfect when evil is present (so that He can reveal His wrath against sin!). Without sin and evil, God cannot be complete! (https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/is-god-less-glorious-because-he-ordained-that-evil-be) If this is America’s greatest religious thinker, then …..?? Following this logically as any thinker should do requires evil to be as eternally present as God is eternally present. That is, God cannot be God without evil! This therefore makes evil an attribute of the calvinist God. Calvinist, your God is evil, isn’t he?

36/.  Calvinists who teach limited atonement are clearly non-biblical (1 John 2:2). It is so absurd that some calvinists declare that they are 4-point calvinists; that is, they can’t accept limited atonement! However, why would the calvinist Jesus die for all people if he has only chosen a limited number for heaven? So, 4-point calvinists, do you realise that an unlimited atonement is ridiculous unless the election is likewise unlimited? Why die for all if only 1% are on the list for heaven? Isn’t that a waste of the calvinist Jesus’ payment? Why pay for all and then prevent most from using it? Isn’t it like buying a meal for 100 people yet only letting one of them actually eat? Don’t you realise that being a 4-point calvinist is stupid?
The Bible teaches that Jesus died for all the sins of all mankind for all time without exception. All are offered the gift of salvation, yet only those who accept by their own free wills may be saved. Free will to choose is biblical!

37/.  Calvinists often say that Jesus’ payment was sufficient for all, yet efficient for the few. But, isn’t it the height of absurdity to be able to pay for all yet refuse to do so simply because he didn’t want to? MacArthur says that “God did not intend to save everyone.  He is God.  He could have intended to save everyone.  He could have saved everyone.  He would have if that had been His intention.  The atonement is limited.” (The Doctrine of Actual Atonement,  Part 1) So, calvinists, if your God could have paid for all, then why didn’t he? Is he a cruel despot, a sadist, or was he just unable to raise the finances?

38/.  Calvinists, why does your God only choose some for heaven when you claim that he could have paid for the sins of all people. He created most of mankind unable to go to heaven, so he sends them to hell by the good pleasure of his sovereign will. Why does the calvinist God only love his elect, yet hate the rest of the world? How could anyone serve and worship the calvinist God for eternity, knowing that so many had gone to hell simply because he hated them too much to die for them?
Calvinist, would your God rather die than give you what you justly deserved? My God, the God of the Bible did, and not just for a chosen few; He died for all mankind!

39/.  Christians are supposed to love their enemies, yet the calvinist God can’t love his enemies. The calvinist God commands Christians to do this, yet disobeys his own commandment? How is it possible that mere man could out-love God? Can a man be more loving, more merciful than God? How does this agree with the Bible which says that God is love?

40/.  Because the calvinist God’s will is the only will in the universe, then all things are according to his will, even sin (as calvinist writers affirm). They say that it is for his glory, yet fail to understand that their God is the only one who can choose to sin by his own free will! Doesn’t this mean that in a calvinist world, the only one who must go to hell for his sins is the calvinist God? After all, isn’t he the only one responsible for all sin for all time? How can man without a free will to choose between good and evil be responsible for that which he was ordained (decreed; made) to do?

So, is there any calvinist sure enough of his beliefs to argue them from the Bible alone? Remember, no comment means no opposition! Silence is always taken as agreement. If your calvinism is worth defending, then defend it. But no defense means nothing worth defending! Does your belief in calvinism dissipate like so much hot air in the face of any reasonable opposition?
So far the silence has been deafening, spurring me on to accuse more and more simply because no reason has been presented to me to not do so. By your silence you are hereby found guilty as charged! If I accuse and no-one defends, then I am free to accuse further. Calvinists, it is in your hands to defend or to acknowledge your guilt!

There are just so many questions calvinists cannot answer that it would be far quicker (and shorter, too) to list all the questions calvinists can answer!

Go to the complete list of questions Why are calvinists afraid to answer simple straightforward questions?
Read Questions 1-10 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 1.
Read Questions 11-20 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 2.
Read Questions 21-30 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 3.
Read Questions 41-50 at Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 5.
And if you haven’t read enough impossible calvinist questions, try Impossible Questions for Calvinists Part 6.

For further reading also please try the following:
Calvinisms
1/. The calvinist gospel in a nutshell.
2/. Calvinists teach universal salvation.
3/. Calvinists teach that God’s elect have eternal life before they can come to Christ to receive eternal life.
4/. The calvinist god cannot be eternal.
5/. Calvinist salvation is not a gift of God.
6/. Calvinists teach that if we willingly receive this gift of salvation, then that makes the gift imperfect.
7/. The calvinist unconditional election is really a conditional election.
8/. Calvinism does not teach assurance of salvation.
9/. The calvinist god is a dictator.
10/. The calvinist god is the only willful sinner in the universe.

The Oxymorons of Calvinist Doctrine
Oxymoron No.1 – God created sin and then punished Adam for it!
Oxymoron No.2 – Merciful, loving and gracious God predestined most of mankind to go to hell without any other option!
Oxymoron No.3 – Calvinism is the gospel!
Oxymoron No.4 – Be born again before you can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!
Oxymoron No.5 – Evangelize the world without the gospel?
Oxymoron No.6 – Calvinists claim to be Christians yet are not saved by Christ.
Oxymoron No.7 – The calvinists cry “Christ Alone”, yet leave Him out of the picture until after a person is “saved”.
Oxymoron No.8 – The calvinists cry “The Bible Alone”, yet ignore its truths in favour of Calvin’s teachings.
Oxymoron No.9 – The calvinists cry “Faith Alone”, yet faith is not part of their salvation until after they have been born again.
Oxymoron No.10 – God chose Israel as His special nation, and then ordained that it sin and be rejected.

And here’s another post to check out with a lot of good reading about the bad logic of calvinism and the god they serve.
Try When Calvinism’s “Bad Logic” Traps Good Christians
The author of this post speaks from first-hand experience in defining the evil deception in the calvinism that caused her to leave her church of many years. Why does calvinism (which proclaims the loving goodness of their allegedly sovereign god) cause so much division and heart-ache?? It’s those who have escaped this vile deception who can speak most authoritatively about it. But, be prepared for a long read! Calvinism has so much deception that it just cannot be dealt with in a few sentences!

*************************************

If you have any questions or comments about this information, please feel free to say it or give advice, by using the Contact page. Genuine comments will be recorded on the Comments page.

List of all my posts on this site.

If you wish to read other documents on the heresies of calvinism, please use this link.

Sermons and Messages

Please feel free to comment  Comments and contact page
Comments and replies are recorded on the Comments page.