Seminaries Shipwrecking the Faith of Many
1/19/2007

This is a commentary on Chick Publications recent Battle Cry newsletter in which we will be looking at the two lead in articles examining: 1) The pagan roots of modern and ancient Goddess worship and how that ties into the counterfeit pagan trinity and 2) How many seminaries ruin the faith of their students by teaching them to doubt the Word of God. We will also do a short study on Jeremiah 8 and be looking at the dangers of Messianic Judaism. To end things we will be looking at the February edition of “The Last Trumpet” Newsletter.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2007_01-19__.mp3

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1192

Heresy Exposed: How to Become a Millionaire God’s Way
1/14/2007

In this audio will examine how the secular world judges a person’s status (in part) by how many people serve them in this life, whereas the Lord Jesus Christ will judge Christians (in part) by how much of a servant we were to others (during our lives here on earth). Mat 23:11 says: “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” We will explore how Biblically revealed truth is largely dependant on righteous living.

We will be also be looking at a Biblical rebuttal to the heresy of Pastor Thomas C. Anderson “How to Become a Millionaire God’s Way” and comparing this teaching to Satan’s fall in Ezekiel 28. The typical modern day apostate Laodicean church is obsessed with the notion that “gain is godliness”, but the Word of God is diametrically opposed to this position.

We will also be looking at a rebuttal to the “Praying to be thin” Remnant church of Nashville, TN that promotes their own brand of heresy known as “Weigh Down”. Since 1992, Pastor Gwen Shamblin has taken her business from a garage start-up to a multimillion-dollar Nashville corporation. Her 1997 book “The Weigh Down Diet” has sold more than 1 million copies; but this extra-biblical heresy is no different than any other cult that enslaves their membership by misinterpreting select bible verses and then taking them out of context.

Lastly we will be looking at “The Last Trumpet” Newsletter for December.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2007_01-14__.mp3

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1193

Is the Hallelujah Diet/Vegetarianism Biblical?
1/7/2007

In this teaching we will be looking at the growing threat of war between Israel and the Middle East and how that could spark WWIII leading up to the appearance of the Antichrist. We will also be looking at the true colors of Islam/Muslims and what their Koran says to do to infidels/unbelievers of Islam. We will see how this ties into our own government as the Pentagon currently has Islamic prayer rooms for Muslims. But main subject will be addressing is a point by point Biblical refutation of Rev. George Malkmus and his Hallelujah diet/Vegetarianism.We will be concluding with a Biblical look at wine and alcohol.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2007_01-07__.mp3
http://pdf.cftresources.com/2007_01-07__.pdf

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1194

THE WESTCOTT AND HORT ONLY CONTROVERSY



This message was given at the 33rd Annual Meeting and Conference of the GraceWay Bible Society meeting, Saturday, October 27th, 2001, held at Brampton Ontario, Canada.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 
I. The King James Only Controversy.
II. The Primacy of the King James Bible
III. The Westcott and Hort Theory.
IV. Westcott and Hort Only?
V. What You Have to Believe to Accept the Westcott and Hort Theory
VI. Were Westcott and Hort Infallible?
VII. Who Were Westcott and Hort?
VIII. The Doctrine of Westcott and Hort.
IX. Were Westcott and Hort Saved Men?
X. The Work of the English Revision Committee.
XI. Were Westcott and Hort Secret Practitioners of the Occult?
XII. The Fundamentalist Defenders of Westcott and Hort!
XIII. In Conclusion.

I. The King James Only Controversy.

You don’t have to read very much in contemporary, fundamentalist, Baptist literature to come across warnings about the "King James only controversy."

Dr. Jerry Falwell announces that he is hiring Dr. Harold Rawlings to "refute the ‘King James Only’ cultic movement that is damaging so many good churches today."
Dr. Robert Sumner warns about the "veritable fountain of misinformation and deceptive double talk on the subject of ‘King James Onlyism’."
Dr. J. B. Williams refers to those who advocate the King James Only as "misinformers" and as "a cancerous sore."
Dr. Robert Joyner calls King James Bible loyalists, "heretics".
Dr. James R. White warns about King James Bible proponents "undercutting the very foundations of the faith itself".

Such references to the King James Only Controversy are very common. Some refer to loyal supporters of the King James Bible as the "King James Only Cult". Another common term is the sneering reference to the "King Jimmy Boys."

However the use of the "King James Bible only" wasn’t always so controversial.
 

II. The Primacy of the King James Bible

God was doing a great work in England in the early 1600's. The preaching of the gospel of Christ out of the Matthew’s Bible and the Geneva Bible was leading to multitudes of conversions. Evangelicals and Puritans were becoming a stronger and stronger force in the Church of England and in English culture.

Yet many were concerned that the final translation work into the English language had not been done. King James was persuaded to authorize a new translation. The King James Bible was printed in 1611.

At first there were questions and concerns about this new Bible translation. This was as it should be. No one should accept a Bible translation lightly. By 1640 however, the King James Bible was clearly the Bible of the English people. The Geneva and Matthew’s Bible, once greatly used of God, went out of print. There was simply no demand for them anymore.

The Church of England, with its official evangelical doctrinal statement, used the King James Bible exclusively. It was the Bible of the Puritans, both inside and outside the Church of England. In fact the Puritans began to use the distinctive Biblical English of the King James Bible in the day to day speech.

The King James Bible was the Bible of the Presbyterians, the Congregationalists, and the Quakers. It was clearly the Bible of the Baptists. By 1640 it was the Bible of the Pilgrims (some had used the Geneva Bible earlier).

The King James Bible was the Bible of evangelicals in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. It became the Bible of the English colonies across the Atlantic Ocean. The only religious group of any size or importance in England that didn’t use the King James Bible was Roman Catholicism. All non-Catholics could have been referred to as "King James only people." When the Methodist Revival stirred England in the 1700's, it did so with the preaching of the King James Bible. John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodists, made his own translation of the New Testament. However, it found little acceptance, even among Methodists. Only the King James Bible was in common use.

When English colonies flourished in Australia and New Zealand, the King James Bible was the common Bible of the settlers. When President George Washington took the first presidential oath of office in the new United States of America, he did so with his hand on a King James Bible. Every American president since, with the exception of Franklin Pierce, has done the same.

Over one hundred fifty English translations were produced between 1611 and 1880. However, they found no audience except in a few cults. Most went out of print quickly. The English speaking, Christian world was truly "King James only".

Baptist preachers produced a Baptist translation of the Bible. They replaced the word baptism with the word immersion. They replaced the word church with the word assembly. However, they found no audience, not even among Baptists. Their translation was soon out of print. The Baptists were truly "King James only".

As hard as it may be for the liberals and secularists to admit, the American public schools were built around the King James Bible. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, (not exactly a religious right publication), describes the early public schools this way, "Public schools had a distinctly Protestant flavor, with teachers leading prayers and scripture reading from the King James Bible in their lessons". The Roman Catholic minority objected to the King James Bible and so they developed their own school system. With the exception of the Catholics, the United States was clearly King James only.

Russell Kirk (a Roman Catholic historian) describes the influence of the King James Bible on the United States, "The book that was to exert a stronger influence than any other in Americas was not published until 1611, a few years after the first Virginian settlement: the ‘King James’ translation of the Bible, the Authorized Version, was prepared by English scholars for King James I. Read from American pulpits and in the great majority of American households during colonial times, the Authorized Version shaped the style, informed the intellect, affected the laws, and decreed the morals of the North American Colonies." Truly the early United States was King James only.

According to Winston Churchill, ninety million copies of the King James Bible had been printed by the mid-twentieth century.

The King James Bible was the Bible of the great modern missions movement of the 1700's and 1800's. The missionaries from England and the United States were saved, called to the mission field, and trained under the preaching of the King James Bible. They traveled around the world, introducing the gospel of grace to millions. Many of these missionaries knew little or no Greek and Hebrew. They translated the Bible into 760 languages from the King James Bible. Truly the modern missions movement was a King James only movement.
 

III. The Westcott and Hort Theory.

In the 1870's, a challenge arose in the English world to the primacy of the King James Bible. There had always been a challenge from Roman Catholicism, but this challenge came from men who were officially Protestants: Church of England Bishop Brooke Foss Westcott and Cambridge University Professor Fenton John Anthony Hort.

The heart of the Westcott and Hort theory was that the New Testament was preserved in almost perfect condition in two Greek texts, the Vaticanus and the Sinaiticus. Sinaiticus was discovered in a wastebasket in St. Catherine’s Momentary (near Mt. Sinai) in 1844 by Constantin von Tischendorf. The Vaticanus was found in the Vatican library in 1475 and was rediscovered in 1845.

The King James New Testament was translated from a different family of Greek texts. To Westcott and Hort, the King James Bible was clearly an inferior translation. It must be replaced by a new translation from texts that they considered to be older and better. They believed that the true work of God in English had been held back by an inferior Bible. They determined to replace the King James Bible and the Greek Textus Receptus. In short, their theory suggests that for fifteen hundred years the preserved Word of God was lost until it was recovered in the nineteenth century in a trash can and in the Vatican Library. [Editor RAB: that's where they belong.]

Hort clearly had a bias against the Textus Receptus, calling it "villainous" and "vile". Hort aggressively taught that the School at Antioch (associated with Lucian) had loosely translated the true text of Scripture in the second century A. D. This supposedly created an unreliable text of Scripture which became the Textus Receptus. This was called the Lucian Recension Theory.

Hort did not have a single historical reference to support the idea that such a recension took place. He simply theorized that it must have taken place. In spite of the fact that there is not a single historical reference to the Lucian Recension, many Bible colleges teach it as a historical fact. [Editor RAB: sad but true. One of my professors was one of the contributing editors to the NIV, he did one of the minor prophets. I was not even a year old in Christ when I went off to seminary. I was not brought up in church, and never owned a Bible until my girlfriend gave me one as a gift before I went to seminary. The night I was saved I borrowed a Bible from a Muslim, (THAT IS ANOTHER STORY}. What was so disturbing to me was my professor. I felt he was trying to undermine my faith in the Bible and I told him so. By the way, my girlfriend gave me a King James Bible and told me it was the Word Of God. I married her while I was in seminary. Praise the Lord for a godly wife with godly convictions concerning the Bible. AMEN.]


IV. Westcott and Hort Only!

It is clear that the modern movement to revise the English Bible is based completely on the works of Westcott and Hort.

K.W. Clark writes, "...the Westcott-Hort text has become today our Textus-Receptus. We have been freed from the one only to become captivated by the other...The psychological chains so recently broken from our fathers have again been forged upon us, even more strongly."

E.C. Colwell writes, "The dead hand of Fenton John Anthony Hort lies heavy upon us. In the early years of this century Kirsopp Lake described Hort’s work as a failure, ...But Hort did not fail to reach his major goal. He dethroned the Textus Receptus. ...This was a sensational achievement, an impressive success. Hort’s success in this task and the cogency of his tightly reasoned theory shaped - and still shapes - the thinking of those who approach the textual criticism of the New Testament through the English language."

Zane Hodges, a long time professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, writes, "Modern textual criticism is psychologically addicted to Westcott and Hort. Westcott and Hort in turn, were rationalists in their approach to the textual problem in the New Testament and employed techniques within which rationalism and every other kind of bias are free to operate."

Alfred Martin, former Vice-President at Moody Bible Institute, wrote in 1951, "The present generation of Bible students having been reared on Westcott and Hort have for the most part accepted this theory without independent or critical examination. ...if believing Bible students had the evidence of both sides put before them instead of one side only, there would not be so much blind following of Westcott and Hort." The two most popular Greek manuscripts today, Nestles-Aland and UBS (United Bible Society), differ very little from the Westcott and Hort text.
 

V. WHAT YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE TO ACCEPT THE WESTCOTT AND HORT THEORY.

You have to believe that people who believed in the Deity of Christ often corrupt Bible manuscripts.
You have to believe that people who deny the Deity of Christ never corrupt Bible manuscripts.
You have to believe that people who died to get the gospel to the world couldn’t be trusted with the Bible.
You have to believe that their killers could be trusted.
You have to believe that the Celtic Christians, Waldenses, Albigenses, Henricians, Petrobrussians, Paulicians, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Protestant churches, the Anabaptists and the Baptists all did not have the pure word of God.
You have to believe that the Roman Catholics and the nineteenth century rationalists did have the pure word of God.
 

VI. ARE WESTCOTT AND HORT INFALLIBLE?

Even though many evangelicals treat the Westcott and Hort Theory as proven fact, there have always been serious textual scholars that challenged it.

The brilliant textual scholar, Dean John Burgon, referred to Westcott and Hort’s "violent recoil from the Traditional Text" and "their absolute contempt for the Traditional Text". He refers to their theory as "superstitious veneration for a few ancient documents."

Another famed textual scholar and contemporary of Westcott and Hort, F.H.P. Scrivener wrote, "Dr. Hort’s system therefore is entirely destitute of historical foundation. He does not so much as make a show of pretending to it; but then he would persuade us, as he persuaded himself...".

It is a phony claim to scholarship to simply parrot the ideas of Westcott and Hort and pretend that you are superior to those who don’t accept their ideas. Those who wish to change the King James Bible, so long greatly used of God and cherished by the English speaking people, need to give clear reasons why!

How do you know that the "older" Vaticanus and Sinaticus manuscripts aren’t corrupt manuscripts? How do you know that the Lucian Recension ever took place? Why do you believe that the evangelicals throughout the centuries were using a corrupt text? Why would you trust Westcott and Hort only?
 

VII. WHO WERE WESTCOTT AND HORT?

B.F. Westcott was born in 1825. F.J.A. Hort was born in 1828. They were members of the Broad Church (or High Church) Party of the Church of England. They became friends during their student days at Cambridge University. They worked for over thirty years together on the subject of the Greek text of the New Testament.

Westcott went on to become the Bishop of Durham (England) and served for a while as chaplain to Queen Victoria. Hort is best remembered as a Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University.

Both men wrote several books. They are best remembered for their edition of the Greek New Testament entitled, "The New Testament in the Original Greek". They are also remembered for being the two most influential members of the English Revised Version committee which produced a new English translation. Scrivener thought that they exercised too much influence on this committee.

Westcott died in 1901. Hort passed away in 1892. Both men had sons who collected their personal correspondence and who wrote biographies about them.
 

VIII. THE DOCTRINE OF WESTCOTT AND HORT.

The Scripture

It is clear that neither Westcott nor Hort held anything even faintly resembling a conservative view of Scripture. According to Hort’s son, Dr. Hort’s own mother (a devout Bible believer) could not be sympathetic to his views about the Bible. Westcott wrote to Hort that he overwhelmingly rejected the "idea of the infallibility of the Bible". Hort says the same thing, the same week, in a letter to Bishop Lightfoot.

When Westcott became the Bishop of Durham, the Durham University Journal welcomed him with the praise that he was "free from all verbal or mechanical ideas of inspiration."

Salvation

Hort called the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement "immoral". In doing so he sided with the normal doctrine of the High Church Party of the Church of England. The Low Church Party was generally evangelical, teaching salvation through personal faith in Jesus Christ. The High Church Party taught salvation by good works, including baptism and church membership.

Westcott and Hort wrote many commentaries that include references to classic passages about salvation. Repeatedly their commentary is vague and unclear. Westcott taught that the idea of "propitiating God" was "foreign to the New Testament." He taught that salvation came from changing the character of the one who offended God. This is consistent with his statement that, "A Christian never is but is always becoming a Christian."

Again and again, Westcott’s vague comments about salvation are easy to interpret as teaching universal salvation.

The Doctrine of Christ

It was common in the days of Westcott and Hort for those in the Church of England who denied the Deity of Christ to speak in vague terms! To clearly deny the Deity of Christ was to jeopardize your position in the Church of England. Many High Church modernists learned to speak of the Deity of Christ in unclear terms as a way to avoid trouble.

Many statements by both Westcott and Hort fall into that category of "fuzzy" doctrinal statements about Christ. Westcott and Hort were brilliant scholars. Surely they were capable of expressing themselves clearly on the doctrine of Christ if they wanted to. At best they are unclear; at worst, they were modernists hiding behind the fundamental doctrinal statement of the Church of England.

Other Teachings of Westcott and Hort

There are many other areas that cause fundamental Bible believers to have serious questions about Westcott and Hort. Westcott denied that Genesis 1 through 3 were historically true. Hort praised Darwin and his theory of evolution. Both Westcott and Hort praised the "Christian socialist" movement of their day. Westcott belonged to several organizations designed to promote "Christian socialism" and served as President of one of them (the Christian Social Union).

Both Westcott and Hort showed sympathy for the movement to return the Church of England to Rome. Both honored rationalist philosophers of their time like Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Dr. Frederick Maurice, and Dr. Thomas Arnold. Both were serious students of the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle.

There is much about the teaching of Westcott and Hort to deeply trouble any objective Bible believer.
 

IX. WERE WESTCOTT AND HORT SAVED MEN?

The evangelical defenders of Westcott and Hort are quick to assert that they were saved men even if some of their ideas seem a little strange in our day. They remind people that both were ordained preachers in the evangelical Church of England.

However, there is no doubt that there were many Church of England preachers that were not true evangelicals. The High Church party was well known to teach salvation by works. Within the Church of England there was a vigorous debate between true evangelicals and those who taught baptismal regeneration or some other system of works for salvation. In their lengthy writings, neither Westcott nor Hort ever give an account of their own conversion. They never identified with the evangelicals in the Church of England. They were never accepted by the evangelicals in the Church of England. They were associated with various occult figures, but never with evangelicals.

While Westcott and Hort praised evolutionists, socialists, and modernists, they were bitterly critical of evangelical soulwinners. Westcott criticized the work of William Booth and the Salvation Army. Hort criticized the crusades of D.L. Moody. Hort criticized the soulwinning Methodists.

Both criticized evangelicals. Neither gave anyone any reason to believe that he had ever trusted Christ as his personal Saviour.
 

 X. THE WORK OF THE ENGLISH REVISION COMMITTEE

In 1870, the English Parliament authorized a revision of the King James Bible. Two teams of translators were hired. Most translators were from the Church of England but there were also seven Presbyterians, four Congregationalists, two Baptists, two Methodists and one Unitarian. The translators were instructed to make as few alterations to the King James Bible as possible.

A similar committee was developed in the United States at the same time. The two committee’s exchanged copies of their work. Several thousand Church of England preachers signed a petition protesting the inclusion of a Unitarian, Dr. Vance Smith, on the Revision Committee. They felt that only saved men should be involved in translating the Bible. Proper translation required the illumination of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Both Westcott and Hort defended Smith and lobbied for his presence on the committee. Westcott threatened to quit if Smith was not included. Westcott and Hort supplied everyone working on the committee with a private copy of their new Greek text. Hort lobbied (some would say intimidated) committee members to follow the Westcott and Hort text. Westcott, Hort, and Bishop Lightfoot pressured the committee to go beyond their mandate for doing a revision of the King James Bible. Dr. Frederick Scrivener opposed many of the changes to be made on the basis of the new Westcott and Hort Greek Text. Committee meetings were referred to as "... a kind of critical duel between Dr. Hort and Dr. Scrivener".

Arthur Hort described his father’s method for describing the right reading of the text as "to settle the question by the light of his own inner consciousness". Dean Burgon spoke of Hort’s method as deciding by "the ring of genuiness". Hort was far more concerned about his feelings than he was about the textual debate over any passage. Westcott referred to the debate over textual readings as "hard fighting" and "a battle royal".

The original chairman, Bishop Samuel Wilberforce, resigned after referring to the project as "this most miserable business".

Westcott and Hort eventually won most of the debates. After the new English Revision was published, both Scrivener and Burgon published lengthy refutations of the Revision. Burgon attacked the Revision strongly, calling it "excursions into cloud land" and "blowing smoke". The people of England largely rejected the new translation. Attempts to make it the new Authorized Version of the Church of England met with such protest that Queen Victoria abandoned the idea.

Neither the English nor the American Revision sold very well. They were both soon replaced by other versions. However, the multitude of new English versions were all based upon the same Westcott and Hort Greek text and upon the theories of Westcott and Hort. Their English translation failed but their principles won the day. Even though vangelicals rejected the English Revision and the Westcott and Hort text, it did find supporters. Modernists and rationalists, both within and without the Church of England, praised their work. Theosophy founder, Helen Blavatsky, wrote at great length in praise of the new Greek text.

The defenders of Westcott and Hort claimed that the evangelicals were too simple-minded and unlearned to understand the work of Westcott and Hort and other English "scholars". Evangelicalism was presented as unscholarly. After a generation, many evangelicals began to feel uncomfortable at always being labeled as unscholarly and uneducated. Some evangelical leaders began to look for ways to reconcile the historic Christian faith with the theories of Westcott and Hort.

These theories and the Greek text of Westcott and Hort began to find their way into evangelical seminaries and Bible colleges on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Two generations after the failure of the English Revision, the theories of Westcott and Hort had become majority opinion in evangelical Bible colleges and seminaries in both the United States and England. Their theories were universally accepted in modernist seminaries. The Jehovah’s Witnesses and other cults bragged about having Bible translations based upon the Westcott and Hort theory.

Compromising evangelicals were suddenly proud of having "scholarship" accepted by the world. They used the same Greek text as the Roman Catholic Church, the modernists and the cults.

A relative handful of Bible believers refused to accept the Greek text and theory of Westcott and Hort. Such holdouts became an irritation to the "scholarly" evangelicals. As study of the issue increased, opposition to the Westcott and Hort theory grew. "Westcott and Hort only" no longer seemed an adequate reason for abandoning the King James Bible. The "scholarly evangelicals" began to react harshly to their "King James only" critics.
 

XI. WERE WESTCOTT AND HORT SECRET PRACTITIONERS OF THE OCCULT?

In 1993, Gail Riplinger published New Age Bible Versions. In this book, she alleges that Westcott and Hort were practitioners of the occult. It is indicated that they provide a bridge between apostate Christianity and the occult and the New Age Movement.

This charge created a sensation and generated a tremendous amount of criticism for Mrs. Riplinger. It is, of course, a very important charge. An objective look at the evidence for such a charge is important.


Along with Bishop Edward White Benson, Westcott and Hort founded the Ghostly Guild. This club was designed to investigate ghosts and supernatural appearances. The club was based upon the idea that such spirits actually exist and appear to men. According to The Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, the members of the Ghostly Club would "relate personal experiences concerned with ghosts.

This club would eventually become the Society for Psychical Research. According to James Webb in The Occult Underground and W.H. Solter, The S.P.R. - An Outline of It’s History, this club became a major factor in the rise of spiritualism among the elite of English society in the late 1800's. Many leading occult figures belonged to the Society.

Along the way, Westcott and Hort dropped out of the Ghostly Guild. However, they had plenty of opportunity to be exposed to the occult and demonism before they withdrew.

Westcott’s son refers to his father’s life long faith in spiritualism (Archbishop Benson’s son referred to Benson in the same way). Communion with spirits became quite fashionable in the late 1800's in British society. Even Queen Victoria, who normally led a responsible Christian life, dabbled in spiritualism. However, it was considered unseemly for Church of England clergymen, and Wescott had to keep his ideas quiet. According to Wescott’s son, Arthur, Dr. Wescott practiced the Communion of the Saints. This was a belief that you can fellowship with the spirits of those who died recently.

Bible translator J. B. Phillips also believed in the Communion of Saints. He believed that the spirit of C.S. Lewis visited him after his death. According to Arthur Wescott, Bishop Wescott also had such experiences with spirits. His son writes, "The Communion of Saints seems particularly associated with Peterborough. He had an extraordinary power of realizing this Communion. It was his delight to be alone at night in the great Cathedral, for there he could meditate and pray in full sympathy with all that was good and great in the past. . . There he always had abundant company." Wescott’s daughter met him returning from one of his customary meditations in the solitary darkness of the chapel at Auckland castle. She said to him, " I expect you do not feel alone?" "Oh, no," he said, "It is full."

Either Dr. Wescott’s children lied about him or Dr. Wescott was used to meeting with spirits. Bible believers recognize these spirits as demons. Wescott and Hort both joined a secret society called, The Apostles. It was limited to 12 members. One of the other members Henry Sidgwick. He was also stated to have led several professors at Trinity College into secretly practicing the occult. Wescott, his close friend, was also a professor at Trinity College. Strange company for a Christian teacher and Bible translator.

In 1872 Wescott formed a secret society, the Eranus Club. Members included Hort, Sidgwick, Arthur Balfour (future prime minister of England), Archbishop Trench and Dean Alford. Both Trench and Alford would be involved in Bible revision work. Balfour became famous for his seances and practice of spiritualism. The Eranus Club would eventually become known as an occult secret society.

Wescott’s defenders point out that Wescott also eventually dropped out of Eranus. Still he was certainly allied with practioners of the occult in a secret society for a period of time.

Balfour and Sedgwick were involved in several occult organizations, socialism and Theosophy. How many Christians have so many friends prominent in the practice of the occult?

Balfour would also be involved in the founding of the League of Nations and in forming a secret society with Cecil Rhodes (the Round Table and the Council on Foreign Relations).

The evidence for Mrs. Riplinger’s assertions is strong. Would Westcott and Hort’s defenders accept anyone today who had such connections? They were clearly in contact with people who were "familiar" with spirits. There is every reason to suspect that they might also have been in contact with spirits. Based upon their associations, there is no clear reason to reject the suggestion that they were involved in the occult. The balance of evidence creates, at the very least, a strong suspicion of occult influence on both Wescott and Hort (especially Dr. Wescott).
 

XII. THE FUNDAMENTALIST DEFENDERS OF WESTCOTT AND HORT

There are fundamentalists who refuse to accept the characterization of Westcott and Hort as liberals (much less occultists)! J. B Williams writes, "I have three of Westcott's commentaries in my library, and I challenge anyone to find one sentence that would be a departure from Fundamentalist doctrine."

Keith Gephart writes, "In reality, Westcott had made clear statements affirming orthodox doctrines such as the deity of Christ, in no way was he guilty of heresy and apostasy." In responding to a critic of Westcott and Hort, Gephart wrote this, "I cannot help but suspect that . . . some blinding presupposition . . .drives you to prove him a heretic at any cost."

Dr. Stewart Custer writes, "Especially when these men have written in their mature years book after book defending the conservative interpretation of scripture, it is unjust to characterize their whole ministries by a few misinterpretations that they may have been guilty of."

Evangelist Robert Sumner admits that Westcott and Hort were liberal in theology but he still believes that they were trustworthy to "restore the original text."

It would be easy to ask at this point if everyone is reading from the same books. How can there be such a difference of opinion about what these men believed and wrote?

It is true that these men (especially Westcott) wrote commentaries in which they used the great doctrinal terms of the Christian faith in a positive way. They used terms that were part of the official doctrinal position of the Church of England (in which they both held prominent positions).

Almost all denominational liberals use the terms expected of them. This is important in maintaining their income, position and influence. The important thing is how they explain those doctrinal terms (or fail to explain them).

Unless you are determined not to see it, it is clear from their commentaries that they put a liberal interpretation on many Christian doctrines. Both of their sons admit that they were accused of heresy because of their books. This understanding of these statements in their commentaries are supported by several external facts.

Westcott and Hort identified with the High Church Party (Broad Party) within the Church of England. In contrast with the more evangelical and conservative Low Church, modernism found it’s home in the High Church Party.

Westcott and Hort constantly praised theological liberals, socialists and other radicals like Coleridge and Darwin.

No similar praise is found for evangelicals or fundamentalists, either in or out of the Church of England. They are normally ignored! When they are mentioned at all, like D. L. Moody, it is with disdain!

Their private correspondence reveals their liberal drift much more clearly then their commentaries. Of course, it was safer for them to admit what they really believed in this forum. Their correspondence also shows that they had concerns that they could not afford to have all of their beliefs known by the general public.

The biographies of Westcott and Hort written by their sons clearly reveal that they were not in harmony with the official positions of the Church of England. Their sons had no reason to lie about them. Certainly their sons had no King James only bias.

It is interesting that some men can’t face the real record about Westcott and Hort. In fact, some who are quick to attack even minor differences with living preachers, take a blind eye to Westcott and Hort.

However, this is easy to understand. Their campaign to replace the King James Bible has been based upon the work of Westcott and Hort only. To admit these men were not trustworthy would be to admit that they have been wrong in a major premise of their entire ministry.

Perhaps we must be forced to suspect that some blinding presupposition drives them to prove that Westcott and Hort were not heretics at any cost. It appears that "scholarship" requires only a shallow reading of Westcott and Hort and ignorance of their personal letters and correspondence. Their defenders do not spend anytime quoting their personal correspondence or the biographies written by their sons.

Their defenders never recount the testimonies of their conversion because no such testimonies exist.
 

XIII. IN CONCLUSION.

Dean John Burgon was a contemporary and acquaintance of both Westcott and Hort. He was a firm opponent of the Westcott and Hort theory, their new Greek text and the revision of the English Bible that they so heavily influenced. In an article entitled "The Secret Spanking of Westcott and Hort" Burgon wrote: "the text of Drs. Westcott and Hort is either the very best which has ever appeared or else it is the very worst; the nearest to the sacred autographs or the furthest from them. There is no room for both opinions, and there cannot exist any middle view." In other words things that are different are not the same.

Millions of professing evangelicals have never heard of Westcott and Hort. None the less, their approach to the Scripture is based upon the theory of Westcott and Hort — Westcott and Hort only. No matter how many books, professors, colleges and denominational leaders these theories are filtered through, they are still the work of Westcott and Hort only.

Those who challenge the primacy of the King James Bible in the English speaking world depend on the work of Westcott and Hort.

Westcott and Hort are not a sufficient basis to reject the Textus Receptus or the King James Bible. Their objectivity, scholarship and doctrine are all at best "suspect." There is no reason to believe that they were saved men. There is more reason to believe that they were influenced by the occult than there is to believe that they were influenced by the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps the "King James Only Controversy" is misnamed. It is really a "Westcott and Hort Only" controversy.

Are you willing to abandon the historic contributions of the Textus Receptus and the King James Bible for Westcott and Hort, Westcott and Hort Only.

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/wh-only.htm

posted by Kilika

That's a good explanation of the situation in the Middle East. I find it interesting when it's said that Muslims use to be Jews, there's usually no response. People really haven't bothered to learn much of anything about known history. We're not talking disputed stuff; All the people of that area, jew and arab are related in effect. They are all "cousins" fighting over land that they all have been living on since the beginning. They've always had a kind of "two-state" solution, though some times were more violent than others.

While these prophecies relate, it does bring up Ishmael, which is an important part of this prophecy. Isaac told Jacod (would be later renamed Israel!) not to marry the daughters of Canaan. Who are the daughters of Canaan? The daughters of Ishmael, first-born of Abraham.

Ishmael was a son of a slave/concubine. Ishmael was the father of "12 princes" (Genesis 25:16) as well as daughters, and the first born of Ishmael was Nabajoth. As scripture says, Esau went to Ishmael and married his daughter, the sister of Nebajoth.

Are we seeing a pattern here? Maybe a pattern of greed, envy, and jealousy?

In Genesis 27, Esau went directly against the words of his father Isaac. Now where there is real emnity between Israel and Esau is Israel had gottent the better of Esau right from birth, then over Isaac's blessing at his deathbed when Jacod dressed as Esau at the insistance of his mother Rebekah. She was the one that overhead Isaac request meat from Esau, and told Jacod to get the meat instead and deceive Isaac for the blessing, and that's what Jacob did by lying to Isaac on his deathbed, and so get the blessing of all that Isaac had, including the service of his brother Esau. Esau has had a bone to pick with Jacod(Israel) ever since.

Now look what Isaac told Esau when he told Isaac what Jacod had done...(notice verse 40)

32   And Isaac his father said unto him, Who [art] thou? And he said, I [am] thy son, thy firstborn Esau. 
33   And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where [is] he that hath taken venison, and brought [it] me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, [and] he shall be blessed. 
34   And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, [even] me also, O my father. 
35   And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. 
36   And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? 
37   And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? 
38   And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, [even] me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. 
39 ¶ And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

 
40   And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
Genesis 27:32-40 (KJB)

The Twin Prophecies of Jacob and Esau



This article introduces two important Prophecies regarding the twin brothers of the Bible, Jacob and Esau. Jacob was renamed Israel in Genesis 32:28 and he fathered Israeli descendants. Esau, Jacob's older twin brother, fathered the Edomites according to Genesis 36:1,9. Invaluable insights into the roots of the present Palestinian - Israeli conflict can be gleaned from understanding these twin prophecies.

Presently the international community desperately seeks to join the Israelis and Palestinians at the hip in a peaceful “Two State Solution”: a Jewish State, and a Palestinian State. Did you know that there once was a time when the ancestors of these two people groups, the Israelis and the Edomites, successfully operated in a “Two State Solution” of sorts? However there were two prophecies written in ancient times that foretold of both Israel’s and Edom’s national decline, and at the time of the fulfillment of these two prophecies, their operational “Two State Solution” disintegrated.

Hosea issued the first of the two prophecies, and Jeremiah along with Obadiah issued the second. Hosea declared that the Israelites would be declassified from “My people Israel”, to “not My people”, and Jeremiah, and Obadiah predicted that the Edomites would become “small among the nations”.

Hosea’s prophecy regarding Israel

Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then God said: “Call his name Lo-Ammi, For you are not My people, And I will not be your God. (Hosea 1:8-9; NKJV)

Jeremiah’s and Obadiah’s prophecies regarding Edom

I have heard tidings from the LORD, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: “Gather yourselves together and come against her, and rise up for battle!” For behold, I will make you (Edom) small among the nations, despised among men. (Jeremiah 49:14-15; RSV)

The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom: We have heard tidings from the LORD, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: “Rise up! let us rise against her for battle!” Behold, I will make you small among the nations, you shall be utterly despised. (Obadiah 1:1-2; RSV)

In a twist of fate, twin brothers Jacob and Esau would have their descendants share in a similar divine disciplinary action. The two historically infamous peoples, the Jews and the Edomites, would experience their national decline in the same place and at the same time. Both ethnic groups were conquered by the Roman Empire on or around 70 A.D. in what turns out to be the final fulfillment of these two important Bible prophecies.

Back then these two populations co-existed semi-peacefully in a “Two State Solution” of their own. The Jews inhabited Judea, and Samaria, which comprised the Northern and Southern kingdoms of Israel, and the Edomites occupied “Idumea”, and were known as the Idumeans, which was the Greek word for Edomites. Idumea / Edom encompassed land in Southern Israel, Northeastern Sinai, and Southwestern Jordan. The Jewish capitol was Jerusalem, and the central Idumean city was Hebron approximately 19 miles to the south. At the time the Idumeans and Jews both practiced Judaism, evidencing a common bond between them.



When the Romans conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the second Jewish temple in 70 A.D., they also fought against the Idumeans. According to the historian Josephus, many Idumeans were either killed, or sold into slavery, and ultimately about 40,000 remaining Idumeans were freed by Caeser to go wherever they desired enabling them to keep their ethnicity in tact. (1)  Indeed by 70 A.D. Edom / Idumea had undeniably been made “small among the nations”.

The attached map represents the layout of the region around 135 A.D. at the time of the Bar Kokhba Jewish revolt. This map depicts Idumea still in existence as a recognized territory. As such one might safely presume that Idumeans still resided in the subject land on or around 135 A.D. (2) This suggests that at least some of these 40,000 freed Idumeans continued to reside, and repopulate in the territory of Idumea.

To further understand the declassification of the Israelites to “not My people” it is important to read the “My people Israel” chapter in my book Isralestine; The Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East. For now it is important to recognize that the declassification of the Jews into “not My people” began at the rejection by the Jewish leadership of Jesus Christ, and found its final fulfillment in the destruction of Jerusalem and the second Jewish temple in 70 A.D. at the defeat by the Romans. Lastly the assumption of the title “not My people” was not prophesied to be a permanent condition, and ultimately the Jews would be reclassified as “My people Israel”, and furthermore “sons of the living God”. (3)

Although Edom was made small among the nations in 70 A.D, Edom continued on a gradual decline. Shortly thereafter, Edom seemingly disintegrated as an ethnic group off the pages of further history. If it were not for the end times prophecies contained in Psalm 83, Ezekiel 25:14 and elsewhere regarding the restored Edomite element, there would be no further cause to remember them. They would be for all intents and purposes extinguished, however the Bible suggests they have merely been “made small among the nations”, and will resurface in that reduced national condition in a final confederate effort, described in Psalm 83, aimed at the destruction of the nation Israel.

Herein lies the problem; the Middle East conflict is the derivative of these two former nations attempting to reclaim the land of Israel-Palaestinia. This may seem an over-simplification of the matter; however it is at the root of the conflict. Both formerly notorious nations who experienced their decline at the same-time and in the same-place, are attempting to pick up where they left off in 70 A.D. They are seeking to reestablish themselves now, centuries later, at the same-time and in the same-place.

When Israel became a nation again in 1948, the Palestinians for all intents and purposes became a people. They became the refugees of Palestine as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The surrounding Arab nations protested the reestablishment of the nation Israel and confederated in a war effort against the returning Jewish people. They instructed the Arabs residing within Israel at the time, to vacate temporarily until the Jewish nation was destroyed, at which time these departing Arabs could return into the land.

mongst the Arabs who left Israel at the time were some of those who had descended from Esau, i.e. the Edomites. History reports that the Jewish people were victorious, and these Edomites became numbered among the refugees of Palestine. Hence at the time they became refugees residing in tents. The Edomites were for all intents and purposes at the time the “tents of Palestine”, or as they are called today, the Palestinian people.

Baqaa refugee camp of Palestinian Refugees (Photo: 1949 UNRWA)



The present plight of the Palestinians is, in large part, the result of the failed Arab war against Israel and therefore primarily the responsibility of the surrounding Arab nations. These Arab nations have done little to absorb and assimilate them into their lands, but have done much to use them as pawns against the developing nation of Israel. Hence we see Israel aspiring to become “My people Israel” again, which is prophesied to successfully occur, and Edom wanting to become greater than the tents of Palestine, which will likely never occur!

Edom will never be great among the nations, as they were permanently “made small among the nations” and that is the best condition they will ever experience. In fact, because of their present attempt to curse the developing nation of Israel, the Edomites will be extinguished as a people according to Obadiah 1:18. In other words the Palestinians of today will likely never nationally ascend much beyond a refugee condition. Listen to what the Psalmist labeled them as in the coming Arab war against the Jews, which is still to find its final fulfillment.

PSALM 83
1 - Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God!
2 - For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head.
3 - They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
4 - They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
5 - For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You:
6 - The tents of Edom (Palestinian Refugees) and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites;
7 - Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 - Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot.
____________________________
End Notes
(1) The Works of Josephus: Book of the Wars 6 Chapter 8
(2) The Bar Kokhba Revolt map in this chapter http://www.studylight.org/se/maps/browse.cgi?st=170
(3) Hosea 1:9-10, and regarding “My people Israel” Ezekiel 25:14, 36:12, 38:14,16, 39:7
(4) Jeremiah 49:15, Obadiah 1:2

posted by Lisa

Sorry i didnt post-have been busy...

But yes absolutely. I have been shouting this out for like ages-
1. The Jews are going home and becoming a nation (fulfilled prophesy-can a nation be formed in a day).
2. I think the ingrafting of the gentiles has greatly slowed (the time of the fulness of the gentiles)
3. The Jews are supernaturally beginning to recognise their Messiah-the number of Messianic groups is increasing quite rapidly...and we MUST accept them as our brothers in Christ (Romans 11)
4. The nations are gathering against Israel
5.There is an ongoing progressive ecconimic collapse
6. The church is grossly apostate (will there be found faith on earth)
7. The apostate is headed up by false teachers

I am sure there will be some form of second pentecost (not the naff vineyard thing-but a real outpouring of the real Holy spirit-with fire and righteousness at its core)...and our Lord will return-to judge.Parousia
Maranatha
L

posted by Kilika

Consider what else scripture says about the witnesses. In the following few verses, "three days and an half" is said twice. I personally find that interesting.

8 And 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.
9 And 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.
10 And 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.
11 ¶ And 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.
12 And 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.
13 And 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.
Revelation 11:8-13 (KJB)

I have found another passage that relates to this.

Exo 19
10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,

11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:

13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.

15 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.

16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.


The Lord is giving them 2 DAYS to clean and sanctify them selves, and then he will appear on the THIRD day. This is the same as the 2000 years ending with the tribulation, the cleansing of the Jews in Gods sight, and his appearing at the end of the Trib.

2 days= 2 thousand years, 3rd day the Lord appears, 1 thousand years of peace. Could be a fore shadowing??

The theory of 6000 years
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 7:14pm
The entire Old Testament is a foreshadowing of the Messiah. As Chuck Missler says, “The Bible is an integrated message system from outside our time domain.” And there is a lot of truth to this. For instance: In the original Greek, the Genealogies of Jesus in both Matthew and Luke are entirely divisible by 7. Not that it isn’t hard to make the number of names divisible by 7, but so are the number of paragraphs, the number of consonants, the number of vowels and the number of syllables. That would be impossible for any man to do, and on top of that, it was done by 2 different men.

We all know the story of Genesis. God created the World and Everything in it in 6 days and rested on the 7th. There is a lot of speculation as to why and even if each day really consisted of a 24 hour day. A few theologists subscribe to the Gap Theory that alleges that there is a Gap between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis where there could have been Billions of years in which God created the Earth, then destroyed it, then reformed it. I believe it is a very controversial assumption especially when Revelation 22 specifically warns of adding to the words in the Bible. So for practical purposes, I will only assume that the universe was created in 6 days with the 7th being a day of rest for the Lord just as the Bible states and that each day was a normal 24 hours day because the Bible does describe the morning and evening of each day.

God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Genesis1:5

For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Exodus 20:11

Now the question we have to ask ourselves is, “Why did God take 6 days to create the world and rest on the 7th when he could have easily created it in an instant? It is a question that has burdened the most educated of scholars yet most have not discovered the answers. In the movie, “End of the Harvest”,by Christiano Film Group, a college student stumbles across a paper written by Jeffrey Bartell. In it, Bartell contends that there is significance in the 6 day creation. He goes on to say that there are several significant events which occur that have some relevance to a sort of foreshadowing.

He believes postulates that the 6 days of creation is relevant to wrote a paper believes there is

John 11
1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
7 Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."
8 The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"
9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
10 "But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."
11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."
12 Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."
13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.
15 "And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him."
16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."
17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.
18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.
19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.
21 Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 "But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
26 "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."
28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."
29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.
30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.
31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."
32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
34 And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"
37 And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"
38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."
40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
42 "And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."
43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"
44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."
45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.
…

There is more to this scripture than 1st meets the eye. After researching the scriptures and looking at specific details regarding events that were to occur following this event, it becomes apparent that the numerical references have a stunning coincidence to prophetic events that did and will follow.

Firstly, in Verse 3 of this passage, the sisters, Mary and Martha, sent for Jesus saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." At first glance this doesn’t appear to mean more than what it says, but why does the author say “he whom you love is sick” rather than using Lazarus’ name? Is it possible that this is a hint of something more? Is it possible that even though this event is actually occurring, it is also metaphorical allusion of the nation of Israel? If this passage is used in conjunction with the latter passages of this same chapter it becomes more clear.

So what does Jesus do when he hears that his good friend is sick? He stays in the same place for two more days. Why? Many theologians will tell us the obvious, that Jesus was using this for His glory, but the obvious isn’t always the only reason. The Bible is filled with scriptures that carry multiple meanings or prophecies that have multiple fulfillments. I believe this scripture is one of them. I think in many scriptures it is important to remember that time is relative. The following passages make that very clear:

For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night. Psalm 90:4

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. II Peter 3:8

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

From a human perspective, we see time as a linear physical property, but God is outside of time and is therefore, not subject to it. Using the parameters that Peter set forth as a guide is it possible to calculate important Biblical events? I believe the observations and correlations are too coincidental to be discounted.

So why did Jesus wait two more days before setting out for Bethany to see his good friend? If we use II Peter3:8 as a guide and we use 1000 years is a day than Jesus ignored going to see “he whom he loves” for 2 days or 2000 years. So is it possible to assume that Jesus ignored Israel for 2000 years before returning to save them.

But then Jesus gets to Bethany and we find that Lazarus has been dead for 4 days, at which time, Jesus resurrects Lazarus. Now assuming 4 days equaled 4000 years what significance does this have in relation to the Biblical timeline. Well, we know that, assuming the Bible is the Actual Word of God, that the Earth is 6000 years old. We know that the time from Adam to Abraham is 2000 years and the time from Abraham to Jesus is 2000 years, so it would be safe to assume that Jesus walked the Earth around 4000 years from the creation of the Earth. Jesus also died and was resurrected and returned to God the father about 4000 years from the Creation of the Earth. So Lazarus was dead for 4 days and if we reflect the timeline of man. Adam (man) fell and was destined to eternal death for 4000 years or 4 days. Could the 4 days that Lazarus was dead represent the fall of mankind without salvation for the 1st 4000 years of history until Christ died for our sins? Was it the timeline of man’s separation from the Lord?

Does it seem mere coincidence that the Years to Days reflect some sort of relative Biblical Timeline?

If that is not proof enough let’s look into another verse of scripture. This time from the Book of Joshua:

Joshua 6
1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
2 And the Lord said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
3 "You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.
4 "And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
5 "It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him."
6 Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord."
7 And he said to the people, "Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the Lord."
8 So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them.
9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets.
10 Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, 'Shout!' Then you shall shout."
11 So he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.
12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.
13 Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets.
14 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.
15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times.
16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: "Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!
17 "Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
18 "And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
19 "But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord."
20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
22 But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, "Go into the harlot's house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her."
23 And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel.
24 But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.
25 And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father's household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
26 Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, "Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates."
27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.


So in the above Scripture, God tell Joshua to March around the city 6 times and then on the 7th day they are to march around the city 7 times and the 7 priests are to blow the 7 trumpets and once they have marched around the city seven times, the people are to shout. Then the walls came down and they were to destroy all the people of the city except Rahab the prostitute and those who were with her.

This is mind baffling. What is with all the numbers here? I find a parallel to the Book of Revelation. There are also 7 angels who blow 7 trumpets in the Book of Revelation that bring about judgments to those who dwell on the Earth. The thing I find significant with regards to the Book of Joshua is that the soldiers of Israel are told to destroy everyone except Rahab the prostitute and those with her. Joshua promised to spare her and those with her and the sign for the Jewish soldiers not to hurt anyone in her household was a scarlet cord. I find it interesting that God also spares people those he seals with a mark (on their foreheads) so that the wrath of God does not affect them, they happened to be 144,000 Jews. So God again spares some from His destruction.

Matthew 16
27 "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
28 "Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
Matthew 17
1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;
2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.


Mark 9
1 And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."
2 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.
3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.


So, we have a number of days, six to be exact. At first glance the six days are easily read over as just words without a second thought, but is it possible that these six days are of some importance. First, we have to recognize that the verses in Matthew, “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.” are important because they are telling us who Jesus took with Him onto the mountain and then it describes the transfiguration. Jesus is revealing to Peter, James and John His glorious body. This is the same glorious resurrection body that Jesus is going to come in when he returns as Lord of lords and King of kings. He is also revealing a clue. Why did Elijah and Moses appear with Him?

Not only is the six days mentioned in Matthew, but it is also mentioned by Mark in the same context. The exact phase “Now after six days…”, is used in both Matthew and Mark. The fact that such a subtle reference is made in exactly the same way within the same context, must mean that the verse is of some significance. Two Gospel writers thought enough of it to mention it. Why? If it were of no importance, why is it that it is even mentioned at all? If it did not have any significance then what would it matter if they had just left out the part about the 6 days passing. It doesn’t make much sense why both Matthew and Mark would waste a line of Scripture like that unless it was important. Remember, every word of scripture is God-Breathed. If that is true than it must be important.


So again we have to refer to II Peter 3:8, “to the Lord, a day is as thousand years and a thousand years is as a day.” If 6 days equals 6000 years than what is the significance? Both Matthew and Mark state, “Now, after 6 days…” The key here is “after”, 6 days. So what happens after 6 days? Jesus reveals his glory and Elijah and Moses show up around the same time. So when is the 6000 years. Well, we have already established that Christ was going to be resurrected after 4000 years so 6000 years would be close to today’s time. I believe it will take place very soon, likely within the next 10 years. Where do I get that timeline from? I am just adding 2000 years onto the resurrection of Jesus Christ in A.D. 32.

3 "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.
6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.
7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.
10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven. Revelation 11:3-13

The amazing thing is that in the “End Times” God sends two witnesses onto the Earth to preach and call the world to repentance. They will be able to stop the rain for 3 ½ years, they will be able to send plagues on men and if anyone tries to stop them fire will come out of them and consume their attackers. Sound familiar? It happened. We know that Moses sent 10 plagues on Egypt so who is the 2nd witness? Below should be a great indication. The similarities are uncanny.

And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word." I Kings 17:1

“So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.” II Kings 1:10

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." Malachi 4:5-6

"But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; Luke 4:25

So who are the two witnesses? If we look to the prophecy in Malachi as well as the foreshadowing in the Transfiguration , we can logically conclude that they are none other than Elijah and Moses.

And this brings us back to our original question, “Why did the Lord take 6 days to create the world when He could have easily taken only 1 day to create it?” Relating it to II Peter 3:8 we come up with 6000 years and then an additional 1000 years for the day of rest. Bartell believed that this 6000 + 1000 represents man’s time on Earth. In other words, the 6 days represents the time of man from the creation until the time that Christ returns to set up His kingdom on Earth. The additional day or 1000 years (the day the Lord rested) represents the time of Millennial Kingdom, the 1000 years of rest for the believers of mankind as Christ reigns as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

If this is correct, then when do we reach the 6000 years. I believe the 6000 years is an approximation, it may not be exactly 6000 years, but it will be very close. Remember when Jesus turned his back on Lazarus (The Jews) for 2 days or 2000 years, the actual time that passed was actually 1,916 years from the date that Jesus was crucified.

In his book, The Annals of the World, by Bishop James Ussher, 1st published in 1658, he comprehensively covers the History of the world from Creation to A.D. 70 and he dates the creation to 4004 B.C.. If correct, that would place us at approximately 6000 years since creation. We could be ripe for the harvest. Christ’s return could be at any moment. As Jesus said in Matthew 25:13, "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Jesus told us that no one would know the day or the hour. However, He commanded us to watch for the signs of the time as mentioned in Luke below:

Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. "When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. "So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Luke 17:29-33


So, if Bartell is correct, if Ussher is correct, we could be living in the last generation that will see Christ’s return. Are you ready to meet Him with open arms? Are you keeping a watchful eye regarding His return? If not, it is time to get right with God. It is time to make Jesus the Lord of you Life and accept his free gift of Grace. You simply pray a prayer to God, humbling yourself and admitting that you are a sinner in need of salvation. Repent of your sin and ask Jesus to come into your heart and change your life. His free gift is Eternal life. You don’t have to do anything, except believe in Him and allow Him to work in your life. God Bless you all.

END OF THE HARVEST ! THE LORD IS OPENING THE DOOR !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsp9-74ZJY8

A college student named Jeffery Bartell wrote a paper in 1949. He concluded that the time immediately preceding the prophesied return of Jesus Christ had begun.

The scriptures make it clear that no one knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return. But the Bible does say that we can know the times and seasons surrounding His coming. Never before have the conditions been possible for so much of endtime Bible prophecy to be fulfilled as today. You may be thinking, “…so, because disease and immorality are running rampant, and because there are wars and rumors of wars, and that we have had a few more earthquakes, that Jesus is coming back soon? We’ve heard all that before.”

To Bartell, the Bible is the greatest book ever written. Its message is so simple that it could be summed up in just a few verses. Yet at the same time, it’s a book with so much depth, that you could study it a lifetime, and still not understand all its truth. Bartell’s theory about the endtime started when he read a verse in Isaiah chapter 46. It says that God declares the end from the beginning. A similar passage is found in Isaiah chapter 48. This lead Bartell back to the beginning, to the book of Genesis and the creation story. As he studied the first chapter, he began to wonder why God took six days to create the world, and rest on the seventh. Why would he take six days when he could have created the world in one second, in the blink of an eye?

Bartell studied the words “day” and “days” in the Bible. He discovered some interesting passages that related to this. He concluded that perhaps God was indicating to us how much time man would have on the earth.

Bartell makes the point that the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, is full of foreshadowing. An event that actually happened in history, also pictures something coming in the future. An example would be when Abraham was going to sacrifice his son Isaac. That event actually happened, and it was also a picture of what God would do with his son Jesus on the cross, as an offering for the sins of the world. Now, why would God take six days to create the world? Is this a picture of something that we need to know? Bartel thinks it is.

In 2nd Peter 3:8, the context is referring to the second coming of Christ. The Bible says that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. In Psalms 90 it says that a thousand years in God’s sight are but as yesterday. So, could it be that the six days of creation were to indicate to us, the time man would have on this Earth would be about six thousand years? …The seventh day of rest picturing the thousand year millennial reign, when Christ comes back to set up his Earthly kingdom. The time of righteousness and peace.

Bartell documents in his paper how Bible scholars have calculated from the first man, Adam, to the first coming of Jesus to be about four thousand years. If that’s the case, then we could be living right at the end of what the New Testament calls “the last days”.

Bartell makes a big issue about how God deals with time in the Bible. When God measures time, He does so by sevens. God created the world in seven days, with the seventh day being a day of rest. According to the Old Testament law, the Jews were commanded to rest every seven days. The seventh week after the Passover, they celebrated a big feast of rest. The seventh month was perhaps the most important when they celebrated three of their biggest feasts of rest. Every seventh year was a year of rest for the land. Every 49 years, seven times seven, they celebrated the year of Jubilee, which is a year of rest for the land and liberty for the people.

So it made sense to Bartell that God would set up a seven thousand year period for man to occupy the Earth; with the last thousand years being a time of rest when Jesus comes back to set up His Earthly kingdom, as spoken of in Revelation chapter 20. Bartell was right when he says that when God deals with time, He does so by sevens. There’s no other more predominant system in the word of God. The second coming of Christ is the most important day on God’s calendar. Bartell was convinced that He wants us to know about it, including the timing.

Hosea was a prophet in the Old Testament. In chapter six of that book, Hosea talks about Israel, God’s chosen nation who was always rejecting God. The nation was going to be torn apart, but verse two says: “After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.” What does this mean? When Jesus came, Israel rejected Him as their messiah, so God scattered the nation of Israel all over the world. For 1900 years there was no nation of Israel, but God says that after two days, or two thousand years, “I will revive thee, and you, Israel, will live in my sight.”

The scattered Israel became a nation again in the year 1948. This is important because God is reviving the nation of Israel and they are about to live in His sight, when Jesus comes back to set up His Earthly kingdom. Have you ever met a Canaanite? How about an Amorite? No. Because these were Israel’s enemies and they have not been preserved. The Jews have been preserved because they are God’s chosen people, and He must fulfill and keep the promises He made to them. But the Jews are still rejecting Christ. For how long? “After two days (or two thousand years) I will revive thee, and in the third day you shall live in my sight.” The second-coming events are about to begin.

Bartell sees the same foreshadowing in Exodus chapter 19:11. God told Israel to clean up and wait for two days. The third day I’m coming down in the sight of all the nation.

In John chapter 11, Lazarus, a Jew, has died. Jesus waits two days before raising him from the dead. Why? Bartell says this pictures how God is about to turn his back on Israel for the next two thousand years (or two days), and start reaching out to the rest of the world through the New Testament church; which He did.

God didn’t just throw that stuff in the Bible to waste space. Maybe Bartell is right, maybe God is trying to tell us something. Bartell points out that in Matthew chapter 17:1 that Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to the mountain, apart from the rest of the group. What, you ask, happens up there? Jesus is transfigured before them, and they are given a preview of His second coming glory. Now, the first words of that line in scripture are “after six days”. Why did God throw this in? Is He just wasting space again, or is God perhaps trying to tell us something that we need to know?

Remember, the time from Adam to Christ is 4 thousand years (or four days). The time of the church period is two thousand years (or two days). So could this mean that after six thousand years (or six days) God would revive Israel and fulfill the promises he made to them? Now, either Bartell is reading too much between the lines, or God is trying to tell us something.

What He is trying to tell us is the kingdom of God is about to begin... the day of rest (or the one thousand year reign of Christ on earth). The resurrected believers, and the believers who are alive when Jesus returns, will reign as kings and priests on Earth (Revelation 5:10).

The preceding was an adaptation taken from a Christian video titled: END OF THE HARVEST.

Beck touts stockpiling food to prepare for vague "catastrophic event"

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201011050026

AARP Blames ObamaCare for Hike in Employee Health Insurance Costs

In 2009, the AARP argued that the health care law was a good deal for seniors. That remains to be seen, and a large number of seniors seem to disagree. Regardless, it appears it’s less of a good deal for employees.

    AARP's endorsement helped secure passage of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Now the seniors' lobby is telling its employees their insurance costs will rise partly as a result of the law.

    In an e-mail to employees, AARP says health care premiums will increase by 8 percent to 13 percent next year because of rapidly rising medical costs.

    And AARP adds that it's changing copayments and deductibles to avoid a 40 percent tax on high-cost health plans that takes effect in 2018 under the law. Aerospace giant Boeing also has cited the tax in asking its workers to pay more. Shifting costs to employees lowers the value of a health care plan and acts like an escape hatch from the tax.

http://reason.com/blog/2010/11/05/aarp-blames-obamacare-for-hike

Soros Panel Draft Says Bank Taxes, Carbon Auctions Can Finance Climate Aid

At least $65 billion could be raised by taxing foreign-exchange transactions and auctioning pollution permits, a United Nations panel recommending ways to finance aid for fighting global warming will conclude today, according to a draft of its report.

The panel, which includes billionaire George Soros and Larry Summers, director of President Barack Obama’s National Economic Council, estimated that selling carbon emissions permits could generate $38 billion and a financial transactions tax an additional $27 billion, according to the draft dated Oct. 4 and obtained yesterday. The UN will release the study in New York today.

The findings are intended to guide envoys at UN climate talks that start this month in Mexico as they seek ways to pay for $100 billion in climate aid that was pledged to poor nations by 2020 at last year’s summit in Copenhagen. The draft report found that the goal is “challenging but feasible” to achieve.

“The ball is really now in the court of governments to move forward on generating these resources,” David Waskow, senior adviser on climate finance for the development charity Oxfam International, said in a telephone interview from Washington. “One can raise substantial public finance from public sources and do it in a way that’s not going to place additional pressure on national budgets and taxpayers.”

Appointed by UN

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed the panel, called the High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing, in February. It’s led by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his Norwegian counterpart Jens Stoltenberg. The 21-member group also includes Soros, Summers and Deutsche Bank AG Vice Chairman Caio Koch-Weser.

The draft report didn’t specify what financial transactions would be covered by the tax beyond saying the focus would be on international currency sales. A UN spokesman confirmed the report was coming and didn’t discuss details of its conclusions.

“The report is going to say that it’s definitely possible to put together the $100 billion a year in financing for climate change,” Dan Shepard, a UN spokesman, said in an interview. “But there are challenges. The report has to be looked at by governments because they’re the ones that would have do it. But it can be done practically.”

The draft was written before the panel’s last meeting, which was on Oct. 12 in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Changes may be made in the version released today.

Tobin Tax

If confirmed today, the findings would add to the weight behind calls for a tax on financial speculation, sometimes termed a Tobin tax after James Tobin, the Nobel Prize-winning U.S. economist who first suggested the idea in 1971.

Former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and labor groups including the U.K. Trades Union Congress have supported the idea. President Barack Obama’s administration opposes it. A tax of 0.05 percent on financial transactions may raise as much as $700 billion a year, according to WWF, a global environmental activist group.

A financial transactions tax would be “difficult to implement universally” and therefore “only feasible to implement among interested countries,” the panel said in its draft report.

Carbon Plan

The panel assumed a carbon price of as much as $25 a ton on emissions in the levy it suggested. An additional $5 billion could be gained from a tax on carbon offsets in the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism, which polluters buy to make up for emissions elsewhere, according to the study. Private offsets could generate as much as $14 billion.

An additional $12 billion would come from a levy on shipping and aviation, the draft report showed. Waskow said the levies on transportation need to be structured so as not to harm developing nations.

Other sources of finance identified in the report included direct contributions from government budgets, a measure it said could generate the full $100 billion while being politically “challenging.”

The panel also looked at a “wires charge” on electricity generation, which it said could provide $5 billion; the removal of fossil fuel-subsidies, which could give $8 billion; and a carbon tax, which would garner $10 billion. Private finance could provide a net $18 billion, it said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-05/soros-panel-draft-says-bank-taxes-c02-auctions-can-fund-climate-aid.html

UN calls for global taxes to fund 'climate' warning fight...

A top UN panel on Friday called for increased taxes on carbon emissions and international transport to raise 100 billion dollars a year to combat climate change.

The group led by the prime ministers of Norway and Ethiopia also said there could be a tax on international financial transactions.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.65d35f849629004f3f01ff977b2a3e33.741&show_article=1

Russia has ‘more occult healers than doctors’
 

There are more occult healers in Russia than professional doctors, a leading Russian psychologist said on Monday.

“According to World Health Organization data, there are some 800,000 sorcerers and wizards in Russia,” Andrei Yurevich from the Russian Academy of Sciences told a RIA Novosti news conference.

“As for professional doctors, there are around 640,000,” he added.

Russian newspapers are full of ads for all manner of urban witches and wizards, and an Internet search for Magicheskie Uslugi (Magical Services) brings up a vast number of websites offering to satisfy every conceivable human desire - for a price.

A survey carried out by the Levada independent polling agency in August discovered that one fifth of Russians have made use of such services.

Although the authorities have recently moved to crack down on occult advertising, analysts say the entire industry would simply move underground if outlawed.

However, the law would still allow licensed healers to stay in business.

Since 2008, the Federal Scientific Clinical Center for Traditional Methods of Diagnostics and Healing has been issuing permits to practitioners of what it calls “traditional medicine” - an extremely broad definition that includes both folk medicine and psychic healers.

The late 1980s saw an explosion of belief in the paranormal and the occult in the Soviet Union, with psychic healers Anatoly Kashpirovsky and Allan Chumak drawing audiences of millions.

http://en.rian.ru/society/20101101/161163211.html

All of Dr. Scott Johnson's teachings and PDF's.

To download a file from any of the folders above, right click on it's name and select 'Save Target As' or 'Save Link As'

http://www.cftresources.com/

The Cornuto Hand Sign/El Diablo/Devil’s Horns/Diabolicus/Hook ‘em Horns/ I Love you?
12/31/2006

We will start off this teaching by going over the much talked about Cornuto sign. The Mano Cornuto or Horned Hand is an ancient symbol used to protect against the evil eye. In Italian, mano means ‘hand’ and corno means ‘horn’. This symbol also represents the Horned God of the Witches. Also called Il Cornuto and Diabolicus, the employment by the elite of the hand sign of the horned devil can actually be tracked all the way back to Babylon. On the great wall of Babylon, adjacent to Ishtar’s Gate, was a mosaic image of a horned bull, representing the sun god. The horns were symbolic of the Babylonian god’s power over the hearts of men. Later, in Imperial Rome, Caesar’s military legions and millions of common people worshipped the sun god, Mithras. Mithraic initiates were baptized in the blood of a horned bull, slain and sacrificed by temple priests. The Knights Templar, predecessor to today Scottish Rite Freemasons, worshiped the grotesque horned goat god, Baphomet. It is believed that many Illuminists continue to sacrifice to this unspeakable deity to this very day. Reportedly, the Illuminati take great delight in seeing the masses adopt their ancient symbol of satanic worship on such a vast scale. We will also explore occultist Helen Keller’s role in the development of the modern day hand sign system for the deaf and how this relates to the Cornuto sign.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_12-31__.mp3

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1195

Churches Fleecing the Flock With ATM’s: Automatic Tithing Machines!!
12/24/2006

We will start this teaching by going over a couple of email exchanges I recently had. The second exchange deals with a debate I had with a nudist who tried to justify her actions as Biblical. Then we will cover the newest trend in Churches: ATM’s (referred to as Automatic Tithing Machines!!) These are also being referred to as the “Next Generation Collection Plates”. The pastor interviewed said it helped the church to increase its collection $money$ by 18% which has really helped “BUSINESS” at this 501c3, government/IRS controlled, corporate church. Next we will look at Tim LaHaye’s newest video game called “Left Behind-Eternal Forces”. In the game you either kill or convert the unsaved at gunpoint, but don’t worry if you have to kill as you can click on the “Spiritual Prayer Icon” to get your spiritual points back! Next we will look at the whole motivation behind the media promoting the “Alien Agenda”.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_12-24__.mp3

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1196

X-Mas: The Biggest Pagan Holiday/Holyday of the Year
12/03/2006

Is X-Mas Biblical?  Let explore the facts so you can see for yourself. On 12/24/1871 Charles H. Spurgeon said: "We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas. First because we do not believe in any mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be sung in Latin or in English: Secondly, because we find no scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Savior; and consequently, its observance is a superstition,.. It was not till the middle of the third century that any part of the Church celebrated the birth of our Lord;.. Probably the fact is that the 'holy' days were arranged to fit in with the heathen festivals. We venture to assert that if there be any day in the year of which we may be pretty sure that it was not the day on which our Savior was born it is the 25th of December. Regarding not the day, let us give God thanks for the gift of His dear Son.  How absurd to think we could do it in the spirit of the world, with a Jack Frost clown, a deceptive worldly Santa Claus, and a mixed program of sacred truth with fun, deception and fiction…The Catholics and high Church Episcopalians may have their Christmas one day in 365 but we have a Christ gift the entire year." Dec. 25 is known as the 'nativity' of the sun or birthday of Tammuz (the sun god). If you would like this teaching emailed to you just let me know. Plus much more.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_12-03__.mp3






Concentration Camps in USA, Jay Bakker, the Golden Fleece, Hecate, the Crossroad Curse, Robert Johnson the Blues and Rock Music
12/17/2006

Concentration Camps in USA, Jay Bakker, the Golden Fleece, Hecate, the Crossroad Curse, Robert Johnson the Blues and Rock Music

external link: http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/FEMA-Concentration-Camps3sep04.htm

In this teaching we will first be looking at a recent US Army announcement of explaining its readiness for total military takeover of America. On 2/1/06 in Nashville, TN President Bush was quoted saying: ‘We’ve got have to have more detention space.” (PRNewswire-Washington) And, KBR (a subsidiary of Halliburton) is more than willing to accommodate as KBR has been awarded a $385M Homeland Security contract to build U.S. detention centers. (MarketWatch)(01/24/06) FEMA has activated and is currently staffing its vast network of empty internment camps with armed military personnel. Unknown to most Americans; these large federal facilities are strategically positioned across the U.S. landscape to ‘manage’ the population in the event of a ‘terrorist’ attack, a civilian uprising, health epidemic, large-scale dissent, or an insurrection against the government. Some of these razor-wired facilities have the capacity of detaining a million people. There are over 800+ concentration camps in the USA. Most of these camps were built in the 1990s. See the link below to verify these points and exactConcentration Camps in USA, the Golden Fleece, Hecate, the Crossroad Curse and Robert Johnsonly where these camps are located in every state and the executive orders that will bring this about. We will then look at Jim Bakker’s son: Jay, who started a blasphemous ministry called “One Punk Under God”. We will also be covering many more subjects in this teaching.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_12-17__.mp3

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1197

Rick Warren-Leading Apostate Christianity Straight to Hell
11/26/2006

Recently Wal-Mart debuted a new book for teenage girls which is a gay “How To” manual that graphically promotes lesbianism to teenage girls by (among other things) citing lying statistics stating that only 10% of the current population is heterosexual, while also stating that 80% of the populace is actually mixed or bisexual. We will then look at Rick Warren’s admitted membership in the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) via a recent World Daily net article. Rick Warren is one of the main leaders of apostate Christianity worldwide. In a recent trip to the Middle East Rick Warren reported back that he could find no evidence of persecution of Jews or Christians while visiting there. Rick Warren has taken the mantle from Billy Graham and is poised to lead the modern day apostate church straight to hell. Rick Warren’s has prophesied a so called “2nd Reformation” that will ultimately unite all religions worldwide. We will also look at what part the physical Jewish race plays in the end time scenario that will shortly unfold. We will also be covering many other current events.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_11-26__.mp3
http://pdf.cftresources.com/2006_11-26__.pdf

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1198

Beware of the Feel Good Gospel
11/19/2006

In this teaching we will start by looking at the dangers of getting an incomplete Gospel. This is the typical Gospel that most churches set forth in America as it is: 1) Popular, 2) Does not offend the sinner, 3) Would be considered politically correct, 4) Will not violate any hate crime legislation, 5) Will usually assure job stability for the Pastor and line his pockets nicely as he is a hireling and has no true love for the sheep. It will usually manifest itself as “The Jesus Loves You” gospel and/or “A loving Jesus would never send one of his children to hell” gospel. Whereas Jesus said in Luke 13:3: “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” We will then look at the rationale behind the **** regime of Hitler and the modern day parallels in our modern day world. We will also look at the demonic doctrine of “Racial Hygiene” and how this breed’s contempt for certain races and ties in with the planned depopulation of the planet. We will then touch on what it means as a Christian to go through the refiners fire. We will also explore many end time current events.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_11-19__.mp3

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1199

Ted Haggard’s Predetermined Fall and the Planned Discrediting of Christianity
11/5/2006

In this teaching we will first be looking at the recent Ted Haggard scandal regarding his relationship with a gay, male prostitute and reported Methamphetamine use. Ted Haggard subsequently resigned as the president of the 30 MILLION member “National Evangelical Association” and as pastor of “New Life Church”. This type of mainstream media discrediting (although true in this case) is partially by design, so as to associate all Christianity with this demonic behavior pattern to the outside world. Ultimately this is a tool of Satan to cause the unsaved, to stay unsaved due to their apprehension of Christianity; this would be the spiritual equivalent of throwing the baby out with the bath water. These apostate leaders of Christianity have been carefully hand picked by the elite to do their bidding, and when appropriate these leaders are exposed so as to do maximum damage to Christianity. We will also see that if you elect to be a member of one of these demonic churches how it will affect you spiritually in an adverse way; as if the head be sick, the whole body will also be sick and if the blind leadeth the blind, they will both fall into a ditch. We will also be exploring many other subjects in this teaching.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_11-05__.mp3

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1200

The Lure of New Age and Scientology
10/29/2006

We will start of this teaching by looking at a recent Last Trumpet Newsletter and the possibility of various end time, predicted pestilences in our near future. Whether is be from a bird flu pandemic or the unimaginable damage that ‘Depleted Uranium’ (used in the Iraq war) has already caused, Jesus warned of these types of events in the end times. We will be seeing how Pres. Bush has been given the absolute dictatorial powers of torture (just to mention one power) over Americans and how Bible believing, Constitution abiding, Christians can actually be put under the classification of a terrorist. There has even been an FBI brochure released to verify this. Then we will do a brief study on the highest ranking family in the illuminati: The Rothschild’s. This family established the modern day banking system as we know it and systemically funded virtually both sides of every war since their rise to power. We will also be looking at the group called “Scholars for 911 Truth”. We will also be looking at the monetary & spiritual seduction of the New Age and Scientology that is permeating the natural health care field; while the Medical field uses pharmaceuticals in a vain attempt to drug our bodies into good health.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_10-29__.mp3

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1201

Shocking Faith Based Initiative Expose
10/15/2006

In this teaching will start off with by listening to an amazing MSNBC interview audio clip (with Keith Olbermann) regarding “Faith Based Initiatives” (F.B.I.) in the US. We will document Carl Rove’s recent, shocking quote regarding F.B.I. and see the contempt and disdain that high-ranking, conservative republicans (as well as the democrats) actually have for the religious right. To them the Christians of America are just a group to be used and duped into advancing there own agenda & ultimately the New World Order. Quite frankly they have done a pretty good job and I’m sure that Satan is well pleased with their efforts and the apathy of the pseudo-Christians of America. At the height of this hypocrisy is Pres. Bush & we will be a taking a good look at the Spiritual fruit of this man and his double minded actions. We will also be looking at how Americans are being totally immersed in occult imagery and yet very few even know this is so. Satan is depending on the population (especially Christians) as a whole to remain totally ignorant of his devices so he can get an advantage on us: See 2 Cor. 2:11. In addition to this we will also explore many end time current events.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_10-15__.mp3

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1203

The Double Face of Islam
10/9/2006

In this teaching will start off with a short expose of my experiences with the Unitarian Church and why very few Unitarians are ever converted over to Biblical Christianity. This cult exemplifies “Brill Cream Religion” at its finest: “A little dab will do ya.” Next we will explore the double face of Islam and her Moon god: Allah. You will see the double standard imposed on Israel by mainstream media whenever Israel attempts to defend itself against Islam and how the Islamic bible called the Koran commands its followers to kill all infidels (which is defined as any unbeliever in the Islamic faith). You will also see how the modern day apostate church has put itself in the unenviable position of being “Willingly Ignorant” before the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to this we will explore many end time current events and end with a teaching in Romans.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_10-09__.mp3
http://pdf.cftresources.com/2006_10-09__.pdf

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1202

Mary Goddess Worship & the Queen of Heaven
10/1/2006

In this teaching we will start by looking at how some Protestant denominations are starting to emulate the Catholic practice of Mary worship. Some have gone so far as to agree that Mary plays a major part in the Salvation of a Christian by naming her “Co-Redemptrix” with Jesus Christ. Many of these churches have erected Mary statues which are worshipped like idols. They are desperately trying to put a “feminine face” on God. These denominations are striving to find to any and all common ground with the Catholic Church so as to ultimately come into full unity with her in the formation of the one world church of the Antichrist. You will see that like almost all heresy this whole mess stems from the fact that these denominations have deviated from the Word of God and have embraced false Bible versions. We will also see how this movement has its roots as far back as Babylon where the whole concept of father (Nimrod), son (Tammuz) and mother goddess (Semiramus) found its beginnings. The Catholic goddess “Mother Mary”/“Queen of Heaven” is just the repackaged modern day equivalent of the Babylonian goddess Semiramus/”Queen of Heaven”. We will also be looking at many other related end time current events.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_10-01__.mp3
http://pdf.cftresources.com/2006_10-01__.pdf

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1204

http://matthew18twenty.com/index.php



a good site ran by a good Christian brother.

Post other Christian sites and forums that you know of.

Discerning the Signs of the Endtimes
9/16/2006

In the New Testament Jesus rebuked those that could not discern the “signs of the times”. In turn (as endtime Christians) we need to prepare ourselves for the greatest deception the world has ever known. This will primarily come through the deception that leads to the Antichrist’s rise to power. Because the church has not learned to discern the signs of the times properly, the body of Christ is in a very defensive position due to the leaven/sin that has infiltrated the modern day church. As a result a large part the church has left the battlefield, and this is one reasons why it is prudent to study your enemy before going to war. In this teaching we will be looking at the coming deception of the Antichrist and his ascended masters. This teaching will complement the previous teaching done on Lord Maitreya. We will also be looking at how angels should appear in bodily form (from a Biblical standpoint); which is a far cry from the New Age angel images so popular in today’s world. We will then be looking at the danger of using the Tetragrammaton, YHVH, IHVH, G-d, & Yahshua, Yehoshua, Y’shua, Yeshua, Iesous, Iesus as a substitute for the name of Jesus Christ. Lastly we will explore the events that happened at the Tower of Babel and why were coming back to that soon.

http://mp3.cftresources.com/2006_09-16__.mp3

http://www.contendingfortruth.com/?p=1205