The Left Behind and the Last Days

I love God's Word. I almost feel like Jesus is reading for me every time I read a page of Scripture. Reading has been a love of mine for many years and now I have the ultimate book. It is the perfect story, with fundamental truths in each verse and even things which are beyond are explanation but simply taken in faith. Yet we take many things in faith every day and with all the evidence which has propounded from hundreds of authors over just the last hundred years--tells us what takes more faith to believe in... This world's religions or beliefs or Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Yesterday I finished reading my favorite book I have yet read, besides the Bible; the Left Behind series. Now I knew it would take a long time to read, so I got the audiobook version for each book. I played the audiobook version for my parents during my trip up to visit my grandparents and fish. I was hooked on the first day and after 2 months I finished the last book (sixteenth book). These books are around 400 pages each and would have taken a lot longer for me to have completed without the audio version.

The books follow specific characters and events leading up to and through the Rapture, Great Tribulation and the very last words of the Book of Revelation. They are intermixed with fictional characters and events as well as real biblical events which shall take place.

There is a great movie trilogy called the Left Behind series, which is based off of the first two books that were written. If nothing else, it enlightens you greatly about Christianity through the books and focuses mostly on the most disturbing 7 years of all human history; the Great tribulation and those who are left behind after the Rapture. Before I go any further, I just want to state that eschatology or End-Times theology (the study of the last things and the second coming of Christ), is the most disputed part in the entire Bible and that there are many interpretations about what it will be like. The Left Behind Series is purely a Futurism interpretation. Which is that all the events which relate or may relate to the second coming of Christ are going to be fulfilled, i.e. they have not happened yet in history and will happen. I personally don't know, nor is it that big of a concern... what interpretation is likely to actually occur but i tend to lean more towards futurism. Nevertheless, we as follows of Christ are told to occupy the time until all things are fulfilled and not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

I could tell virtually the whole story but I’ll try to condense it. The story begins with Rayford Steele as a child and a woman named Marilena Carpathia. Rayford grows up with parents who go to a "cool" church, that is, a church which talks a lot about spiritual matters and gives you a nice story but doesn't actually "Save you". They don't open the Bible and they don't talk about anything which might make people uncomfortable. Marilena Carpathia is an older woman who suddenly is overcome with a huge urge to have a baby. Her husband and her are extremely intellectual atheist's and their relationship is more about gaining more knowledge or insight though--so she tries to seek out distraction from a group of people who meet and do spiritual things and it turns out that the leader of the group is a Luciferian (she is a follower of Lucifer/Satan). Needless to say, Marilena knowingly becomes a Luciferian herself and gives birth through genetic engineering to Nicolae Carpathia--the Anti-Christ. Nicolae Carpathia becomes a successful businessman and later becomes president of his country Romania.

Rayford Steele becomes an airline pilot and is married to Irene Steele. When his wife gets "saved" and then later his son, only his daughter and he remain without Christ. His wife tries to tell him about Christ but he doesn't want to believe. After Israel is invaded by Russia--Gog is the former name of modern day Moscow (the army takes the form of a seemingly endless barrage of planes), God destroys all the army with fire from the sky and they land everywhere but do not hit anyone around Israeli citizens as they fall to the ground.

"You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you. Thus says the Lord God: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme...  In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes...  declares the Lord God, my wrath will be roused in my anger... on that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel... the mountains shall be thrown down... I will summon a sword against Gog... I will rain upon him and his hordes... torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur... You shall fall on the mountains of Israel... I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beast of the field to be devoured." Ezekiel 38--39.

In the Left Behind series, 1 year after the Russian invasion is destroyed, the rapture takes place and all those who are dead shall be raised to life to life and those who are still live are caught up in a cloud--so Irene and her son are with Jesus and all those who did not trust in him, are left behind and many people after the Rapture do not know what happened to those who disappeared in an instant.

"But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, but the Father only" Matthew 24:36   *No one knows when these things will come to pass, only God.

"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord." 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

"Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Nicolae quickly becomes the leader of the entire world, after he signs the peace treaty with Israel for 7 years. The Great Tribulation then begins at the signing of the peace treaty. The wrath of God is sent upon the earth with great judgments--so that those who are still alive may repent and seek Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The first round of judgments are the seven seal judgments, the second round is the trumpet judgments and the last judgments, are the bowl judgments.

"Now I watched when the lamb opened the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder Come!  And I looked, and behold a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer" Revelations 6:1-2

The four horses represent: the Anti-Christ coming to deceive the nations and take them over through peaceful means, the second one represents a global war, the third is to bring famine and the last to bring death. Those are the first four seal judgments of God. There is much other judgment, each becoming getting worse, and during the half way point of the tribulation, Anti-Christ is then indwelt by Satan and the mark of the beast is given to those who agree to take it. Those who take the mark of the beast shall be tormented with fire and sulfur by God, in the presence of Jesus and his angels

"and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name." Revelations 14:11

At the battle of Armageddon, after the 7 years has passed, Jesus then came and destroyed the great armies of Satan and the Anti-Christ in three battles. He then threw the Anti-Christ and false prophet into the lake of fire and bound Satan for 1000 years in the bottomless pit. Satan was unleashed briefly to deceive the nations after 1000 years and gathered his armies from around the world around Israel again but his armies were burned with fire from heaven and the devil was thrown into the lake of fire.

"Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelations 20:14-15

After this, the final book in the Left Behind series ended with Rayford and all the believers, who saw a new heaven and a new earth coming and dwelt with Jesus forever.

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying "Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Revelations 21:3-4

"The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." Revelations 22:21

The meaning of history resides in its glorious maker

History is not meaningless. There is purpose and design in all things.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal... a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The cynicism of the 1960’s hasn't changed much the dynamic of education and people's thinking. The 60's destructive philosophy has harmed much and it is still being felt. When absolutes are thrown out the window, what left is there to believe in? For then everything is permitted and nothing considered too evil or too good. Because then their is no such thing as good and evill; only what each individual ascribes as good or evil.

If God is not omnipotent (higher than any other), if he is not omnipresent (everywhere), if he is not omniscient (know all things), if he is not a perfect being who judges us, then he is not really God and what hope do we really have? But God is not willing that any should perish (sent to hell) but all have eternal life with him in heaven.

When you look at the evidence for the truth claims which God's Word (the bible) proclaims, it is all encompassing. The whole counsel of everything is laid out in perfect harmony in the Word. The Bible is inerrant, it has no faults. It is perfect and true. The truth of God and his Word is made manifest in revealed scripture (Bible) and nature itself. The evidence for God's attributes is everywhere. The universe is shaped in beautiful majesty and ordered into laws of nature. The cell is complex and science has already proven that it is impossible to have a complex cell be formed into the way it does without first having something else create that process. It is especially evident in DNA. DNA is so complex that it boggles the mind. Yet this is all after the fact--ideas. For what can create existence if it doesn't exist? It is a contradiction. Something cannot not exist and then start to exist. Something has to "create" it and yet that something must also be created. Unless of course, that something was, is and still is, i.e. it has always been. It is not a contradiction for something to always have existed. Still, let us assume that the universe has always existed and nothing created it; that still does not account for how complex cells are formed. There is no way that a basic cell can become a complex cell. It isn't possible, because there would need to be something guiding it to become exactly complex. A part of the cell would have had to be added to whole of the parts instantly and not through a gradual process.  There is a plethora of evidence, which is just as rational, logical--it simply makes sense. Though I think probably the greatest evidence is the historical record itself.

First off, one significant find is that many historical accounts around the world tell of a "great flood" including the famous "the epic story of Gilgamesh". We know that archeology has used the bible as a reference guide for many finds, including a possible finding of chariot wheels which resemble the one which Pharaoh--such as Moses and the exodus story. The greatest discovery would be the Dead Sea scrolls which were found in 1947 and are dated back to 200 B.C. to 200 A.D. It includes the Old Testament books which also relate the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Jesus Christ is the messiah. There are over 100 prophecies which detail what the Messiah will be like, to where he will be born and how he will die. There is only one person, in all of history which could have fulfilled all of them perfectly. It is impossible that Jesus could have fulfilled all of these and yet he did. It is very likely that these oldest accounts of the Old Testament which are likely to have been written in 150 B.C. Therefor these could very well be written before Jesus and foretells everything which came to pass in him and those events surrounding him. 

The greatest evidence for the Truth is of Christ's resurrection. Many prominent Jews, Romans, Christians and the Apostle Paul himself had witnessed the risen Jesus Christ. There were over 500 people who saw and have testified in seeing the risen Christ. The apostle Paul (also called Saul) had been one of the most passionate persecutors of Christians but then while Saul was on his way to Damascus a light from heaven which was brighter than the sun, flashed around him...

"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting." Acts 9:4-5

In an instant, Saul becomes the greatest Christian missionary in all history. He along with many went on to gruesome deaths by the hands of the Roman Emperor Nero among many others. They were sent to sadistically barbaric deaths on crosses, torn apart in the Roman arena. There are countless followers who died never renouncing their faith in Christ, even to the point of a tortuous death. No sane person, dies for something they know isn't true. These Christians were persecuted for over 300 years and never died out but kept growing. In 313 A.D. The Roman Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christian worship. 

While these current protesters throughout the U.S. and globally--riot, burn bibles, incite for violence and Marxist/Socialist/Communist/Islamic revolution, they like those among the 1960's are cynical of all wisdom which has been handed down to us through history and what we already know. They or at least most of them are simply useful idiots and will be eliminated if their revolution does actually occur. Their leaders were those famous individuals who tried to recreate our Christian heritage into a "man centered" heritage. They only know that they want to implement a communist system, destroy our current system, destroy private property, destroy Christianity, and destroy everything. They only know how to destroy and they, like the "lawless one" may lie to themselves but we know better. They may think they are in control and they will be for a "short time" but they will ultimately be defeated. Their ultimate judgment has already been written and we already know who wins. We are simply waiting for the one on the white horse, who is called:

"Faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his month comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." Revelations 19:11-16

Even if they should succeed in their destruction of the freedoms granted in the constitution and our Western way of life, their darkness shall not survive. For Christ shall come again and reign, defeat those who are against him and establish "a new heaven and a new earth". 

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." C.S. Lewis

Holy, Holy Holy, is the one who heals our wounds

It’s been awhile but basically just been busy and enjoying life. I have learned quite a bit since I last blogged. Through much prayer and reading the scriptures, I can more clearly see the truth in this verse

"And Jesus said to him, "why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."" Mark 10:18

When we truly stop comparing ourselves with other people and learn about God's goodness, we shall see the truth. The truth is, we can only theoretically state, that which is perfect, just and merciful--in the attributes of a God, because in ourselves we do not find the ability to have a love which is perfect in every way. It matters not what we feel about our own faults, we cannot rationally deny that we feel bad for what we have done without having the feeling that what we have done is wrong. It is as if we were implanted with the moral capacity to understand that there is a right and a wrong. For the Glory of God was implanted in our hearts. It is shown through life itself and is clearly perceived through our own capacity to make moral choices. Therefor we who do not follow God are without excuse and deserve to perish along with that evil serpent. Nevertheless God showed his amazingly merciful love to us, even though we had committed cosmic treason against our own maker. Yet thanks are to God for giving us a chance to repent and receive the saving grace which Jesus Christ our redeemer gives. So as you can tell, I’ve thought a lot about the depravity of man lately and come to understand God is Holy to the third degree.

"And one called to another and said: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" Isaiah 6:3

It is a rare to see three of the same words in repetition. It is the strongest form of superlative. Nothing is as holy as God. There are consequences when you commit a crime, just like there is when you rebel against God. We were innocent in the beginning and then we made self-inflicted wounds into ourselves and were cast away from God's presence--because we had sinned against a Holy, Just and perfect being. Justice demands the law to be upheld and for those who committed a crime, to face judgment but God gave us a way out of our sentence and his name is Jesus Christ. While the first Adam brought destruction, the second Adam (which is represented in Christ) brought life.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Since we know that sin is real and how God's righteousness loathes sin, we also know what it is to perish without God. It is a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth for eternity. We can see how Hell is not so much the absence of God, as the consequence of his wrath and displeasure. Obviously this is a place which is horrible beyond imagination. Yet Thanks be to God forever for giving his only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ that we may not have to suffer that unquenchable fire. For in Heaven, there will be no tears, sorrow, or death. For we were all made "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." For we know that this corruption that we possess will be undone and we shall be made imperishable and everlasting in our Lord's presence.

Anyway, I haven't done a lot lately, still learning to be that man God wants me to be and just taking it day by day. I have actually been reading a fantastic series of books called the Left Behind series. It is about the Rapture and the end times but follows the biblical accounts through a series of fictional characters. I never thought I would think of a book as more highly then Harry Potter but I have to admit, these just might take the cake. I also have been trying to learn about car mechanics, plumbing, electricity--among many other things. I don't like making predictions myself but after learning so much, it really begs the question of if it really will come to pass? I am speaking about the likelihood that there will be some very dark times ahead and it would not surprise me if we are close to the End. Yet whatever happens, I do not take the current gloomy reality lightly. We our facing complete global economic collapse, radical Islamic and/or Marxist takeover, global war, global riots and enough tension to likely make something happen. I only pray that we may be able to turn away from our sins and follow Him. It is only through our faith in God, which we can be saved. Lead us and may we follow your will, Father. In Jesus name. Amen.

Marxist Indoctrination in the classroom

The definition of indoctrination and education is:

 Indoctrination -  To instruct in a doctrine,  principle, ideology, etc., especially to imbue with a specific partisan or biased belief or point of view.

 

Education - The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

Many today are completely oblivious to how biased are schools, media, entertainment industry and culture as a whole is. Perhaps in a later post, I will document these a little more... I believe that everybody has an agenda, even those who say they don't, have one. I describe these things because I recently went to a meeting in which I happened to receive extremely grim knowledge about how some at least 10 of our public schools in Arizona (specifically the school district TUSD) is currently indoctrinating high school and middle school kids in Marxist/Stalinist propaganda. Many people already know about the situation with La Raza/Ethnic Studies program. 

What I am about to relate, is taken directly from what John Ward, a former history teacher and now is a senior auditor for the state of Arizona. He wrote this a few years ago in the Tucson Citizen but it is fairly similar to what he described when I heard him speak. Note, that I will include more info, into what he talked about during and at the end.  - 

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"And here's Ward's 2008 essay from the Tucson Citizen, "Guest Opinion: Raza Studies Gives Rise to Racial Hostility." Also at Grizzly Groundswell, "Tucson Teacher Exposes "Raza" Studies In TUSD":

As a former teacher in Tucson Unified School District's hotly debated ethnic studies department, I submit my perspective for the public's consideration.

During the 2002-2003 school year, I taught a U.S. history course with a Mexican-American perspective. The course was part of the Raza/Chicano studies department.

Within one week of the course beginning, I was told that I was a "teacher of record," meaning that I was expected only to assign grades. The Raza studies department staff would teach the class. "Their were four of these radicals which were assigned to his classroom"

I was assigned to be a "teacher of record" because some members of the Raza studies staff lacked teaching certificates. It was a convenient way of circumventing the rules.

I stated that I expected to do more than assign grades. I expected to be involved in teaching the class. The department was less than enthusiastic but agreed.

Immediately it was clear that the class was not a U.S. history course, which the state of Arizona requires for graduation. The class was similar to a sociology course one expects to see at a university.

Where history was missing from the course, it was filled by controversial and biased curriculum. "The first thing that these Marxists discussed in class was a poem that one of them wrote and then had the class try to replicate their poem. Which was basically a 5 min rant about how the U.S. was a greedy capitalist Eurocentric nation and according to Ward, the class that he was in was 100% Mexican-American. He said that the radicals tried to foster a family type of relationship within the class for the first six months as a way to get the kids to see how they were decedents of a "great race" the Aztlans (Aztec) who were invaded by Europeans and then were basically forced into slavery."

The basic theme of the curriculum was that Mexican-Americans were and continue to be victims of a racist American society driven by the interests of middle and upper-class whites.

In this narrative, whites are able to maintain their influence only if minorities are held down. Thus, social, political and economic events in America must be understood through this lens.

This biased and sole paradigm justified teaching that our community police officers are an extension of the white power structure and that they are the strongmen used "to keep minorities in their ghettos."

It justified telling the class that there are fewer Mexican-Americans in Tucson Magnet High School's advanced placement courses because their "white teachers" do not believe they are capable and do not want them to get ahead.

It justified teaching that the Southwestern United States was taken from Mexicans because of the insatiable greed of the Yankee who acquired his values from the corrupted ethos of Western civilization.

It was taught that the Southwest is "Atzlan," the ancient homeland of the Aztecs, and still rightfully belongs to their descendants - to all people of indigenous Mexican heritage.

As an educator, I refused to be complicit in a curriculum that engendered racial hostility, irresponsibly demeaned America's civil institutions, undermined our public servants, discounted any virtues in Western civilization and taught disdain for American sovereignty.

“Ward described that after the class he told the radicals that basically they were totally out of line and that he didn’t want them in to teach any longer. They simply laughed because they knew Ward had no influence on the decision and Ward knew as well. So he took his case up with the principle.”

When I raised these concerns, I was told that I was a "racist," despite being Hispanic. Acknowledging my heritage, the Raza studies staff also informed me that I was a vendido, the Spanish term for "sellout."

The culmination of my challenge to the department's curriculum was my removal from that particular class. The Raza studies department and its district-level allies pressured the Tucson High administration to silence my concerns through reassignment to another class during that one period.

The Raza studies department used the "racist" card, which is probably the most worn-out and desperate maneuver used to silence competing perspectives.

It is fundamentally anti-intellectual because it immediately stops debate by threatening to destroy the reputation of those who would provide counter arguments.

Unfortunately, I am not the only one to have been intimidated by the Raza studies department in this way.

The diplomatic and flattering language that the department and its proponents use to describe the Raza studies program is an attempt to avoid public scrutiny. When necessary, the department invokes terms such as "witch hunt" and "McCarthyism" to diminish the validity of whatever public scrutiny it does get.

The proponents of this program may conceal its reality to the public. But as a former teacher in the program, I am witness to its ugly underbelly.
Arizona taxpayers should ask themselves whether they should pay for the messages engendered in these classrooms with their hard-earned tax dollars.

The Raza studies department has powerful allies in TUSD, on its governing board and in the U.S. House of Representatives and thus operates with much impunity.

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This pretty much gives a summary of what I heard John Ward speak about. It included quite a lot more but it's hard to recall all of it. However I did get to see first hand the type of books they used in the classroom. A lady brought two of the books to that social event I went to (which was a Young Republican meeting that I joined that night). The whole speech had everyone in the room (including me) literally in shock, at what Ward described. In stunning detail, he explained how they taught Marxism, Communism, Stalinism and Maoism. It's beyond belief and it is still being taught to impressionable students. Nevertheless the type of books which are being used is really all the evidence that someone would need to put against these extremists. I looked through both books and both are truly beyond the pale, dripping in Marxist rhetoric and propaganda. The books talked about killing the Gringo. Rise up Mexico and Resist the invader! Resist, Resist, Resist! Capitalism is a greedy evil by the Europeans. Kill them! Fuck them all! And other Marxist/Stalinist/communist propaganda was just a taste of what was included in the books. I was looking through it and on the cover of one of the books am Che Guaevara and Fidal Castro and this is being taught at about 10 schools--it still is to this day. Even to third graders but I think mostly to high school

Really tolerant, peaceful--and certainly not treasonous material huh?