Catholic Purgatory View

"Purgatory is a spiritual realm where souls go when they have not been condemned to hell, yet are still not cleansed of sin enough to enter heaven — a realm in which spirits “endure severe punishment and in the process become cleansed of sin and its ill effects,” according to Patheos.

But Fr. Dwight Longenecker, a Catholic priest, recently wrote that, despite the hardships endured by

the faithful as they climb their way through purgatory toward heaven, it is actually a joyful place.
After all, the souls sent there know that they have escaped the pain and suffering of hell, as purgatory isn’t a place where human beings spend eternity. In fact, anyone who passes through will at some point end up in heaven. That said, the journey isn’t an easy one, according to Catholic doctrine.

“The pains in hell are punitive, but purgatory is purgative,” Longenecker wrote. “In other words, the pain is for gain; the struggle is for sanctity. The fire is a purifier.”
He added that All Souls’ Day — which was celebrated this past Sunday — is the time during which Catholic faithful pray for the souls of loved ones who are currently in purgatory.

Of course, it’s impossible to know exactly what’s inside purgatory and what souls go through as they pass along, though the general idea is that they are being spiritually cleansed and prepared for heaven.

Protestants generally shun purgatory as unbiblical, sweepingly rejecting it during the Reformation 497 years ago and continuing to do so today,.." TheBlaze

Why Purgatory is UNBIBLICAL

1) The dead are dead until the resurrection:

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1 Thessalonians 4:16

2) We are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb of God (Christ) not by some fire purifier:

....and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 7:14

IN the NEWS -Eradication of Religion?

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:

Romans 8:7

"Cosmologist and theoretical physicist Lawrence M. Krauss believes that religion could be eradicated — or at least largely removed from society — in just one generation.
Krauss, who made this claim while delivering a speech to the Victorian Skeptics Cafe in Australia in late August, spoke, among other subjects, about how children should be taught about faith in schools, claiming that religious systems shouldn’t be treated “as if they’re all sacred.”
“What we need to do is present comparative religion as a bunch of interesting historical anecdotes and show the silly reasons why they each did what they did,” he said. “Instead of shying away from it, we have to explicitly educate people to confront their own misconceptions.”
Addressing the future of religion, Krauss cited gay marriage and slavery in offering up a dire prediction: that religion could be largely eradicated within just one generation’s time.
“Change is always one generation away,” the scientist said. “So if we can plant the seeds of doubt in our children, religion will go away in a generation, or at least largely go away — and that’s what I think we have an obligation to do.”
Krauss made waves earlier this year when he said during a separate appearance that teaching creationism to kids is akin to child abuse." TheBlaze

Creation Moment 11/7/2014 - The 2 cardinal points

"How short the space between the two cardinal points of an earthly career, the point of birth and that of death; and yet what a universe of wonders are presented to us in our rapid flight through this space." – Joseph Henry (1797-1878)

Since the Creation-

A time to be born,

Since the fall of man-

and a time to die;

Ecclesiastes 3:2

Calendar of Redemption: Feast of Trumpets (Rosh HaShanah)

Calendar of Redemption

Before the Cross-

Concerning the feasts of the LORD,...   an holy convocation:

ye shall do no work therein:

it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. 

These are the feasts of the LORD, 

even holy convocations,

which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. 

Leviticus 23:4,5

Since the Cross-

Let no man therefore judge you in meat,

or in drink,

or in respect of an holyday,

or of the new moon,

or of the sabbath days: 

These are 

a shadow of the things that were to come; 

the reality, however, is found in Christ. 

Colossians 2:16,17 NIV

 --Feast of Trumpets--

1 Tishri (September/October)

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.

Leviticus 23:24

3 Angels Message:

This feast could be considered akin to the 3 Angels Message being sounded to warn the world for the homestretch of this Great Controversy between God & His opponent. 1844.

NOTES:

Also was considered by the Jews as the beginning of the judgment process. The Day of Atonement began 10 days later.

2015-September 14

2016-October 3

2017-September 21

2018-September 10

A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him:

thousand thousands ministered unto him,

and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him:

the judgment was set,

and the books were opened.

Daniel 7:10

Creation Moment 11/6/2014 - Arrow of TIME

"A trio of physicists is proposing a new direction for understanding the concept of time.....describe their new ideas beginning with the suggestion that initial conditions don't necessarily need to be imposed on time-symmetric law when attempting to describe solutions to behaviors that define an "arrow of time." 

For all the advances made in understanding the world around us, there are still two very basic fundamental concepts that have defied explanation: time and gravity.

It is widely believed that special initial conditions must be imposed on any time-symmetric law if its solutions are to exhibit behavior of any kind that defines an "arrow of time." We show that this is not so.

The simplest nontrivial time-symmetric law that can be used to model a dynamically closed universe

is the Newtonian N-body problem with vanishing total energy and angular momentum. Because of special properties of this system (likely to be shared by any law of the Universe), its typical solutions all divide at a uniquely defined point into two halves. In each, a well-defined measure of shape complexity fluctuates but grows irreversibly between rising bounds from that point. Structures that store dynamical information are created as the complexity grows and act as "records." Each solution can be viewed as having a single past and two distinct futures emerging from it. Any internal observer must be in one half of the solution and will only be aware of the records of one branch and deduce a unique past and future direction from inspection of the available records." Phys.Org

Could a "single past" followed by 2 "distinct futures" be the result of choices we make as it relates to our future? That being a result of free will?

Who Knows?....
 And in process of time it came to pass,........

Genesis 4:3 

Calendar of Redemption: Feast of Weeks/ Pentecost (Shavuot)

Calendar of Redemption

Before the Cross-

Concerning the feasts of the LORD,...   an holy convocation;

ye shall do no work therein:

it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. 

These are the feasts of the LORD, 

even holy convocations,

which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. 

Leviticus 23:4,5

Since the Cross-

Let no man therefore judge you in meat,

or in drink,

or in respect of an holyday,

or of the new moon,

or of the sabbath days: 

These are 

a shadow of the things that were to come; 

the reality, however, is found in Christ. 

Colossians 2:16,17 NIV

--Pentecost--

6 Sivan (May/June)

Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 23:16,22

SANCTUARY:

As on the day of Pentecost fulfilled in Acts, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples to evangelize & fill the world. This would be both representative of the 7 branch candlestick, as God's people became a light unto the world as well as the brazen laver which represents baptism as they were baptized by the Spirit that day.

NOTES:

Pentecost means "50" in Greek since it occurred 50 days from the last 3 feasts.

2015-May 24

2016-June 12

2017-May 31

2018-May 20

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,

they were all with one accord in one place.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven

as of a rushing mighty wind,

and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them

cloven tongues like as of fire,

and it sat upon each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,

and began to speak with other tongues,

as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews,

devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

Now when this was noised abroad,

the multitude came together,

and were confounded,

because that every man heard them

speak in his own language.

Acts 2:1-6

Creation Moment 11/5/2014 - Working Making You Stupid?

"Working an irregular shift pattern may be causing

long-term damage to people’s memory

and mental abilities, new research has shown.

Shift work can disrupt the body’s internal clock in a similar way to jet lag, and has been linked before to an increased risk of health problems such as heart problems and even some cancers.
However, scientists have now found a link between working shifts and a decline in brain function – especially among those whose shifts rotated between morning, afternoon and night.

In a study of 3,000 people living in France, scientists found that those who worked rotating shifts performed significantly worse in memory and cognitive speed tests than people who had worked regular hours.

The level of cognitive decline seen in people who worked irregular shifts for 10 years was equivalent to six and a half years’ worth of natural, age-related cognitive decline,...

It has also been suggested that night shift workers may be more susceptible to vitamin D deficiencies because of reduced exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to impaired brain function by some studies.

Researchers found that stopping shift work was linked with an improvement in cognitive function – suggesting that any ill effects are reversible – but said that it took five years out of shift work for this effect to be seen." TheIndependent

Well let's be honest...God designed work initially to be done during the day hours at the beginning & in the sunlight, which has to do to a degree with needed vitamin D. So the original DESIGN for man by the Creator works best after all.....

And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden;

and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:8

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife,

and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying,

Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake;...Thorns

also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;

Genesis 3:17,18

Everything is messed up because of the fall...even work

Calendar of Redemption: First Fruits (Reishit)

Calendar of Redemption

Before the Cross-

Concerning the feasts of the LORD,...   an holy convocation;

ye shall do no work therein:

it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. 

These are the feasts of the LORD, 

even holy convocations,

which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. 

Leviticus 23:4,5

Since the Cross-

Let no man therefore judge you in meat,

or in drink,

or in respect of an holyday,

or of the new moon,

or of the sabbath days: 

These are 

a shadow of the things that were to come; 

the reality, however, is found in Christ. 

Colossians 2:16,17 NIV

--First Fruits--

16 Nisan (March/April)

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,

When ye be come into the land which I give unto you,

and shall reap the harvest thereof,

then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:

And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish

of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD.

Leviticus 23:10,12

SANCTUARY:

Altar of Incense...as the offering was offered up to the Lord, so too are your prayers to be offered up. The altar of incense represents the prayers of the people ascending to God.

NOTES:

This was the day to begin the 50 day countdown to Pentecost. This also represents the resurrection of Christ. Many Christians commemorate this day with "Easter".

2015-April 6

2016-April 25

2017-April 13

2018-April 2

But now is Christ risen from the dead,

and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

1 Corinthians 15:20

Don't

In your mind - Don't make your devil stronger than your God

God has spoken plainly,
and I have heard it many times:
Power, O God, belongs to you;
Psalm 62:11 NLT

Creation Moment 11/4/2014 - EMAIL of Plants & Roots

"How do roots respond to what the top of the plant experiences?  With an elaborate communication system resembling email.

The authors of a paper in Science Magazine:

Nitrogen (N) is a critical nutrient for plants but is often distributed unevenly in the soil. Plants therefore have evolved a systemic mechanism by which N starvation on one side of the root system leads to a compensatory and increased nitrate uptake on the other side. Here, we study the molecular systems that support perception of N and the long-distance signaling needed to alter root development. Rootlets starved of N secrete small peptides that are translocated to the shoot and received by two leucine-rich repeat receptor kinases (LRR-RKs). Arabidopsis plants deficient in this pathway show growth retardation accompanied with N-deficiency symptoms. Thus, signaling from the root to the shoot helps the plant adapt to fluctuations in local N availability.

These small peptides, in other words, provide information sent from the roots to the growing shoots at the top of the plant.  But that’s not all; the shoot responds to its email with a message back down to the roots. 

The system presupposes that cells in the shoot can “read” the peptide, understand it, and respond appropriately. Ditto for the reader down underground.

Scientists cannot yet “read” the email messages.  “The nature of the signal from the shoot that triggers lateral root foraging behavior in the +N compartment remains to be resolved,” Bisseling and Scheres state.  But like watching two parties communicate in a foreign language and then respond with actions, the scientists can tell that communication is occurring.   It’s not sentient communication, as with human verbal communication.  It’s more like computer language: preprogrammed, digital, and responsive.

The evolution-talk is so useless. Secular scientists

have a bad habit of claiming that things “have evolved,” no matter how complex the system under consideration. It’s even worse when they say that plants “have evolved… to” do something.  That’s nonsense in Darwinian theory; nothing “evolves to” reach a goal." CEH

 And God said,

Let the earth bring forth ...the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,

whose seed is in itself, upon the earth:

Genesis 1:11

Calendar of Redemption: Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzot)

Calendar of Redemption

Before the Cross-

Concerning the feasts of the LORD,...   an holy convocation;
ye shall do no work therein:
it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. 
These are the feasts of the LORD, 
even holy convocations,
which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. 
Leviticus 23:4,5

Since the Cross-

Let no man therefore judge you in meat,
or in drink,
or in respect of an holyday,
or of the new moon,
or of the sabbath days: 
These are 
a shadow of the things that were to come; 
the reality, however, is found in Christ. 
Colossians 2:16,17 NIV

--Unleavened Bread--

15 Nisan (March/April)

And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD:

Leviticus 23:6

SANCTUARY:

The Table of showbread/& altar of burnt sacrifice.

NOTES:

Leaven also represents sin. Christ is the Passover Lamb without blemish (sin). So unleavened means without sin.

Also, it was the next consecutive day after the Passover, representing Christ's burial in death the day following His crucifixion.

2015-April 5

2016-April 24

2017-April 12

2018-April 1

Purge out therefore the old leaven,
that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.
For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1 Corinthians 5:7

Papal Notes - Francis on All Saints Day

"During Mass for the Solemnity of All Souls at Rome’s Verano cemetery, Pope Francis exhorted believers to follow the way of the beatitudes, calling it the path that will lead to sanctity.
In his homily, he spoke off the cuff about today’s first reading from the book of the Apocalypse focusing on three images:

a warning about earth’s destruction,

the multitude who appears before God

and God himself.

Speaking about the second image offered in the reading – the innumerable crowd standing before God – the Holy Father drew attention to the unknown saints.
While at the cemetery, the Holy Father also blessed tombs and exposed relics of Saints John XXIII and John Paul II.
“In visiting Rome’s main cemetery, I am united in spirit with those who in these days visit the graves of their dead in cemeteries around the world,” the Pope said following his recitation of the Angelus earlier that morning in St. Peter’s Square.
The different sections of the cemetery include a Jewish cemetery, a Catholic cemetery, and a monument to victims of the First World War, the centenary of which is celebrated this year.
Campo Verano takes its name from a prestigious family, the “Verini,” who had lived there at the time of the Roman Republic, Vatican Radio reports." CNA


1) Francis is NOT the "Holy Father"....the Holy Father is God
....your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
2) Relics of the "saints"?
Thou shalt not make thee any graven image,.....Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them,
Deuteronomy 5:8,9

Holy-ween over Halloween?

Catholic exorcists call for

 'Holyween' to replace Halloween

Catholic exorcist priests say Halloween tempts people into Satanism and should be replaced by new festival, Holyween, based on the adoration of Christian saints

"Father Aldo Buonaiuto, a Catholic priest who took part in an international conference of exorcists in Rome earlier this week.

“Halloween originates from superstitions that exalt malign spirits and demons. Many people see it as a simple carnival, but it is anything but innocent, it is a subterranean world based on the occult,” he told La Nazione, an Italian newspaper.

“Halloween is the anti-chamber towards something much more disturbing. For devotees of the occult,

October 31 is the satanic new year. It’s a time for luring new converts. And it’s a time when exorcists have to work harder,” said the priest, a member of the Pope John XXIII Association, a Catholic organisation which combats black magic sects in 25 countries around the world.

During the period leading up to Halloween each year, the organisation sees a sharp increase in the number of people calling its free phone number to express concerns about Satanism and the occult.

In response to the growing popularity of Halloween, the association has launched a campaign to replace it with a rival, Christian festival called Holyween.

The idea is to banish pumpkins, plastic skeletons and other Halloween emblems and instead hang up pictures of saints and martyrs.
Churches should hold Masses, prayer vigils and “adorations” in honour of Christian saints in order to combat the malign influence of Halloween, which was an American tradition that had no place in Italy, the priest said.
More than 300 priests trained to perform exorcisms gathered in Rome at the weekend, receiving a personal message from Pope Francis which endorsed their fight against what he called “the Devil’s works”." TheTelegraph

Wherefore come out from among them,

and be ye separate, saith the Lord,

and touch not the unclean thing;

 2 Corinthians 6:17

1) How about breaking clear of the whole thing since it's all rooted in paganism?
2) Christians already have a legitimate holiday on Oct. 31-REFORMATION DAY, but I guess that wouldn't sit well with the Catholic Church-ya know what I mean? 

Creation Moment 11/3/2014 - Pope Francis on Evolution (Papal Notes)

"Pope Francis has been head of the Catholic Church for less than two years, but in that time he has managed to overshadow his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, with his progressive statements on issues ranging from gay marriage to capitalism. On Monday, he did it again, saying evolutionary theory does not contradict biblical teaching—at an unveiling of a bust of Benedict.
Pope Francis told an audience from the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Vatican City on Monday that theories of evolution and the Big Bang are not inconsistent with creationism and biblical teaching. “The evolution in nature is not opposed to the notion of Creation, because evolution

presupposes the creation of beings that evolve,” Pope Francis said...
“When we read in Genesis the account of Creation, we risk imagining that God was a magician, with such a magic wand as to be able to do everything,” he said. “However, it was not like that. He created beings and left them to develop according to the internal laws that He gave each one, so that they would develop, and reach their fullness.”
The creation of the universe, Francis said, was not a singular event, but rather “went forward for centuries and centuries, millennia and millennia until it became what we know today.”
While the church may be out of step with society on some issues, evolution is not one of them. In 1950, the church haltingly dipped its toe into the water when Pope Pius XII, in an letter to bishops titled Humani Generis, wrote,  “[The] Church does not forbid...research and discussions...take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter…” It was fine for Catholics to think about and debate about evolution, as long as they kept the soul out of it, the document implied. The soul, Pius said, was injected into human beings by God, and could not arise from natural processes." Newsweek

Ken Ham Responds:
"About the account of creation in Genesis, the pope stated, “When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so . . . God is not a divine being or a magician, but the Creator who brought everything to life . . . Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.” Additionally, Pope Francis said that “God is not afraid of new things.”
Now, of course God is not a “magician.” Nothing in Scripture ever hints that He is—especially not in the creation account. Scripture portrays God as the all-powerful Creator who is capable of making anything, whether that’s creating the universe out of nothing, parting the Red Sea, saving people from a fiery furnace, walking on water, or raising the dead! God even says the following:

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? Jeremiah 32:27

Because God created nature and natural laws, He alone has power over them.

A statement made by the pope earlier this month at a conference about homosexuality and divorce further shows how this leader views God and His Word: “God is not afraid of new things.” What the pope and many other religious leaders are saying is that God—and His Word—is open to change as society’s opinions change. But is this what God’s Word teaches? Absolutely not. In His Word, God says, “I am the Lord, I do not change” Malachi 3:6" AIG

Calendar of Redemption: Passover Shadow (Pesach)

Calendar of Redemption

Before the Cross-

Concerning the feasts of the LORD,...   an holy convocation;

ye shall do no work therein:

it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

These are the feasts of the LORD,

even holy convocations,

which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.

Leviticus 23:4,5

Since the Cross-

Let no man therefore judge you in meat,

or in drink,

or in respect of an holyday,

or of the new moon,

or of the sabbath days:

These are

a shadow of the things that were to come;

the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Colossians 2:16,17 NIV

--PASSOVER--

14 Nisan (March/April)

In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S Passover.

Leviticus 23:5

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:

Exodus 12:5

Passover Meal (Communion Service)

SANCTUARY:

This of course would be representative of the altar of burnt sacrifice. Also connected to the Table of Shewbread which also contained the cups for drink offerings.

NOTES:

This would represent the day of His crucifixion. Many Christians celebrate this today as "Good Friday." COMMUNION SERVICE of Christians is a continuation of the Passover Meal:  The Passover Meal included the Seder Cup which represents His Cup of the blood of His Redemption &  the Afikomen is the bread eaten at the end which represents His body that was to be broken, hidden then found.

2015-April 4

2016-April 23

2017-April 11

2018-March 31

But he was wounded for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities:

the chastisement of our peace was upon him;

and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

Footsteps of Paul: Barjesus

So they,

being sent forth by the Holy Ghost,

departed unto Seleucia;

and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

And when they were at Salamis,

they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews:

and they had also John to their minister.

And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos,

they found a certain sorcerer,

a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:

Which was with the deputy of the country,

Sergius Paulus, a prudent man;

who called for Barnabas and Saul,

and desired to hear the word of God.

But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation ) withstood them,

seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,)

filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,

         And said,

O full of all subtilty and all mischief, 
thou child of the devil,

thou enemy of all righteousness,

wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee,

and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.

And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness;

and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

Then the deputy, when he saw what was done,

believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

Acts 13:4-12

"Not without a struggle does Satan allow the kingdom of God to be built up in the earth. The forces of evil are engaged in unceasing warfare against the agencies appointed for the spread of the gospel, and these powers of darkness are especially active when the truth is proclaimed before men of repute and sterling integrity." Acts of the Apostles p.167 E.G.W.

Creation Moment 11/2/2014 - A Mist

But there went up a mist from the earth,

and watered the whole face of the ground.

Genesis 2:6

Soooooo.... How does that "mist" thing work?

Like this....Before the flood, the earth was watered by a heavy fog, and because the surface of the earth was warmer than today, & consequent vapors so dense, that cool raindrops on the outer fringes of clouds would turn to vapor before hitting the earth.

Gospel Gem: The Widows Mite

Synergy of Mark 12:41-44/Luke 21:1-4

And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.

And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.....which make a farthing.

And he said,

Of a truth I say unto you,

that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:

For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God:

but she of her penury hath  cast in all that she had, even all her living.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Moses Adds - Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee. Deuteronomy 16:17

"He gives to us that we may minister to others and thus become like Himself." Christ's Object Lessons p. 54 E.G.W.

The gist of the temptation

"The gist of the temptation was that Adam and Eve would

become more like God by disobeying Him. “You shall be as gods knowing good and evil, ‘’ if you will just eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil which God has told you not to eat. Adam and Eve were already created in God’s image, in His character. How could they become more like God?" LTR

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:

Genesis 2:7

Christipher Hitchens - One of those FOOLISH Gentiles?

 The late (God-hating atheist) Christopher Hitchens once said....
"Mockery of religion is one of the most essential things...one of the beginnings of the human emancipation is the ability to laugh at authority.  It's indispensable."

And He said: I will hide My face from them,
I will see what their end will be,
For they are a perverse generation,
Children in whom is no faith.

They have roused my jealousy by worshiping things that are not God;
they have provoked my anger with their useless idols.
Now I will rouse their jealousy through people who are not even a people;
I will provoke their anger

through the foolish Gentiles.

Deuteronomy 32:20,21 NKJV/NLT

Is Christendom mocked today because of it's turning away from the Gospel? The preaching of fluff, the prosperity gospel, the green gospel, the social gospel, compromise on gay marriage, compromise on evolution, false mockable doctrines, sex abuse scandals, scandal ridden TV evangelists, etc.?

My impression from watching atheists on Youtube is that one reason for their rants that comes across from "former" Christians who join their ranks--is false doctrines. Some get confused by the false doctrine of an eternal hell & torment. Some mock the easily mockable secret rapture. Others, many actually, seem to get confused by church leaders who dismiss Genesis 1-11, or can't answer their questions.

{P.S.- - - Of course, if one follows the Bible--they still mock you--soooo.......U know....}

Is (was) Christopher Hitchens one (of MANY)

 of the FOOLISH Gentiles?

Creation Moment 11/1/2014 - Darwin & Hitler -OR- Zechariah

Hitler believed that Blacks were ‘monstrosities halfway between man and ape’ and therefore he disapproved of German Christians:

‘ … going to “Central Africa” to set up “Negro missions,” resulting in the turning of “healthy … human beings into a rotten brood of bastards.” In his chapter entitled “Nation and Race,” he said, “The stronger must dominate and not blend with the weaker, thus sacrificing his own greatness. Only the born weakling can view this as cruel, but he, after all, is only a weak and limited man; for if this law did not prevail, any conceivable higher development (Hoherentwicklung) of organic living beings would be unthinkable.” A few pages later, he said, “Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live”.

 Humber, P., The Ascent of Racism, Impact, February, p. 2, 1987

You can listen to Darwin & Hitler--OR--Zechariah...You Choose

These are the things that ye shall do;

Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour;

execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:

Zechariah 8:16

Reformation Day - 497th Anniversary

497 years ago (1517) Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Church door sparking the Reformation.

And they that understand among the people

shall instruct many:

yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.

Daniel 11:33

"Since your majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply,

I will answer without horns or teeth.

Unless I am convinced by Scripture and by plain reason

(I do not believe in the authority of either popes or councils by themselves, for it is plain that they have often erred and contradicted each other) in those Scriptures that I have presented,

for my conscience is captive to the Word of God,

I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. 

 Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen."

Luther, Reply to the Diet of Worms, April 18, 1521

*

*

*

"Every one of us is, even from his mother's womb, a master craftsman of idols." John Calvin

*

*

*

“The Christian life, then, is a battle, so sharp and full of danger that effort can nowhere be relaxed without loss…”  Zwingli

*

*

*

"The doctrine preached by Zwingli was not received from Luther. It was the doctrine of Christ. ...said the Swiss Reformer,...... Never has one single word been written by me to Luther, nor by Luther to me. And why? . . . That it might be shown how much the Spirit of God is in unison with itself, since both of us, without any collusion, teach the doctrine of Christ with such uniformity." The Great Controversy p.174 E.G.W.

Ref·or·ma·tion & Re·viv·al

On this Reformation Day--what does "Reformation" actually mean?

ref·or·ma·tion

: the act or process of improving something or someone by removing or correcting faults, problems, etc.

 

re·viv·al

: the growth of something or an increase in the activity of something after a long period of no growth or activity

Wilt thou not revive us again:

that thy people may rejoice in thee?

Psalm 85:6