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Eschatology Issues CLV

Question #1:
 Hi Bob,

In Joel 1:15 NIV, he speaks of "the day of the Lord" and then speaks of "destruction from the Almighty." Was this a reference to the Son and the Father or were they the same?

I hope all is well up there.

In our Lord,
Response #1:
I have written in CT 1 about the phenomenon of "prophetic foreshortening" (link), wherein Old Testament prophets blend together the first and second advents, for example. It's a similar situation often for the Trinity. Jesus Christ is the revealed member and so even when one thinks we have a picture of the Father (e.g., Is.6:1ff.), it may turn out that this is actually the Son acting on behalf of the Father (cf. Jn.12:41). 

The "Day of the Lord" is the reign of Jesus Christ and all the events which lead up to it, but of course this all comes from the plan of the Father. YHVH can refer to any of the three, Father, Son or Holy Spirit.

Hope this helps!

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #2:
 Hello Brother Bob,

Since it is Truth we are after, and a clear understanding of God's Word and the unfolding of (near) events prophetically given, I would like to push back a bit on some of what you have stated. That said, I am not here to debate, and there is no need for you to reply further on any of this. I just offer this for your consideration, and have enjoyed our exchanges. Thank you for your willingness to engage.

My last email expressed my concern for all those who have "teachings", interpretations, scenarios, doctrines, etc. on "end-times prophecy." (I actually posted it on Facebook yesterday.) It is painfully clear that most people who teach on this subject are teaching their own ideas (because they can't all be right, given the diversity of teachings). It is, therefore, a valid concern, and one not to be taken lightly. 

I offer these comments in all humility and gentleness, in love, in the hope that they will be received as such. The burden I have for the Truth and for the Church is a heavy one.
Response #2:
Prophecy is foretelling and forth-telling. The distinction you are making is not biblical as we know since Peter calls all scripture prophetikon (2Pet.1:19), and since all who write scripture are called "prophets" because they foretell and forth-tell the truth about Him who is the Prophet, the very Word of God Himself (link). 

The problem with making this false distinction you suggest is inherent in the implication that only certain people can understand this "special type" of scripture and that is not only decidedly not true but, in my opinion, quite spiritually dangerous (since the truth is meant for us all). Also, I've never heard of this distinction before, not even at seminary or in any of the books about prophecy and its interpretation I have. 

So maybe this is something that has only been revealed to you, personally?
Question #3:
Hi Bob,

I am so sorry that it has been longer than I wanted it to be since my last email. Things have been really hectic for me and I flopped with exhaustion this weekend as I really needed the rest.

It's VE day today. Both my paternal and maternal grandfather's served their country. My dad's dad served in Italy and helped many women and children escape an erupting volcano there. My mum's dad was a POW in Japan and part of the punishment was building the railway there. He went through a lot there. His mother wanted to see a Pathe news reel at the cinema which showed their treatment in the camps. The family begged her not to go but she went and saw it and sadly she died only a month or two later, probably the shock of it. She said "I want to know what they did to my son". He was so emaciated when the camps were liberated that they had to come back to England via Canada to help them regain weight. The government were worried at people's angry reactions at realising that they were being starved to death in the camps. I never met my dad's dad, he died before I was born. It is a nice thought that I may see them again but that is not in my hands.

When I was younger I was thoroughly against war but now I am older I understand when it is necessary and even a Godly thing to pursue. The Lord has shown me that my refusal to say "no" to people in the past is not Godly but making another person an idol and fearing them. Yesterday I was reflecting on the fact that I still feel residual guilt and fear saying no to people but the Lord has shown me that I have been saying 'No' for such a long time now where it matters the most! Around issues of doctrine!

I said "no" to the Nazarene Church when they tried to drag me into Emergent church teachings. 
I said "no" to a Unitarian who wanted to break bread with me whilst he denied Christ.
I said "no" to __ when she wanted to cast doubt on the Word of God and started to turn on Israel and God Himself.
I say "no" to my family when they try to twist scripture to promote universalism or ecumenism or the social gospel.
I say "no" to more distant members of my family when they say "Islam and Christianity worship the same God".

So God has shown me that I have actually been saying "No" regularly for a VERY long time now without realising it! In fact the whole basis of my ministry will be centred around the word 'No' as it is all about saying 'No, these things are NOT of God'. So to have such a ministry I will need to build impenetrable boundaries and let my 'no be no' because anything else would be a compromise with the truth and I am not willing to do this. 

So it is true that while I used to be a people pleaser, I am a God pleaser now and that is a HUGE difference as being a God pleaser often displeases most people.

How are you doing my friend? 

Is there anything you need prayer for?

In Jesus,
Response #3:
Interesting about your family. Nationalism is a God-given thing, necessary because otherwise the devil would have free rein over the whole world. Nationalism has compartmentalized his evil efforts over the last five millennia ever since the destruction of the tower of Babel and the confusion of human languages. The proof of the above will be the "one world" rule of antichrist wherein there will be no safe haven.

Of course, like everything else, nationalism can be taken too far and in some very ungodly directions – as anyone who has read a history book or who reads the newspapers today can see clearly enough. If the devil can't beat it, he uses it.

Saying "no" is indeed a good thing when it is to bad things that we address that "no!"
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.
Titus 2:11-12 NIV
We are indeed definitely going to have to deploy a lot no doubt uncomfortable "No!"s during the Tribulation.

Started my research push today. Prayers appreciated to be helped to produce and article or two this summer (there just isn't the time during the school year); also for sufficient beginning Greek students so the class doesn't get cancelled.

Keeping you and yours in my daily prayers too, my friend!

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #4:
Thanks Bob!

It made me cry happy tears when you mentioned my progress! Of course I know I can do much much better and go a lot farther with spiritual growth, maturity and production but I have noticed myself that I am a different person than I was when I was first saved. I am more used to battle now, used to walking in the Spirit and closer to God and know Him and rely on Him to such a greater degree when I was first starting out on my walk.

I was studying about the Trinity in the library yesterday (and I know we shouldn't get too caught up in feelings) but I really felt that God was looking down on me and happy that I was trying to get to know Him even more and studying about Him and I wondered if anyone else in the whole library was studying about Him too or if it was only me and in that moment the sun shone through a lightwell in the ceiling and seemed to shine down upon me where I was sitting at the desk and everything was so bright for a moment and then the moment passed and the light returned to normal again.

I long to be with God so much that truly, aside from loved ones and the ministry the Lord has for me, there really is nothing keeping me here anymore. If I was to be called home tomorrow I would be jubilant!

All the things I used to care about have paled into insignificance compared to the love I feel for the Lord and His Word. I just want to be with Him now and with His bride the church. Whenever He calls me home, I will be ready to go but at the same time (as Paul wrote) the longer I stay then the more opportunity for reward that glorifies Him so I will try my best each day to make the most of my time for Christ's glory and the support of the church, my brothers and sisters who are here. Although I have not yet met anyone I will be hopefully ministering to, I already feel a great love for them and so happy to know that they are 'out there'.

Yes it's alarming how fast things are moving here. There is a lot of underfunding in local government so we see a lot of problems with vacant shop and office buildings, terribly long waiting lists to see doctors and specialists on the NHS, huge problems with infrastructure and transport with trains and buses always going on strike, the roads often have potholes in them with the tarmac being quickly worn away by the huge Land Rover SUVs everyone is now obsessed with here (you would call them a 'gas guzzler' but we call them 'Chelsea tractors' as Chelsea is a posh part of London where rich mummies want a showy car to do the school run in. They tend to buy Land Rovers which historically make off road vehicles for farmers).

So we have all these problems going on as well as the shocking rise to utility bills and food prices and the need for food banks in this country. A food bank is a charity that gives families free food if they can get a government referral. I have worked in one in the past, they tend to give the basics like box cereal, tinned meat, fish and veg, pasta and rice, tinned fruit and maybe a tinned pudding as well as jars of tea and coffee and jam and honey.

In Birmingham there has been a huge bin (garbage pail) strike that has been going on for two months now and shows no signs of stopping. They have had a huge problem with rats unsurprisingly with huge mountains of bin liners pilling up on typically the streets of the most deprived areas.

Add to this the problems that you will be very used to over there; endless pro-Palestine protests which now incorporate pro-Transgender protests as well as people gluing themselves to roads or throwing tomato soup at works of art or defacing statues or toppling them into rivers.

All in all, you start having a picture of just how 'merrie England' is doing. That isn't even talking about the golf courses that are in Cathedrals now or the helter skelter rides or the Drag Queen carol singing.

Then of course there it the super mosque being built in the Lake District, which is one of the few areas of outstanding natural beauty that this country has got left!

Just wanted to paint you a picture of what it is like and that is probably only the half of it.

So with all this as background information, when a local council decides to put a lot of our tax money towards some 'civic art installation' to 'bolster the local populace' to 'give back to the local community' and to 'engender local civic pride', you just know it will be something that looks Satanic and pagan in some way. They will always put something up that will have the complete opposite effect and will actually bring morale lower than ever. Not surprising that disgruntled locals spread rumours of money laundering going on and that local government officials have fat back pockets.

Despite all this, I try to do what the Word tells me to. I pray for my government and my country. I don't like our current reigning monarch but yesterday I sung along to the national anthem and I have been praying for him. I mostly pray for our government to do God's will but I sometimes also pray for them to turn to Jesus Christ to be saved. I suspect though that if they were truly saved then they wouldn't retain such a lofty position for long! 

The truth is though there is a lot to be said about being personae non gratae. It helps us to disconnect us from what is fading and passing away more quickly and also to focus all our efforts on preparing for the Kingdom to come. Amen!

Marana-tha!

In Jesus,
Response #4:
We grow like mustard seeds, slowly but surely, when we commit to spiritual growth. If we keep it up, before we realize it, we've produced a good crop.
And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Mark 4:26-29 NKJV
Thanks for sharing about the light. God gives us these sorts of encouragements, and they are important to treasure in our hearts. Indeed, we would all rather be with Jesus – or should. Nothing down here lasts in any case, and we don't last long at all, even if we live well beyond the norm. Jesus is our only real happiness, and He is our only enduring security.

Interesting reports about your country. I'm trying to avoid the news, personally, and don't see much here outside of my narrow ambit and the university. Re: "there is a lot to be said about being personae non gratae." Isn't that the truth! As our Lord told us . . .
"If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
John 15:19 NKJV
In time soon to come, that hatred is going to expressed more vehemently, publicly and punitively. It's good to see you and all our brothers and sisters connected to this ministry fortifying their perspectives with the truth in advance of that big test.

Keeping you and yours in my daily prayers, my friend!

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #5:
Hi Dr L,

So I have a dangerous question. If we are alive when the beast takes over, whether Babylon or the world, would we automatically disobey orders from the beast (if that makes sense) that might otherwise seem innocuous? Like to go here or there or report to this person, kind of thing? I mean in the course of him doing all the stuff he does to reorganize and destroy (though the latter might not be immediately obvious as to the how, which direction is worse, in particular cases).

Hope you are well,
Response #5:
It depends what you mean. If that government proclaims that now we have to stop on yellow, not just slow down to be able to stop on red, we might not like it or agree with it but we still have to follow authority . . . unless or until what authority commands us to do violates what the Word allows us to do – or commands us to do what we are not allowed to do.

In terms of "going here or there", we would need more information to know how that syncs with the above. In terms of reporting other people, that really would be a judgment call situation. Depending on our job, many of us are already required to report certain crimes we personally observe. Under the beast, if the "crime" is actually doing what God wants us to do, I don't plan on reporting any such thing, even if required. We will all have to be willing to accept the consequences of such action or inaction.

The bottom line is that life under antichrist will not be pleasant. And it may involve many hard decisions, leading to ostracism, imprisonment or even death. But we have chosen to live for Jesus Christ should be ready to put Him before all other earthly considerations, no matter what the cost.
"Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown."
Revelation 2:10 NIV

"If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.” This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God's people.
Revelation 2:10 NIV
Here are a couple of crucial links:
A Brief Christian "Code of Conduct" for the Great Persecution
A Tribulational Code of Conduct
In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #6:
I was reading Epictetus, whose Greek is a lot simpler compared to some others, but anyway, and it is Stoic Philosophy, and I was thinking...okay this is hard to explain. I do see he just goes way wrong by not pursuing God in truth, so let me acknowledge that. But after that there is a qualtiy that is hard to put into words, but almost like he is so in command of himself (one might say self willed) that he may just decide not to care about what a tyrant or king might say even if that means death. Like a sort 'why should I care if you kill me and send me off'? And I was thinking, I feel like I should be able to have that attitude if a nonbeliever could do it. Except for God of course and against evil powers, so to speak. It is easy to say that and think it than to do it, well it makes me tremble a little because of the past, but you get the idea.
Response #6:
Re: "It is eas[ier] to say that and think it than to do it". Amen. And we've got no indication that Epictetus walked the walk in addition to talking the talk. We DO know that he was not the object of satanic attack because he was not a believer. So the pressures we face are greater than the ones he (or other unbelievers) did (or do). Remember that every day you are fighting this fight, and every day you are facing pressures and overcoming them. As Wellington is reported by some to have said,

"They came on in the same old way, and we sent them back in the same old way".

Similarly, whatever tests we face, whatever persecution from the evil one we have to endure in the future, it may be of a different magnitude, but it won't be any different in substance from the resistance and harassment we're all dealing with right now. And the Lord will always be with us, never abandoning us or forsaking us (Heb.13:5b) – just as He is now.
So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
Hebrews 13:6 NIV

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8 NIV
In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #7:
Thank you, it's been hard being away from each other. I just hope it's not much longer.

[omitted]

The unfortunate thing is this puts us without a home again.

[omitted]

I'm praying I don't have to go back in the camper. I'm praying really hard. Sometimes if I think about it too long I completely have a breakdown so I've decided I'm just going with the flow and lean on God. Hopefully something will open up [update: it did! But the family still needs our prayers].

[omitted]

I think we are getting closer to becoming prisoners of the new digital system they have been working on for years. The Stellar Blockchain will be the one that will be connecting the worlds financial system. I've been watching the open ledger where all the currencies in every country are being tokenized and uploaded on the blockchain. Pretty soon we will all have our own wallets on our phones. We will be able to send money to any country and when it arrives it's already in that countries currency. It will also be very fast ( 5 seconds) and it won't cost much. I noticed USAA updated the other day to directly connect with PLAID, which is connected to the Stellar blockchain. Stellar Lumens (XLM) will be a token the world will know soon. XRP is already known and is the distraction so they could build XLM. Africa is already on it. I think XLM is going to be like Bitcoin. __ was making Bitcoin at the age of 12. He had a whole bunch of it. We had seen on TV all the fear tactics about Bitcoin, how people were going to jail etc. so we made him get rid of it. Thank goodness he isn't mad at us.

Now we realize that everything they tell you on the news is a lie and they put fear into everyone. They want to keep us out so they have you looking one way while they are doing there thing the other way. Now that they have the system built there going to introduce it to America soon and the entire world .That's why Trump said not to long ago he was going to make America the crypto capital of the world. He isn't lying this time. His arrogant self can't help himself and of course it's time. Isn't it just amazing how the world turns. 

Anyway, hope you guys get to drying out quickly. 

Thanks again for everything,
Response #7:
Interesting info. My financial knowledge is very limited (as are my finances, LOL). I'm not worried about it. You can't take your stellar lumens or bitcoins or dollars to heaven with you, and most people who are obsessed with money aren't going there anyway (e.g., Matt.6:24).
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 19:23-24 NKJV
On that note, we do need to deal with finances and work et al. to survive in this world, and it is good and godly that we do so, remembering always that Mammon is not our master; Jesus Christ is our Lord, Master, Savior and God.

I pray for you two daily, and I know I'm not the only one doing so. Sometimes these tests last a very long time – by our lights. Yet we know that for the Lord, "one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2Pet.3:8 NKJV). Abraham had to wait until he was a hundred for the fulfillment of the promise – but it was fulfilled. God has not forgotten about you.
For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5b NKJV
And we are witnesses all to the truth of the above – even when times are hard.

And you HAVE been blessed. One of the people I know who is praying for you is living in a house and is not enduring the forced separation or day to day insecurity that you are having to cope with, has been praying and waiting even longer for her family to be saved. That hasn't happened yet either. But we trust the Lord.

Re: "so I've decided I'm just going with the flow and lean on God". That is wisdom. He is in control of all things. Job got depressed and frustrated so that the man famously known for patience finally lost his. But God eventually restored everything and much more. Hannah lost patience but poured her heart out to the Lord as a result, and He gave the son she craved and many children more. If we didn't have to wait on the Lord, there would be no tempering of our faith.

Like you, I look upon situations like yours and my friend's (and so many more I have come to know over the years of doing this ministry), and I'm very tempted to say "that's long enough!" But of course only God knows the perfect timing for all things. And we who belong to Him are called "believers", because we are people who trust Him by the definition of our name. So we make it our policy to trust Him regardless of all other considerations, regardless of all disappointments or threats or troubles or trials or tribulations. For we know, that in the end, His Will will be done – and that there is only blessing ahead.
(32) Remember the days gone by, when you first saw the light, when you persevered through that terrible trial of abuse. (33) For you were publicly exposed to humiliation and persecution, and shared the lot of others who experienced the same. (34) You suffered from my chains and accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you possessed a more valuable estate and a more lasting one. (35) So do not throw away this conviction of yours – it leads to a great reward. (36) You need to keep persevering so that you may carry off in victory what has been promised – after you have accomplished God's will. (37) For yet a little while, "how short, how short [the wait]", and "He who is coming shall come, nor will He delay". (38) "Then my one [made] righteous by his faith will live because of his faith, but if he shrinks back, My heart takes no pleasure in him (Hab.2:3-4)." (39) Now we are not possessed of cowardly apostasy which leads to destruction, but we have faith which leads to [eternal] life.
Hebrews 10:32-39
We trust Him to get us through and He always does (and always will do).
In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
Isaiah 25:9 NIV
Keeping you and your family in my daily prayers, my friend.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #8:
Thanks for your reply Bob and as usual you are spot on.

I'm not worried about it either. I know truly in my heart that what happens day by day in this world is in God's plan. We can't change it if it's in his will.

Isn't that true...You can't take your stellar lumens or bitcoins or dollars to heaven with you. Thank goodness because if you could I wouldn't want to be there...lol. I'm tired of dealing with the need of money and assets. 

I wanted to mention all this not that it really matters or that anything needs to be changed. I can just see the how things are changing in the world towards world control...kinda like what you mentioned in your last email. In any case, as an old friend just mentioned to me today, all that's going on is possibly only laying the groundwork for Babylon becoming Babylon, especially in the foreign policy and economic arenas.

We most definitely don't need to worry.

Only have faith 

I'm very thankful for everything and for all our blessings. I will be happy without or with which ever he chooses me to have. Its been 13 years of being bounced around without a home but I can think of more good times than bad and I have learned that you can go without a lot and still be happy.Thats pretty much just food and clothes, nothing else. I'd rather be in my place now than have the love of money that never gives you any satisfaction. I've been praying a lot lately and in my heart I feel our time is coming and we will have a home soon. However that happens I don't know. But I truly believe it.

After your email I have really felt it again. Thank you for all your kind words and encouragement.

I'll pray your friend that is waiting for family to be saved. That's a tough one. I'm so thankful __ has a home. That's so important and very needed to stay strong. 

I'm still praying for __

Thank you Bob for all your prayers. 
Response #8:
Re: "We can't change it if it's in his will." Amen! And that is something we ALL need to learn better and embrace more fully. Easy enough when all is well and rolling in our direction. But what if we are suffering the trials of Job? Those too were God's Will. 
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 NIV 
The only way Job could have passed the last test was just to continue to trust God absolutely as he had been doing, knowing that the Lord had his best interests at heart no matter what he was experiencing. Pretty hard to do – even for us who HAVE the Book of Job. It's all about spiritual growth. The closer to the Lord we grow, the more we, like the little children who came to Him and whose child-like trust He commended to us all, will be holding tight His hand and letting HIM guide US . . . rather than trying to pull Him in our direction. Left or right, that is a mistake. Because there is no true happiness in this world . . . only in Him. And there is no true security in this world . . . only in Him.

That's interesting about bitcoin. I remember being solicited way back then too. Could have had a hundred of them for a dollar. LOL, then I could have bought you guys a nice house without even denting my bottom line! But God had other plans – for me and for you. The ride hasn't been the smoothest, but would we really want it any other way than God's way? His way is the only good way. Soon enough, we'll be laughing about this over a wonderful banquet in resurrection and glory.

Until then, we trust Him . . . no matter what.

Keeping guys in my daily prayers for all these matters.

Bob L.
Question #9:
Hi Bob, 

I have a minute this afternoon to email you. [omitted]

We thank the Lord everyday for helping __ get through this last year. __ has come a long ways and has grown spiritually so much. 

[omitted]

Thank you for all your prayers. I meant to respond to your email a few emails back when you mentioned helping us with a home if you had invested in Bitcoin. Well just so you know your thought means so much to us. Sometimes just knowing the heart is there means more than gold. Thank you. 

The world is changing fast. We are close to going into a New World Order. They have built a new internet financial system making money (Stable coins) move across the world. It's built on the Stellar Blockchain. They are about to introduce USDC...the world's largest digital dollar. Here is a link. https://www.circle.com/

I'm curious how they are going to implement this. All I can say is you can't believe anything they say. So many were deceived over the COVID vaccine. They are going to be lied to again. 

Just one step closer to the beginning of the Tribulation. 

I'm really struggling lately looking at property and helping others when I desperately want a home. It's been so long and too long. The idea again of not knowing where we are going in 6 weeks is also heavy on my heart. 12 years of not having a stable place and out of the 12 years 6 of them in a camper. I can't even bear to think of camping again. 

It's hard being away from each other so when we see each other on the weekends it's really nice. __ is holding together well and in good spirits. I just have to keep reminding myself things could be worse and unfortunately I think things are going to in the future but I pray for a small break for right now, just for a little while. 

Thank you for your prayers. 
Response #9:
Thanks for the links. [omitted]

Re: "Just one step closer to the beginning of the Tribulation." That is surely true. It really does seem as if this sort of thing – along with everything else that is happening technologically, socially and politically – can't go on much longer.

I continue to keep you and your situation in my daily prayers. Some good people, it seems, just have to wait longer for deliverance than others. Only God knows why – but He is the One with the plan. So we keep trusting and waiting . . . and loving Jesus beyond all else.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #10:
Thanks. Congrats on Hebrews chapter nine by the way! 

Something else I was just curious about is whether or not there are Jews of physical descent out there consisting of peoples from multiple ethnicities instead of just one, two, or three. What I'm asking is (pardon if it's, again, a silly or strange question), since when did so many Jews become European? I see so many Jewish people not only in Israel but around the world who look European. Yet I don't see how most of them could have looked that way in ancient biblical times especially since Europe is not the Middle East (which is exactly where Israel is located). However, seeing as how many Jews during the Tribulation will assemble to Jerusalem from around the world during the Tribulation under the ministry of Moses, Elijah, and the 144,000, do you think there are Jews of physical descent from many different types of ethnicities and nations? I know God said that Israel was a "chosen race" (singular in that sense?). But could it be said that true physical Israel is more a people than a specific ethnicity alone (and that is what is meant by the words "chosen race")? Of course you want to avoid antisemitism but it just seems hard to believe that we have so many Jews who are European or Middle Eastern but that there aren't many of them of different ethnicities outside of the Middle East and Europe. Since there were twelve tribes, could that make for an argument that the Jewish "race" consists of peoples from around the world of different ethnicities other than what I just mentioned? Someone in a group a while back commented that a lot of Jews in Israel and around the world are so only religiously or culturally but not actually so physically which is true. However, the dangers of trying to pin down any of the details does run afoul of antisemitism. But I think the question I've just asked is more of a general question dealing with a more general situation, so not quite as risky I would imagine. 

[omitted]

If you could just say a prayer for __ who isn't doing too well spiritually. True for years although __ has always been (and still is) firm in his faith. That is to say, nothing to do with heading toward apostasy or anything like that but me and the rest of my family can confirm that we've never seen that many of the fruits of the Spirit in __ life (some but not much or as it should be). There are anger and temperament issues involved (very little patience) and a lot of bitterness and hurt from years gone by that __ hasn't dealt with but has continued to bury on the inside. 

__ also recently has been having a debate with someone (not the pastor but someone else) at church who believes those who fell away from the faith were "never saved to begin with." __ disagrees with that but thinks a believer can go so far as to reject Christ and still be saved. Both are of course false but when his pastor mentioned the possibility that salvation could be lost (this pastor doesn't believe that but is open to the idea), __ (when talking privately to me about it) raised his voice in anger and said "you can't lose your salvation (his reaction to his pastor's slight wavering)!" If __ knew some of the things I believed Dr. Luginbill, oh, he'd be mad! Those would be discussions I would not want to have and have always avoided for a reason and will continue to do so. There is a lot of stuff I simply stay out of because __ and some others in my family are not known for handling disagreements well. If it is just between family members and __ is involved, it can even come to yelling. Heck, I've told __ that my family are not like his. They are very different. __ can have more civil and constructive discussions with his family but that is not so much the case with mine. I don't mean to gossip but it is frustrating and a test of my faith and patience. 

I'll say no more. If you could just pray for overall spiritual health (growth, progress, and production). I'm concerned about __ and not sure what to expect when and if __ comes to experience the tribulation like the rest of us. 

P.S. So after talking with __ and praying about it a bit I actually changed my mind and decided to try out a dating app or two. Having thought about it a little bit more, it actually has more advantages than I realized. That way, (just like I told __ and unlike the situation I have in a physical church and some of their groups), I can post my site and Ichthys in my profile and it gives people an idea of my spiritual values ahead of time so that, hopefully, there aren't any late surprises about some of the things I believe after we've been chatting for however long (assuming anyone reads any of the material, so even that may not work). They can see a lot of that stuff ahead of time which could save me a lot of time and effort. That way, if these things are deal breakers, hypothetically I would imagine they wouldn't even reach out to me to begin with. If they really are onboard with the things that I highly value and they're interested, then hopefully they will reach out. It may take a while to get results or it may not work at all so I would take that as a sign that it just isn't the Lord's plan for me. But you don't know until you try. 

In His grace and power, 
Response #10:
Thanks! Hebrews chapter 9 was difficult, but it did go quicker than I had imagined . Four chapters left – the longest and the hardest – but with two plus years to go, God helping me, I plan to get this done first [series complete; see the link].

On the Jewish race, I suppose it depends what you mean by "European". It would be a mistake, I think, to judge this issue by looking at the Middle East today. And, in any case, I think you could take a lot of people from most of those countries, dress them in European fashion, and they would look plenty "European" as well. In any case, the demography has changed a great deal since Roman times.

In terms of "who is a Jew", indeed, this is something only God knows. Many lines die out entirely while others expand. Think of all of the English blood lines that have died off, and yet there are plenty of people in that country. We also know that "not all Israel is Israel", so in the end it's the faith of Abraham that counts. And even after the Messiah returns, when Israel is gathered in the desert at the first phase of the regathering, there will be those who still refuse to believe. So while we can't figure it out, God has it all in hand, and that is the only thing that matters. Otherwise, I'm not sure what application this would have to our faith and practice. Happy to discuss it further. One thing though. The twelve tribes are pretty well intermingled (though again God knows who is which and why), so I would avoid trying to assign them to different places. This has been the genesis of some really nasty heresies in the past.

Thanks for the job update. I will be praying for you. Congrats and passing your "integrity test". Many would have failed that one. 

Interesting about your family. I do understand about certain people being essentially unapproachable on such issues. You are probably wise not to cause unnecessary division, holding your fire unless and until there is a suitable time.

Also interesting about the dating app. I don't know anything about these. Although in grad school I had a friend whose dad owned a dating service back when it was all done manually before computers got involved. They had people fill out long and detailed questionnaires, but when it came time to match, the only three things they ever actually took into account were age, race and religion.

Thanks for the prayers. My old Latin PTL agreed to come back to U of L after my present one quit at the last minute. I am thrilled about this, because she is very good at retaining and recruiting students, so while I'm sad to lose the other one, it's a "win/win" in the end . . . that is, if we can fight our way through the application system. I think it's easier to get on with the CIA than with U of L.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #11:
 Re: "Otherwise, I'm not sure what application this would have to our faith and practice. Happy to discuss it further."

No worries, I asked this more casually in passing out of curiosity so that I don't think there is that much of a need for a long drawn out discussion, not even close ( I think you basically answered my it). Just a few quick confirmation questions to clarify to make sure I understood you... 

Ultimately (and basically to repeat what you said), you are saying that the Jewish race today is scattered and intermingled and, therefore, much different than it was in Roman and/or pre-cross days (hence you think it is a mistake to judge based on a lot of what we see in the Middle East today)? Ultimately though, there is much we can't know or fully comprehend so that we will have to wait until all these things are brought into the light, especially during the Tribulation and on into the Millennium? Yes, faith is what matters (I agree), but it was the physical lineage I was more passingly curious about which you seemed to have addressed here so that we can't really wade into the details (which is perfectly fine with me). I think I"m understanding you correctly here and did I get you right? If so, then I'm more than happy to take all this as an answer and move on, no problem. 

Re: "One thing though. The twelve tribes are pretty well intermingled (though again God knows who is which and why), so I would avoid trying to assign them to different places. This has been the genesis of some really nasty heresies in the past."

Oh yeah, no worries and I totally get that and agree. I wasn't trying to assign any specific places since they are scattered all over the world. Yes, I think I've heard of one of these "heresies." There is one mentioned on your site about the Celtics (the ancient people of Great Britain) being a "lost tribe" of Israel or something like that. Is that one example of what you mean here? I hate when people say things like that and, like you, I take issue with it. 

Finally, when you say, "intermingled," do you mean that you think the Jews have married into other races or that they are only intermingled in the sense that they are presently living within other nations but without engaging in a lot of interracial dating? 
Response #11:
Yes, that is pretty much the way I see it. On the intermingling, I can't see any reason why someone born of a Jewish parent would not be Jewish in God's eyes. The state of Israel considers anyone born of a Jewish mother "Jewish", but God knows the entire line of everyone, so there are likely many who are Jewish and don't know it. At least, that is the way I see it. Not that it matters. In the end, the entire Church is "the Israel of God" in the resurrection (Rom.11:1ff.; Gal.6:16; see the link), so again it all comes down to faith.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #12:
 Hmmmm....did the Catholic Church just vote in the False Prophet?

I know we have no clues in scripture as to his ethnicity or nationality - but still very interesting (especially considering our eschatological timeline). 

I can't even imagine what must take place in order to usher in the Antichrist in 16 months onward.

Honestly, Dr. Luginbill, your teachings are a gift that keeps on giving. Thank you so much for your steadfastness and hard work that you have sown in order for us to reap. We really, really appreciate it!

Our continued prayers are yours,
Response #12:
Re: "The False Prophet": Others have speculated about this as well. The fact that he's from the US (as antichrist almost certainly will be), is interesting along those lines. It could well be that the RCC will the all-purpose receptacle into which all other religions will be melded as part of antichrist's religion focused on worshiping himself and the devil. We'll have to wait and see. Many scenarios are possible. Along with all the other political, social and technological developments, it's another reason to keep our eyes open – and double down on spiritual preparation for what may happen very soon. That is the only sort of preparation that will be of any use to use once the Tribulation begins.

Thanks so much for all your kind and encouraging words, my friend! Keeping you and your family in my daily prayers. Thanks so much for yours!

How is your health doing?

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #13:
Hi Dr. L:

I know - so much speculation, yet I do see how the Catholic church could easily be the receptacle. I can also see how a perceived "older and wiser" Pope endorsing someone as young as the AC when he comes on the scene can have impact on the masses - with swift support (Catholics re: the Pope is fandom at its finest - and they go for all of it hook, line, and sinker. Can't say much better for evangelicals with false teaching).

Another odd bit, I recall about 5-7 years ago researching Rosh Hashanah in 2026 and thought it interesting that the projected start date is September 11. 

Yes, agreed that spiritual preparation is the only way to walk through it. It is so sobering - yet I get excited in knowing our king is coming (but, Lord, help us until that day).

My eye is healed and good except for occasional redness on skin (aftermath of radiation). My knee(s) take turns bothering me - but there's also good days. Thank you for asking! I really appreciate it.

In Jesus' name,
Response #13:
Good points. 

Re: "I do see how the Catholic church could easily be the receptacle". Agreed. But the beast my opt for something completely new into which that church – and all other religions – are subsumed. If it is the RCC, well, there are plenty of evangelical and other Protestant groups even today making common cause with that church, so . . .

Re: "Rosh Hashanah". I had seen too that the festival cycle is early that year (it can be up to a month later the way it is currently computed). But the tradition for setting these dates goes back only to the 4th century A.D. at the earliest (and there are ins and outs with that as well). So it's anyone's guess how close these dates correspond to "God's calendar". The Tribulation will start in fall; that is about all we can say for certain on that score.

Re: "I get excited in knowing our king is coming" Amen! Me too!  "Lord, help us until that day" Amen to that too!

Happy to hear that your eye is doing better. I understand about the knees! How are your legs and lungs doing? Are things working out for the situation with __?

Keeping you and yours in my daily prayers, my friend – and thanks so much for yours!

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #14:
Dear Bob,

I look at the picture of the Catholic conclave and I can't help seeing Philistine and Canaanite worship of Dagon with all their miters lined up. Could this be a foreshadow of the Antichrist's universal church? (I suspect you've already seen the picture. If not and you want, I can send it separately so it can be easily deleted.)

In our Lord,
Response #14:
The RCC as "Babylon" and the pope as "the beast" or "the false prophet" is a theme of interpretation that goes back to the Reformation. But Babylon is a country and antichrist is a political leader who rules Babylon. Whether or not a pope will be the ruler of his "church" (i.e., the false prophet of Revelation 13) remains to be seen. That is one of a great number of possible eventualities – but certainly not the only one. 

When it comes to the RCC church itself, its symbolism and practices, there is virtually nothing that would not cause a Bible believing, Bible reading Christian angst. Their transmogrification of the Levitical priesthood and temple paraphernalia and practices (altars, priests, feast days, holy water, incense, etc. with, as you note, an added layer of paganism throughout) if not the receptacle could well be the pattern for the beast's "church". But again, we'll have to wait and see how much is patterned on the past and how much is "new".

Keeping you in my prayers, my friend!

Thanks for yours too.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #15:
Hi Bob,

I never thought of Vatican City as a country, though it is apparently autonomous. I was wondering about the antichrist's religion. Looking at the photo of all the cardinals in their Dagon hats started my speculation. That did seem pagan with a Christian veneer. I have just finished my currant reading of Exodus and Leviticus and wondered how much of that the new religion would adopt. The priests of today have their holy garments only worn on special occasions, burn their sacred incense, their "holy water" for the ritual cleansing of baptism and their "holy bread" for communion. On the whole, I'm seeing the Tribulation in dress rehearsal. I don't have the depth of knowledge you do so I have to ask. Sorry for that.

An example of the dress rehearsal is this new RealID. That ID could provide the basis for denying banking, buying of anything and requiring it for a business license, etc., as it does today for air travel. While I realize it's not the mark. I believe Satan is in control of much of government as well as most churches and they're practicing for the big show. I wonder if the new government will have the same level of greed and incompetence as today's? I'm inclined to think it will.

Thanks for your prayers, Bob, I appreciate it greatly. You and yours remain in mine as well.

In our Lord Jesus,
P.S. You just opened up a whole new line of speculation. If they adopt the killing of people who offend, as in Leviticus, that could explain the loss of 1/3.
Response #15:
Re: "pagan with a Christian veneer". I think that describes the RCC pretty well.

Re: the coming religion and world system of control, no doubt all these things are contributory factors. We won't know the specifics until later on. Not that it matters greatly, especially at this point. We know it's going to be difficult and there won't be any godly way around that. So we have to prepare ourselves to stay true to our faith no matter what. Martyrdom for those who refuse to compromise on the truth will be a very real possibility. Everything else is just details. Nothing can be done to prepare physically, only spiritually. Yes, there will be persecution of those who refuse to comply. That's why it's called "the Great Persecution" (link).
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me."
Matthew 24:9 NIV

"Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown."
Revelation 2:10 NIV

"If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.” This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God's people.
Revelation 2:10 NIV
Thanks for those prayers, my friend! Keeping them coming on this end as well.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #16:
Hi Bob,

England has descended into a kind of insanity. The Supreme Court ruling that a woman indeed is a woman has not gone down well at all. So the weekly pro-Palestine marches here have now become Trans rights ones too. The debate on both issues becoming more and more heated and violent by the day. Recent local elections have lurched towards the Reform party which is a right wing populist party that claims they will stop the gender madness and send the migrant dinghies away. So not a lot different from what you are seeing Stateside.

There is also a lot more surveillance and prison like gadgetry around which has become very alarming. I went to a famous cheap clothing shop to buy some casuals for the increasingly hot Spring weather and I was only allowed out from the till point when I scanned a barcode from my receipt. It was train station style barriers I had to scan to leave through. These barriers are becoming more and more common and everything from taps (faucets), hand dryers, light switches and doorways are using motion sensors.

It doesn't take a great leap to imagine how all this can be used to lock out anyone who won't take the mark of the beast from every facet of society. I know the Bible focuses on just the buy or sell part but most of society is bound up in being a customer or end user of some stripe so if you are not a customer, then that immediately closes off so much, from access to drinking water to using a bathroom/restrooms etc. The technology is already in place and will be even more sophisticated in a few years time. It will be impossible to get through it without a 110% trust in the Lord!

Other crazy changes is that children have their own trolleys/carts in the supermarkets and even their own checkouts now!? How long before adults pretend and dress like they are children? Trans-age people?

I also saw a problem on T.V. that was so idolatrous that it was sickening to watch. It's called 'The Assembly' (which I know from you is the translation from ecclesia) The show is about a famous celebrity having a televised gathering amongst fans with learning difficulties. As people with autism etc are typically over enthusiastic and disarmingly candid about their strong feelings, they have been exploited in a TV show to gush all over an actor as though they are a deity. Probably one of the most hard to watch things I have ever seen but no doubt this is designed to normalise group worship of a person (Antichrist) to a typically secular audience, to whom worship would be an uncomfortable and unusual experience. Sadly all the people commenting think it can only be a positive experience...

https://youtu.be/nknvQCQTup8?si=MfujklMMo44BZnnq

It reminds me of another tactic the enemy uses to have us over a barrel by society. How he normalises something bad through making the request looks so benign and harmless at the beginning that you would look like a monster if you said no. We can't say that's a creepy and exploitative TV show idea as parents with children 'on the spectrum' who are so desperate for their children to be 'positively represented in the media' will label us as either a killjoy or worse, a bigot.

The devil uses this strategy a lot. The gay rights movement shifted to mainstream acceptance with gay men wanting to hold the hands of their partners dying from AIDS. Obviously no one was going to say 'no' to that without looking like a monster but saying 'yes' meant sliding down the slippery slope to where we are now. It led to same sex civil partnerships then to marriage and this kicked the door wide open for the LGBTQ+ movement to walk right in with very few people knowing what the + would lead to. It has been a startlingly effective Trojan horse that people are only now realising what hit them!

Another example of this strategy being used. An AI robotic dog used for seniors with dementia. Again all comments support this as only a monster would say no right? You can hear the arguments now...'You don't want my struggling grandmother to have comfort in her last days? Are you a monster?'

https://youtu.be/Yb0Xs7ATiI0?si=qY-CZQsSP5ucg7yK

See how the 'over the barrel' tactic works? Very slick. I sometimes also call it the thin end of the wedge. There is something scary and unpalatable they want to push so they give you the thin palatable end of it first in such a seemingly benign way that to call it out would look like paranoia. Someone else referred to this as the 'war on noticing'.

Then again...this is all 'of the world' and we are not of the world so really we just have to keep blinkered and keep going! Amazing though how fast everything has changed in less than a decade! With the Antichrist and his demonic cohorts on earth, I am sure we are going to see a lot more fast moving and shocking things going forward. Not always easy but I try to keep my eyes on the prize and not be moved from my fighting position. I try to let it all wash over me now like water over a duck's back. I find the more I keep myself busy doing what the Lord wants me to do, the less time I get to watch the madness around me which is all to the good!

In Jesus,
p.s. Received a package of two CDs from R.B. Thieme Jr this morning! I looked at the ministry over the spring break and enjoyed listening to him doing his evening classes. I know he was OSAS and he may teach the false Rapture theory. Now they have arrived and I see how busy I am and will continue to be, I don't know how much I will be incorporating them into my day to day study. If I do listen to anything that clashes with anything I have learned from Ichthys, I will let you know as I trust your authority in these matters. 
p.p.s. glad to see this week's postings was about the dangers of the emergent church. I know that series I sent you (Wide is the gate) has its own doctrinal false teachings but it is very useful on false teaching that is surrounding us all now in the church visible. Incidentally one of the speakers from that series who is an ex- new ager has recently uploaded a new video about the panentheism that is creeping into the church and how widespread this teaching is and its overlap with quantum physics.
https://youtu.be/mKTMCsJtoCI?si=5_wN2t6rCir0zlFq
It's crazy how much false teaching is abroad now. Thankfully by staying away from the church visible and staying in my Bible and your ministry I have largely managed to avoid false teaching since being a baby Christian. I have you to thank for that! It's been hard being on my own all this time without face to face fellowship and at times it has been incredible lonely but I have got better at being patient with it and it has forced me to grow up quicker and become stronger in my faith than lazily relying on whatever a church building would tell me. I would never go back to the church visible again this side of the resurrection...I just know that most of them now in England are deeply compromised in one way or another and will lead their sheep to the beast soon. I have been forced due to these circumstances to stay on my spiritual mettle and I think I am none the worse for it and hopefully this resolve not to compromise and determination to stay with the truth will see me through the Tribulation to the other side where I will meet the Lord as well as you and other believers in the air! Won't that be worth waiting for!!
Response #16:
Thanks for the links (old and new)!

Re: "Won't that be worth waiting for!!" You know it!

Very interesting observation about the wedge strategy. We've seen that a great deal here in the US. For example in CA it was felt unfair that a young person stealing a pack of gum could receive a felony conviction, so they set something like a $900 limit below which shoplifting is merely a misdemeanor. Now of course everything in the drugstores (the few that haven't yet closed) is behind lock and key so that it's virtually impossible to buy anything unless you have a lot of time to invest, because people were coming in and filling up their backpacks – careful to stay under $900. No doubt there will be much more of this "regularizing" going on once the Tribulation begins.

On Thieme, you've no doubt read the files that say something about my experiences (link). Didn't know they had CDs now. I know this is old technology in the present, but when I studied under the Col.'s ministry, the bulk of it was on reel-to-reel tapes, and to save space, there were two lessons on each tape (you needed a special recorder to play just part of the tracks otherwise you couldn't make sense of two lessons playing at once). Yes, the ministry is pre-Trib and OSAS. I've moved on (forward) on a lot of other issues as well (trichotomy wrong; dichotomy right, e.g.). You'll find other things as well. There is "good stuff" there (but you'd be better off reviewing the Basics series).

Keeping you and __ in my daily prayers.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #17:
Hi Bob,

Yes I had heard about California and couldn't believe it was true as it sounded so crazy.
Indeed it is that thin end of the wedge again...

It reminds me of the boys/men in women's changing rooms that has been happening both there and here. The thin end being that some youngsters have gender dysphoria now (isn't that medicalising puberty though?) so they need what is most comfortable but I read yesterday one woman's account (who herself had been severely abused in the past) of being in an open plan changing room with women and children and a bearded man just walked in and sat down to watch them all and the swimming pool manager wouldn't throw him out! The poor woman threw her clothes on whilst sopping wet and said she has to now drive to a swimming pool much further away to feel safe.

Heard other horror stories of young women in the US forced to share dorm rooms with aggressive young boys who think they are women.

They seem to get het up about a small trifling thing that is unlikely to be an issue for the vast majority of people but then push through something so idiotically harmful that then affects everyone. I knows the context is very different but it does remind me of 'straining gnats and swallowing camels'. Just really hits home that we can't fix this place and if we try then we end up making a bigger mess then when we started out!

Our Lord said that there would come a time that women would be glad they never had children. I know this was about the Tribulation but I am already glad. I can't imagine the minefield parents of young children have to step through now especially if the are trying to bring up children in the Word. The bad influences and pressures seem infinitely more pervasive and hostile than when I was young. It would be impossible to shield a child away from everything that is happening now unless you joined some Amish style community, though I have even seen photos of their teens looking at Smart phones so there really is no escaping the internet at all!

Speaking of the internet..I saw something on YouTube yesterday that made me want to pull my hair out (when does it not though). I think the channel was Christian Belief Network (CBN) saying that there was a revival of faith happening in the UK!

https://youtu.be/98R2yuYsM-Q?si=VWJXNE9ZK9EYO0af

A real revival would be wonderful but wouldn't that necessitate a love of scripture and for it to have central focus to people coming to faith? Or do they mean people flooding into buildings to wave their hands in the air to Hillsong and taking up meditation and 'modern tongues'?

For quite a while now, England's church visible was close to non existent but I will safely assume that a 'revival' will just be doubling down on false teaching or wolves in sheep's clothing on steroids. Without even stepping foot in any one of these 'revival churches', I know what it will be like. It will be a smorgasbord of emergent church practices with some Christian terms scattered around. It's maddening that these days, just my saying that the Bible would be central to any real revival makes me look completely unreasonable to these types.

The attitude seems to be 'well we are all doing something that looks religious in a church building setting and we mention Jesus' name a lot! What more do you want from us? Can't God be grateful for that?!' I guess it is a lot like saying "Look! I dug some vegetables up and I am so proud of them. This makes me very religious and special and needed in the church". Or maybe even more disturbing is the rise of some sort of militarised church movement seen here (called the 'King's Army')

https://youtu.be/bEzddhU33fU?si=q9IGEM-aFT8EBqW0

In England the church visible is either nowhere to be seen or gleefully going 10 million miles in the wrong direction! Honestly it makes me want to scream! And whenever I mention the lack of Bible study and discernment then that is seen as 'quenching the movement of the Spirit' or even that I am some sort of Pharisee!! It's either dead or extremely wishy washy and you can't call it out or be called out as being ungrateful as people are 'trying their best to play church'. Aargh! 

Another thing I saw that set me off.. GB News (which is an alt-right populist news channel) saying that people are flooding into Catholic churches!

https://youtu.be/vNPEb2nBmUY?si=Q7CDzIfbPlMobKzv

From experience with my family, it is almost impossible to convince a Catholic that they need Jesus to be saved. They are convinced that they already have Jesus and the Holy Spirit and yet they pour disdain on the Bible and whoever reads it. They believe the papacy and the traditions of men they have are far superior. So this news to me is 'out of the frying pan, into the nuclear reactor'. Satan successfully uses religion like the RCC to divert dissatisfied and empty atheists away from the Gospel that saves. These days I would say that unequivocally the RCC is a cult and really hard to bring people out of. Like all cults, it ensnares entire families so you often leave the RCC and have to leave your whole family behind.

As you say, we will just see more and more of this going forward and when we get very vocal about not joining the religion of the beast, things will be very ugly indeed as no doubt they will claim that we are rejecting the true Christ! I am a VERY stubborn person naturally so I am already digging my heels in and not budging over the truth. I am totally unwilling to compromise on the Word at all. I know this will make me deadly unpopular going forward but I keep thinking of how glorious it will be to be in fellowship with the Lord and real believers forever in eternity.
It will all be worth it and I won't regret a single pain or sacrifice I had to go through to make this race to the very end and across the tape at the finish line!

Marana-tha!

In Jesus,
p.s. I don't know why I ordered those CDs really. I realise that to listen to them would be a backwards step and if I found something that didn't make sense then I wouldn't even be able to ask what was meant...so no I don't think it would be wise to go in that direction. Think it was a momentary lapse for me. Even the teaching that Thieme did that I enjoyed listening to had something I really disagreed with. He said that thought sins or sins of the mind were the worst of all. I understand what he means in that the heart is really where all the evil of mankind comes from and really that does start with boastful thoughts but in my own experience of my walk, as a baby Christian I wrestled to get sins of the hand under control first and then as I began to mature I started to wrestle with sins of the tongue. I know to tame the tongue completely is impossible but I also know with experience we get better at it. I really feel that sinful thoughts is the final battlefield and to be fought over once a believer had better mastery over the other two. It didn't make sense to me at all that sins of the mind were gross sins. So this is the problem that I wouldn't be able to get feedback on why he taught this. You're right. I don't think this will be a good addition to your ministry and will stick with what I already have as I already have enough to be going on with!
Response #17:
Re: "They seem to get het up about a small trifling thing that is unlikely to be an issue for the vast majority of people but then push through something so idiotically harmful that then affects everyone." That is the obvious problem and the wedge. But what happens as a result? People – and many of them Christians at least in name – get sucked into political reaction as a result. The devil has a way of ramping things up – and they are really getting ramped up lately.

Re: "revival". This goes back a long way, probably to the "Great Awakening" in this country. In evangelical terms, "revival" means numbers, hoopla, emotion, getting on the news. If one person turns from their evil and begins spiritual recovery, they don't much care. If 100 people show up at a tent meeting, come down to the altar, carry on emotionally, etc., that is a "revival" . . . even if no one is actually saved and no one grows a whit. Your take on this is exactly right. If anything, performances like this act to distract or even to decouple believers who may be inclined to do what the Lord actually wants from any spiritual progress at all. After all, circuses are fun and exciting. Studying and learning the truth then "walking the true walk" is much more difficult.

Re: "vegetables" and "the RCC is a cult and really hard to bring people out of". These things should be obvious to anyone who has read any of the Bible. But in fact the RCC seems to be growing while erstwhile Protestant groups which once esteemed the truth are declining (in striking parallel to their own disregard of the truth). If a group really is enthusiastic for the truth, that will put off most people but ought to be attractive to the small number who really do want to grow closer to Jesus Christ. But for those in groups which no longer stand for much of anything, the RCC will seem attractive: they know, at least, what they are trying to do and they are sure and confident in their prosecution of their (godless) ideas and ideals. Zeal is attractive, even when it is misplaced (or even especially when it is misplaced). Seen in that context, it's no wonder the Communists and the Nazis were so alluring to so many in their hey days.

Re: "stubborn": when it comes to sticking with the truth and resisting lies, that is a GOOD thing!

No worries about Col. Thieme. As mentioned, I think you'd be better served by re-reading the Basics series at Ichthys (link). At this point and out of the original context, his books are better than his tapes in terms of material for spiritual growth, IMHO.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
Question #18:
Thanks Bob for the boost!

Yes indeed the devil is fond of ratcheting things up to fever pitch. I have noticed that as soon as a person starts looking to the Lord and then getting serious about the Lord and then getting prepared for real battle through ministry, at each of these stages (after salvation, spiritual growth and production) then the attacks from the enemy become thick and fast. I guess similarly a believer moves from being shocked as if something strange is happening to become used to the battle and so expect to be shot at and so prepare and push through accordingly. I have become better now at not taking these attacks personally whilst growing in confidence in the Lord that He will get me through no matter what.

I do admit though that when the battle has been ferocious and seemingly impossible, I have spent too long sitting in the dirt and crying about it but what the impossibility of this battle has taught me is that I can't do anything without God. I realise that not just knowing that but embracing that means that I have reached a level of maturity now. Even my prayers reflect that now, that I know I can't get through even one day without Him and I know saying this and believing it in my heart glorifies Him.

I try to get the right balance between not being ignorant of Satan's devices but also not being overwhelmed by his all encompassing web of lies and not being tricked into abandoning important territory to instead fight on his terms without the authority and protection of God. As Paul has shown us, whenever we take up a position to fight that God has not ordained for us to do then that fight will be a fleshly one that we will soon be praying to God to take us out of! (Been there, done that sadly.)

I can understand the lure of being tempted by the eyes to think that doing visible things that other people can see is doing MORE for the Lord but that isn't true. I know my own weaknesses, I long for face to face fellowship and be surrounded by people who love the Lord (who doesn't) but I am willing to wait until the other side of the Resurrection for it, when I am with the Lord Himself, THEN I can be sure of other people's faith and intentions. I have already gone on for 8 years without it, I can wait another 8. Part of my refining is learning to be patient and to wait on the Lord because His timing is prefect.

To be honest, that was why I was hunting around on Thieme's site. It is not like me to be looking elsewhere. I was guilty of watching GB News and seeing that the King of England refused to acknowledge the Lord's day of resurrection and that made me feel that I had to do MORE (remember how I drew the curtains and lit a candle). It seemed harmless enough but I feel looking back now that the enemy was tempting me to change tack and start doing different things. The thing is that we can't see the mustard tree grow, only God can see that but we can recognise the fruit that our trees start to bear and ripen. 

It was actually Victory in Europe the official day today and they apparently had an event at the end of my street at the Cenotaph. I just came back from there and was dismayed that rather than it be a respectful commemoration to honour those who have served their country, instead it was like a pagan fire festival with weird disembodied voices and Tibetan singing bowls with burning effigies! For some reason, we can't move around here without there being a fire festival of one sort of another. It was awful tonight, burning torches everywhere and a huge cross right in the middle of it. I quickly prayed for forgiveness and left! No doubt they are just trying to normalise such creepy pagan public rituals now that the hour is late. There was a lot of people there...standing around looking hypnotized. I took some film of it and took two screengrabs to show you how awful it was!

I shudder to think what it will be like during the Tribulation at this rate.

In Jesus,
Response #18:
My pleasure.

Very good points about how we learn to fight this fight. Even with the best of training, the first combat experience always reveals insufficiency in "green troops", which is why "veterans" always fight better. The same is true in spiritual warfare, and that is no doubt why our Lord brings us along at a pace we can take and learn from. It can sometimes feel as if we're going too far too fast, and we often have failures, but if we stay "with the program", we do grow in our ability to apply the truth and deal with the consequences of being personae non gratae here in the devil's world. I'm very pleased to have been allowed to observe the wonderful progress you've made over the years. And, of course, none of us ever gets to "perfect" down here. We'll always make mistakes; we'll always have more to learn; we can always get better at how we are fighting this fight.

You really do have strange goings on over there in the UK! Not that everything you mention here (and in other emails) is lacking precedent in the US, but it does seem that these oddities are much more ubiquitous and "main stream" without much alternative over there than over here. Not that the countervailing forces over here are much to be desired (as the present situation demonstrates very well). It will be very interesting to see how things develop in the next year or so.

In Jesus,

Bob L.
http://ichthys.com/