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Saturday, March 23, 2013

STUDY OF THE MOON AS THE CHURCH


Notes taken on 9/19/02 at Anchor Baptist Church, Penrose, NC
A fascinating look into the symbolism around the Lord, His Church
and the World. (earth)

Opening Remark:  Scripture says that after Christ’s departure from
the earth, that the world would be plunged into darkness.
(I immediately thought of the “Dark Ages” of "church" rule
 over religious and political life of the known world.)

Genesis 1: 16:  “Then God made two great lights; the greater light
to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night.  He made the
stars also.”

Speaker stated that the term “atha”  actually used in the original
text, related to “things to come.”  His premise was that Jesus the
Christ is actually involved in this verse.  (hidden, mystery)

Three entities:  Sun, Moon and Earth.

                             Sun - Jesus Christ
                             Moon - Church of Jesus Christ
                             Earth -  the world system

1. The sun, represented by Christ, is the brightest object in the sky,
 rules during the day.

2. The moon, representing the church, reflecting the light of the sun,
 has no light, power of it’s own and is clearly seen only at night or in
times of darkness.  (Church seen during times of Spiritual Darkness)

3. The church (moon) did not appear until the time Christ returned to
the Father and the church  (through the power of the Holy Spirit who
must have a host  in order to  function on the earth) is here,  God the
Spirit, so God has a presence on the earth.

4. The church is God’s instrument in the world. (The Lord has chosen
to reach out to this darkened world through His church.)

5. The moon is feminine, Sun is masculine.  God/Christ is referred to
in the masculine gender and the church is referred to in the feminine
gender.  (A spiritual thing, not physical.)  Bride of Christ.

6. The moon follows the sun around in the sky on a predictable and
straight path.  Astronomers  predict  where the Moon will  be at  a 
given time.   (The church must be predictable and follow the path, 
but the visible church strays when influenced by the world system.)

7. The moon/church is both global and local.  The moon  is physically
seen locally, but it is also seen in all corners of the earth. The church
is both local and universal.

8. The moon/church has evident marks of turbulent past. Some of
the craters on the moon were made by outside elements, but some
of the marks on the moon were made from inside, volcanic, forces
causing sink holes.  The church also has  had scars  from the  past, 
due to outside forces and  scars from  the past also due to internal 
eruptions.  Acts 20: 29 - 30

9. The moon and the church are still in their place and still reflect
light from the light source.

12. How many men have walked on the moon in history?  (12)
      All that come after them must walk in their footsteps.
      How many men first walked with Christ as his disciples?
      All that come after them must walk in their footsteps.

13. Moon has bright and dark parts caused by mountains (bright)
and valleys (dark).
John 16, Tribulation
Ecclesiastes 11: 8  remember
In Peter’s writings he talks about firey trials.

14. Every culture on earth refers to a man in the moon caused by the
contrasts of dark/bright, and if it weren’t for the dark areas, we would
never see the “man in the moon,” generally thought by some Bible
scholars to represent Jesus Christ.

16. The moon (church) makes burdens lighter, since the moons gar-
vity is about 1/6th of the earth’s gravity.  1 Peter 5: 17

17. Prior to the gathering of “moon rock,” evolutionist taught that
the moon had broken off from the earth during the “Big Bang” and
had actually been flung into space from the Pacific ocean.
(These “scientists” were hot to get the moon rock back to earth and
to analyze it.)  The material brought back from the moon was found, 
by true scientists, to be unlike anything from the Pacific ocean or any-
where else on the earth.  (You don’t hear that theory so much now.)

18. The moon shows only one side to the earth (bright side heated
by  sunlight) and  never shows the other side which is cold.  So the
moon is either hot or cold, never luke warm.  Remember what the
Lord said about a person being luke warm and neither hot or cold?

19. The temperature is said to be fervent or about 212 degrees
Farenheit on the visible surface of the moon.  On the back side
of the moon, the temperature can be -180 degrees F.

20. Lunar Eclipse:  This is caused when the earth is positioned
between the sun and the moon.  When the world gets between
the Lord and the church, there is an eclipse of the light of  the
church.

21. The moon always shows the light side to the earth. Just as,
the earth does  not see the dark side of the church.  Imperfect 
as the church is, we must always let them see Christ in us.

22. Also, we note that the moon is never less than full to the
sun, meaning that when God looks at the church he sees the
reflected light that is Jesus Christ, His Son.  He does not see
the dark side of the church, since he has separated our sin from
us as far as the east is from the west, never to remember them
against us.....

“their sins and iniquities I will remember no more......”

23. When the sun looks at the moon, he sees himself........

24. What keeps the moon in balance.  The gravitational pull of
the earth and the gravitational pull of the sun keeps that balance.
If the pull of the sun were not effective, then the moon would
head straight for the earth and destruction.  If the pull of the
earth were not effective then the moon would head straight for
the sun.   To the church, this principle means the pull of the "Sun"
(representing God,) were not a factor, the Church would be pulled
to destruction on the earth.  If the pull of the "earth" were not a 
factor, the church would be pulled into the Lord God, Amen.

donporter,sr

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

WE MUST TAKE MATTHEW 6:33 LITERALLY...


We must take Matthew 6: 33 literally?       


The Scripture  for discussion plainly states:  "Seek Ye First the 
Kingdom of  God and His righteousness and all these things will
 be added unto you."   Matthew 6: 33.  
This follows a list of world  necessities and earthly wealth  men 
seem to be seeking with all their energy, knowledge and wisdom.  
These things are important to those who will  be successful in the 
sense of material prosperity.  The status symbols for western and 
ancient cultures,  no doubt,  are very similar,  but does one make
the best use of talents, time or energy seeking temporary or finite,  
status and wealth or would our God-given talent, time and energy 
be better served pursuing goals of eternal  significance?  

It is plain from Scripture;  We must use our talents, time, and ener-
gies wisely,  if we are to be truly successful  in pleasing our creator.   
The best use of our gifts is to seek the prosperity of the Kingdom 
of God and the righteousness of God, rather than  pursuit of earthly 
wealth or  trying to establish righteousness (self-righteousness)  on 
our own.  The invisible is eternal, and visible, concrete things pass.

Secondly, the question remains; what does "Seek ye first..." actually 
mean in our lives?  Obviously it means our interst should  be eternal.
Does it not mean as well;  we should rise every morning and be about 
focusing on eternal  matters while we are fresh and  as we complete, 
for  that day  responsibilities  our Lord has for us,  we turn mundane,
temporal pursuits.  There may be two benefits  in this approach:  
          (1) We will  have the satisfaction  of  fulfilling our God
                given responsibilities first, while we are fresh
          (2) If we happen to use the whole day in activity directed  
                by our Lord,  nothing  is  lost  since God  promises to 
                supply our needs if we seek Him first.  
Another consideration is the fact; if we put Him first, He will make 
the rest of the day go really well, in every respect.

The question is a matter of priorities and faith.  (1) Where do King-
dom endeavors rank on our "to do" list.  (2) Do we have the faith 
required in the taking of the Lord God at His Word, hanging our very 
existence on His Words?  No doubt,  this change in lifestyle may  be 
traumatic early on,  but look at it  from the  perspective of  the  Deity. 
 It is the best,  possibly  our only wise course of action.  If we are to 
please our Lord we have no option.  Each day, we will seek the King-
dom of God and His righteousness first.  He is then free to add all the 
necessities to us "according to His riches in  glory." (our best source)
I am convinced we will be blessed beyond measure in Spiritual terms,
and be free of temporal needs.  God being my help,  I will begin today,  
to live life in this manner, trusting Him with the results.  The Apostle 
Paul said it best under inspiration;
                               "I can do all things through Christ
                               which strengtheneth me"  Philippians 4-13 
How could I do less?  Would it not be disobedience to do less, and fail 
to apply it in my life every day?  There is yet one other consideration: 

I Corinthians 10: 31 reads, "Whether, therefore ye eat, or drink, or 
whatsoever ye do,  do all to the glory of God."  In context, the pas-
sage is speaking to our witness in  things we allow, but truth is truth 
no matter the context and this just might be a more excellent way to 
consider the matter.  

No one would suggest our Lord would have us neglect our families, or 
fail to provide necessary provision, but we must establish priorities on 
eternal matters.  He is not forbidding us to eat, drink, wear clothes or 
plan for the future.  He is stating; if we obey the directive to put Him 
first, it becomes His  responsibility to see  to our  physical  necessities.  
We go  wrong when we  fail to follow Him and  are driven by  the flesh 
rather than the Spirit of God.  ("As many as are led by the Spirit of 
God, these are the Children of God." Romans 8: 14)  ...

 As you and I seek to implement this  new "attitude" in our walk with 
our lord, we will be opposed.  I have seen it already.  Along with pro-
phets of old, our Lord or any who would walk with the Lord will have 
resistance, even persecution.  If we permit obstacles of any sort to
thwart our determination to walk in a Godly manner, we are no better 
off than the one who “put his hand to the plow” then looked back,  as 
recorded in Matthew.  (To clarify one phrase, "no better off;"  We 
might have said,  we  are no better. 
To have said that would have taken the act of following  Christ rightly
to be works.   It's all of  grace.  We cannot say we are  better since we 
are obeying this one principle of the Kingdom of God.  We  recognize,
although we are  in obedience in one area;  we still miss the mark  so
many ways, we  dare not  point the finger or consider ourselves to be
better than any one of God's children.  There are no "Super Saints."   
Every day we find ourselves, for the most part, unprofitable servants.  
By God's grace, mercy and power within, of His Holy Spirit,  we will 
eventually attain the victory in Christ,  but never in this flesh or  self.  
May God bless  your efforts and mine  in His Kingdom as  we look to
Him, giving  Him the glory by acknowledging His grace,  mercy and 
care  on our behalf.  That can only be accomplished "in Christ."                                            


  donporter      9.07.12   edited 2.10.17


Sunday, March 17, 2013

UNDERSTANDING THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST



Understanding the Revelation of Jesus Christ              March 17, 2013

The New Testament book, called the Revelation of Jesus Christ is 
said by some to be very difficult to be understood.  Others contend,
with some diligence, it is quite possible to learn from this book as 
long as you know the general outline.  It is said this outline is con-
tained in the verses 17-20 of the first chapter.  “Do not be afraid; 
I am the first and the last.  I am He who lives and was dead, and 
behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen. And I have the keys of Hades 
and of Death.  Write the things which you have seen, and the things  
which are, and the things which will take place after this.  The mys-
tery of  the seven stars which you saw in  My right hand and the 
seven golden lamp stands; The seven stars are the angels (messen-
gers) to the seven churches and  the seven lamp stands which you 
saw are the seven churches."


 The book, of course, has much symbolism which has specific mea-
ning and may, with some effort, be understood. The verses, outlined 
below, are the keys to understanding the Revelation of Jesus Christ.  
Using this outline and much Spirit led study of  Scripture, this book 
will come alive to the faithful seeker of truth.

                                 1. Things you have seen.
                                      2. Things which are.
                                           3. Things which are to come.  

                                                                                         donporter  3.17.13

APOSTASY WITHIN THE CHURCH, PASTOR ANGHIS


Aposta(s)y Within the Church                   By Pastor Roger Anghis

(Obviously,  this post is the work of Pastor Anghis, whom I do not 
know.  It struck me as quite timely.  The article came to me as an  
email and there were no indications of a copyright.)

 2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of sea-
   son; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.
(3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; 
    but after their own  lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, 
    having itching ears;
(4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be 
    turned unto fables.”

     We have entered into a time (when) biblical prophecy comes to 
pass and is in newspapers on a daily basis.  One of  the things that 
is spoken of in scripture is the actions of the ‘social  church’ in the 
last  days.  The ‘social  church’ is  not the true  church as  the true 
church will  hold strong to the precepts of  God.  The social church 
leans heavily  towards what  society accepts.  Today’s  society has 
accepted people living together without the benefit of marriage.  In 
the social church  this subject is very rarely talked about and many
in that church are living  together without  being married.  Today’s 
society has  no problem with divorce for almost any reason.  In the 
social church the divorce  rate is actually  higher than in the world.  
Society does not have  a problem  with alcohol and I have seen the 
social church serving alcohol on church property.  (The term social
church should have "church" within parenthesis., ed.)

 Society is beginning to accept same-sex marriage and all that it
brings with it. We have denominations  now ordaining practicing 
homosexuals to lead their churches.  These insane actions from 
today’s so-called  churches do nothing but confuse parishioners. 
When the Bible says one thing about a subject but the preacher 
teaches something  entirely the opposite,  this causes confusion.  
1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but 
of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” Now that we have  
verified where the teachings that are contrary to the Bible origi-
nate,  we can  understand why so  many ‘churches’ are far away 
from what the Bible teaches.  When the church ignores the laws 
and precepts of God’s Word, the church becomes ineffective in 
the society in which it exists.

      The church in America was the center of government, educa-
tion  and enforcement  during the founding years.  The churches 
relied on what God required and acted accordingly. That philoso-
phy created the greatest  nation the  world will  ever see.  It was 
only when the church began to allow the philosophy of  the world 
system into the church that the church began to lose its influence 
in the society where  it once flourished.  No system of  governing 
that man  has devised  has ever  been successful.  The fall  of all 
empires, the Greek, Persian, and  Roman and even  Russian are 
perfect examples. America’s system, based on biblical principles, 
has been the most effective,  prosperous  and  successful for  it's 
people than  any form  of government  this world  had  ever seen. 
Yet,  we no  longer embrace  the values taught  in Scripture.  The 
decline was gradual until 1954. At that time, then Senator Lyndon 
Johnson attached an amendment to an IRS bill that made it illegal 
for a  501(c)3  corporation to  be  involved  in  the  political  arena.   
When the church was taken out of the political arena, the influence 
of principles began to fall exponentially.

Today most pastors don’t know that the church was ever involved 
in  politics. This is  disturbing  because when you  study the Bible, 
God always had a man of God in a position of influence to those in 
government, always. That should give pastors a hint that this should 
still be happening.   I have  spoken with  many pastors  about being 
involved in that arena by preaching the importance of godly men in 
office, something our Founders were very strong concerning.  They 
looked at me with terror in their eyes,  because of the fear of losing 
their precious 501(c)3.  The Bible tells us we are to have godly men 
in authority  over us:  Exodus 18:21  “Moreover thou  shalt provide 
out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating 
covetousness; and place such over them, to be  rulers of  thousands,  
and rulers of hundreds,  rulers of fifties,  and rulers of tens:” This is 
the  verse the  Founders  used  to establish  the  different  levels  of 
government;  local, state and federal.  We are told to pray for those 
in authority over us; 1 Timothy 2: 1, “I exhort therefore, that first of 
all,  supplications,  prayers,  intercessions,  and giving of thanks,  be 
made for all men;  2. For kings, and for all that are in authority; that
we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."  
What sense does it make to put ungodly men and women in authority 
over us,  then spend all our time praying that they do godly things?

The church has been so slack standing for the things of God, we have 
allowed our rights and freedoms to be taken from us, mostly without 
a fight.  In 1947 the Supreme Court reversed the meaning of the 1st 
Amendment stating there should never be a biblical influence in 
government instead of never having governmental influence in the 
church and the church did nothing.  In 1954 they stood by and let our
freedom of speech and right to participate in the political  process be 
taken away and the church did nothing.   In 1962 they made it illegal 
to pray in school  and the church  did nothing.  In 1963 they  took the 
Bible out of the school and the church did nothing.

     Now there is a case before the Supreme Court, if decided in the 
governments favor, will allow the government to tell the church who 
they can hire for ministers and even if they will allow a minister to 
hold certain positions in the church.  Little by little we have lost our  
rights and freedoms because the church has refused to stand for what 
is right.  Pastors no longer have the backbone that the pastors had in 
the founding era.  An excerpt from my book, American Exceptional-
ism, speaks about the influence the pastors of the founding era had: 
“Historian B.F. Morris stated:  The ministers of the Revolution were, 
like their Puritan predecessors, bold and fearless in the cause of their 
country.  No class of men contributed more to carry forward the Revo-
lution and to achieve our independence than did the ministers. . .[B]y 
their prayers, patriotic sermons, and services they rendered the high-
est assistance to  the civil government,  the army,  and  the country. 
Alice Baldwin went one step further when she stated: 'The Constitu-
tional Convention and the written Constitution were the children of 
the pulpit.”  Where is that fortitude today?  Very few pastors are wil-
ling to stand  for what our Founders fought and died for. They have  
become pacifists and pansies.

They have forgotten  they will stand before God on judgment day not 
the IRS.  Another excerpt from American Exceptionalism: “These men 
were men of honor and integrity.  They preached that Christians must
live in the fullness of God’s Word.  There were sermons on the deity of 
Christ, on Christmas, on Easter, but there were also sermons on other 
varied topics that you would not hear preached today, such as ser-
mons on bridges architecture, earthquakes, taxes, elections, even exe-
cutions.  Whatever was  in the forefront of  the people’s daily lives, the 
pastors addressed it from a Biblical perspective.  They were always out 
front in the fight for freedom.

They helped write state constitutions, were the founders of most of our 
colleges and universities such as Yale, Harvard, Columbia [Kings College], 
Princeton, William and Mary, Dartmouth, and Rutgers University. By 
1860 there were 246 colleges founded and all but 17 were founded by dif-
ferent religious denominations. They were the ones taking care of the 
wounded in battle and even served in state legislatures and Congress.  
These pastors were astute concerning God-given rights and were vocal 
about any attempt of government to encroach in those areas. They were 
vocal on things that involved liberty and freedoms and taught constantly 
about resisting any form of tyranny.  Church historian, Charles Galloway 
regarded the pastors of the Founding era to be the pillars of the commu-
nity.  He declared: "Mighty men they were, of  iron nerve,  strong hand 
and unblanched cheek and heart of  flame.  God needed not "reeds sha-
ken by the wind," not men clothed in soft raiment [Matthew 11:7-8], but 
heroes of  hardihood and  lofty courage. . . . And such were  the sons of 
the  mighty who  responded to the  Divine call.”   Today churches  allow 
almost anything inside the church.

     Recently,  we have seen the worst ‘marriage’ that we have ever seen. 
That is the Christian church embracing the teaching of Islam.  There can 
be no more foolish,  not to mention stupid thing that  the church could do. 
The Bible is a light to all the world.  Islam is darkness personified.  Have 
they not read scripture?  2 Corinthians 6:14 “Be ye not unequally yoked 
together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with 
unrighteousness?  and what communion hath light with darkness?” I 
have seen the Pope kissing a copy of the *Quran! That is insane. A few 
months ago there was a Sunday when churches all over America com-
bined Christian worship with Islamic worship and preached sermons and 
held Sunday school lessons on the founder of Islam, Mohammad, whom 
(M)uslims consider a prophet.  Why do we teach about Mohammad in 
our churches instead of Jesus?  The Quran is diabolically opposed to the 
Holy Bible. Many state that Christians, Jews and Muslims worship the 
same God.  Not so!  If that were true then God is a psychopath.  In scrip-
ture God tells us how to treat an enemy: 
Romans 12:20 “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst,
give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.”
The Quran gives a different command: Quran (8:12) – “I will cast terror 
into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads 
and strike off every fingertip of them.”  If this were the same god giving
 these instructions, that (G)od is contradicting himself.  Islam will do any-
thing to get their ‘foot in the door; lie, cheat, steal or deceive.  They are 
masters at deception and the Christian church does not even make an 
effort, it seems, to understand how the Muslims work.  History tells us,  
at no time in history have Muslims assimilated in a society into which
they have immigrated.  Their purpose is to take over that society and 
install Shariah law.  Look at the largest Muslim community in America, 
Dearborn, MI. In the Muslim community it is illegal to pass out tracts to
Muslims.  That is a violation of our religious freedoms and freedom of 
speech.  Church bells are illegal in Dearborn.  In Hartford, CN Muslim 
leaders met with the city council and informed them that there would be 
no passing of tracts within four blocks of a mosque! They gave no regard 
to our constitutional rights.  This is what we are dealing with. They will say
and do anything to get into our society, then demand that that society com-
ply with shariah law, giving no regard to our national constitution.

     We can no longer allow the church to go any direction it wants.  God 
has set the guidelines and they must be followed. The church in early 
America followed them and we all know how America prospered. It was 
not until the church backed away from her proper role that we started to 
see America go down the wrong path. In (S)cripture we see that however 
the faith of the leaders went, so went Israel.  The church was the center 
of everything in the founding era and it was strong and bold.  Today it is 
weak.  There are many churches that have not gone down that path and 
have held strong to the true call of the church. But far too many have 
forsaken the call and have now put the future of America in jeopardy.
     I challenge pastors to get back to what God has called the church to 
be.  Forget your political correctness, because if you are politically cor-
rect, you are more than likely biblically wrong.  Become again what God 
has called us to be.

*Quran (Koran)  (This word is spelled more than one way.)

(There are places I  have edited in order to  make the text more readable.  
I trust no damage has been done to the original intent. A choice was made 
early on,  when publishing other peoples  work;  there will be no extended 
commentary except for minor clarification as needed. There may be areas 
in this piece with which I might have questions for this author, but by and 
large there is total agreement on it's importance and content.)  

Thanks for reading...                              donporter,sr  3.17.13, edited 12.22.13