30 Days of Birth Pangs - Day 4 Revilers

2 Timothy 3:2 in the American Standard version renders this famous passage thus:  For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy.

Revilers - that word jumped out at me.  The KJV translates it as blasphemers - the Greek means speaking evil, slanderous, reproachful, railing, abusive.  In English, to revile is to speak of something or someone in an insulting and critical way.  This is vicious speech.

Look around, the discourse is no longer civil.  In doing the research for this blog, I stumbled upon a Russian Metal Band called Bestial Reviler whose album theme was war, evil, and blasphemy.  Spouting song titles that I will not repeat, foul.  Metal music is an entire genre based in wickedness and Satanic worship.  Gangsta rap is the same full of violence and obscenity.  

Reviler

Last month, we watched the celebrations in the street of homosexuals; all manner of vile and vicious behavior was on display.  I saw a video of a gay man sodomizing a life sized replica of Jesus and then proudly declaring to the crowd that "This was F-ing Jesus".  I recoiled in horror and was sickened by the spectacle.

There is coming a day soon when the Lord will no longer withhold his righteous judgement against such behavior.  Revilers and blasphemers... they will shake their fist at God.  A Reviler is someone who disparages Christians who hold a Biblical worldview and take the Scriptures literally, so for all my Brothers and Sisters out their who claim solidarity with the rainbow crowd, check your revile meter.

Psalm 74:18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, LORD, how foolish people have reviled your name.

Lovers of Self - Day 1 - Rapture Index Score:  10 out of 10

Perplexities of Nations - Day 2 - Rapture Index Score:  8 out of 10

Mass Animal Deaths - Day 3 - Rapture Index Score:  7 out of 10

Revilers - Day 4 - Rapture Index Score:  8 out of 10

Random Thoughts on Faith

Abigail and Dolley readers I've been thinking a lot about Faith.   Hebrews 11:1 tells us that Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  The substance is defined in Strong's as the bedrock, the foundation, that footings of a building - thus, faith is something tangible.  It is the evidence of what we can not see.  Thus, faith, in this passage, is in the invisible... Understanding that is a key to why Salvation changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament and why faith will change during the Tribulation and the Millennium.  For it does not take faith to believe when the eyes SEE.

Think about it, if Jesus is on His throne in Jerusalem, ruling the Nations - how much faith do you have to have?  How much faith do you need to have to believe that Queen Elizabeth II is the sovereign of England?  None - you can see it, thus there is no real reward for believing it.  During the Tribulation when angels are flying over head issuing proclamations, do you need a lot of faith to believe?  When prophecy is opening right in front of you in perfect detail, you don't need a lot of blind faith to believe.  If you are an Old Testament believer on Mt Carmel and Elijah calls down fire from Heaven, how much faith do you have to have?

Elijah on Mt Carmel - The Evidence of God

"Blessed are those who believe but have not seen." John 20:29 is the last beatitude that Jesus gives before the Ascension.  Thus, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is personal.  Your faith can not be strengthened by the work the Spirit does in me - I can not share with you the ways that He moves in my heart and my life and have that be REAL to you.  Our faith becomes personal - the depth of it our own choice.  He can move and speak to each of us through the wind, through a red cardinal on our porch, through a word a stranger says in passing.  We can share these things with other believers but they remain significant only to ourselves and can be frustrating to share.

In the end, Hebrews 11:6 and without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.  So we press on as this age of faith draws to a close, where the powers of darkness seem to over shadow the Almighty.  Where from what we can SEE the enemy is the one in power on this Earth but by faith we believe in His promises.  We believe in His soon return, we believe in His power and we long for the day when the evidence of our faith is manifested for ourselves and for this unbelieving World to see.

Denial of Evil and the Appeal of Ron Paul

Abigail and Dolley readers I am deeply disturbed by the rise and popularity of Ron Paul.  The unlikely assent of an elderly, squeaky voiced, isolationist, Libertarian begs the question - why?  Why have hoards of people latched on to this man and why are they all but worshiping him?  Furthermore, why are they so ANGRY with everyone else?  If you have run into any of them online, you will know of what I speak.  They are collectively vicious tongued zealots who gleefully libel all of the other candidates and spread lies and smear, like jelly on toast.

I believe I have figured out the appeal, these folks are deeply afraid.  They are afraid of what is happening to our economy.  They are afraid of what is happening on the world's stage and they are afraid of where Big Government is taking us.  Okay, most of us are also afraid of that, so what is the difference?  The difference is, that Ron Paul preaches a gospel that there is no evil in the world other than us, if we would just behave, evil would leave us alone.

You have to admit, it is sort of enticing.  I mean, if we could just behave in a certain manner and evil would disappear, that seems like a pretty good deal.  The Paulian worldview, at its core, asserts that you can control evil.  His followers are buying into this with a fervor and a zealotry that always attaches itself to a cultish figure that claims to have the answers and is the only one who can save them.

Unfortunately, Ron Paul and his supporters are wrong.  You don't control evil by being good.  It is naive and while understandable, ultimately very dangerous.  Evil exists in the hearts of men and in the powers and principality, in the spiritual dark places of wickedness and the only way to defeat it is to fight it.  To shine the light of righteousness on it and to go after it with everything that you have.

We as a nation are tired of fighting off the evil.  We look around and see spent lives, endless war, collapsing world economies, ineffective governments and we say enough!  I just want to go home and live my life!  Leave me alone and I will leave you alone, okay?  Have we been perfect, of course not!  Have we made mistakes, yes but is it time to retreat?  To stop being a global force that stands up to the evil in the world and says, "Not so fast, Buster."  The results, if we were to follow the Paulian plan, would be disaster on a scale of which the world has never seen.  Evil does not change, evil does not get nicer, evil only grows and seeks to destroy all that is in its path and it wants to consume all that is good and righteous in this world.

Don't fall for the lie folks, it's an old one and if you pay careful attention, it smells of fire and brimstone.