You may be thinking, “What in the world are ism,s?”  or "What is he talking about?".  Let me explain. Ism’s are the suffixes used to denote a doctrine or belief system like Communism. There are many ism’s in this country that affect the way people think and most of them are harmful to us because they hinder truth. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines ism this way: a practice or process; a doctrine, theory; adherence to a system.

The first ism I want to deal with is intellectualism. A very intelligent person will often elevate his mind and intelligence above the Word of God when dealing with an issue. For example, I once had a heated discussion with a very intelligent Christian friend about abortion and it focused upon the question of when life begins. When I pointed out that Psalm 139 clearly shows that life begins with conception, his response was, “But who wrote that psalm?”, implying that it was only man’s thoughts. My reply was, “The Holy Spirit” and I quoted II Tim. 3:16 - “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine (or teaching).

Here is Psalm 139 from the Amplified Bible: VS 13 - For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb. VS 14 - I will praise you . . . For the awful wonder of my birth . . . ; VS 15 - My frame (bones) was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret . . .VS 16 - Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.

My friend then said he was against abortion but believed in a woman’s “right to choose”. He contended that the choice to give birth or abort was up to the woman and her physician; thus ignoring God‘s opinion in Ps.139. What about the baby’s “right to choose”? Even our God given Declaration of Independence says “We hold these truths to be self-evident , that all men (does this include unborn babies?) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, (Right to Life?) Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”

In the case of a “born alive” baby in a botched abortion, he said that the physician should determine if the baby was “viable” before deciding to give it medical attention. These words, “choice” and “viable” are overused clichés that cloud the truth and Intellectualism can blind you to the truth.

Now we are going to have to rely on Webster again for the definition of the word, Viable: 1)Born Alive with such form and development of organs as to be normally capable of living 2)Capable of growing and developing (such as seeds and eggs) [Could you also say sperm and eggs here?] What ever happened to the Hippocratic oath, “Do no harm”?

I insisted that no baby is “viable” outside the mother’s womb without someone nurturing it and feeding it. Note: I hate the use of the word, “it” in reference to a baby but without disclosure of the sex of a baby I will use it out of convenience.

There is another ism I would like to discuss and its “relativism”. That is the description of what takes place when you use your own opinion instead of obeying the Word of God because you think it depends upon the situation. God believes in absolute truth not relativism. The serpent used relativism on Eve in the Garden of Eden when he said, “Hath God said, you shall not eat of that tree?”.

Following are some other ism’s that can become contrary to the Word of God: (Note: some are definitely contrary to God while others are not, in and of themselves contrary. Any ism can become so when its doctrines are relied upon more than the Word itself). I’ll just name a few: Socialism, Atheism, Capitalism, Presbyterianism, Christianism vs. Christianity, Catholicism, Mormonism, Marxism, Muslimism, and, the one practiced most in this country, Liberalism. When the doctrines of the ism’s are trusted more than the Word of God they become idols and Idolatry is a serious sin.

The result of following some of these ism’s is the killing of 40 million babies in their mothers’ wombs since Roe V Wade in 1973. Is it any wonder that the 60’s crowd is now worried that there won’t be enough money to fund their Social Security benefits when they retire? Duh! They killed 40 million Americans whose potential incomes could have easily funded their Social Security. Besides the tragic ending of 40 million lives, the economics of it is just plain stupid. God help us!

Glory to God,

Hal Mitchell - halmitch@cox.net

If you were very hungry what price would you pay for a very rich meaty stew? Would you give up the most valuable thing you owned? Now I’m not talking about hunger to the point of starving to death. I’m just talking about severe, head pounding, low blood sugar type hunger pains. You’re probably wondering by now, “what’s the point? Nobody gets that hungry”.

Well, in the book of Genesis somebody did get that hungry. His name was Esau and he sold his birthright to his brother, Jacob, for one bowl of red meaty stew. Well, maybe he got seconds for the price he paid. The story is found in Gen. 5:30-34. Esau, who was a hunter, came in from the field and was really hungry.  Then he saw his brother, Jacob, making his favorite red venison stew. It must have smelled mouth-watering good because Esau said, VS 30 - “feed me some of that same red pottage (stew) for I am faint” (I figure that Esau must have been hypoglycemic and was having a blood sugar low) and Jacob said, VS 31 - “Sell me this day thy birthright”. Then Esau said, VS 32 - “Look, I’m at the point of dying; and what profit shall this birthright be to me?”. Bad deal! Caveat: never let your flesh overrule your mind.

To go on with the story in VS 33, it says “And Jacob said, ‘Swear to me this day’ and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob”. VS 34 - Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up and went his way: thus, Esau despised his birthright.

What was the “birthright” that Esau despised and that Jacob coveted so much. The birthright was the Blessing that God gave to Isaac’s father, Abraham. It was full of God’s promises: Gen. 12:2,3 - I will make of thee a great nation and make thy name great, and I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed”. Gen. 12:7 - And to thy seed will I give this land (Canaan, which is the land, most of which, Israel occupies today). Gen. 13:2 - And Abram (His name had not been changed to Abraham yet) was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

So the blessing was, and is, very powerful. It contained good health, longevity, peace and prosperity. Guess what! You and I have that same blessing available to us today. Gal. 3:7 - Know ye therefore that they which are of faith (in Jesus), the same are the children of Abraham. VS 9 - So then, they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. VS 29 - And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the PROMISE!

All we need to do in order to get in on this tremendous BLESSING is to give our lives to Christ and BELIEVE that all the promises God made to Abraham are ours as well. We can expedite these BLESSINGS by not only believing them but by SPEAKING them because Christ is the High Priest of our Profession (confession - Hebrews 3:1) The duty of a High Priest is to intercede for and see to it that the prayers and confessions that line up with the Word of God are performed. How can you lose?

Glory to God,

Be Blessed,

Hal Mitchell

Halmitch@cox.net

According to Prophecy News Watch a new survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that 57% of evangelical church attenders said that they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional evangelical teaching. According to the same survey, as a whole, 70% of Americans with a religious affiliation, shared that same view.

That is astonishing information because Americans say they are very religious. The operative word here is RELIGIOUS. Jesus found the same attitudes when He walked the earth. People then and now are RELIGIOUS but do not have a personal relationship with God. Let’s examine some scriptures to verify this.

The book of Matthew, chapter 16 tells us that when Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea, Philippi, he asked his disciples, (vs. 13) Whom do men say that I am? And they replied (vs. 14) Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. You see, how confused the people were. Even though his arrival had been prophesied by the writers of the Old Testament many times over they still didn’t get it.

Jesus wasn’t satisfied with their answers, nor will he be with yours, if that is your answer, so he asked: (vs. 15) But whom say ye that I am? You see how he always gets to the heart of the matter? I love Peter’s reply: (vs. 16) Thou art the Christ (or the Anointed One), the Son of the living God. Oh, there’s a lot here. Anointed One: Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power . . . And the Son of the living God. There were many Gods then as today. They just have different names, but none of them are living gods.

Then Jesus said to Peter: (vs. 17) Blessed (fortunate, well off, happy) are you, Simon Bar-Jona: (or son of Jona) for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, (who Jesus is takes revelation knowledge not head knowledge. Head knowledge is by flesh and blood and smacks of religion but revelation knowledge is relational), but my Father which is in heaven.

And then in verse 18, Jesus says, “And I say unto you that thou art Peter, and upon this rock (not upon Peter, but upon his confession that Jesus is the Son of the living God), I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. Petros is the Greek word for Peter which means: stone. The word, rock, is the Greek word Petra, which means large rock, and it is upon this rock of confession that Jesus said he would build his church. Then there is Ist Cor. 12:3b - “no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost”. That’s revelation knowledge.

Peter often gets a bad rap for his big mouth and for cutting off the Roman soldier’s ear when he was swinging for his head, but in the above exchange between Jesus and his disciples, there were 11 others who had no clue. Peter, on the other hand, nailed it because he was open to the revelation of God. Yea Peter!

Following is a noteworthy scripture to refute the 57% of evangelicals and the 70% of the others with "religious" afiliations in America who think that there are other religions that can lead to eternal life. That scripture is: John 14:6 - Jesus saith unto him, I am (notice how often Jesus uses the term, I am? Those are the same words God used when Moses asked, “who shall I say sent me?” and God said, “Tell them I AM sent you”. In English “I am” is a form of the verb “to be” and means: I exist.) I am the way, the truth, and the life (Jesus says so much with so few words) and no man comes to the Father, but by me”. What else is there to say?

Glory to God,

Hal Mitchell

Halmitch@cox.net

Man is a marvelous curiosity …he thinks he is the Creator’s pet …he even believes the Creator loves him; has a passion for him; sits up nights to admire him; yes and watches over him and keeps him out of trouble. He prays to him and thinks He listens. Isn’t it a quaint idea.

The above quote, which is loaded with sarcasm, is from one of Samuel L. Clemens’ (pen name: Mark Twain) books, “Letters From Earth”, written in 1909 but only published in 1962. These are, supposedly, Satan’s letters who has visited Earth and is writing to the Angels Michael and Gabriel to tell them what man is like. Even though the letters are from Satan, what they really are expressing is Samuel Clemens’ thoughts because it was a devout Atheist.

When you examine closely these statements you see what a terrible misconception of God Samuel Clemens had. The sad thing is that these ideas about God are very common to many people today. They just don’t have the courage nor the writing ability to express them the way Clemens did.

Let’s examine this statement from Mr. Clemens’ book line by line. First: Man thinks that he is the Creator’s pet. If by pet, one means favorite, then man is God’s “pet”. God is so enamored with man that He made him in His own image. (see Gen. 1:26 - And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion . . .) .

Just in passing, have you ever wondered why God used “us and our” in the above passage when the Bible says that God is One? God is One, but he has three distinct parts of His personality and they are: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Man is truly made in His image because he also has three distinct parts: Spirit, Soul, and Body. Kenneth Copeland once said that at the creation of man if you could have stood God and Adam up side by side and face to face, you couldn’t tell them apart. That’s like identical twins.

The second part of Mr. Clemens sarcastic statement says, “he even believes the Creator loves him; has a passion for him . . ”. Well, I don’t have enough space to print all the scriptures that says that God loves us, but here are a few: Jeremiah 31.3 - I have loved thee with and everlasting love. 1^st. John 4:10 - Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Then, of course is the oft quoted John 3:16 - For God so loved the world (meaning, man, His creation in the world) that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Then, thirdly, he states that man even thinks that God “sits up nights to admire him”. Well God doesn’t have to “sit up nights” because there is no night or day with God and besides God “never slumbers nor sleeps”. As for God admiring man, try Gen. Chapter two again. After the creation of all the plants and animals the Bible says, “God saw that it was good”. (Gen.1:25). Then, after adding man to His creation, the Bible says, “God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good”. When God says something is very good you can call that admiration. One could today, however, say that man is not very admirable but that’s not to say that God still is not proud of His original creation.

Then the fourth sarcastic thing Clemens says is that man believes that God “watches over him and keeps him out of trouble”. Clemens obviously did not believe in Psalm 91:15 - He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. Obviously, man does get himself into trouble, but having God “with you in trouble” is better than not and besides, you might learn something while you are “in trouble”.

Finally, Clemens says, that man prays to God and thinks God listens. This is the height of sarcasm and you can refute the notion that God doesn’t listen by referring to Psalm 91:15 again, ie. “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:”. As a matter of fact you could refute all of Clemens’s statements with a thorough reading of Psalm 91. Like the commercial says, “Try it. You’ll like it”.

Clemens’ concluding and most sarcastic remark was, “Isn’t it a quaint idea”. The word, “quaint”, in Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary is defined as: unusual or old fashioned. Having a relationship and dialogue with God may have been quaint for Samuel L. Clemens and, I’m sure, for many people today, but it pays great dividends and, as I said before, “Try it. You’ll like it”.

Glory To God,

Hal Mitchell

Halmitch@cox.net

Have you ever wondered if you were righteous or even what the meaning of the word was? Maybe you thought that the Pope or Billy Graham or some other well known spiritual leader was righteous but surely not me. You may even thought that it must take a lot of good deeds or a lot of time in fasting and prayer or maybe making a pilgrimage to some holy sight in order to become “righteous”.

Well here are a couple of definitions of the word, righteous : Acting according to divine or moral law: free from guilt or sin. (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary) Being in right standing with God (Amplified Bible).

For a greater insight to the word let’s go to the book of Romans. Rom.4:13 - For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham, or his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Then God, speaking to Abraham about producing an heir at the age of 100, said according to Rom. 4:20-22 - (20) He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; (21) And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (22) And therefore it was imputed (credited) to him as righteousness. So, you see, it is not by works or good deeds but by simply believing what God says that produces righteousness.

Then Rom. 10:6-8 says, (6) But the righteousness which is of faith [there are two kinds of righteousness; 1) Self-righteousness, which is of arrogance and pride, and 2) Righteousness which is of faith] speaketh on this wise (or this way): Say not in thine heart, “who shall ascend into heaven? (that is to bring Christ down from above): (7) Or who shall descend into hell? (that is to bring Christ up from the dead) [Meaning: we don’t have that power nor should we try to second guess the Lord as to who is going to go to heaven or to hell]. (8) But what sayeth it? (or what does the righteousness which is of faith say?) The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the WORD OF FAITH, which we preach.

If you really want to be righteous or as Jesus said, “born again”, do as it requires in Rom. 10:9-10 (9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness (which is by faith); and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Greek word, Sozo: delivered, made whole, healed, prosperous, protection).

So, now you know. If you have not believed in your heart and confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus, this would be a great time. It’s yours for the asking. What a deal!

Glory to God,

Hal Mitchell

Halmitch@cox.net

Last night I was sitting on my patio looking at the full moon and thinking how marvelous God is and what a terrific Creator He is to make the moon and all creation. Then I thought how big He must be and how he also made me and yet He condescends to think about me all the time, as a loving Father.

Later on, in the middle of the night, I awoke and started thinking about those who have no concept of my God and how many have worshiped the celestial creations. Some may have said, “my god is so big that he even made the moon” and so they worshiped the moon-god. (little g) Others may have said, “my god is so big that he made the sun”, and so they worshiped the sun-god. Yet others could have gone on with their “one-ups-manship” game and talked about other planets etc. that they worshiped.

With all this in mind let me tell you how big my God is. He is so big that he not only made the moon, the sun and all the stars and planets and especially the Earth he also made Himself to be the Son (not just the sun) and his name is JESUS! That’s how big my God is. Then he had certain men, inspired by the Holy Spirit, who is part of His very being, to write an anointed book called the Bible to tell us, His favorite creation, about Himself.

All the false gods were inventions of un-regenerate man and had the characteristics of man which are lust, greed, and an uncertain and hateful nature. However, my God (the only one true God) does not have the nature of man but had His only infinite nature which is love. God is love (1^st. John 4:16 - …God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him) and “He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). You need to really stretch your mind in order to contemplate a God so magnificent as that.

If you have not experienced the loving God about which I write you would do well to go to Romans 10:9 - That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. In the New Testament (or New Covenant) the Greek word for saved is “sozo” which means to deliver, protect, heal, preserve, save , do well, be or make whole.

If you have confessed with your mouth and received the Lord Jesus you will be assured of going to heaven one day and will be in line to receive all of the some 30,000 promises of God in the Bible and the angels will be doing high-fives in heaven just because you have accepted the Lord.

Glory to God,

Hal Mitchell

Halmitch@cox.net

Covenant: 1.A formal, solemn, and binding agreement: compact 2. A written agreement or promise under seal between two or more parties for the performance of some action. (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary)

The above is a definition of the word, “covenant” which is probably the least understood and one of the most violated words in the English language. Most people have little understanding of the importance or the power of this word.

If society and especially Christians could just grasp the significance of covenants and honor their provisions, their lives would be so much more stable and free from stress. “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”. The word, “covenant”, is so important to God that all His approximately 30,000 promises in the Bible are based upon His faithful fulfillment of His part of His covenants.

The first reference to a covenant in the Bible is in Genesis 9:11-13 - (11) And I will establish my COVENANT with you; (Noah) neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. (12) And God said, This is a token of the COVENANT which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: (13) I do set my bow (Rainbow) in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a COVENANT between me and the earth. So every time you see a rainbow you can be reminded of God’s covenant with the whole earth to not flood it again like He did in Noah’s day.

The ancients all relied heavily upon covenants to stabilize their lives. Let’s examine some other references to the word, covenant, from the scriptures. David, who knew he had a covenant with God, killed Goliath who did not have a covenant when he said “Who is this uncircumcised (without covenant with God) Philistine who defies the Armies of the living God?”. (I Sam. 17:26) Circumcision was a sign to the ancient Hebrews of God’s covenant with Abraham. Because David knew he had a covenant with God and Goliath didn’t, he was confident that he could kill him and save the Army of Israel and his brothers as well.

Then there are the three Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach , and Abednego who were thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel chapter three. Because they knew they had a covenant with God they confidently said, in Dan. 3:17,18: (17) If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. (18) But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. That’s covenant talk.

The Word of God is full of examples where God’s people had great faith and did exploits because of their confidence and reliance upon their covenant with God. The New Testament means New Covenant and is based upon God’s promise to and His covenant with Abraham. In Gen. 22:18 God says to Abraham, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice”.

God’s covenant with Abraham was fulfilled in Matthew 1:20b,21 when the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph, who was engaged to Mary, and said, (20b) Fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. (21) And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS; (Jesus is a contraction for Jehovah Sus or God the Savior) for he shall save His people from their sins.

If you have commited your life to Jesus you have a blood bought covenant with God and you can rely on it to save you from your sins and to fulfill every promise (approx. 30,000) God made to man. Hallelujah! If you have not, now would be a good time.

Glory to God,

Hal Mitchell

Halmitch@cox.net

Have you ever heard the expression, “Once saved always saved”? I’m sure if you did you also heard a vigorous discussion of the pros and cons of that position. The cons being, “You can lose your salvation if you sin deliberately. So, be on your toes so you don’t slip”. Both sides of the argument are quick to give their favorite scripture or what they thought was scripture to support their beliefs. You may not be sure what to think.

The answer to the above dilemma lies not in what you think but in what the word of God says. Knowing the truth about the subject is not found by using your intellect but by relying on wisdom and revelation. We will need to ask God to reveal the truth to us from the Bible as we read it.

The book of James tells us how to get the wisdom we need. Jas. 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraided not (without criticism); and it shall be given him”.

Then, in Ephesians 1:17, it says, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”.

So, with these empowering words from God let us go to the scripture that many use to tell us that we can lose our salvation. It is found in the book of Hebrews, chapter 6, verses 4 through 6. Vs. 4) For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, vs. 5)And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, vs.6) If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

The above passage does not teach that one can lose his salvation through disbelief or apostasy (renunciation). Here, the author, the Apostle Paul, is not saying that one can lose his salvation nor that his readers had, but uses a hypothetical situation to stress what would happen to a saved person if he could fall away. He is trying to demonstrate the folly that some had in thinking they could turn back to Judaism without suffering loss. “If you shall fall away” is better translated to “If you could fall away”. The conclusion then is that it would be impossible to restore you again to repentance. This should provide some relief to those who are in bondage to a legalistic approach to salvation.

There are many other supporting scriptures for eternal salvation. One of the most prominent is a quote from Jesus, personally, and found in John 10. Jesus is talking to the unbelieving Jews about his sheep whom he said “know my voice”. John 10:28-30. Vs. 28 - “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand“. Vs. 29 - “My Father, which gave them (to) me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand”. Vs.30 - “I and my Father are one”.

One final scripture is found in Philippians 1:6 - “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”. Your eternal security is guaranteed by the person and work of God. You only need to receive it by faith.

Let not your heart be troubled. . . ,

Glory to God,

Hal Mitchell

Halmitch@cox.net

Now, to get down to the heart of this story, the Word of God says in the book of Acts, chapter 2, verse 20, “The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood (or blood red), before that great and notable day of the Lord comes”. The “interesting phenomenon” that I mentioned in my opening statement is that the blood red eclipse happened on 2/20/08 and the scripture referring to the moon turning blood red is found in Acts 2:20.

All this is a coincidence, you say. Maybe, however there are no coincidences with God. He never wastes words and is always speaking to us about what is dear to His heart which is our salvation. As evidence of this, Acts 2:21 says, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”. If you are a “whosoever”, then God is speaking directly to you. If you are terrified by the calamities of today’s world, and they will get worse, just call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved.

Another thing, God always confirms His own word in the Bible. As proof, go to Revelations 6:12 - (Amplified Bible) “When He [the Lamb] broke open the sixth seal, I looked, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun grew black as sackcloth of hair, [the full disc of] the moon became like blood”. Then go to Joel 2:31 - “The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes”. Verse 32 - “And whoever (are you a whoever) will call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered and saved”.

But, you say, you already told me that the moon always turns a blood red color during an eclipse.  So how is Rev. 6:12 any different than natural eclipses?  Well, first of all, the Amplfied Bible says that the "full disc of" the moon became like blood.  In a natural eclipse the "full disc" or total area of the moon does not turn red at the same time.  It gradually turns from shades of orange to red so that only part of the moon is red at one time.  

Rev. 6:12 also says that the Sun grew black as "sackcloth" which is a course cloth usually made from goat or camel hair and is worn as a sign of mourning.  Only God can make the Sun that dark. Then Rev. 6:13 says that the stars of heaven fell onto the earth.  Also notice that this all started by a "great" earthquake. Similar events ocurred at Jesus' crucification. (See Matthew 27:45 & 51)

If you need more proof of the calamities of the “end times”, which we are in, just read the book of Matthew chapter, 24 where Jesus talks about the sun refusing to shine and the moon being darkened. Well, that is a subject worthy of it’s own edition of Good News Worth Reporting.

This message is not written to cause fear but to bring the truth of God’s word to you for your edification and comfort. So be edified and comforted.

Glory to God,

Halmitch@cox.net

Have you ever wondered why we are having all these excessive weather patterns like tornados, hurricanes, droughts, fires and then floods? Have you thought about the reasons why there is so much killing and crime in our country or why our Social Security funds are running out and every other government agency is “running in the red”. Are you concerned about our nation being overrun by illegal aliens (or more politically correct; border crossers), causing chaos and a financial drains on hospitals, welfare agencies, schools, Border Patrol and law enforcement agencies? Does it concern you that gasoline prices are careening out of sight and home foreclosures and bankruptcies are on the rise? Are you also concerned about the aids epidemic and other communicable diseases on the rise? I could go on. If you are normal you must be getting stressed over all these catastrophes and asking, “why doesn’t somebody do something?”.

Well, somebody can do something and that somebody is we Christians. Have you ever read 2^nd Chronicles 7:14 - “If my people which are called by my name (Christians) will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and heal their land”. Also check out verse 13 - “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people”.

Then there is God speaking to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 - “And I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed”. Then, again God, speaking about the end times, (which we are in) says in Joel 3:2 - “I will also gather all nations, and bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead (or enter into judgment) with them there for my people and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted (divided up) my land”.

“Houston, we have a problem here”, as they say to NASA from the space ship or as the old political cartoon, Pogo, used to say, “We have met the enemy and the enemy is us”.

Not many preachers or teachers are talking about this problem. It, nonetheless is as real as God is real. The problem is, basically, two-fold:
 
Number One: We Christians, as a whole, are not being “salt and light”. We aren’t much distinguishable from non-Christians in many areas of our lives. The same was true with God’s people in the Old Testament and is addressed in II Chronicles 7:14. If we really want our land to be healed we, as Christians, need to 1) Humble ourselves and pray, 2) Seek God’s face, and 3)Turn from our wicked ways, then we can expect God to do His part which is to 1) Hear from Heaven 2) Forgive our sin and 3) Heal our land. It's that simple and it’s called REPENTANCE!

Number Two: We need to personally and publicly bless and not curse Israel. (Please note: At the time of this writing we are just 7 days past the 60th. anniversary of Israel's becoming a state - May 15, 1948) We can personally bless Israel by giving to legitimate charities that send money and/or goods to Israel. Some legitimate organizations are Christian Broadcasting Network’s (CBN) Operation Blessing, a relief organization, and Christians United for Israel. You can also join these organizations and give monthly financial support. Christians United for Israel (CUFI) not only financially supports Israel, but also puts pressure on the President and Congress to do things that help Israel defend herself.

Every time we pressure Israel to give away more land (see Joel 3:2, “and they divided my land”) to the Palestinians something bad happens to us. For example, as part of President Bush's "Roadmap to Peace" plan, in early 2005 the United States pressured Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel to give away land to the Palestinians on the Gaza Strip that belonged to Israel by the mandate of God in the Bible. Then on August 15, 2005 Mr. Sharon forced Israeli residents out of the Gaza Strip by tearing down their houses and businesses to satisfy that plan. Just 14 days later on August 29, 2005 hurricane Katrina made landfall on the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi causing the most devastating damage ever by hurricane in the US. Then in March 2006, Mr. Sharon suffered a massive stroke and had to step down as Prime Minister of Israel.

You may think that I am getting political with these statements of fact but I am just stating God’s position and His word as given in the Bible. It only becomes political when politicians get involved in the things of God, especially as it pertains to Israel.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper that love thee. Psalm 122:6

Glory to God

Hal Mitchell - Halmitch@cox.net