Having given my life to Christ in 1983, I would never have believed that we would be in the situation in which we find ourselves in America less than 40 years later. I read this morning that Massachussetts has passed legislation which would enable the State government to force churches to accept gays into membership. There was also language in the bill which stated that the leadership and members of said churches must address transgenders by their “chosen” gender identity or face penalties.

From pjmedia.com

On October 1, 2016, the nation’s strictest LGBT non-discrimination laws will come into effect in Massachusetts. According to the “Gender Identity Guidance” released by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) last week, even churches must refer to transgender individuals by their chosen “gender identity,” ignoring their biological sex. This effectively means churches must acknowledge transgender ideology or practice their doctrine on human sexuality in secret — putting Christianity in the closet.

The guidance specifically mentions churches as falling under the “public accommodation” restrictions against “discrimination” on the basis of gender identity: “Even a church could be seen as a place of public accommodation if it holds a secular event, such as a spaghetti supper, that is open to the general public,” the MCAD explained.

The restrictions are massive. Any “public accommodation” must allow patrons to use men’s or women’s restrooms — and locker rooms and changing rooms — “consistent with their gender identity.” Such places must also “use names, pronouns, and gender-related terms appropriate to employee’s stated gender identity in communications with employee and with others.”

These are not small asks for churches, Christian schools, and other organizations which operate on Christian principles.

The writing is on the wall

I predict (this is from me – not from God) that within the next five years, if we are still here, that government intrusion into churches about gays and marrying them, etc… will force many churches to shut down. At that point I believe that true believers will be forced to gather in secret in various homes.

The Celebrity Mega Churches

Churches such as Saddleback (Rick Warren); North Point Church (Andy Stanley); Vineyard churches (Mike Bickle and others) and countless other mega churches will stand.  These churches have compromised the Word of God. They make the rules up as they go along. Their “opinions” have trumped the Holy Bible.

They are welcoming gays into positions of authority – some ordain practicing homosexuals as church leaders.  The Bible is not regarded as inerrant, so they pick and choose which parts they like – and the rest falls by the wayside.  These churches will always be safe under a hostile government towards Christianity.

Playing church

I truly believe that the aforementioned mega churches are, for the most part, acceptable to our government and to society in general.  I sometimes call these churches “Country Club” churches.  They see themselves as the elite of Protestantism, but in my humble opinion, most of these congregants and their leadership are playing church. By that I mean that very few are born again, Bible believing Christians.

Many Lost denominations are safe

Most mainline denominations have disregarded the Bible as their foundation. They loath Israel and avoid Bible prophecy. Although they may be “safe” in America – they will be shocked when the Rapture occurs, and they are left behind. These churches are made up of many people who will take the mark of the Beast. They will be lost forever – no chance for salvation.

Are you in a government compliant church?

If you belong to well known mega churches, or if you have attended one of the mainline church denominations through the years – I would HIGHLY recommend that you pray to Jesus to show you the truth. Good works do not save!

 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6).

Our righteousness only comes from Christ.  When we were born again, Jesus imputed His Righteousness to us. We could not pay the debt for our sinfulness, but He who had no sin, became sin so that we could be saved. His death and resurrection made it possible for sinful man to be able to stand before our Holy God, clean and justified because of Jesus.  If you are confused by these words, then it’s a good indication that you have not been saved.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Born again blood washed Christians will be strengthened under persecution

It may be a scary thought of having to go “underground” with our Praise and Worship and the Preaching of the Word. But take heart!  Persecution has always been used by the Lord to cause His people to draw closer to Him. He will truly be our all and all.  Of course He should be that to us right now; but our flesh is weak, and when we are comfortable, sometimes we get lazy and take much for granted.

For those who are not sure that they are saved:

How Can I Be Saved?

Shalom b’Yeshua

MARANATHA!

grandmageri422@gmail.com

Remember when Pope Benedict resigned and how the world was so shocked?  No pope had resigned since the year 1400. It certainly was a hush hush matter at the Vatican. Not much was said or explained except that this was the choice of Pope Benedict.  I think not.  I think that this was the choice of the powers that be inside the Vatican – they made the decision that this man should step down; and the reason will shock you.

I knew what Pope Benedict had done before his resignation, but I didn’t know the impact it would have, or how the Vatican’s relationship with the Muslim world would be a key factor in the changes which came to fruition when Pope Francis took the papal throne.

I wrote a piece which Raptureready.com published entitled:

An Unholy Alliance: Islam and the Vatican

In the the article, I spoke briefly on a speech given by Pope Benedict at a commencement at a University in Regensburg, Bavaria.  The pope spoke words which although very true, Muslim clerics found to be offensive and disparaging to Islam.

The Washington Post did a piece on this topic in 2014, entitled:

“Regensburg Redux: Was Pope Benedict XVI right about Islam?” (ANALYSIS)

From the Washington Post piece:

Eight years ago this Friday, Sept. 12, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a lecture at the University of Regensburg in Bavaria in which he seemed to diagnose Islam as a religion inherently flawed by fanaticism.

It was an undiplomatic assertion, to say the least — especially coming a day after the 9/11 anniversary — and it sparked an enormous outcry among Muslims and came to be seen as one of a series of missteps that would plague Benedict’s papacy until he resigned last year.

Now, with the Islamic State on the march in the Middle East, leaving a trail of horrifying brutality and bloodshed that has shocked the world, some of Benedict’s allies on the Catholic right are saying, in effect, “He told you so.”

“Regensburg was not so much the work of a professor or even a pope,” wrote the Rev. Raymond de Souza in a column for the National Catholic Register, a conservative publication. “It was the work of a prophet.”

Eight years later “we have ISIS” — an acronym for the Islamic State — “And beheadings. And persecution. And hatred. And war,” added Elise Hilton in a blog post for the Acton Institute, a libertarian Catholic think tank.

“It appears that the world owes Pope Benedict an apology,” she wrote. – [1]

One of the quotes from Pope Benedict’s speech triggered an angry response from the Muslim world:

“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”    (Emphasis mine)

The Muslim Response to Pope Benedict’s words

From Arabnews.com  (March 3, 2013)

Pope Benedict’s Resignation and Interfaith Dialogues

WHEN Pope Benedict XVI formally resigned last Thursday (Feb. 28), it was a dramatic moment. No pope had resigned since 1400, historians said. However, what I would like to address here is how Benedict’s papacy tried to reverse advances made in Catholic dialogue with other religions, especially Muslims, and what to expect from the new pope.

Early in his tenure, Pope Benedict XVI set the tone in his relationship with Islam and Muslims. In a speech he gave in Regensburg, Germany, in September 2006, he demonstrated poor understanding of Islam’s history and teachings.

The pope cited a 14th-century Byzantine emperor’s offensive remarks about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He then went on to accuse Muslims of spreading their faith by the sword, of intolerance toward those who differed with them, and that those attitudes were deeply rooted in their faith. None of these claims were true, of course, as many historians have since taken the pope to task for being so cavalier about the facts of history.

Muslims were deeply offended. There were uproar and widespread public protests throughout the Muslim world, as well as condemnations by scores of heads of state and religious leaders.

Many took the pope’s 2006 remarks not as an academic faux pas, but as an expression of deep hostility toward Muslims and their faith, calculated to reverse decades of Muslim-Christian dialogue that had led to significant achievements in improving their relationship.

It was especially ironic that the head of the Catholic church was critical of what he claimed to be Muslims’ intolerance toward non-Muslims, and their hostility to science and reason during their history. He could not have been unaware of the church’s bloody wars against non-Catholics, Muslims included, the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, burning at the stake of scientists and heretics. All of those events took place during a time when Muslims encouraged scientific innovation and tolerated heretics and non-Muslims, including many Christian churches that have survived until today, while they were made extinct in regions under the papacy’s influence.

Although Pope Benedict has since apologized for the Regensburg offensive remarks, the Vatican under his leadership continued to undo the work undertaken by his predecessors to improve dialogue within the Catholic Church and with other faiths.

It turned out that undermining dialogue with Muslims was just a small part of a greater project to unravel reforms undertaken under the Second Vatican Council 1962-1965 (Vatican II, for short), the most significant conclave in the Church’s modern history that has in many ways changed its character, direction and relations with the modern world. – [2]   (Emphasis mine)

Read rest of article from Arabnews.com

The Second Vatican Council and Changes Towards Islam

Number 841 in the book of Catechism  was added during the Second Vatican Council. It reads:

841 “The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. “The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.” – [3]

I have written numerous articles on Islam Vs. Christianity.  The quote above from the Book of Catechism would have one believe that the Muslims and Christians worship the same God.  This is a lie from the pit of hell.  I have chosen two articles I have written to support the fact that the God of Christianity is in no way the same as the god of Islam – Allah:

The God of the Bible and Allah

The Real Jesus is NOT Isa from the Qur’an

I do hope that this article has brought clarity to why Pope Benedict had to step down from his position.  I sincerely do not believe that this was a decision he made on his own.

Now we see Pope Francis bring Muslim clerics to pray with him into the Vatican. This pope seems to be striving for a One World Religion.  According to Francis – even atheists can go to heaven!

Brethren, these times are wicked and they are such as we’ve not seen in our lifetimes. I pray right along with all of you that our Lord Jesus is coming soon to get His own!

This place is certainly not our home!

MARANATHA!

grandmageri422@gmail.com

[1]https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/regensburg-redux-was-pope-benedict-xvi-right-about-islam-analysis/2014/09/10/d14f0080-391c-11e4-a023-1d61f7f31a05_story.html

[2]http://www.arabnews.com/columns/pope-benedict’s-resignation-and-interfaith-dialogue#

[3]https://carm.org/catholic-catechisms-view-muslim-god-wrong