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Fri, Jan 31st - 5:59PM

Republic or Empire?

Republic or Empire?

There are two extremes to avoid when looking at history. One is to be so obsessed with details of history that we overlook the application to our time or the lessons of history and the other is to ignore history. Everything going on now is a direct or indirect result of what happened in the past, and there is an old and true saying that those who ignore history are destined to repeat the mistakes of history.

It is ironic that so many who say the War Between the States was a long time ago and doesn’t relate to anything today don’t say that about the First American War of Independence. Both wars were struggles for State’s Rights, which is an important issue today, and both wars had a direct effect on State‘s Rights. The Revolutionary War broke the power of an empire over free and independent States and the War of Northern Aggression changed a republic into an empire that became a politically correct police state. Since history is written by the victors it is easy to dismiss the importance of State’s Rights and the effects on State and individual rights and freedom if one is convinced that the South was wrong and the armed invasion of the Confederate States of America and the so-called Reconstruction of the South were justified.

If you believe the Union was right because the South fired the first shots and the Union freed the slaves I ask you to seriously consider a few questions: Where in the US Constitution was State secession prohibited? Where in the US Constitution was there any authorisation for the armed invasion of the Confederate States of America? If slavery justified the armed invasion of Dixie then why hasn’t the USA ever invaded any other country over the issue of slavery? How would the USA respond if another country (Canada, Mexico, or whoever) voiced hostility towards the USA and then not only refused to leave a military garrison which they held within US borders but sent a small fleet of warships & troops (that could possibly launch an invasion) to that garrison claiming this was necessary to bring supplies to 85 men? Why did the Emancipation Proclamation only free slaves in areas where the US Government had no power to do so? Which amendment to the US Constitution removed the constitutional protection of the institute of slavery and was that amendment added to the US Constitution before, during, or after the war? Why did the Confederate States refuse the offer of President Lincoln and the US Congress to pass a constitutional amendment making slavery a permanent legal institution if they returned to the Union?

Many insist that State secession is unlawful because the war forever settled the issue of secession, and some concede that secession is a State’s right but believe the Southern States would be obliged to pay any debts owed to the USA before leaving. If a married woman were kidnapped and raped and held prisoner at gunpoint for a long time would this make her abductor her new lawfully wedded husband? If she were rescued or released or managed to escape would she be indebted to her captor for food, shelter or anything else he provided during her captivity? Think about it.

Is the USA really a Christian Republic as is often claimed? If you believe the USA is a republic and not an empire here are just a few questions you should consider: Has the US government kept its part of treaties signed with Confederate Generals or consistently violated those agreements, and should those treaties be considered binding if the US government has consistently violated them? Did the Southern States really ratify the Reconstruction Amendments or did that ratification come from illegitimate legislatures set up by the US government to replace the legislatures of the Southern States? How did the Fourteenth Amendment become part of the US Constitution and the law of the land without ratification by the States? Did your State legalise abortion or did the US government? Does the US government encourage the people to keep & bear arms? (Why not?) Why is the First Amendment used to restrict State and local governments even though it says nothing about State or local government? Have egalatarianism, forced integration, & miscegenation produced racial harmony or fostered resentment, a we-versus-they complex, and civil unrest while infringing on State sovereignty? Why are the qualifications of the eloctorate in your State determined by the US government? Why are the requirements or qualifications for becoming a citizen of your State determined by the US government and not your State? Why are the US Armed Forces (which include a large percentage of Southerners) continually sent to police the world and support UN & Israeli interests that do not involve the security of our homeland while US borders are largely unsecured? The questions could certainly continue but these should suffice for now.

-Arnold J. Saxton

Sun, Jan 19th - 3:53PM

Gospel Tracts

Request a free sample assortment of tracts available from each of these ministries:

Hope Tract Ministry

P.O. Box 609

York, SC 29745

Gospel Tract Society

P.O. Box 1118

Independence, MO 64051

Shadow Of The Steeple Ministries

P.O. Box 2168

Clarkesville, GA 30523

Fellowship Tract League

P.O. Box 164

Lebanon, OH 45036

(This is not an automatic endorsement of every item published by these ministries. Use discernment.)

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Tue, Jan 7th - 1:00PM

When Will Christ Return?

While the visible and personal second coming of Christ in bodily human form is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith the time of Christ’s return is not a fundamental doctrine. But the time of Christ’s return is still an important subject.

Much of the apathy among so many modern Christians is a result of overemphasis on theories and speculations about eschatology. Many modern theories promote a neutrality or isolation that reject or prevent interaction between Christianity and culture and encourage believers to withdraw from society and be neutral as a result of preoccupation with speculations about things which they obviously do not and cannot know. (Matthew 5:13-16; Acts 17:6-7; 26:18; note that Christ came to destroy the works of the Devil – I John 3:8) Many insist on interpreting every Bible passage to be a literal narration of end time events, or twist and distort facts and Scriptures to make every current event appear to fit the mold of their pet theories about the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Those who study Bible prophecy merely to find a schedule of future events have missed the purpose of prophecy: Prophecy (even prophecies fulfilled long ago) teaches us about God and His truths, standards, and Providence. (Ephesians 1:11) Rather than seeing history as HIS story and recognising God as the present ruler of the earth Who intervenes in human history and ultimately controls everything, many have adopted a worldly view of history, such as the Humanist, Cyclical, and Marxist views of history. (Romans 12:2; Colossians 2:8) Many even believe that Satan rules the Earth; Satan rules in the hearts of unbelievers, "the wicked world system," but God is the present ruler of the Earth and nothing in the Bible ever indicates that God has ever abdicated His throne and turned rulership over to Satan. (I Chronicles 29:11-12) Using theories about the fulfillment of Bible prophecy to justify apathy ignores the implications of the arguments being used to justify the apathy being promoted: The longer we keep a sinking ship afloat the more time there is left to rescue the perishing. Salt cleanses, purifies, preserves, and makes people thirsty, and light dispels darkness; Christians are supposed to be a cleansing and illuminating influence, impacting society and culture for righteousness. (Matthew 5:13-16)

Scripture itself, comparing Scripture with Scripture, is the key to understanding Scripture: Bible passages must be understood in relation to context and the whole Bible, and difficult passages must be understood in relation to clear passages, and contradictions and wrong conclusions are inevitable when one tries to interpret the historical books of the Old Testament and the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament in the “light” of pet theories about the interpretation of passages in prophetic books of the Bible instead of interpreting difficult passages of Scripture in relation to clear passages. (Psalm 119:104,130; Proverbs 2:6; II Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17; “… comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” - I Corinthians 2:13) All too often the textual and historical context of Bible passages are ignored in favour of newspaper exegesis, that is, interpreting Bible passages through the lens of current headlines instead of interpreting passages in relation to context. The Bible does not say that world conditions will or must progressively go from bad to worse, and the alleged signs of the second coming or signs of the end times have no Scriptural basis. Many Bible prophecies that are being applied to the second coming are fulfilled prophecies (e.g., Return from Babylonian captivity, destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, etc.). Many insist on interpreting every passage of Bible prophecy to be a literal narration of end time events regardless of context and setting. It has become common to twist and distort facts and Scriptures to make every current event fit the mold of pet theories about the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Many theories and predictions are the result of cross referencing unrelated passages of Bible prophecy. When someone makes a ministry of making predictions and one or some of his predictions prove to be correct it is often assumed that this puts him and all his teachings above scrutiny. Many assume that their pet theories about the assumed nearness of the Second Coming and the assumed relation of current events to interpretations of Bible prophecies are above scrutiny and make their pet theories into criterion for Christian fellowship and base their plans, goals, and decisions on things they obviously do not and cannot know, and are not revealed in Scripture, and this tends to detract from important truths and issues and make Christianity look silly. (Consider Acts 1:6-8; Matthew 23:24; Romans 14:1; I Timothy 1:5-7)

Do references to the “last days” give signs or conditions that will indicate when the rapture will take place? The term "last days" refers to the Christian era, and it should be noted that all the New Testament references to "last days" were written before 70 AD. (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:16-21; II Timothy 3:1; Hebrews 1:1-2; II Peter 3:2-3) Christ was upon the earth during the “last days.” (Genesis 49:1 & 10; Hebrews 1:1-2; Hebrews 9:26) The instruction "from such turn away" indicates that the previously described conditions in chapter three of II Timothy existed at the time this epistle was written. (II Timothy 3:1 & 5)

Does Matthew 24 provide signs or conditions that will indicate when the rapture is about to take place? Matthew 24 is a prophecy about the end of the Jewish world which centered on Jerusalem and the temple (Destruction of Jerusalem 70 AD); consider the context and setting. "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:1-3) There were many deceivers claiming to be Christian (saying that Jesus is Christ) and there were many false prophets and false messiahs in the years and decades preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. (Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24; Romans 16:17-18; II Corinthians 11:13-15; Titus 1:10) Wars, famines, and pestilences characterised the years preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. (Matthew 24:6-7) Matthew 24:14 was fulfilled before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. (Colossians 1:6, 23) Matthew 24:29 uses an Old Testament figure of speech for national disaster. (Isaiah 13:10; Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10; 3:15) There were survivors of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD; thousands were taken captive, many of whom were sold into slavery. (Matthew 24:40-41) Matthew 24:15 is an obvious reference to the earthly temple in Jerusalem then in operation. "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)" (Matthew 24:15; compare Hebrews 9:11-12, 24-25) In 66 A.D., Roman forces surrounded Jerusalem and made a thrust up to the temple walls and then withdrew for no apparent reason, and then the Christians in Judea fled to the mountains as instructed. (Matthew 24:16) Matthew 24 was fulfilled within the lifetime of people living when the prophecy was uttered. "This generation" is obviously not a reference to some distant future generation, and Jerusalem was destroyed within the lifetime of people then living. "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." (Matthew 24:34; compare Matthew 11:16; 12:39; 17:17; 23:36; etc...)

Where does the Bible say that the establishment of the modern nation of Israel relates to the second coming or the end or fulfillment of "the times of the Gentiles?" Where does the Bible teach that God is working through two distinct bodies of people, natural Israel and the Church, to fulfill His purposes concerning the second coming and the Millennium, and that the goal of the Church is to be raptured before a literal one thousand year period and that God's plan for natural Israel is the establishment of an earthly kingdom after the second coming? As a result of the teaching that Jewish priority and privilege is perpetual the question of whether a Gentile could be a Christian without first becoming a Jew (a proselyte) was one of the great issues of the first century. Christians were unfairly judging one another on the basis of the observance or neglect of circumcision, the seventh-day Sabbath, Jewish holidays, dietary restrictions, and other aspects of the Old Covenant that separated or distinguished natural Jews from Gentiles; those laws were based on principles and truths that did not change but their application changed under the New Covenant. (Consider Matthew 5:17; Romans 3:31) The real issue was whether anyone could really be considered a Jew without first becoming a Christian; the Church is a continuing body in the Old Testament and the New Testament and the New Testament Church is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy concerning Israel. (Acts 15:12-17; Romans 2:28-29; 4:11-12; 9:6-8, 23-26; 11:11-32; Galatians 3:7-8, 13-14, 16-19, 24-29; 4:21-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; 3:5-6; Hebrews 10:15-17; 12:22-24; I Peter 2:9-12; Revelation 2:9) Old Testament prophecy about restoring Israel was fulfilled by the calling of the Gentiles to be God’s people. (Compare Amos 9:11-12 & Acts 15:13-17; compare Hosea 1:10; 2:23 & Romans 9:22-26) The prophecy of the New Covenant that is made with the house of Israel is fulfilled in the New Testament Church. (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; I Corinthians 11:23-25; II Corinthians 3:5-6; Hebrews 8:6-13; 10:14-18) Natural Jews were and are being saved individually, but the Bible does not say that natural Israel will be saved as a nation. (Romans 11:1-2, 5) God's covenant with natural Israel was a conditional covenant. (Deuteronomy 4:23, 26-27; 28:15, 49-53; Jeremiah 31:36; Micah 3:9-12) The Old Testament requirement of the obedience of faith and genuine repentance removed Israel as a special nation, as natural Jews as a people cast off God's Word for their human traditions and rejected Christ. (Numbers 15:30-31; Matthew 15:1-9; 21:43; John 8:33-44, 47) If Christ had offered the Jews a physical kingdom, as is often claimed, they would not have rejected it. (John 6:15) The second coming of Christ will bring the sudden destruction of the heavens and the earth, not the establishment of an earthly kingdom of Israel. (II Peter 3:10-12)

Beware of theories that limit the scope of the Gospel. (John 3:16-17; 12:32; Romans 5:15-21; I Timothy 2:1-6; I John 2:2; 4:4; Revelation 5:9; 7:9; 14:6) Did Christ limit the scope of the Gospel? "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) Matthew 7:13-14 is descriptive, not prescriptive. In the context of the time few Jews would recognise or acknowledge Jesus as the Christ and many would be destroyed in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. (Luke 19:41-44) Be wary of theories that contradict Scriptures on the growth of the kingdom. (Psalm 2:8; 22:27; 47:9; 72:11; 86:9-10; Daniel 2:35, 44; Isaiah 9:7; 11:9; 66:2) Note that if you plant seeds in your garden or field and then later look at the seeds or watch your garden or field at any one particular point and time between planting and harvest it will likely appear that nothing is happening, and this is also true of the Christianisation of the whole world. (Matthew 13:31-33; Mark 4:26-28; Luke 17:20) Scriptures present the Church as victorious. (Matthew 16:17-19; John 12:31; 16:7-11; Luke 10:17-19; Acts 26:16-18; II Corinthians 10:3-5; Colossians 1:13-14; I John 4:4)

All too often the debates and controversies over theories about the exact interpretation of Bible prophecy detract from the truths being taught. For example, it is a mistake to get so involved in the debates and controversies over the exact interpretation of the Book of Revelation that one misses the main points or truths unveiled by the Book of Revelation: God is universal sovereign and this world is not the ultimate reality. Regardless of when Christ returns Christians must occupy till He comes and when He returns the redeemed will be judged and rewarded concerning what they have been doing while He is not physically present. (Luke 19:11-13; I Corinthians 3:13-15)

Do the words “Surely I come quickly" support theories about the assumed nearness of the rapture? (Revelation 22:20; etc.) While many use Revelation 22:20 and similar passages to support their pet theories Bible skeptics point to passages like this as evidence of error in Scripture since this was written nearly two thousand years ago. This could appear to be saying when Christ will come until you examine the meaning of words and grammar and it becomes obvious that this refers to how and not when: “Quickly” (Greek: Tachu) does not necessarily mean that the action will take place immediately or even soon and can be a description of the speed or suddenness of the action once the action has been initiated.

What is the basis for insistence that the millennium of chapter twenty of the Book of Revelation is not the Church age and must be a literal one thousand year period after the Church age? Is the word "thousand" always used in the Bible in the absolute mathematical sense and never figuratively to mean a great number or amount? Think about it: If the cattle upon a thousand hills belong to God does that mean the cattle on hill #1001 do not belong to Him? (Psalm 50:10) The argument for a completely literal hermeneutic is self-defeating as those who argue for a literal interpretation of every detail of the Book of Revelation do not themselves interpret everything in Revelation literally. (E.g., Revelation 1:4, 20; 17:9-12; etc.) There will be a general bodily resurrection of the dead at the Second Advent and the Bible does not teach a gap between the resurrection of the saved and the resurrection of the unsaved. (John 5:28-29; I Corinthians 15:26, 51-55) Those who belong to Christ have been raised from the dead spiritually, and that is the first resurrection. There are two resurrections: one is taking place now through the salvation of sinners and the other is the future physical resurrection of the dead. (Revelation 20:4-6; John 5:24-25, 28-29; Ephesians 2:1-6) The millennium of Revelation 20 began with the binding of Satan at the first advent. (Revelation 20:2; Matthew 12:28-29; Luke 10:17-20: John 12:31) The Devil is bound in that he is unable to deceive the nations in the way that he did previous to the first advent as Christ now rules the nations and the Gospel is being extended and proclaimed to all the world. (Revelation 20:3; Psalm 2:8-12; 72:1-19; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:34-36; 14:27; Romans 1:16; 16:25-26; Colossians 1:27-28) The Second Advent will be after worldwide conversion. (Psalm 22:27; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:30-36; 3:21; I Corinthians 15:20-28; Ephesians 1:18-23; Hebrews 1:13; 2:5-9; 10:13) Christ will return personally and visibly at the end of the millennium. (Revelation 20:7-9, 12-13; II Thessalonians 1:7-9)

-Arnold J. Saxton