Pseudoprophetai Pope Frank Asks “Who Am I to Judge” Homosexual Priests?

Pope_Francis_in_March_2013

The Pope says “Who am I to judge?” Rather astonishing coming from the alleged the vicar of Christ… Perhaps he is not equipped to judge. But “The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.”(1 Co 2:15) and consider this passage, “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!”(1 Co 6:2–3) Given the scripture is clear this behavior leads to hell (1 Cor 6:9), it is a dereliction of moral duty not to make a judgement. The idea is that we do not judge hypocritically, but we must make judgments.

But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately. We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching based on the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.” (1 Ti 1:8–11)

Pikes Peak Prophecy Summit: ET Disclosure the End Time Delusion?

banner smallI’m leaving for the Pike’s Peak Prophecy Summit tomorrow morning. My topic is ET Disclosure: the End Time Delusion. The critics of this conference have been spinning this as some sort of wacky interpretation of prophecy. However, it seems to me that our critics have their heads buried in the sand. In the UK more people believe in ET than God and the US isn’t far behind. So is it really such a stretch to speculate this might be a key component of the “wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved”? (2 Th 2:10) Furthermore, I wrote the argument I am presenting in a research paper for an advanced graduate level seminary course. It was graded by a PhD in systematic theology from Dallas Theological seminary and I received an A+. Thus, I have submitted my material to peer review and passed muster.

Here is a summary I turned in back when I originally developed the topic.

When Jesus’ disciples asked him about his coming at the end of the age his first statement was “See that no one leads you astray” (Mt 24:4). Similarly, Paul warned the Thessalonian church that preceding Him would be a “lawless one by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,” (2 Th 2:9). Those unprecedented decpetions have inspired great pastoral concern over the ages. While offering prospects must be undertaken with humility, this paper suggests a possible scenario. Because we live in a post Christian society which has elevated scientists as the ultimate arbiters of truth, it seems likely that such an unprecedented deception will be clothed in the credibility of science. The Copernican revolution took a toll the Renaissance church’s authority and has led to what it is known as the Copernican principle, the idea that the earth is a mediocre planet amongst many and, more recently, that  humanity as an evolved primate is not very special either. In recent years, the science of astrobiology has gained respectability, even with the Vatican. Accordingly, the foundation has been laid for public acceptance of extraterrestrial beings. While neglected by most skeptical scientists, the UFO phenomenon, particularly the abduction and contactee reports, have led credible experts to conclude that deceptive entities are posing as space aliens. Since the time of Israel’s reformation, there has been a near exponential increase in such phenomeona. This has led an increasing number of theologians to the hypothesis that these entities play a pivotal role in the end time deception predicted in scripture.

Bibliography

Arnold, Clinton E. Powers of Darkness: Principalities & Powers in Paul’s Letters. Downers          Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 1992.

Dailey, Timothy J. The Millennial Deception: Angels, Aliens, and the Antichrist. Grand Rapids,     Mich.: Chosen Books Pub Co, 1995.

Dickason, C. Fred. Angels: Elect & Evil. Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1995.

Harris, Gregory H. “Satan’s Deceptive Miracles in the Tribulation,” Bibliotheca Sacra 156, 623    (July, 1999), 259-324.

Lewis, David Allen, and Robert Shreckhise. Ufo: End-Time Delusion. Green Forest, Ark.: New   Leaf Press (AR), 1991.

Martin, Walter, Jill Martin Rische, and Kurt Van Gorden. The Kingdom of the Occult. Nashville,  Tenn.: Thomas Nelson, 2008.

Ross, Hugh, Kenneth Samples and Mark Clark. Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men: A Rational              Christian Look at UFOs and Extraterrestrials. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2002.

Thomas, I.D.E. The Omega Conspiracy: Satan’s Last Assault On God’s Kingdom.Crane, MO: Anomalos, 2007.

Unger, Merrill F. Biblical Demonology. Dallas, Tex: Scripture Press Publications, 1973.

Weldon, John and Zola Levitt. Ufos What On Earth Is Happening the Coming Invasion. Irvine, CA: Harvest House Publishers, 1975.

 

Bibliography Summary

Powers of Darkness: Principalities & Powers in Paul’s Letters serves to inform my view of the powers and principalities as demonic entities whose activity will peak near the return of Christ.

The Millennial Deception: Angels, Aliens, and the Antichrist is a book by a good evangelical scholar who argues along the same trajectory as my thesis. Because my topic is on the fringe of theology, it is encouraging that Dr. Dailey reached similar conclusion concering the UFO phenomenon. Hence, I will build on his work and add my own insights.

Angels: Elect & Evil provides information on demons and their influence. The author argues that this will increase to a fever pitch near the return of Christ.

The article, “Satan’s Deceptive Miracles in the Tribulation” examines the miracles portrayed in the Biblical descriptions of end time events and concludes that they are supernatural rather than trickery or mere deception.

Ufo: End-Time Delusion is another book by a Christian author with a doctorate in theology, David A. Lewis, [1]  that argues UFOs and reports of contact with so called extraterrestrials are laying the ground work for a massive end time deception that will lead the world to accept the Antichrist.

The Kingdom of the Occult is a posthumously released Walter Martin book supplemented and edited by his daughter Jill Martin Rische and Kurt Van Goden. For over 30 years, Martin, another respected scholar, studied the UFO phenomenon in great depth and spoke about it publicly.[2] Like my own thesis, Martin believed that UFOs might be connected to the events that Jesus described just prior to his return (Lk 21:26).

Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men: A Rational Christian Look at UFOs and Extraterrestrials is an important resource for this project because it is the colloboratibe effort of an Astrophyscist, Hugh Ross PhD, a theologian and philosopher, Kenneth Samples, and  Mark Clark a national security expert. While they do not delve into eschatology, they conclude that UFOs are a demonic phenomenon decieiving people into a flase occultic worldview.

The Omega Conspiracy: Satan’s Last Assault On God’s Kingdom is another book by a theologian which strongly supports the thesis. Dr. Thomas goes a bit further than the rest connecting the UFO phenomenon to the Nephilim in Genesis 6.[3] As wild as it might seem, the testimonies coming from self proclaimed alien abductees seem to support his hypothesis.

Biblical Demonology is a good basic resource by a respected scholar on demonology which includes an entire chapter on eschatology which should provide helpful exegetical ideas for my thesis.

Ufos: What On Earth Is Happening the Coming Invasion is a good resource on the UFO phenomemon and its relation to eschatology. John Weldon, a Christian apologist accociated with Ankerberg’s group,  earned a PhD in comparative religions and is also a UFOlogist. This book strongly supports the idea that UFOs and so-called aliens might be the strong delusion that leads the world to accept the lie.

 



[2]  Walter Matin, “A Christian View: UFO encounters” http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=2190615720

[3]  Dr Thomas explains it himself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1_BmEJ39DM

 

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One hell of deal all right… Pope Frank’s Social Media Indulgences

One hell of a deal: Pope Francis offers reduced time in Purgatory for Catholics that follow him on Twitter

Court in charge of forgiveness of sins says those that follow upcoming event via social media will be granted indulgences

Salvation – or at least a shorter stay in Purgatory – might now be only a tweet away with news that Pope Francis is to offer “indulgences” – remissions for temporary punishment – to the faithful who follow him on the social media site.

Source

Catholics claim purgatory is for working off the temporal effects of sin but a temporal effect is a consequence that flows naturally from the sin itself, like liver disease from drinking too much or catching a STD from sexual sin. In this case, purgatory is not a natural consequence at all but rather a supernatural one imposed on the believer by God post mortem. It is not temporal but the Catholics need to argue that way because scripture clearly teaches that Christ took our punishment for us (Isa 53:6; 2 Cor 5:21). So Rome wants to prop up the doctrine of purgatory as part of the sanctification process. This is controverted by scripture that says Jesus sanctified us positionally with the Father: “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Heb 10:14)

What’s next “like” the pope on facebook and get a pass on three weeks of mass attendance?

The Watchtower Meets the Pleiadeans


early_watch_tower_coverA few people have asked why I included the Jehovah’s Witnesses in my list of groups with strange extraterrestrial doctrines in Exo-Vaticana.  First, it is essential to recognize that the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe themselves to be the only true religion and have consistently taught that all others are of the devil. That includes evangelicals of all stripes. A lesser known but pertinent fact is that the founders of Watchtower Bible and Tract Society held beliefs similar to modern UFO cults. We submit two examples from their officially sanctioned literature. The JW cult began as a splinter group when founder Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916) broke ties with the Adventists in the wake of several date setting failures. His following grew as his publishing arm “Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society” spread his strange doctrines far and wide. In Thy Kingdom Come(1891), the third of a seven volume series, he argues that Jehovah resides on a star called Alcyone in the Pleiades star cluster located in the constellation Taurus. Arguing more like an Ancient Astronaut Theorist than a theologian, he wrote concerning the center of the cosmos:

Astronomers are not yet fully agreed as to what or where that center is. Some, however, believe that they have found the direction of it to be the Pleiades, and particularly Alcyone, the central one of the renowned Pleiadic stars. To the distinguished German astronomer, Prof. J. H. Maedler, belongs the honor of having made this discovery. Alcyone, then, as far as science has been able to perceive, would seem to be ‘the midnight throne’ in which the whole system of gravitation has its central seat, and from which the Almighty governs his universe.[1]

Taken at face value, this drastically diminishes divine omnipresence to a specific location within the material universe, an idea far removed from biblical Christianity which holds that God transcends His material creation being present everywhere at the same time (Ps. 139:7-9). Russell also denied the doctrine of the trinity. Interestingly, the Pleiades cluster is the claimed home of the so-called Nordic aliens popularized by contactees like “Billy” Eduard Albert Meier who started the FIGU cult. Meier, infamous for his hoaxed flying saucer photographs, issues antichristian rants coupled with new age teachings dictated by Semjase, an alleged Pleiadean.[2] The correlation between the Pleiades and diverse cult groups suggests a common spiritual source albeit not space aliens. Russell was also particularly fond of Egyptian symbolism such as the winged sun disk, an emblem tracing deep into the Old Kingdom (26 BC) as the mark of Horus, a deity believed to incarnate as Pharaoh.

JW sun disc

Winged Sun Disk in J.W. Literature

 Nimrud_stele_winged_sun

Nimrud Stele (Egypt 9th century BC)

Certainly, the biblical narrative paints Pharaoh as an idolatrous oppressor of God’s people who hard heartedly opposed Moses. In fact, God specifically associates him with Satan, the great dragon (Eze 29:3). From Egypt, the Pharaohic symbol spread to Mesopotamia and even as far as Persia and became more generally associated with divinity, royalty and power in the Ancient Near East. Mysteriously, it has also been discovered in the records of ancient cultures as far away as South America and Australia. Thus, it meets Carl Jung’s definition of a culturally transcendent archetype. In the middle ages, it appears in alchemical works and grimoires. Accordingly, its popularity with nineteenth century occultists suggests Russell was no stranger to their works. In fact, just prior to his publication, the winged-sun-disk was featured in magical works by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Helena Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society, the Rosicrucian Order, and Freemasonry. This makes for strange bedfellows indeed.

Given all the above, the winged sun disk was an extremely odd pretense to Bible study. Employing a syncretic hermeneutic, he justified it with a metaphor from Malachi, “the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings” (4:2) a prophecy to be fulfilled by Christ as “the light of the world” (John 8:12). Nevertheless, its occult connotations suggest this application was reckless at best and, at worst, indicative of a syncretistic occultism. Considering his bizarre Great Pyramid teachings, the weight of the evidence supports the latter.

Russell_Pyramid

Russell’s Pyramid Memorial Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Most cult-apologetics texts discuss Russell’s failed predictions that Christ would return in 1874 then revised to 1914. However, it is lesser known they were based on the Great Pyramid, a monument he believed to hold the key to prophecy. Based on various internal measurements and convoluted mathematics he originally arrived at 1874 as the dawn of the tribulation:

 Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1874 was the chronological beginning of the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation — no, nor ever shall be afterward. And thus it will be noted that this “Witness” fully corroborates the Bible testimony on this subject…” [3]

As time passed uneventfully, he manipulated a few of the numbers and moved the date forward:

Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1914 will be the beginning of the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation — no, nor ever shall be afterward. And thus it will be noted that this “Witness” fully corroborates the’ Bible testimony on this subject…” [4]

Given his prayers were directed toward Alcyone, a Pleiadic star, alongside his obsession with all things Egyptian, one might conclude Russell was subject to same deceiving spirits who inspire UFO cults and alien contactees. In fact, one might argue that Charles Taze Russell is a spiritual ancestor to the modern Pleiadean contactee. A few years after the 1914 date passed, Russell died. A new excuse we needed as 1914 came and went.

Another fanciful rationale for the downfield creep of the eschatological goal posts helped smooth the transition while Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942) picked up the pieces. A highly educated and charismatic leader, he played a primary role in their doctrinal development and growth. It was under Rutherford’s leadership that the smallish fringe group grew into the incorporated juggernaut called “The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society” known commonly as “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” However, his prodigious success as a religious huckster far outmatched any alleged competence in biblical exegesis. Retaining his mentor’s characteristically syncretic hermeneutic, from Job 38:31 and 2 Chronicles 6:21 he also derived a Pleiadean theology:

 The constellation of the Pleiades is a small one compared with others which scientific instruments disclose to the wondering eyes of man. But the greatness in size of other stars or planets is small when compared to the Pleiades in importance, because the Pleiades is the place of the eternal throne of God. [5]

It boggles the mind to assess the damage inflicted upon the divine attributes of Christian orthodoxy but suffice it to say biblical theology does not lead to the conclusion that the triune God can be spatially located within creation. Think of it this way, because God created all things (including the Pleiades), He is necessarily external to that creation, although he may enter into it as he so chooses.


[1] Charles Taze Russell, Thy Kingdom Come, vol. III of Millennial Dawn series, (Allegheny, PA: Tower Publishing, 1891), 327.

[2] “The Pleiadean Ishwish Semjase’s: Spiritual Teachings”  http://semjase.net/semjeng11.html (accessed 11/29/2012).

[3] Charles Taze Russell, Thy Kingdom Come, Studies In The Scriptures, vol. 3, 1904 edition.

[4] Charles Taze Russell, Thy Kingdom Come, Studies In The Scriptures, vol. 3, 1910 edition.

[5] J. F. Rutherford, Reconciliation, 1928, p. 14.

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