Revisiting - FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL

Previously in another article that dealt with a book by Joan Peters, FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL - The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine (2-5- 2010
Pondering On ISRAEL As Written in "From Time Immemorial"), we saw much in the way of the illusions and disinformation promulgated, even produced by our mass media in regards to this problematic situation in the land of Israel.

UPDATE - As of 4-29-10:
Official Policy Shift Against Israel by Obama Administration

To understand what Islam believes regarding Mohammad and the mandate that Allah prescribes on his followers, visit this site.


We continue now with another installment from this amazing book, although much that is gleaned from the writings of Joan Peters in this comprehensive work will not necessarily appear in a contiguous fashion.

Much of the Arab world would have us believe that there exists no significant problem between themselves and the Jews; after all, they say, we are all Semitic! They would insist that there never was a problem between Arabs and Jews, and that the only problem that ever existed was between Arabs and Zionist Jews who were intent on stealing Arab land (Palestine) away from them.

"Before the Jewish state was established, there existed nothing to harm good relations between Arabs and Jews." - The late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, November 1973, to Henry Kissinger.

"We are not against the Jews. On the contrary, we are all Semites and we have been living with each other in peace and fraternity, Muslims, Jews, and Christians, for many centuries. - Yasser Arafat, head of the PLO.

The two assertions, that of peaceful co-existence between Arabs and Jews, and that Jews were "intent on stealing [our] land" are both fallacious lies.


During the times of war and the outbreak of hostilities between Arabs and Jews, there were many refugees that fled their homes and sought refuge elsewhere; what few appreciate is that this didn't entail Arabs only, (which our mass media has focused on) but also Jews (who fled various Islamic states, and sought to relocate in Israel. In 1948 more than 850,000 Jews lived in the Arab world. Today (this book was published in 1984) there are less than 29,000.

It was during these times of war when Jews were treated most miserably, however even in times of 'peace' living conditions were hardly any better!

It was during these chapters in FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL that reading was most difficult for me, learning of the atrocities perpetrated on the Jews; and we know virtually nothing of these times because the history of these events were conveniently omitted by the powers that be who reveal their anti-Semitic attitudes.

From chapter 3 of FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL - The Arab Jew:

"Contrary to the myth that Jews lived in harmony with the Arabs before the Zionist state, innumerable authoritative works document decisively the subjugation, oppression, and spasmodic anti-Jewish eruptions of violence that darkened the existence of the Jews in Muslim Arab countries.

"In truth, before the seventh-century advent of the Prophet Mohammad and Islam, Jews and Arabs did have harmonious relations, and words of praise regarding the noble virtues of the Jews may be found in ancient Arab literature.

"Prior to the formation of Islam, even some of the rulers of Arabia embraced Judaism, and there are even parallels between Koranic legends and theological ideas that are found in Talmudic literature."

In 622 AD Mohammad had so few supporters for his new found religion of Islam, that he intended on inducing Jews to adopt it, yet he met with very little success; so he introduced a few Jewish practices like the Day of Atonement, the Jewish observance of Yom Kipur, and during prayer time Muslims were to face towards Jerusalem, but still he was rejected by the Jews, and so such observances were dropped from Islam, and instruction to face Mecca, rather than Jerusalem during times of prayer ensued. Three years later Arab hostility towards Jews commenced and have continued to this day.

In the Charter of Omar (Mohammad's immediate successor) laws for dhimmi (non-Muslims) were developed and any dhimmi that violated any of these laws were slain. Jews were forbidden to touch the Koran, forced to wear a distinctive habit (blue or black) with a sash and compelled to wear a yellow piece of clothing as a badge (long before Hitler enforced the yellow 6-pointed star on Jews relegated to ghettos), and required to bury their dead without letting their grief be heard by the Muslims.


Such a 'privileged life' at the benevolence of the Muslims was to be repaid by the 'grateful Jews' in the forms of personal head and property taxes; such was justified through the writings of the Koran:

"Fight against those [Jews and Christians] who believe not in Allah...until they pay the tribute (Jaziyah) readily, being brought low." Surah IX: 29

The head tax was enforced in some form until 1908 in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey; until 1925 in Iran; and still enforceable in Yemen today.

Any Jew's word was considered invalid in a court of law, but any charge against a Jew by a Muslim was held fast even if evidence were produced to prove the contrary. A Muslim who killed a fellow Muslim would himself die, yet if that same Muslim were to kill a Jew, no prosecution would be sought by a court of law.

"Demeaning of the Jews as represented by the Charter has carried down through the centuries, its implementation inflicted with varying degrees of cruelty or inflexibility, depending upon the character of the particular Muslim ruler. When that rule was tyrannical, life was abject slavery, as in Yemen, where one of the Jews' tasks was to clean the city latrines and another was to clear the streets of animal carcasses-without pay, and often on the Sabbath."

Over the centuries, as recorded by various travelers, Jews were forced to live in ghettos, called hara, mellah or simply Jewish Quarter. In 14th century Egypt one traveler recorded their observations of Jews living in a ghetto and some five hundred years later, another traveler reported that the Jews were still in residence there.

Throughout this difficult chapter, I read of the terrible plight of Jews who lived in Islamic nations such as Yemen, Aden, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, and Libya; in each case, the stories though different, carried the same elements of prejudice, injustice, oppression, abuse, hatred and violence. Some details were simply too grisly to describe here in this article. Here however I have included some relatively mild testimonies from some individual Jews as interviewed by Joan Peters in Chapter 6: Invitation Declined - 

Rafi, an Iraq-born Jew: 1948 -
"Things changed drastically for the Jews when the mandate in Iraq was over and the power was turned over to the Iraqi's (from Britain). . . riots had taken place against the Jews in Palestine-- even though the British were still here--if the Jews were attacked somewhere, there was always some riot in Baghdad against the Jews, I guess just for the fun of it."

Rafi goes on to say that when WW II broke out, Hitler brought no small amount of enthusiasm among Arab nations, encouraging them to likewise prey upon the Jewish communities within their borders; also when Iraq got its independence in '32 there was a major pogrom in Iraq, but not against Jews, rather against Christians! Once the Iraqi's were in power, they felt a demonstration against all minorities should be made.

Rafi comments further about the refugee situation among Jews and Arabs alike, and how they differed:

". . . there have been as many Jew refugees from Arab countries as there has been from Palestine. The only difference is that the Jews' property has been openly confiscated (this practice had been widely experienced by Jews fleeing from various Arab countries: they would have their citizenship revoked, often had to pay exorbitant amounts of money to get out, and have nearly all, or all their property confiscated besides).

"There is also the myth that only Jews are coming to this country (Israel), and sending Arabs out. But Arabs were immigrating to Israel, as much as Jews. . . Why does an Arab, that did not exist here a few generations before, have more right than a Jew who has been here many generations, and sometimes his ancestors for twenty generations, in Israel?"

Yaacov and Shlomo, Egyptian Jews -
Yaacov, a school teacher:
"Sure, there was nothing to complain about. We came back alive from school...when we took the train to school, I have to be very careful to lock the door in my compartment or to be with other Jewish students. And many times I had incidents, as I was ten, eleven years old-this was in 1946 to '48 or '49. It was a fact of life. Nothing to complain about. I mean just to say, well it was raining today. So what? Nothing extraordinary. It was part of every day life to be beaten for being a Jew; you could expect it."

Shlomo, his companion:
"Killings, it happened once in every two years, about. You should expect that too. Every now and then, for one reason or another, though you have done nothing - I mean nothing concerning you directly- you must expect every two years, something like that. You try to avoid it. . . tomorrow someone can get and kill him and he will not be punished as if this fellow killed the same person of his own community. If [a Jew] was lucky he was just slapped on the face for nothing and told, 'You are a dirty Jew'. If he was unlucky he suffered a little bit more than that . . . Jews suffered, and were ill-treated and were persecuted and molested in the streets.

"Let me make a point here. You see, I think that many of the Jews are very taken by the idea that in our lifetime we can see the peace and the Arabs accepting our existence, and all that. But the world must put pressure on the Arabs - the Israelis are not the ones who need the pressure - we want too much that the Arabs will stop warring with us. We are a tiny and poor country [at that time] - they are so rich and great. It is them - the Arabs - that the world must help to understand, that we can live together, to let us live."

Sarah, from Egypt -
"You see in school, the children, six, seven years old, in the playground, they are pretending to shoot the Jewish people. Starting the day having a war! And the Arabs teacher teaches the kids that they should really be against the Jews - that the "Jews are killing" their people, that "the Jews are taking" their land. Giving them a very, very black view of the Jewish people. Not the Israeli, but the Jew. Singing songs against Jews - so figure it out, a Jewish child should be in the school, singing against his own blood?"

Mordecai, from Libya -
"I remember that in the 1950's, although Libya had a relatively low crime rate, I felt threatened by the man on the street . . . why should I feel threatened? Possibly because just five or six years earlier - in 1945 - the Jews had been victims of a terrible pogrom. Around one hundred and fifty Jews were killed in Tripoli. The murders were bestial and whole families were brutally massacred. But all the Arabs who were accused by the British of these crimes were let free, and the only people who were put in prison were ten Jews - they were ready for them so there was less damage, and this time, the British interrupted the violence. . . our Jewish girls were victims of Arab lust and the Arabs even installed an Arab treasurer to check on the funds of the Jewish community. In 1967, after the Six Day War, Jews were killed wantonly, thrown from balconies into the street - it was horrible - riots, burning the synagogue. . ."
If any doubt the severity of these accounts, I would challenge you to get a hold of a copy of this book and research the sources. Joan Peters has ample quotes of sources in the bibliography, and these number (sometimes) in the hundreds, per chapter!

As mentioned in the previous article, you can order a copy of FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL!

Stories of pogroms, household break-ins, store thefts, the brutalization of women, teens and even children, and the like are peppered through out chapter 3, "The Arab Jew" and there were times I had to put the book down, on the verge of tears, at the blatant hatred that was focused on the Jews.

We understand that any prejudice is a sin, but prejudice against the Jew carries with it, a particularly satanic aspect, because of all the people of the Earth, the LORD God chose Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob to bring forth a blessing to all the world, that is, of course, the "seed of the woman" which later is describes as the "Son of David" who would come and reign over all the world in peace and righteousness, from the holy city of Jerusalem, Israel.

This is obviously the Messiah of Israel. Satan hates Israel for this very reason, and he knows that if he can destroy Israel, any prophetic fulfilment's carried out by the Messiah would be impossible. Thus he has stirred those of this fallen world, those who the Bible describes as "the children of disobedience" (EPH 5:6; COL 3:6) to hate these people, and the Jewish people have been hated and persecuted, for longer duration and with greater intensity, than any other nation in history.

Claims that "peaceful coexistence between Jews and Muslims" were a matter of historical record until Zionist ideas and actions which destroyed such good relations is plainly false. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia as well as King Hussein of Jordan made such claims, and at that time, no Jew was even allowed to live in Saudi Arabia or become a citizen of Jordan!

Such Islamic leaders would have us believe that if not for the Zionist movement that gave the Jews a homeland, and a State of their own in which they could live in relative peace, there would be no conflict and friendship between these two peoples would have remained unbroken. Obviously this is a political ploy being used to paint Israel, and those Jews who cherish her, as well as a life apart from Islamic persecution, as 'the bad guy'.

It was mentioned in the previous article, how the term 'Palestine' was created and now exploited by our modern globalists; however if one understands the actual history of Canaan, and the nation of Israel's insertion into that region, the conclusion that there never was a Palestinian history, a Palestinian people, a Palestinian culture, language, society, etc.

The people there in 'Palestine', that is, the refugees, are Jordanians, Syrians, and other Islamic people who wanted to flee Israel when war broke out between the Jews and any particular Muslim nation(s), but for propaganda's sake, not allowed to return to their country of origin. Thus their plight of misery, stranded in camps, would be trumpeted throughout the world, via the mass media, and Israel would be blamed for it, rather than the Muslim nations that would refuse their own people to return!

The long history of Israel has been proven time and time again by careful archaeological discoveries and digs, and museums in Israel are full of such evidence of a national Jewish presence in the land dating thousands of years ago. Having been to Israel twice now, I've witnessed many findings that are even now being excavated for the purpose of archaeological studies concerning the ancient Hebrews and their culture.

When one compares this rich history to that history of the Palestinians, and what is defined as a 'Palestinian' (anyone who has lived there for 18 months to two years), it becomes ludicrous to make any claim that Jews have stolen this land from its rightful heirs, that is, the people of Palestine!

This ends the second segment of this article.

blessings of grace and peace to you all,

James Fire

BEWARE of PRAYER-of the contemplative kind: part 2

THOMAS MERTON

Greetings all!

I just recently finished reading a book by Ray Yungen called, A Time of Departing. A very readable, engaging book I found hard to put down, full of important and useful information regarding Contemplative Prayer (CP); it was also rather heart breaking as I've read that this practice is being endorsed by stalwart defenders of the faith, and reputable Bible teachers and pastors.

UPDATE: 9/24/12 From AMOS 3:7 Ministries: 

- The DANGERS of SPIRITUAL FORMATION. 

This report details the teachings and beliefs of Dallas Willard, a proponent of spiritual formation and contemplative prayer as prolific and well known among the practitioners of these mystic exercises as Richard Foster and Henri Nouwen! ~~end of update. 

MISSION HimPOSSIBLE- Agents of Adonai UNITE!

Good morning fellow agents of Adonai, Supreme Ruler and Undisputed Creator of all things-


Millennia ago a cult formed and based their operations out of the city of Alexandria, Egypt known as the Gnostics; their mission - to undermine the essential doctrine of the church, restructure the scriptures to reflect their own teachings (accomplished in modern translations of the Bible), and to initiate others into their esoteric schools of so-called 'higher knowledge'.

And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Colossians 2:2-8


It was believed that this cult had splintered into various faction groups, and such as been the case, but not to the exclusion of a revival of Gnosticism which is gaining significant ground, and emerging as a force to contend with.

for more on Gnosticism, review these files located here


Monday, October 12, 2009HOW NEAR-EASTERN RELIGION INVADED THE WEST- The Gnostic Religion and Revival


A more recent group that has definite clout with such organizations as the United Nations, and various businesses, commerce giants, and global corporations is the Theosophical Society, and its predominant branch called Lucis Trust (formerly Lucifer Publishing Company); these groups, like the Gnostics are intent on diminishing biblical acuity and familiarity within our ranks.

for more on this subject review a recent article on one of the leaders of the Theosophical Society -

Monday, January 25, 2010T.T.U.F. Profiles - Alice Bailey and The PLAN


Additionally there is a powerful movement that, as agents of Adonai and His Truth, I'm sure you're all familiar with by now, the Emergent Church Movement. All of these, in connection with the Roman Catholic church, and the Masonic Society are working industriously to undermine the spiritual integrity of the church.

for more on these subjects please review this list of the following books -

FAITH UNDONE by Roger Oakland
Lighthouse Trails: Faith Undone


TROJAN CHURCH by Greg Reid
Trojan Church


MASONRY: CONSPIRACY AGAINST CHRISTIANITY by Ralph EppersonAmazon.com: Masonry: Conspiracy Against Christianity--Evidence ...


A TIME of DEPARTING by Ray Yungen
A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen


A WONDERFUL DECEPTION by Warren Smith
Lighthouse Trails: A "Wonderful" Deception


These are only a few of the factors that are directed against us; the great enemy himself is luring, seducing, deceiving many of us away from a commitment to read, study and apply the Word to our lives, thus decreasing our work in the Great Commission of the Gospel, a sanctified life in the LORD, a steadfast prayer life, and the needful attribute of discernment. More on this, our primary focus, at the end of this briefing.


Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
1 Timothy 4:1-2
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
2 Tim. 3:1-8
Our enemy's ploy is two-fold: for some, he overemphasizes grace and thereby creating a sense of casualness, even disregard of committed sin and a need for repentance on a continual basis. Such agents are then neutralized, being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, in their effectiveness in the field.


What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Romans 6:1-2
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13
The other tactic is to deny grace, bludgeon with the Law, and deploy armaments of guilt and condemnation, effectively severing the agent from communion with the LORD, and then neutralize them as well.

It has long been the adage of this our agency in regards to the warfare of the spiritual sort: "Upright and outreach"; and we must return to this boot camp for retraining, thus regain our effectiveness in the field, and begin to overturn the achievements obtained by the enemy in our lives and the lives of our families. We must be upright: walking in truth, in integrity, in love and grace and not in darkness.


Only when we are upright will we be effective in outreach, touching the lives of people with the Gospel and prayer, who are ensnared by the enemy, overwhelmed in their state of blindness, deafness, and near paralysis and delivering such from the kingdom of darkness, into the light of the LORD's glorious kingdom.


For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:11
The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. Prov. 10:11

The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. Prov. 28:1
The ultimate objective of the enemy is globalization of governments and religions. One of the primary methods of uniting governments is economics and monetary avenues; for religions one of the primary methods employed is meditation of the eastern style. Already the enemy has gained incredible ground in both of these arenas:


to review more on this, see the article - REMEDIAL COURSE On Conspiracies - 101 Part One and subsequent articles found on The TRUTH Under FIRE

Politically nations are engaged in working towards "Unions of nations" into supra-national blocks of power. The E.U. is the prototype for this and nations will be conglomerated into a North American, South American, Central American, Asian, African and other 'Unions'. Once established, a singular global government will only be one step away.


Ecumenically every major religion in the world, be it Hindu, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and (so-called) Christian, and of course Wiccan, pagan and esoteric occult groups have their own versions of meditative practices that are essentially mystical and occultic. Its been heavily documented that any Christian that's involved in something known as 'contemplative prayer' shift from a biblical world view to a pantheistic (God is all), or panentheistic (God is in all) world view. The same can be said for others in the various religions mentioned, and this will be the commonality by which religions will relate to one another, and unify.


This practice of contemplative prayer has likewise infiltrated our own ranks and agents formerly powerful in our cause seem to have been compromised by this methodology.

review information on this from a recent article found on this site -

Sunday, January 24, 2010BEWARE of PRAYER- of the contemplative kind


(since Ray Yungen's book, A Time of Departing, deals heavily with this issue, look for a sequel to the above article in the form of a review of his book I'm currently reading)


Biblical intel explains that prior to the appearance and rising to power of the coming one world leader, a world government will be established (Daniel 7:7-8), and it would seem reasonable that in addition, a one world religion would likewise be established.


Since our promise as the church is that we will escape only this period of time wherein the Beast is manifested, its entirely possible we could still be here during a time when a global government and religion is in place and ruling on planet Earth.

Providing this is the case, we must remain ever vigilant in our environmental awareness, obtain valid intel on the agents working for the enemy: who they are (get names!), what they believe (get documentation!), how and where they are working to infiltrate (get current research and investigative materials!) -- and to expose such for what they truly are, utilizing the scriptures as our mandate for the Absolute and exclusive TRUTH by which WE MUST STAND, lest we fall!

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1 John 4:1

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 1 Thess. 5:1

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Ephesians 5:11

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Romans 13:11

Look for more information on this at the following links:

Saturday, April 4, 2009TRIUMPHANT BUT TRAGIC TROJAN

Friday, April 24, 2009INVASION OF THE “BODY” SNATCHERS?

Friday, April 17, 2009HOLY RELICS -- note: at the bottom of this article is a partial list of advocates of the Emerging Church Movement. Sadly, this list of names has grown enormously since the release of this article last year.


It will only be a matter of time before the world is inundated with the beliefs and practices already prevalent in our society and making incredibly successful advances into our own ranks. Therefore to be ambivalent regarding these alarming developments is not an option for any of us agents of Adonai.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8

If the rapture happens later than sooner, we will all certainly be confronted with these enemy forces and we need to be properly armed with our array of spiritual weapons and armory.

The old expression holds true: "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything." We must stand on the Word of Truth!

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:13

It is this Word of TRUTH, the Holy Scriptures; and the Holy Spirit who indwells each true believer and follower of the LORD Jesus, where our unity resides. Not in ecumenism, which only wants to homogenize a watered down Christianity into a world religion, melded with every other belief system in this world.


Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3

Note: it says "keep" not "create" - - ecumenism is at best a work of the flesh to create something that we already have by God's Spirit represented in the body of Christ; at worst its a ploy of the enemy to draw everyone into a world religious system destined one day to serve and worship the Beast!

As agents for Adonai, we must remain strict in our adherence and obedience to this Word of Truth; compromise is out of the question. Too long as Christians have we entertained that which passes for ministry, in the pulpits and in books, what have you, and said regarding error "Just spit out the bones"!

We need to keep the pulpits in our churches accountable to the Word of God; we need to keep one another accountable, and ourselves most especially accountable to God's Word.

Each of us (myself included) must examine with cold objectivity what we are watching, what we are reading, what we are engaged in: is it biblically sound or not? If there is even the slightest of doubt, or moments pause, better to do without than compromise.

It may seem a daunting task to remain pure both in our hearts, and in our doctrine, especially in this day in which the truth of this verse is even more apparent:
1John 5:19
And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
Yet this mandate is within our grasp so long as we rely upon the LORD and His Spirit; in ourselves this is IMPOSSIBLE, but not in Christ Jesus! Not only are we to engage in that which will ensure our defense, that of our loved ones and our fellowships, but offensive action as well. Take hold of the armor and our spiritual weapons and assault the kingdom of darkness, the gates of hell, expose the lies that are being propagated throughout the land and in our churches!

We are not called to convert the world, or even to demolish such movements as the Emergent Church: we are simply called to sow the seed of the Gospel, preach the Word in season and out, and to stand fast in Christ, being faithful to Him and to His Name, and submit ourselves wholly to the will of God.


Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

1John 4:4
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Our mission once again: UPRIGHT and OUTREACH - - This by God's grace is MISSION HIM-POSSIBLE!

Go with God in the Almighty Name, Power and Glory of the LORD Jesus Christ!

(this Earth will destruct - - - eventually!)

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Romans 13:11

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 1 John 2:15-19For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. Acts 20: 29-31

Pondering On ISRAEL As Written in "From Time Immemorial"

As many of you know, who've read articles from the web site I contribute to, The TRUTH Under FIRE (www.thetruthunderfire.com), the primary site of which this RED PILL Consortium is an associate of, our endeavor is to:

"herald without compromise the Truth as delivered to the church of the LORD Jesus Christ by way of the Holy Bible. . . and also to dispel deception as found everywhere else, by careful, verified research."

This deception is propagated by the 'Matrix-like" machine whose cogs and parts consist of our so-called educational system, various political, governmental and religious organizations and corporations, and our public media, as well as other sources.

One such deception is in regards to the nation of Israel. Most of us believe the situation in the Middle East is as it is, based on what we see, hear and read in the 'news'.

This 'information' is utilized to further the goals of those who run 'the Matrix' in order to conform our views and beliefs in accord with the deception and illusion that is perceived as factual, when - in fact - it is a fiction, or as Joan Peters has called it, "a flight from fact" in her book FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL.

There are few credible sources that dispel the darkness of this deception that runs amok throughout the world, but her book is certainly one of them!

Here are some reviews of this tremendous work:

"A remarkable document in itself . . . The refugees are not the problem but the excuse." - Washington Post Book World

"Everything in this book reads like hard news . . . The great service provided here by Mrs. Peters - if only attention is paid - is to lay a groundwork for peace by clearing away the farrago of lies. . ." - National Review

"This book, if read, will change the mind of our generation. If understood, it could also affect the history o the future."
- New Republic

"Fresh and powerful . . . Offers an original analysis, perhaps even redraw, our picture of the conflict." - Atlantic Monthly

"The reader comes away not only rethinking the Middle East refugee problem, but also the extent to which propaganda can be swallowed whole for lack of information." - The Los Angeles Times

And on it goes. This book was originally published by Harper & Row in 1984. Joan Peters was originally commissioned to visit the Middle East and report on the "plight of the Palestinians", for whose rights Mrs. Peters was a staunch advocate; that is, until she actually came to Israel and saw the situation first hand.

Her report then took on an entirely different angle as she found her convictions, beliefs and presumptions challenged by what she witnessed. That report morphed into the 500 page plus book that I have in my library today.

Needless to say, this did NOT please the Power Elite, the unholy helmsmen of humanity's history (Recall Napoleon's famous quote:
"What is history, but an agreed upon myth?") and so when the book came out, they bought the publishing house and retracted the entire stock of copies produced.

Thanks to the efforts of Dave Hunt (http://www.thebereancall.org)%20and/ and others, the copyright of this book has been renewed under a new publisher and is freely available to any enquiring reader who wants to swallow the RED PILL and see things for how they really are.

It is my sincere hope that I provoke most, if not all of you to secure your own copy after reading these articles on the subject (You can order the book at Dave Hunt's web site mentioned above). I plan, LORD willing, to post articles periodically, gleaning information from chapters (there are 18 of them) contained in this book. Be advised that information shared will not necessarily be contiguous as documented in FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL.

"It was 1974, two and a half decades after the war against Israel's statehood . . . and these appealing, victimized people were still refugees. . . Why were the Arab refugees, unlike refugees on other continents, not yet rehabilitated but still in camps?"

"Because I'd assumed that Arab refugees from Israel were the 'Middle East refugees', I was startled to find that, also around 1948, whole Jewish populations from numerous Arab countries had been forced to flee as refugees to Israel and elsewhere in the world."

". . . some other key beliefs in the popular (and my personal) understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict were shaken. For example . . . a seemingly casual alteration of the definition of what constitutes an Arab "refugee" from Israel caught my attention. In other cases [of what a typical definition of a 'refugee' is] the more or less universally used description of eligibility included those people who were forced to leave 'permanent' or 'habitual' homes. In the case of the Arab refugees, however, the definition had been broadened to include as 'refugees' any persons who had been in 'Palestine' for only two years before Israel's statehood in 1948."

". . . the claim that the 'Palestinian refugees' had been settled for 'millennia' for the first time activated my curiosity. The two situations were not compatible: what the altered two-year claim of 'legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to their homeland for a 'thousand' or 'two thousand years'."

At that point Mrs. Peters still didn't question the Palestinian plight, only the legitimacy of the 'two year' clause that qualified any Arab as a legitimate refugee. Yet she would eventually discover that the plight of the Palestinians was the plan of perpetrators who effectively created the situation to begin with: Islamic leaders whose intent was to take apart piece by piece, what they could not conquer by the whole, that is, the land of Israel.

Israel's long history is written in the slaughtered blood of her people, ever since that nation entered into Canaan land until today's generation. Yet how many of us are familiar with this history, even beginning at the time after Christ Jesus's ascension into heaven?

Joan Peter's provides a very good time line documenting this portion of Israel's history, and I will replicate it here for your consideration:

70 AD - The Romans conquer Jerusalem
132-136 - Jewish revolt under Bar Kochba; final defeat of Judah and loss of political sovereignty.
351 - Jewish revolt to end foreign rule; Roman Empire adopts Christianity [that is, Roman Catholicism].
395 - Palestine* part of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine), still called Judea or Judah.
438 - Empress Eudocia allows Jews back Temple site, misinterpreted by Jews as a return to statehood.
614 - Persian conquest under Chosroes (with the support of a Jewish army).
628 - Palestine reconquered by the Byzantines.
633-637 - Arab conquest; shortly afterward, attempt by Jews to restore their nation.
639 - Muawiyah, Arab governor
660 - Muawiyah is made the first Omayyad Caliph of Damascus.
661 - Murder of Ali; Omayyad Dynasty begins.
750 - Last Omayyad Caliph defeated; reign of Abbassid Caliphs of Baghdad (Persian, Turk, Circassian, Kurd).
878 - Ahmad b. Tulun, a Turk general and governor of Egypt, conquers Palestine; reign of the Tulundes (Turks).
904 - The Abbassids of Baghdad reconquer Palestine.
906 - Inroads of the Carmathians.
934 - The Egyptian Ikhshidi princes conquer Palestine; their reign begins.
969 - The Fatimid Caliphs of Cairo conquer Palestine.
969 - 971 - War with the Carmithians.
970 - 976 - Byzantine Invasion
1070 - 1080 - Seljuq Turks conquer Palestine.
1099 - The Crusaders conquer Jerusalem, massacre of the Jewish and Muslim populations; reign in parts of Palestine until 1291.
1187 - Saladin of Damascus, a Kurd, captures Jerusalem and the greater part of Palestine.
1244 - The Kharezmians, instigated by Genghis Khan, invades Palestine. Jerusalem's population is slaughtered; the city is sacked.
1260 - Mameluk Sultans of Egypt defeat the Monguls at Ain Jalut, in Palestine; their reign begins.
1291 - End of the Latin (Crusaders) kingdom.
1299-1303 - Mongol invasion
1516-1517 - The Ottomans conquer Palestine.
1799 - Napoleon conquers Palestine, but is defeated at Acre.
1831 - Ibrahim Pasha, adopted son of Egypt's Viceroy occupies Palestine.
1840 - Ibrahim Pasha compelled by the Powers to leave Palestine; Turkish rule restored.
1840, on - English writers and statesmen begin to discuss the possibility of a Jewish restoration.
1871-1882 - First Jewish agricultural settlements.
1909 - Foundation of the all-Jewish city of Tel Aviv.
1917 - 1918 - Allies occupy the whole of Palestine, east and west of the Jordan River; British military administration, end of Ottoman Empire.
also: 1917-1918 - Balfour Declaration granting "Jewish Homeland" internationally approved.
1920 - British (pre-Mandate) civil administration; Turkish sovereignty renounced, treaty includes the Balfour Declaration.
1922 - Palestinian Mandate; Jewish National Homeland confirmed.
1923 - Palestinian Mandate comes into operation.
also: 1923 - Seventy-five percent of Palestine is set aside as an independent Arab 'Palestinian' state, Transjordan [today known simply as Jordan].
1925 - Hebrew University of Jerusalem is opened.
1927 - High Commissioners receive Commission for Transjordan.
1929 - Arab revolt
1936 - 1939 - Arab revolt and war.
1946 - Establishment of Arab state of Transjordan.
1948 - End of Mandate for Palestine; established the State of Israel; Arab-Jewish war.
also: 1948 - Eastern Palestine - Transjordan - occupies the West Bank area of Western Palestine, [and] becomes "Jordan", constituting over 80% of Palestine.

Please note that at one time, there was the distinction between Western Palestine and Eastern Palestine. Western Palestine was what we know today as Israel. Eastern Palestine was what we know today as Jordan. HOWEVER today there is no such references to these regions; Jordan is simply Jordan, and all of a sudden, Israel is Palestine (with no mention of either "western or eastern")!! And the cry by Muslims, the UN, the EU and even the United States of America is "GIVE PALESTINIANS THEIR OWN LAND!"

They were given their own land; nearly 80% of the land that was originally promised to the Jews, but then handed over to the Muslims. Yet you NEVER hear of such things today! Of course not! That's because such information would undermine the endeavor to disenfranchise the Jews of the land that they do possess!

*It should also be noted that the term "Palestine" is an anti-Jewish designation which attempts to disassociate the land from the Jewish nation.

When Israel was delivered from the land of Egypt, led through the wilderness, and eventually after essentially 40 years led to the land of Canaan, she was met with many adversaries, most notably, the Philistines.

Centuries later when the Roman Empire ruled the Western world, including huge territories of the East as well; also including the nation Israel. It was under Emperor Hadrian, who desired to break that nation and the Jewish culture, that made it illegal for Jews to own or even read a Torah, outlawed circumcision, demolished the city of Jerusalem and the Temple, and erected a pagan temple in its place. He also declared that that land would no longer be called Israel, but (in the Latin) 'Palestina', so named after her cruel enemies of antiquity, the Philistines (which had died off as a race several centuries earlier).

Thus was the term 'Palestine' born; be advised therefore that when ever you use that word (rather than simply 'Israel') you are using the term of her enemies.

For more about the history of this term, its usage both in antiquity and in modern times, and it's origin, please read this excellent article on this subject at the following link:

http://www.levitt.com/essays/palestine.html

Thus concludes this segment of "Ponderings On ISRAEL As Written in "From Time Immemorial". Further segments will be interspersed among other articles dealing with a wide range of topics.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to email me at the address provided under the "About Me" heading.

Go with God in the Almighty, Majestic and Holy Name of the LORD Jesus Christ!

Nikaeo Aionios AVRAS!

James J. Fire

BEWARE of PRAYER - Of The Contemplative Kind - Part I

As Christians we are admonished in GOD'S Word to pray, and there are all sorts and types of prayer: intercessory, petitional, supplicational, prayers of praise and worship, etc.

Essentially prayer is simply talking with our Creator who is also the Heavenly Father of all those who belong to the LORD Jesus Christ. Having fellowship and communing with our GOD is a delight to Him, and He yearns to have us so engaged in such loving interaction.

Because we know that praying to the LORD pleases Him, we might be overzealous in embracing anything that is called 'prayer' and that may well be why some have adopted methods and practices that are not biblical.

What I'm referring to 'contemplative prayer/spirituality'. While it sounds nice, when one gets to the heart of this matter, its very essence is not Christian at all, much less biblical in its content; rather it's a blending of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu beliefs all rolled into one, and then given a spin by the "ancient church fathers" of the Catholic church.

Is This Christianity Today? ANCIENT-FUTURE Holy Ways or Heresies?

The above photographs are in order of appearance (left to right): Robert Webber, Father John Neuhaus, Richard Foster,  and Father Peter Gillquist and Chuck Colson.
What do these men have in common? For one thing, they are all editors for the magazine, Christianity Today. What else do they have in common? That we shall see in this article!

The main purpose of this blog is to reveal how this 'Matrix-like' world is perpetrating lies, illusions, deceptions, misguided information, etc. in all spheres of life, be they political, social, religious, and what not.

In reviewing materials regarding the Emergent Church Movement, I recalled an article written by The Berean Call, and when I re-read it, I wanted to use it for reference material, but found that every paragraph, every sentence was so RELEVANT that I decided to post it here unedited. I will interject my own comments in green.
This article shows the deception of the so-called legitimacy of the ancient church fathers, and their practices as something that is 'needful', 'essential', something that the church today is 'lacking'. This idea conveys that we are somehow deficient without these things, when in fact, these are mystical, occult practices of darkness, of which we as Christians should have nothing to do with!

Read this article and decide for yourself -

Another related topic that I will cover in an upcoming article is that of contemplative prayer, something that is taking the evangelical church by storm, but is essentially eastern mysticism dressed up in Roman Catholic and Orthodox clothing, and is being adapted for those in formerly biblical churches and societies, with no small amount of promotion from the likes of Richard Foster (Founder of the Renovare Institutue) and Robert E. Webber.

Without any further delay, here is TBC's article - Ancient Future Heresies: Feb. 28, 2008

Here's an idea. Let's go back through historical church eras and glean from such time periods those issues deemed to be of value in the development of the Christian faith. Let's review the first-century church, the church between A.D. 100 and 600, then consider the medieval era (A.D. 700 to 1500), followed by the Reformation period (A.D. 1500 and later), and so on. To be effective in this endeavor, it's important to have a good understanding of the cultural context in which the Christians of each era practiced their faith. In addition, we'll need to study the Church Fathers and gain the insights they provided.

Why? Well, those who are promoting this "re-presenting the past" believe that today's Christianity will greatly benefit as it "re-invents itself" in order to effectively bring the message of the gospel to the postmodern world. If you think this may not be a good idea, you could be labeled a "traditionalist," one whose faith and practice is inflexible and out of touch with our rapidly changing culture-and church. That's the view that Christianity Today (CT) has of what's going on in evangelical Christianity.
You may consider me a traditionalist then, because the Gospel has always been effective every where its been proclaimed, in every era of our history, when accomplished by the parameters set down by the LORD Jesus Himself and His apostles! Romans 1:16 states it quite plainly:

ROM 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Note that its the power of God that accomplishes this work: since when did God in His almighty power ever need our assistance in "re-inventing Christianity" in order to more effectively bring the message of the Gospel??

In introducing its February 2008 feature article with a cover-page declaration, "Lost Secrets of the Ancient Church: How evangelicals started looking backward to move forward," CT senior managing editor Mark Galli writes:

You might say a number of CT editors have a vested interest in this issue's cover story. David Neff, Ted Olsen, Tim Morgan, and I have been doing the ancient-future thing for many years, at Episcopal and/or Anglican parishes. And if this were not enough immersion in the topic, in his spare time, David Neff heads up the Robert E. Webber Center for an Ancient Evangelical Future, founded by the father of the ancient-future movement.
Acknowledging the magazine's inherent (and historic) bias, Galli notes that "the ancient church has captivated the evangelical imagination for some time [yet] it hasn't been until recently that it's become an accepted fixture of the evangelical landscape. And this is for the good" (emphasis added). That, of course, is Galli's opinion and, sadly, a growing multitude of influential Christian leaders agree.

This most certainly is an indictment against the evangelical church, if by evangelical one understands that the church has leaned wholly on the scriptures alone for doctrine and conduct in all things regarding church and godly life in Christ Jesus! Sola Scriptura (scripture alone) is no longer the theme of the Christian church today... its godless ecumenism, a work of humanism, and well nigh a deification of human belief, imagination, and dogma!

Robert E. Webber, who died last year, is certainly the "father of the ancient-future movement," and his many books have provided encouragement and content for leaders of Emerging Church fellowships. As a Wheaton College professor for three decades, he also played a significant part in influencing that evangelical institution's capitulation to ecumenism, particularly its support of Roman Catholicism (see TBC 7/02, 6/02 by T.A. on ECT at Wheaton).

Webber wrote in his book, Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World, "Currently, Western society is in a transition from the modern world to a postmodern world... shifting us toward the affirmation of new values...resulting in a whole new culture and rais[ing] new questions about the way a biblical Christianity is to be understood and communicated."1

Affirmation of new values as a result of shifting into a postmodern world? Postmodernism is a euphemism for apostasy and a denigration of the whole counsel of God as represented by the scriptures. Postmodernism questions (". . . raising new questions . . ."??) the validity of scripture and scriptural accounts as 'myths' and 'shared stories' rather than accounts of the truth, and of doctrinal truth!
Listen church, we DON'T NEED NEW VALUES - - WE NEED (AND HAVE ALREADY) GOD's VALUES documented in GOD's WORD; they are TRUE, and they are ALL THAT IS NEEDFUL FOR THE DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST! PERIOD! AMEN!

The solution for Christianity to be viable in this cultural transition, Webber contends, is to "recover the universally accepted framework of faith that originated with the apostles, was developed by the [Church] Fathers, and has been handed down by the church in its liturgical and theological traditions."2

This Church Fathers' "framework of faith," along with "its liturgical and theological traditions" is found primarily, according to Webber, in the era of "Classic Christianity," between A.D. 100 and 600. And it was to that church age that most of the speakers at the 2007 Wheaton Theology Conference on "The Ancient Faith for the Church's Future" sang their praises. CT describes what took place at the Billy Graham Center in the Cliff Barrows Auditorium, including taking the audience through prayers from the Gelasian Sacramentary Book of Sacraments of the Church of Rome), a fifth-century book of Catholic liturgy containing the priest's instructions for celebrating the Eucharist and recommending them for worship in today's Protestant churches.

One speaker promoted the Catholic "medieval fourfold hermeneutic," which emphasizes the nonliteral interpretation of the Bible, and another "gleefully passed on the news" to this highly receptive crowd "that Liberty University had observed the liturgical season of Lent."

The non-literal interpretation of God's Word was first suggested as a modus operandi by Origen, a supposed early Church Father and a Gnostic! Gnosticism is anti-thetical to sound biblical exegesis (the study of what the Bible says in its original languages) and is heavily steeped in occult and mysticism!

The writer of the article then asks, "Had Catholics taken over?" in this former bastion of conservative evangelicalism. His answer is NO! This Wheaton College conference was simply evangelicals looking to the past for "rich biblical, spiritual, and theological treasures to be found within the early church" as supplied by the early Church Fathers.3

Are evangelicals truly paying attention to the Church Fathers? University professor D. H. Williams, author of Evangelicals and Tradition, substantiated "the recent upsurge of evangelical interest in patristics (the study of the Church Fathers): 'Who would have thought, a decade ago, that one of the most vibrant and serious fields of Christian study at the beginning of the 21st century would be the ancient church fathers? There has been an opening of new avenues...[created] by the almost overnight popularity of bishops and monks, martyrs and apologists, philosophers and historians who first fashioned a Christian culture 1,500 years ago.'"4

I submit that what these fashioned was not a Christian culture, but a culture akin to Pergamos, that ancient Roman/Greek city where every religious system available was amalgamated into a 'hodge-podge' of do-it-yourself-religion, that admittedly had a strong Christian influence in it, but added that which are unequivocally NON-ESSENTIALS! Remember, that when you add to the TRUTH, you subtract from it!

Although these developments may seem shockingly new to some and seem to have sprung up overnight, Christianity Today gives some preparatory background (see also "Evangelical Mysticism?" TBC 2/08). The article quotes Robert Webber from his then controversial 1978 book Common Roots:
"My argument is that the era of the early church (A.D. 100-500), and particularly the second century, contains insights which evangelicals need to recover."

CT notes that 25 years later Webber rejoiced in his book Younger Evangelicals that they [emergent fellowships] "want to immerse themselves in the past and form a culture that is connected to the past...."
Nearly a decade earlier than Common Roots, a number of Campus Crusade leaders went on their own "recovery" of ancient liturgies, specifically from Eastern Orthodoxy. Peter Gillquist, Jack Sparks, Jon Braun, and others left Campus Crusade to form what was a forerunner of today's ancient-future-emergent movement (emphasis mine). They turned to the writings of the early Church Fathers "to practice a more liturgical form of worship than in their previous evangelical background."5

They called their movement the New Covenant Apostolic Order and, later, the Evangelical Orthodox Church.
In 1978, Quaker and CT advisory editor Richard Foster wrote Celebration of Discipline. His book, which introduced Catholic and occult meditative techniques to evangelicals, sold more than a million copies and was selected by Christianity Today as one of the top ten books of the 20th century. Foster later formed Renovaré, an organization dedicated to teaching spiritual formation through the mystical beliefs and practices of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Desert Fathers. Eugene Peterson (CT editor), author of the very popular paraphrased Bible, The Message, was the New Testament editor of the Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible.

These developments are foundational to today's Emerging Church phenomenon and indicate that such roots will carry it well beyond its merely being a fad among today's evangelical youth. More recent support (noted in last month's TBC) is the change in attitude among evangelicals toward Roman Catholicism fostered by "Evangelicals & Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium," an endeavor of Chuck Colson and Father Richard John Neuhaus (both CT editors) and the stunning success (thanks to evangelicals) of Mel Gibson's extremely Catholic The Passion of the Christ
Is any of this "for the good," as Christianity Today declares?

Let's both reason from the Scriptures, and simply be reasonable (ISAIAH 1:18).

The Ancient-Future search to discover gems from "Classic Christianity" comes up short by a century -- the century in which the New Testament was written. The critical difference should be obvious. The writers of the New Testament were inspired by the Holy Spirit (emphasis added) as they penned God's Word (2 TIM 3:16; 2 PET 1:21, 22).

What writings from A.D. 100 and later can claim such inspiration? None. But we're told that some were disciples of or lived at the time of the apostles. True, but proximity to the apostles is hardly a guarantee against heresy nor does it come close to inspiration. Furthermore, much of the first-century-written New Testament reproved and corrected errors that had already entered the church!
Remember the Apostle Paul's warning to the Ephesian elders, who were certainly closer to Paul than any of the so-called Church Fathers:

ACTS 20:28-31
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

Again, why this attraction to the ancient Church Fathers? Could any of them say with Paul,
PHIL 4:9
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you?

We can trust his God-breathed words completely. On the other hand, it takes very little scrutiny of men like Origen, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian, Justin Martyr, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine, and others, to see their flaws, let alone their heresies. AMEN!!
For example, Origen taught that God would save everyone and that Mary was a perpetual virgin; Irenaeus believed that the bread and wine became the body and blood of Jesus when consecrated, as did John Chrysostom and Cyril of Jerusalem; Athanasius taught salvation through baptism; Tertullian became a supporter of the Montanist heresies, and a promoter of a New Testament clergy class, as did his disciple Cyprian; Augustine was the principal architect of Catholic dogma that included his support of purgatory, baptismal regeneration, and infant baptism, mortal and venial sins, prayers to the dead, penance for sins, absolution from a priest, the sinlessness of Mary, the Apocrypha as Scripture, etc.

It's not that these men got everything wrong; some, on certain doctrines, upheld Scripture against the developing unbiblical dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church.
Nevertheless, overall they are a heretical minefield. So why seek them out? (emphasis added)
Worse yet are the Desert Fathers and the Catholic mystics. Anthony the Great, known as the father of Christian monasticism, is the most revered of the Desert Fathers. According to Athanasius, the devil fought Anthony by afflicting him with boredom, laziness, and the phantoms of women, which he countered by becoming a hermit and isolating himself for years inside a tomb. He communicated with the outside world through a crevice that enabled him to receive food and to offer spiritual advice. Supposedly, the devil, upset by his holiness, would come and beat him unmercifully.

Later mystics were no less bizarre-or unbiblical. Benedictine nun Julian of Norwich, a favorite of evangelical mystic wannabes and "Christian" feminists, believed in universal salvation, that God was in all things, referred to God as "Father-Mother," and experienced intense visions of heaven and hell. Her most famous saying became a positive mental attitude mantra: "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." Like Anthony, she had herself walled off from society, living for 20 years in a cell attached to a church, where a small window provided access to food and a view of the church altar and of the Eucharist.

Could these hermits and mystics really interest evangelicals? Christianity Today says they do. Referring to "monastic evangelicals" and the "new monasticism," an insert in its cover article observes how "growing numbers of evangelicals" are "taking their newfound love affair with Christian tradition" beyond "books and talk" and are "now experimenting with advent candles [and] sampling [Catholic] practices associated with Lent...." CT credits Richard Foster's Devotional Classics as possibly fueling this latest trend, and it notes that Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, and a number of emerging church writers have "been calling evangelicals to monastic models as a guide for the future."6
As a former Roman Catholic, I [Tom McMahon] am staggered when I see who and what Christianity Today is blatantly promoting.

Robert Webber, for example, writes in Signs and Wonders of an experience that changed his Protestant life. He received the Eucharist (allegedly the "actual body and blood of Christ under the appearance of bread and wine") while at a Catholic retreat center: "You might say I was surprised by joy!...I had never had an experience like that in my life....I had been in dialog with another worship tradition, and I was surely the richer for it"7

I likewise came from a Roman Catholic background and at one point entertained the idea of becoming a priest. That which Mr. Webber partook of, I had participated in for well over a decade before I left that church. What the Eucharist is, is a paganistic concept of one's God being transubstantiated into material substance to be consumed by the adherrant. This is what created in Mr. Webber a sense of joy and enrichment?? Please note that I harbor no hatred nor ill intentions towards any Roman Catholics, or any other religious persons. On the contrary, I have compassion on them and would desire that they come to the knowledge of the truth. The allegations made in this newsletter and in my comments are ascertainable through careful research which any one can obtain if they are truly interested in knowing truth from falsehoods. The Two Babylons by Alexander Hyslop as well as Dave Hunt's book A Woman Rides the Beast are two excellent beginning points for any researcher.

Thousands of steadfast biblical Christians were martyred for refusing that idolatrous and gospel-denying "worship tradition."
Campus Crusade leader-turned-Orthodox-priest Peter Gillquist explains the "mission" he and those who joined him are on: "Our desire is to make North America Orthodox!" As former conservative evangelicals, they believe that "if we [could] become Orthodox, then anyone in North America can!" Furthermore, due to their apologetics and evangelism training, "...we represent a strong force for Orthodox evangelization....And we know there are many others just like us who if given the time and persuasion will join the Orthodox ranks (emphasis added) just as we have."8

I find Mr. Gillquist's comment not only provocative, but also revealing! Note what he actually said: "Our desire is to make North America Orthodox!" He didn't say, 'America' or 'the United States' . . . he said North America! Why this entire region and not his home country? In my opinion, I believe its because the upcoming North American Community, and North American Union (both modeled after the European versions as aptly documented in various sources) will have a state-sanctioned religion, a 'neo-Roman Catholic/Orthodox Evangelicalism' to the exclusion of biblical Christianity, which will be outlawed!

Will this soon pass? No. It's all part of related agendas that are building the end-times apostate church (REV 13:8). Its tools are experientialism, subjectivism, mysticism, and dominionism, all of which aggressively and obstinately subvert the Word of God. They are intentionally (in some cases unwittingly) being used to work out Satan's primary scheme against God and mankind (GEN 3:1: "Yea, hath God said...?) as they undermine His Truth. Is God doing anything about it? Yes. As evidenced by what's been presented here and so much more, He is sending "strong delusion" among those who have not a "love of the truth" (2 THESS 2:10,11). AMEN!

We desperately need to heed the words of Jesus in REVELATION chapters 2-3 that give critical warnings to churches that profess to be His. To Laodicea, which very likely represents the last church age before His return, He declares.

REV 3:19-22
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
 TBC

Endnotes
Robert E. Webber, Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World (Baker Academic, 1999), 15.

Ibid., 17.

Mark Galli, "Lost Secrets of the Ancient Church," Christianity Today, February 2008, 23.

Ibid., 24.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelical_Orthodox_Church.

Galli, Christianity, 28.

Robert Webber, Signs and Wonders (Nashville, TN:Star Song Publishing Group, 1992), 5.

Peter Gillquist, "Arrowhead Springs To Antioch:Odyssey To Orthodoxy," The Word, October 1987.