John / John is on Nostr

Reformed Baptist, Single Dad of a tremendous 10 year old boy, USAF veteran, #Bitcoin, #Carnivore, Soli Deo Gloria!

Last Notes

2024-04-23 13:31:09 UTC

From my pastor: MOST EMBARRASSING FAILED PROPHECIES OF DISPENSATIONALISM, candidate two
“The Revived Roman Empire”
The concept here is that, in the End Times, there will be a renewal or replay of the ancient Roman Empire. The Antichrist will be at its head, of course. It will consist of 10 member states and will be a terrifying force to be reckoned with, like no military power before it
.
As with all the other Dispensational fancies, this one only survives by hiding behind that well-worn, gossamer dodge that says, “Yes, I know it hasn’t come to pass like we said it would, but God can make it happen in the future!”
But everything you’ve pointed at with great seriousness and excitement as a possible, present fulfillment has fallen away, even though you’ve been willing to stretch and mangle your own terms beyond recognition.
The failure in it is this: You think the Rapture is imminent. You believe the Great Tribulation could start tomorrow. But your own system absolutely must have Italy, and Rome specifically, as the head of the world-conquering military alliance mentioned above. It has to be up and running at the beginning of the seven years. You believe the ultimate Final Boss will go out “conquering and to conquer” at the onset.
At the very least you are of two minds. You think the Tribulation could begin today, but there is no hint of the Beast’s Italian end-times army mustered anywhere.
The very idea of such an army is laughable. God can do what He wants, but as things stand today, the idea is ludicrous: Italy currently spends a little more than Australia on its military, well behind several other European nations, and military powerhouses like Japan and South Korea. Its military size ranks at #31 in the world, behind behemoths like Eritrea and Morocco.
Now, to their credit, Dispensationalists have recognized for decades how inconvenient this is for their system and have sought to soften the blow of failure by suggesting that maybe “Empire” can mean “treaty organization” or “trade summit”.
And maybe it could be called Roman if Italy is simply a member, and not actually in charge of it. Maybe the United Nations armed troops qualify as some reflection of ancient Rome’s brutal conquerors who crushed whole countries. Only blind allegiance to a system, regardless of truth, could account for this word-salad twisting.
The European Union began in 1993 and many Dispensationalists were all a-flutter when the tenth member joined. This must be it! It’s all winding down now, baby! Well, the prophetically mandatory number of ten was quickly surpassed. There are well over 30 member states now.
Hey, believe what you will about what this “Roman Empire” must look like in its End Times incarnation. Knock yourself out. You just can’t consistently also believe that you could be raptured out of here at any time. That empire has to be ready to roll, as many things have to happen in a very short period.
You’ve seen what trouble it’s been for a well-funded, legitimate military force (Russia) to try to take over a single, much less powerful nation. And you think Italy is on the verge of conquering ten? C’mon.
Again, God can do what He wants, but at some point shouldn’t you be willing to go back and reassess your theories?
#faith #bible #christian #endtimes

2024-03-03 20:47:45 UTC

- reply

They decided to keep Alia in the womb. I understand the choice and though it was done well.

2023-12-28 13:52:22 UTC

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 28th)
Absolute Assurance
He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee — Hebrews 13:5
Several times in the Scriptures the Lord hath said this. He has often repeated it, to make our assurance doubly sure. Let us never harbor a doubt of it. In itself the promise is specially emphatic. In the Greek it has five negatives, each one definitely shutting out the possibility of the Lord's ever leaving one of His people so that he can justly feel forsaken of his God. This priceless Scripture does not promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always have our Lord's company, assistance, and provision. We need not covet money, for we shall always have our God, and God is better than gold, His favor is better than fortune.
We ought surely to be content with such things as we have, for he who has God has more than all the world besides. What can we have beyond the Infinite? What more can we desire than Almighty Goodness.
Come, my heart; if God says He will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, be thou much in prayer for grace, that thou mayest never leave thy Lord, nor even for a moment forsake His ways.
#faith #bible #christian

2023-12-19 14:18:45 UTC

The American Right has little to offer the people except a slower paced leftism. “The Land of the Free” has become the home of would-be tyrants with ever-expanding dreams of control. ~ R. J. Rushdoony
#faith #bible #christian

2023-12-17 14:48:38 UTC

Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook (December 17th)
Nearest and Dearest Fellowship
So shall we ever be with the Lord — 1 Thessalonians 4:17
While we are here the Lord is with us, and when we are called away we are with Him. There is no dividing the saint from His Saviour. They are one, and they always must be one: Jesus cannot be without His own people, for He would be a Head without a body. Whether caught up into the air, or resting in Paradise, or sojourning here, we are with Jesus; and who shall separate us from Him?
What a joy is this! Our supreme honor, rest, comfort, delight, is to be with the Lord. We cannot conceive of anything which can surpass or even equal this divine society. By holy fellowship we must be with Him in His humiliation, rejection, and travail, and then we shall be with Him in His glory. Before long we shall be with Him in His rest and in His royalty, in His expectation and in His manifestation. We shall fare as He fares, and triumph as He triumphs.
O my Lord, if I am to be for ever with thee, I have a destiny incomparable. I will not envy an archangel. To be for ever with the Lord is my idea of Heaven at its best. Not the harps of gold, nor the crowns unfading, nor the light unclouded, is glory to me; but Jesus, Jesus Himself, and myself for ever with Him in nearest and dearest fellowship.
#faith #bible #christian

2023-12-15 16:23:06 UTC

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7 LSB)
Consider these prophetic words, written hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. What foundational theological reality undergirds them? What did people have to believe to understand their message and their fulfillment? No Open Theist could make heads or tails of such a prophecy because, of course, the fulfillment would require millions of "free will" decisions made by creatures that, by that system, cannot be known to God. And those who properly recognize the incoherence of open theism are left cobbling together some kind of system that pretends to affirm the biblical statements of God's sovereignty over time while still allowing man to be sovereign over his own fate. But the fact is, one of the key texts we celebrate at this time of year can only be understood when you recognize that "the zeal of Yahweh of armies" will accomplish exactly what He wishes to accomplish, when He wishes to accomplish it, all to His glory and honor. - James White
#faith #bible #christian #opentheism