Freedom of Assembly, Gone Forever?

It has been a very long time since I have posted to this blog (or any blog).  I have been less concerned about politics and more concerned about other things like evangelism, charity, and my own career and education lately.  I do not deny the seriousness of the COVID-19 outbreak, but the government has taken another big step toward effectively abolishing the Constitution and the rule of law in general.  The First Amendment says in part, “Congress shall make no law…abridging…the right of the people peaceably to assemble…”.  Article I, section 3 of the Ohio Constitution says, “The people have the right to assemble together, in a peaceable manner, to consult for their common good…” I’m not saying that people should ignore the situation, but the people have the absolute right to gather together.  There are no exceptions for extreme situations.  No one is above the law and there is no provision in the Constitution to suspend the Constitution or any part of it (except Habeus Corpus rights).  Will the government stop depriving us of this right even if COVID-19 is eradicated? If this right can be deprived without due process, then what about other rights?  We are living in dangerous times and it is not just because of the virus.

At first the CDC told us not to wear masks.  They said that there is not enough data to prove that they do any good.  How dumb do they think we are? Whose interests do they really want to protect?

Who came up with this “social distancing” phrase?  Why that and not “physical distancing”?  I have noticed that whenever the word “social” is used, it usually means freedom deprivation without the due process of law guaranteed by the constitution. Some examples are Social Security, social justice, and “we have a responsibility as a society”.

But there may be a more sinister reason that the word “social” is used instead of “physical”.  Maybe they are conditioning us for a time in which there will literally be government-mandated social distancing. The excuse for it will be terrorism and/or hate groups.  They will supposedly be so successful at recruiting people on the internet that something drastic will have to be done about it.  The terrorists/haters cannot be identified, therefore you must isolate yourself, not just physically, but socially “for the good of everybody”.

But none of this should be surprising to Bible believing Christians.

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. 

Revelation 6:7-8 (ESV)

The word “pestilence” includes disease.  Furthermore scientists believe that the coronavirus originated in animals and crossed over into humans (thus the phrase “by the wild beasts of the earth”).  I don’t necessarily believe that coronavirus is the ultimate fulfillment of this verse and there will be other disease manifestations which will be worse (e.g. Revelation 16:2), but God is allowing us to see a preview of what is to come.  “And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.” (Revelation 9:6).

I have noticed that there are many people who take the name “Christian” who are not real Christians. You can know that they are not saved in their present spiritual state because their lifestyles are incompatible with salvation and genuine Christianity.  This is brought out in several passages like I Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, I John 3:8-10, and Revelation 21:8.  Common sinful lifestyles that I see are promiscuity and cohabitation without marriage, homosexuality, adultery (often in the form of remarriage after divorce, Matthew 5:32), murder (in the form of abortion and euthanasia), lying, drunkenness, reviling, jealousy, dissensions and hate.  I am talking about people who have no desire to stop doing these things. This is why I say that all these things should not be surprising.  Freedom and liberty cannot continue for long when the People turn their backs on God.

12 "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

Revelation 22:12-13 (ESV)

Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty." 

II Corinthians 6:17-18 (ESV)

A CHRISTmas Message: What Makes America Unique

May I remind everyone that the signers of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain also declared dependence on the Supreme Judge of the world and Divine Providence?

We know the Supreme Judge of the world to be the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is His birth we celebrate at Christmas.

It is faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to His word that makes the United States, America.  This faith and obedience has been blessed by God making the United States  a great nation.

As more and more godless nihilists are placed into leadership positions, and the word of God is ignored, rejected, or disobeyed, the nation consequently declines in its greatness.  The people in positions of power in America today –- in Congress, in the media, in mainline churches, in academia, in Hollywood --  are all working towards America's eventual destruction.

Can you observe this taking place? The Judeo-Christian Bible clearly does:

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalms 9:17).

Shining God’s Light on the Koran

Sam continues his on-going series which contrasts the Judeo-Christian Bible with the Islamic Koran on a variety of topics. He aims the beam of the Biblical laser on the Koran to expose, to reveal what it really says. See his previous articles here.To Create a Clean Heart

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The god of the Koran and the God of the Holy Bible are both alleged to be creative, having created the universe and everything in it. However, can and do either of them create a clean heart in a person, who has sinned, before the day of judgment?

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THE KORANIC ACCOUNT

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The fate of each man We have bound about his neck. On the Day of Resurrection We shall confront him with a book spread wide open, saying: ‘Here is your book: read it. Enough for you this day that your own soul should call you to account (1)

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On that day every soul shall be recompensed according to what it did. On that day none shall be wronged. Swift is God’s reckoning (2).

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Attend to your prayers morning and evening, and in the night-time too. Good deeds shall make amends for sins. That is and admonition for thoughtful men. Therefore have patience; God will not deny the righteous their reward (3).

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Say: ‘you people! I have been sent to warn you plainly. Those that accept the true faith and do good works shall be forgiven and richly recompensed; but those that seek to confute Our revelations shall be the tenants of Hell (4).

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COMMENTARY ON THE KORANIC ACCOUNT

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The Koran shows the god of Islam oriented to the judgment at the time of the resurrection when people will be rewarded or condemned according to the works which each person has done. Doing good will help to make up for whatever wrong one has committed. The amount of good required to make up for one’s evil done is not specified. You can never be sure you have done enough good to make heaven before you die. Believing in Islam goes a long way to put a person in good stead with the god of Islam. Refuting what he says will earn one a place in hell.

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Nowhere is it mentioned that the god of Islam will clean up a person from the evil within or forgive with out good works.

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THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNT

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Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your loving kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me (5).

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Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities (6).

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Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit with in me. Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your Holy Spirit from me (7).

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The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise (8).

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Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (9).

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I, even I, am He that blotteth out your transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember your sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that you may be justified (10).

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…there is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside Me. Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else (11).

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COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNT

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King David had adultery with one of his subjects, and then had her husband killed in battle after which David married the widow. This displeased God greatly and sent Nathan the prophet to confront David (II Samuel 11:1 – 12:23). King David repented and Psalm 51 is the record of his prayer of repentance.

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David asks God to get rid of the record of his evil and to wash him and cleanse him. He acknowledges his transgressions to God rather than denying them or trying to hide from them.

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David asks to be purged and cleaned so that he would be whiter than snow on the inside. A second time David asks God to erase the record of his sins. David asks God to create in him a clean heart. This is acknowledgement by David that he cannot clean his own heart. It takes a work of God.

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David says that what God looks for is a broken spirit in a person. A broken and contrite heart God does not despise. This is as opposed to a proud spirit and a proud heart which God hates (Proverbs 8:13).

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With God there is no respect of persons (Romans 2:11) so if He will cleanse King David He will cleanse others also. Speaking through the prophet, Isaiah, God says that the people who have sinned should go to Him and He will clean them up on the inside and make them whiter than snow.

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We read that God blots out transgressions for His own sake. He will remember our transgressions no longer. God tells us that we are to confess the case of our sin to Him that we may be justified by Him. Justified means to be made right with God in a way that proclaims; we have never sinned.

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God says that there is no other. This is Elohim the triune God. He says He is just and a Savior. There is no one else. He is the one we all on earth are to look to be saved from the consequences of our sins.

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COMPARING & CONTRASTING THE KORAN WITH SCRIPTURE

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The god of Islam seems to delight in confronting each person with all they have done wrong and then passing judgment on the individual. There is no provision for getting expunged from the record all one has done wrong before the Day of Judgment.

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The God of Scripture will expunge the record of people so they will be just before God on the Day of Judgment. God says that He alone is a Savior and we all are to look to Him wherever we are on earth.

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The god of Islam will forgive one if he is satisfied with the good works a person has done. Nothing says what exactly is needed for acceptance.

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The God of Scripture will forgive the one who confesses to Him the error he has made and the one who has a broken and contrite spirit. God will renew and clean the sinner and make him whole, just as if he had never sinned.

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CONCLUSION

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The God of the Bible will create in you a clean heart and spirit, if you but ask Him too. A sample prayer is, “Lord Jesus Christ, forgive me of my sin, and come into my heart.”

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REFERENCES

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1. The Koran Page 198 Paragraph 17:14

2. The Koran Page 329 Paragraph 40:17

3. The Koran Page 165 Paragraph 11:114

4. The Koran Page 238 Paragraph 22:49

5. The Holy Bible Psalms 51:1-3

6. The Holy Bible Psalms 51:7,9

7. The Holy Bible Psalms 51:10,11

8. The Holy Bible Psalms 51:17

9. The Holy Bible Isaiah 1:18

10. The Holy Bible Isaiah 43:25,26

11. The Holy Bible Isaiah 45:21b,22

For Whom Do I Vote For President This Year?

A Michael Ramirez cartoon, Investors Business Daily, 2/13/08

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THE COMPELLING BUT CRASS CHARISMA OF OBAMA

B-rated Barack Obama lacks the experience to be President. He is an empty vessel. He is stricken with a serious case of personal global warming, meaning he is full of hot air. B-rated is an excellent orator. However, there are many actors who can deliver their lines, but they live and work in a fantasy world. Welcome to B-rated's world, a global socialist utopia?

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You really wonder, what exactly is the "change" which this eloquent empty suit so often espouses? Does the change involve yielding American sovereignty to the United Nations? Does it mean trying to outdo the Bush spending binge? What is the change you talking about Senator B-rated?

THE VAST BUT VAIN EXPERIENCE OF MCCAIN

"Amnesty" McCain also cares little or nothing about what is good for the American people, only what he, his liberal gumbas (Edward Kennedy, Russ Feingold, Joe Lieberman et al.) and his financial supporters (Soros, Heinz-Kerry, etc. see today's earlier article) want to see happen.

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McCain may have experience, but it is not useful if it is the wrong experience, i.e. pushing destructive liberal socialist legislation such as Amnesty (deceptively labeled 'Comprehensive Immigration Reform) and free speech limiting Campaign Financing Reform legislation.

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AMERICA'S HOPE FOR 2008

At this point in the presidential campaign year our hope is that somehow McCain will fall short of obtaining sufficient delegates to wrap up the nomination before the GOP convention and someone else, a real conservative will emerge as the party's nominee.

I have almost come to the point of reconciling myself to the fact that either McCain or Obama, if elected, they will be used as God's instrument to judge and punish America for (1) the abortion atrocity which continues unabated since 1973 killing 50+ babies, (2) allowing homosexuality to spread unchecked and infecting all aspects of society especially in the entertainment media and in our government schools indoctrinating our children to accept this perversion, this depravity, this evil, as good; and (3) electing such candidates who espouse such evil ideas and policies.

Judgment may be necessary, especially since America does not appear to want to wake up on its own. Either McCain or Obama will lead us to destruction or to national repentance, if God continues to mercifully withhold His wrath.

Personally, I have resolved not to vote for 'the lesser of two evils' this year as I did in 2000 and 2004. I am expecting one of two things, a miracle or a strong rebuke from God on this nation, as an outcome of the 2008 General Election.

Righting the G.O.P., Part 5

I (Sam) recently received a letter from the national Republican Party warning me of the necessity of stopping the Democrat’s ultra-liberal agenda. "What about the Republican agenda/' I asked myself. The GOP's agenda is flawed and is nearly as bad. Actually, that is why I am furious with the GOP. The reasons for my serious displeasure are outlined below and in my previous articles in this series, see: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.

It appears that President Bush is using the war on terror as a diversion while he destroys the sovereignty of the United States through establishing the North American Union (NAU). If Canada and Mexico want to be states in our union, the United States should require them to join in the same way that every other state did. This would mean that they would accept OUR Constitution, laws and customs and drop theirs.

I knew George Bush was not a true Conservative when I voted for him but I thought he and the Republicans were at least patriotic and that the President was a true Christian. Today, I think possibly President Bush is a traitor and wonder if he is really a true Christian. If I vote Democrat, America goes to hell one way, and if I vote GOP America goes to hell another way. I only see disaster for the future of this nation. Who can I really trust for the future? Only the Lord Jesus Christ!

The sure judgment of God on a nation begins with the disruption of the normal weather patterns, such as rain at planting and harvest and drought at the growing season. Or perhaps, too much rain in one place and not enough rain in another. This has been going on for 40 years. If the nation does not repent then God increases the judgment to foreign harassment. The United States has experienced many jobs going overseas, the import of foreign goods and loss of manufacturing, and now we are in the midst of a war on terror with troops deployed. Illegal aliens are invading the country in mass. If a nation does not repent after foreign harassment then it experiences loss of sovereignty. The North American Union represents a loss of sovereignty for the United States. The superhighway into Kansas City from a port in Mexico operated and controlled by foreign interests represents a loss of sovereignty. Having judges in America decide cases based on international law or the laws of other nations represents a loss of national sovereignty. If a nation still refuses to repent of its sins after this loss of sovereignty then it is eliminated as a nation. The destruction of the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire for the sin of homosexuality is an example of total annihilation of a people for their refusal to repent from their sinful behavior.

I suspect the problems facing the nation are a result of our evil conduct and the nation is in need of repentance before God. I see neither Senator John McCain, nor Mayor Rudy Giuliani, nor Governor Mitt Romney providing the kind of leadership that will bring this nation to repentance before God. This is where change in America must start. America can go the way of all extinct nations and be destroyed, or it can repent and return to once again being a nation that honors God. Let us return America to the America of our Founding Fathers, but that will take individual and national repentance before Almighty God and appropriating His solution to all of our problems. That solution is found when we place our faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and live in obedience to God’s revealed Word, the Judeo-Christian Bible.

To be continued