Conquest of the World

“No great world religion espouses Murder” – Secretary Colin Powell.

A question was asked of Dr. Caners: “Does Muslim eschatology depend upon conquest of the World?” Their answer was a little surprising. They said that they were taught, as most Muslims are, that the infidels (anyone not Muslim) would become Allah’s. They are taught that fighting them is how you accomplish this. Dr. William Lane Craig added to this by stating that in the 9th Surah, it talks about Muslims laying in wait to ambush and exterminate unbelievers, again anyone not a believer.

There are 100 levels of Heaven in Islam and the highest level is for those that Martyr themselves, and supposedly the only guarantee of attaining Heaven at all. There is still the argument that Allah, who can do anything, even lie and deceive, could ultimately change his mind on the way to heaven. For the Muslim your good must out weigh your bad to get into heaven and then hope that Allah sees it that way as well. On the other end there are 7 levels of Hell and the lowest levels are for Jews and Christians, and especially for those that turn Christian from the Islam faith.

It starts to demonstrate why Muslims have no fear of killing themselves by strapping a bomb to themselves and walking into a hotel, or taking over a plane and flying it into a building, because they believe they are martyrs for the sake of Allah. Most will say that this is the extreme side of Islam, but not according to many that have left the Muslim religion and become a Christian. It is not uncommon to be taught this. If the Koran is to be followed, then by any means necessary is the world to become under the rule of Islam.

They gave an example with Israel and the PLO and compared it to the Klansmen. They asked if the Klan started bombing children’s centers and asked for land, would we give it to them? Of course we wouldn’t, but why do we do this with Muslims that use violence to attain what they want. This is exactly the same thing as what is going on in Israel today. These terrorists according to many I have listened to and read are considered the purists of the faith, the truly orthodox followers of the Koran.

This is important to understand because when we are dealing with countries like Iran and other Muslim based countries, we need to understand what is behind every decision they are making. Their religion and politic is completely integrated together, and there is no division. The goal is to bring in the 12th Imman and take over the world for Allah. They will deceive in order to attain this, because there is no problem in deceiving infidels.

Islam did not begin until the 7th century and they rewrite history continually to fit their eschatological view. There are many Muslims that refuse to believe that Desert Storm ever took place, because it was a loss for Islam and they never believe that they could lose a war.

All one needs to do is read the Qur’an themselves to see how violence is propagated. Many will show that in the beginning that it shows peace, but that is because it was written early, and the rest was written later. The Koran was not written all at once, but over a period of time, you can see how Muhammad’s eschatology changes and becomes more violent towards those that will not follow Allah.

Like anything else, do not always drink the “Kool-Aide” because someone says it on television, or in a blog like mine for that matter, but go to the source and read for yourself. That would be the Qur’an.
John 8:31-32, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Realize What You are Asking

Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

I want to start off with a warning in regards to this blog, because first I am going to continue to discuss the Muslim faith and we can easily get angered or frustrated or make poor or ill comments when thinking on this matter, but we must remember that we all have fallen short. Not one of us came perfect to Christ, so they need the grace of God just as much as you do, and Jesus died for them as well. When reading remember to read so you understand and not to pass judgment. My intention is to arm for and warn in witnessing with a Muslim and not to make the Muslim to be evil, but the actions that are done because of their faith.

Both Dr. Caners, like many other young Muslims growing up, were taught that Christians are vile and hate Muslims, so they are tainted about their view right from the beginning. They were taught that our Bible is corrupted, because they believe Jesus was one of the 25 prophets, but not the Son of God. As a matter of fact, the key points within our Gospel are considered some of the highest sins to Islam.

Muslims believe that if Jesus ever said that He was God then He is not worthy of being a prophet. Atonement for Muslims is by your own blood and not through the work of Jesus or someone else. You must atone for yourself. The interesting part is they will accept the virgin birth, never dying, and the returning of Jesus, but the returning is not as the Son of God, but He will come back to marry and to die and be buried in Akbar. This will of course be done in accordance to Allah’s timing. Jesus is considered the next best prophet next to Muhammad.

What was interesting during their talk was the percentage of stringent Muslims, the strictest Muslims that come to Christ. Meaning that those that come to Christ out of the Muslim faith, 66% of the Muslims were actually very strict in their walk with the Muslim faith and not of the more nominal Muslims. The harder part to absorb and which requires a lot of patience is that it takes on average, seven years for a Muslim to become a Christian.

Both Dr. Caners said that one of the best ways to reach a Muslim is through talking about the doctrine of eternal security, because unless they martyr themselves, there is no eternal security for the Muslim. Another concept is unconditional love and grace within the Christian faith. You must explain that grace for us is that Christ died for us, because grace to a Muslim is that Allah has not killed them. When you talk about grace you need to be sure to define it for them as well.

We must have patience and persistence in prayer and in talking with our Muslim friends. Ask them about their faith as well, because it is always a show of respect in their culture then to ask you about your faith. Then remember what you are asking them to do. Islam is considered a “cradle to the grave” religion and to leave it means you are leaving everything. Many are disowned, killed and lose everything when they become a Christian. Where today we don’t have that much worry, even a U.S. Muslim believer faces losing their family. As you witness don’t forget that they are truly sacrificing for Jesus.

Next time I will talk about their eschatology and why that is important when dealing with a Muslim no matter what area of life you are talking with them about.

Matthew 5:44-45, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven;”

68,000 A Day!

Exodus 3:6, “Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

I listened to a series by Dr. Ergun Caner and Dr. Emir Caner, who are converted Christians and now both have earned doctorates. One is the President of Liberty University and the other is Dean at Southern Baptist Seminary. They were talking together about their Muslim faith and the Muslim faith in general, which is very eye opening. These two gentlemen know first hand what it is to be Muslim and then what it is to leave the faith.

The first statistic they gave was very eye opening and scary to say the least. They said that there are 68,000 converts to the Muslim faith every day. Every twenty four hours, sixty eight thousand people are turning away from their faith, whatever it is and turning to the Muslim faith. And if this is not enough, the Muslims have a goal to proselytize every American by 2013, and they have a 3 billion dollar commitment from Saudi Arabia to make this happen.

Both Dr. Caners were disowned by their father, and said that this is an act of mercy and probably only because they were in the U.S. at the time. In many countries still today it is a crime to convert from Muslim to Christianity. The penalty is that you are buried up to your waist and then you have a death cloth wrapped around you and then they stone you to death. They were talking about how this still happens today in countries like Turkey, North Africa, Afghanistan, United Emirates and Indonesia. One other country it happens in is a country we are trying to now befriend, Iran, which in my opinion is a very big mistake. If you want their reasoning then read their Surah 112, as that is considered the greatest Surah of the Qur’an.

I also liked how they talked about that the Muslim God is not the same as the Christian God, no matter how much the Christian wants to try to rationalize in some fashion that it is, because they claim Abraham as well. It is not the same God. First of all not one Muslim scholar would agree with the Christian trying to do this. We are trying to make something up that would not even be believed by the Muslim. Allah is not seen as a Father, and He makes decisions as he pleases and not based on what we believe because of God’s nature.

You have to look at the theological complexities between the two and not the linguistic aspects of these faiths. You may be able to find some words that line up and appear to seem like we are talking about the same God, but theologically we are millenniums apart. We have a Trinity, a Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and they have none of those and to espouse it is heretical. The closest they get to a name that says Allah is close is saying that he is next to your jugular, which is not because he loves you, but because he can kill you at any time. There are no intimate terms for Allah in all 99 of the names given to him by the Muslim. You live in fear within the Muslim faith and you live in freedom and peace in the Christian faith. They are nothing alike.

What I found interesting is their comparison of the Mormon faith and the Muslim faith. They say that Muslim is Medieval Mormonism. Mormonism has copied just about everything the Muslim faith has. Both say that all other religions are corrupted and both said they found tablets of gold. Muslims and Mormons teach that Jews and Christians lost their way, and they both teach works as a way to their heaven. Both make Jesus a celestial brother and that women in the end will be sexual servants. Lastly, they both teach that their leader, Muhammad or Joseph Smith, is the final prophet. They say that Satan just uses the same old tricks over and over again.

The Muslim faith is not the same faith as the Christian faith, and definitely does not have the same God. The question is, are all Muslims wanting death to the kafirs or infidels, those who do not turn to their faith? Well, you have to look at their eschatology, which I will do in the next blog. Then how do we reach them for Christ? What should you expect in witnessing to a Muslim? Again, we will be using the testimony of two Doctors who left the faith and paid heavy prices for it.

Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name [Jesus the Christ] under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Either Crazy or The Christ

John 12:48, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”

In Hindu writings and many other religions that have to do something with Jesus, they tend to put Him in the category of good moral teacher and someone to emulate our lives around. But there is a major problem with this, because if we were to truly emulate Jesus in all His ways then we would have to also claim to be God, just as Jesus did.

You see, Jesus did not leave room for people to just make Him this really nice guy who wandered around doing really nice things, because He claimed to be the Infinite, the I AM of the Old Testament. Realistically, no matter how nice He may have been, which is another matter all together, as He did call people “brood of vipers,” and He also chased people out of the temple with a whip, but that is a whole other writing, we cannot conclude He was just a good moral teacher.

No matter how “nice” you or I would be, if we walked around telling people that we were God we would wind up in special hospitals and be given special drugs to help us realize that we are not God. This is the case with Jesus. Either He should be placed on the level of someone that should be on some strong meds, or He is God. There is no room for just a prophet, though He was that as well, and there is no room for just this moral man who did wonderful things. He is either God or crazy.

In Isaiah 44:6, God says, “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and the Last; Besides Me there is no God.” Now compare this with Revelation 1:17 where Jesus is talking, “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.”” The same claim made by the God of the Old Testament is being made by Jesus in the New Testament.

In Exodus 3:14 we see where God gives Himself a name when Moses asked for a name to give to the Pharaoh in regards to who sent him. God responds, tell the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.” God gives His name as “I AM.” Jesus then gives Himself the same name as God in John 8:58, “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” The Jews knew exactly what He was saying and that is why we see in the very next verse they picked up stones to kill Him for saying it. Obviously it was not considered a great moral teaching to them that Jesus would claim to be God. It was so great they wanted to kill Him.

Jesus accepted worship that was meant for God alone, and what normal person, or good moral person would accept worship as if He was God? Exodus 20:1-4 talks about having no other Gods but The God and not to worship or make an image for worship out of anything that is in Heaven or on earth. Jesus goes a step further and makes Himself that image, because He accepts the worship of people. Read Matthew 8:2, 9:18, 14:33, 15:25, 20:20; Mark 5:6 or John 20:28. People come and worship Jesus and He never refutes them or tells them to stop, but allows it. He makes Himself to be God. Another reason they wanted to kill Him.

Jesus took it even a step further and commanded worship. John 20:28-29, “And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and My God!” “Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” He is telling Thomas that he is correct for his worship in calling Jesus Lord and God, and we are blessed if we do not see Him yet believe and say what Thomas says.

There are many more verses to demonstrate that Jesus believed He was God, and to just say He is a good moral teacher is a mockery of what He did and nearly blasphemous, as you take away the most important aspect of Him. Jesus is God, the second person of the Trinity. He did not leave the choice of good moral teacher, or some nice prophet that walked around. He died for the fact that He claimed to be God. They hung Him on a cross for it, and it is an insult to just shrug it off. He is either Lord or He is a Lunatic, but He is not just a good moral teacher.

John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Innately Good

1 John 1:8, 10 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. . . . If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

Don’t we all want to think that we are innately good? Deep down, we want to think we are good people and when pressed we will always try to make people believe we are decent.

Have you ever watched the television show “Moment of Truth?” If you have not then the premise is basically people go on this program and answer questions to win money. They have been previously hooked up to a lie detector test and then they pick questions to use on the show and all the contestant has to do is tell the truth. Simple, right? You would think so, especially if we are all “good.” You can win $500,000 by answering around 21 questions out of 50 you are asked during the polygraph. No one has yet won more then $100,000. Why?

No one has won because they do not want to believe they are as bad as they are. We don’t want to think we are as bad as we are. I watched this woman answer questions about her life that would make a lot of people blush, but when one question came up that talked about her sexual life she could not answer with the truth. She was asked if it was hard for men to get her in bed, and she answered, “No,” because she did not want to be seen as a bad person. You could tell immediately from her disposition and the way she fidgeted in her seat that she knew the real answer.

How would you fare on “The Moment of Truth?” If someone hooked you into a polygraph and pried into your life, would you be able to answer any and all questions and be considered “good.” I am betting no, because all of us have fallen short in one way or another. None of us are as “good” as we would like to think we are. We all have fallen short of the standards of God and sinned, and as the verse tells us, we deceive ourselves if we say otherwise. This new television show is proof of that.

Through Salvation in Christ we find forgiveness, as Christ bore our sins on the cross and defeated death for us in the resurrection. Without this forgiveness we deserve to be punished, because as “The Moment of Truth” proves, none of us are good, which was confirmed in the Bible many, many years ago.

Praise God that tucked between verses eight and ten is verse nine that tells us that if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us.

The next time you think you are good enough, just imagine yourself sitting before God and having to answer every question about your life. Would you be “good” enough? Would you meet His standards on your own? Or would you fall short, just like all the contestants?

Christ is there for all of us and all we have to do is repent and accept Him as Savior. He bore your sins on the cross, because none of us are “good” enough. Jesus gave us our way out through believing in Him. Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

ECONOMIC MELTDOWN: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD
By: Joel Resenberg
http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/
Viewing the current crisis in light of Bible prophecy.

(Washington, D.C., March 6, 2009) -- From January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008, Americans lost $6.9 trillion in wealth in the stock markets.

Just since Barack Obama was elected, Americans have lost some $3 trillion in wealth, reports Investors' Business Daily, as the markets have plummeted some 30%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, for example, has collapsed from 9,625.28 on November 4, 2008 to 6,647.49 on March 4, 2009.

Firesale prices are in effect - Citibank stocks are under $1 and General Motors shares are selling for less than $2 - as investors see major American financial and manufacturing behemoths on the brink of bankruptcy.

Zoom out a bit, and we see the situation even more dire. Since the market's highs in October 2007, the DJIA is down some 50%. That means over the last 18 months, we have seen half the nation's wealth vanish into thin air.

In the midst of all this, millions of Americans have lost their jobs. Small businesses are dying. Big businesses are dying. Credit is tight. Confidence is low. And people are anxious.

Last weekend, I met with some evangelical Christian business leaders in Naples, Florida. They asked me what I thought the future held. I did not offer advice on how to win on Wall Street. But I did share with them a few thoughts from the Scriptures. In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus said: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where theives break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where theives do not break in and steal; for where your treasure is, there is your heart also."

I asked the men, "More tough times may be ahead. If some of you have lost 30% to 50% of your assets, what are your plans going forward? What if another 30% to 50% of your wealth vanishes, or is confiscated in a massive new tax increase? Would it not be better to invest some or all of that wealth in the kingdom of God now, where it is safe and secure, while you still have it?"

The Lord is shaking our country and purifying His Church. He is requiring all of us to reconsider what we value, where our treasure is, where our hearts are. He is preparing us to see Him face to face. And when we see Him, there will be a day of accounting. He will ask us what we did with the resources He entrusted to us. What, then, shall we say?

The men also asked me, "Where is the United States in End Times Bible prophecy?" When I replied, "The Bible makes no indication that the U.S. is a significant player in End Times prophecy," they responded, "Why? What happens to us?"

I was honest with them, saying I don't know. I do believe we are living through the events Jesus talked about in Matthew 24 as signs of the "last days" before His return. That said, I don't know why the United States - the wealthiest and most powerful nation on the face of the earth in the history of mankind - is not ever clearly mentioned in or clearly alluded to in Bible prophecy concerning the last days. I don't know because the Bible doesn't tell us.

For the last several years, I have been explaining that we could be devastated by a nuclear war. We could be hit by a series of decapitating terrorist attacks. We could be hit by massive natural disasters. And/or we could face a series of economic disasters. Consider just two potential scenarios that could render the U.S. a non-factor in the last days:

Scenario #1: the U.S. could implode economically after the rapture. The rapture is an event described in I Thessalonians 4-5 when true followers of Jesus Christ are snatched away from the earth and meet Jesus Christ in the air at a time when the rest of the world has been saying there is "peace and safety." How many Christ-followers in the U.S. would disappear in the "twinkle of an eye," according to the Scriptures? We don't know for certain. It could be 10 million. It could be 25 million. It could be 50 million, 75 million, or more. The point is the rapture will have a devastating and irrecoverable impact on the U.S. in many ways. Consider, for example, how hard the American economy was hit when nearly 3,000 Americans were lost on 9/11/01. Now imagine the impact the loss of millions of Americans due to the rapture would have on the U.S. economy. You think we have a subprime mortgage crisis now? Imagine what the U.S. banking and real estate system will look like when millions of Christians disappear and are no longer here to pay their mortgages, or their credit card bills, or buy other goods and services. Our economy would implode, and suddenly America would no longer be the economic superpower it has been for a century.

Scenario #2: the U.S. economy could melt down in a Great Depression before the rapture. Such a melt down would emasculate our economic and military power and thus radically reduce our influence in the world. On October 16, 2008, I wrote about "the implications of this financial apocalypse." Things have only worsened since then. I am praying that the Lord will have mercy on us. But we cannot rule out the possibility that the Lord will remove His favor from our nation and allow us to be rocked to our core economically. Decisive action should be taken to strengthen our economy and help American businesses small and large grow and create more jobs. But the President's hastily-crafted multi-trillion dollar spending plan will not save the day and revive our moribund economy.

Most Members of Congress didn't even read the 1,100-plus page bill they voted in favor of, noted Sen. Frank Lautenberg, the New Jersey Democrat. The Obama administration was rushing through this massive and expensive bill without giving the people's representatives the time to read it and consider its merits. Why? The plan is essentially European socialism and risks making our economic situation worse, not better. According to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, the real price tag of the bill is actually $3.27 trillion over the next ten years. The feverishness with which the White House and Congressional leadership are running up our national debt is unnerving. They are rushing so fast to spend an unheard of amount of money without giving the people of the country much less their elected representatives the opportunity to read it, study it, debate it, much less amend it. In the process, they are piling more than $3 trillion worth of crushing new debt on top of the more than $10 trillion of debt we're already handing over to our children.

What does the future hold? It's almost as if we can hear the ice cracking underneath our feet. I don't know if the Lord will allow us to plunge into the icy waters of the North Atlantic. I pray not. But humanly speaking, you and I have very little influence to stop the current course of events. So we must pray. We must to turn to the Lord and seek His mercy, His grace, His favor on our nation and our leaders, lest we see the current economic crisis take us into a financial death spiral. What's more, we must seek the Lord in pray - even with fasting - for wisdom to know how to invest the resources He has entrusted to us to kingdom work.

Consider this excerpt from page 154 of Dead Heat : "What Bennett had never really considered carefully until now was the possibility that something else might devastate the American people, rendering them ineffective heading into the last of the last days. A financial downturn on Wall Street. The sudden collapse of the dollar. The beginning of another Great Depression. A series of devastating earthquakes. Or hurricanes. Or other natural disasters, like a tsunami. [Or ] the most cataclysmic terrorist attack of all time - five nuclear warheads. And there might be more to come. None of it was clearly prophesied in the Scriptures. Not that he could find. But perhaps he should have foreseen the neutralization of America by more carefully reading between the lines. If so, what else was he missing? What exactly was coming next?"

Last point for now: even as we process the enormity of our own economic crisis, we need to keep our eye on the global economy as well. We need to be aware of just how much suffering and geopolitical instability is being created by this global financial crisis. Russia's stock market, for example, is down 75%. The value of the Russian currency - the ruble - is down about 30%.. I believe we will see a terrible surge of anti-Semitism in Russia as a result. I believe many Russians will blame Jews for their economic troubles. They will blame America as well. The European economy, meanwhile, is experiencing the worst contraction in decades. Spain's economy, for example, is the worst in 15 years. Whom will Europeans blame? Will they turn against Israel and the U.S.? I suspect many will.

Possible Troubles

MailOnline

Hillary Clinton puts America on collision course with Israel as she pledges to press for Palestinian state

By Liz Hazelton
Last updated at 1:43 PM on 03rd March 2009

Hillary Clinton put America on a collision course with Israel today after pledging to press for a Palestinian state.

The U.S. Secretary of State's position brings her into conflict with the Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu.

Although Netanyahu has spoken of Palestinian self-government, he has shied away from a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

Warm welcome: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton receives a bouquet and a kiss from Israeli President Shimon Peres as she arrives in Jerusalem today
Clinton, who is in Jerusalem for talks today, spoke after attending a conference in Egypt geared to raising donations for the Gaza Strip. She pledged $900million in U.S. aid.

'During the conference, I emphasised President Obama's and my commitment to working to achieve a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and our support for the Palestinian Authority,' she said after meeting Israeli President Shimon Peres.

She added that she had an 'unrelenting commitment to Israel's security' and said continued rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip must stop.

Her comments appeared carefully judged to maintain Washington's tough line against Hamas, which controls Gaza, while supporting the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

TheSecretary of State lays a wreath next to the Eternal Flame during a ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem
She stressed that Hamas must recognise Israel, renounce violence and sign on to past Israeli-Palestinian agreements if it wanted to come out of isolation.

The Obama administration has listed progress in the Middle East as a priority.

Hardliner: Prime-minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu opposes a two-state solution
But the new president's pledge suffered a heavy blow after Israel's 22-day offensive in Gaza left the territory decimated.

The situation appeared to worsen when Shimon Peres confirmed the hawkish Netanyahu as his preferred prime minister after last month's close-run election.

Netanyahu supports expansion of existing Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, a policy strongly opposed by Washington.

He has enough parliamentary support to put together a right-wing government.

However, he has been seeking, unsuccessfully so far, to form a middle-of-the-road coalition that could reduce the chances of friction with the United States.

Netanyahu, clashed often with the U.S. administration when Bill Clinton, the secretary of state's husband, was in the White House.

Peace talks brokered by President Clinton broke down in 2000, his final year in office, and a new wave of violence swept the region.

Discussions were revived in late 2007 butstalled over violence, settlement-building and disputes over other core issues such as the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1158870/Hillary-Clinton-puts-America-collision-course-Israel-pledges-press-Palestinian-state.html