Yet another person objects to my style of evangelizing:
I don't think it's right to say Jesus caused 9/11. i I believe God allowed it to happen, meaning that he created the circumstances for it to happen; that doesn't mean that he is the root of why it happened. 9/11 happened because we are sinners.
Scripture says otherwise. It says He causes evil and disaster to happen. ii He causes all things. iii
I think it is dangerous to say stuff like this.
How is it dangerous to proclaim the truth? iv
It's "sensational" and "instigating," but there is no love in saying false stuff like "Jesus Christ caused 9/11."
Indeed it is meant to get attention, but it is also the truth. The love is in proclaiming the truth that many do not believe, so that they might repent and be saved from eternal destruction.
I think the correct interpretation of Isaiah 45:7 would be that God creates natural disasters. I don't think the text is saying that he causes evil things to happen. An earthquake is a calamity, but it's not evil in itself.
When Scripture says God causes calamity to fall on a city, it doesn't specify that it must be a natural disaster. Calamity is also when men do evil on a great scale.
To take the passage from Isaiah and use it like this is to take it entirely out of context, and you are a false prophet for doing so.
I do not claim to be a prophet.
This place is created in the hypocritical spirit of the antichrist, the pharisees, and the pretentious; you are not going into heaven, and you are preventing others from going in, as the Lord says.
If you are right, I would like to be shown the truth so that I may repent. What is the Scripture you have to show me that what I have said is not true?
That verse was explained to me like this: when a bear eats a beehive, it's a blessing for the bear but a calamity for the bees. But that doesn't mean the bear is doing something evil. It's just trying to stay alive. In the same way, God can bless certain people, but that blessing can result in a calamity for others; it's speaking of light and darkness, peace and calamity. I think one is bound to the other.
It's not wrong for God to create evil, and I didn't say it was wrong. God does as He pleases. v There is no need for rationalizing this fact. vi
In the original text, it is more closely translated by the KJV.
That is correct, although an even better translation would be that He creates "bad" since the Hebrew word is "ra."
But God can't do evil.
He creates evil. He doesn't do the evil Himself. He causes people vii to do evil things and then punishes them for doing so. viii
"Everyone else is wrong but me" is the spirit this is created in. That's the gist of it.
Scripture says most people are wrong. ix
Except "saint" Daniel?
Except for me and the other saints in our church, and anyone else in the world who believes like us.
You are simply looking to stir people up, nothing more; there is no ministry here.
Yes, I am indeed trying to stir people up. Most people are going to hell and I would very much like for them to be shaken from that broad path.
I agree with some of what you say, and I appreciate your approach of "show me where I'm wrong so I may repent." I won't say you're completely lost, but you are lost.
Lost is lost. Show me the light!
Would you love your earthly father if he told you he caused 9/11? What makes you think saying something like this shows love, or would cause someone to love God?
I love everyone, x so yes. But you cannot compare the actions of evil men to the actions of God. God causes evil men to sin. xi Evil men cannot do likewise.
There is your correction. xii The same correction Jesus gave to His disciples, which were under the old way of thinking, that God is a vindictive, aloof entity waiting to "get" sinners. Jesus came to save sinners.
God does not change. He killed people then, and He kills people now. And He xiii will kill in the future. xiv
It is sad to me that you view God as vindictive, and a killer, and that's your focus and what you want to tell others. God is so much more than death and calamity, though He did create all things; by Jesus and through Jesus and for Jesus were all things created, but these things you are elevating will be "former things" shortly, and I am concerned for you who cling to them, instead of the love of God. What blindness your heart must behold.
Scripture calls Him a killer. xv He desires to kill. xvi
You are shifty and keep avoiding things, simply to defend your indefensible position. Stop corrupting Scripture or you will see just how calamitous God can be towards you!!!!!
I have avoided nothing with you. I have defended what I claimed with Scripture, which I did not corrupt. And here you admit that God kills. So what is your point?
Your channel's description calls out numerous people who have devoted their lives to Jesus Christ, and to sharing His Gospel to the ends of the earth. You have positioned yourself as the mouthpiece of the accuser, in the spirit of condemnation, more than anything else. Your caustic approach is actually giving Satan ammunition against Christians, in the minds of the curious, as they read your stuff. I am really not sure if you believe it yourself, or if you are doing this as a modern satire thing.
Aha. Those false teachers and false churches we name are not in the truth; they have been devoted to nothing but evil. I know this because they speak contrary to Scripture. By exposing them in this way, we are obeying Scripture. xvii
I live by the Spirit, guided and nurtured by Him. I know what I know because He gives me knowledge. My witness is that you are either missing the mark, or you are entirely deceptive and are making a mockery of Christians with this place.
Prove it with Scripture.
I will stand in Heaven with Paul Washer, Chuck Smith, C. S. Lewis, and probably a few others in that list, certainly. And you claim that if I am "involved with the kind of Christianity that views these folks as godly," that I am not saved. This is entirely unscriptural to say! These folks have blessed me tremendously in the Spirit, from the storehouse of God, and you are dangerously in error.
We have articles on most if not all of those men. You are welcome to read our report and see how they teach contrary to Scripture. Whatever truth you think you have is nothing at all, since you cannot draw water from an empty well. xviii
Chuck Smith only taught Scripture. Verse by verse. His life was aligned with Scripture, as well as his words.
Smith teaches that you can commit suicide and be saved. He teaches that men have "a drive and thirst for God." xix He teaches that you can agree to disagree on what Scripture means. He teaches that you can be saved without submitting to Christ. xx These are all false things.
I've read your post on Chuck Smith on your site, and I would take the time to pick it apart piece by piece, easily, but I understand that it would make no progress for you. You must seek the Lord to find the truth you are missing, because you apparently are deep in your darkness and I can only point the way.
I can wait. Take your time and type up your own report. I'll read it.
Must your theology be perfect in order for you to be saved?
Not necessarily. You must consent to wholesome words. xxi Meaning, you may be in the truth and have something wrong, but you will repent of it when shown it is wrong with Scripture.
We will never know the truth completely; we are corrupted by sin, and while the Bible is inspired by God and completely true, your interpretation of it isn't.
What do I have wrong?
What I'm trying to say is that nobody's interpretation is perfect.
Okay. What is imperfect in my interpretation?
I don't know, only God knows.
You are wrong. It is possible to have perfect interpretation. xxii
What you're doing is adding to Scripture, and also removing from Scripture. Jesus' message is simple (and complex at the same time) enough for children to understand. We don't need to know gnostic texts or be a scholar to understand the love of God and be saved from His wrath. We simply need to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and keep His Word.
Christ is the Bible. He is "every word." xxiii What have I added and what have I taken away? You keep making these claims against me but you do not substantiate them.
I think you and I would agree in most things, and I think your heart's intentions are good in a lot of ways, but your "all are wrong but me" attitude excludes billions of people who have already entered into eternity, and billions more who are going to, and you're going to find yourself very much sad when you realize how wrong you have been.
False churches "agree in most things." It's the "destructive heresies" they "secretly bring in" that bring on "swift destruction." xxiv
For you to say "if you are involved with 'xyz' ministry, then you are not saved" is to add requirements to salvation, is it not?
No, such is not an addition. Scripture clearly says that those who listen to the voice of a stranger are people who are not saved. xxv This isn't a recommendation or suggestion or even a commandment; it's a matter of fact! If you are saved, you will not follow a false teacher.
It says even the elect will be deceived in the end times.
No, it says "if possible" even the elect would be deceived. xxvi Such a thing is not possible since the elect cannot be taken out of God's hand. xxvii
Being deceived and being taken out of God's hand are two different things, and this is part of your error: making assumptions based on assumptions; making interpretations based on interpretations. Stick to the simple Gospel, and you won't go wrong!
You have hypocritically made this very error! Scripture says "if possible" and you take this to mean it will surely happen. What's more, the deception talked about in Matthew 24 is in the context of believing the lie xxviii and taking the mark of the beast which is a deception to doom. xxix
Every time you watch a movie, you are allowing yourself to be deceived. There is a sequence of 60,000 pictures being shown per second to your eyes, and your brain lets yourself believe you're seeing scenes and depth which do not really exist outside of your mind. It is possible for a Christian to be deceived, if you believe it is possible for a Christian to watch a movie.
Deception in our context meaning deceived over what Scripture says or over who God is; xxx not over trivial things. xxxi
There is no real desire here for truth; only a desire to promote your own foolishness. I will pray for you as often as I think of you, and I trust that the Lord will show you His love in His timing. He wins us with His kindness! xxxii
Your prayer is an abomination. xxxiii
How is my prayer an abomination? You haven't heard my prayer! Pay especially close attention to verse 4 of Romans 2 there.. "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" That's what you're missing!
You have turned your ear from hearing the law. Those who pray but who lack faith, they are disgusting to God. xxxiv
On what are you basing that accusation?
On our entire conversation. You clearly do not fear God. Therefor your prayers are an abomination and your righteousness like a tampon that has been used more than once.
For you to say that I don't fear God, and to tell me my prayers are an abomination to God, is, again, your display of your desperation, and nothing more.
I say that you don't fear God because the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom xxxv which you have demonstrated to not have. Your prayers are an abomination because you do not have faith. You claim to have faith, but Scripture warns us about people like you. xxxvi
- Referring to the advertisement of my channel. ^
- (NKJV) Isaiah 45:
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.’
(KJV) Isaiah 45:
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
(NKJV) Amos 3:
6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?
(KJV) Amos 3:
6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?
- Romans 11:
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
- Dangerous in the Spiritual sense. Of course danger can come upon believers for the sake of the truth.
Acts 20:
22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Revelation 20:
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- Psalm 115:
1 But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases. - Proverbs 3:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding; - Jeremiah 10:
23 O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. - Romans 9:
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
- Matthew 7:
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
- Matthew 5:
44 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, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
- Romans 9:
21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
- citing Luke 13:
There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
- Christ ^
- Revelation 2:
23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.
- Deuteronomy 32:
39 ‘Now see that I, even I, am He,
And there is no God besides Me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. - 1 Samuel 2:
25 If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them.
- Ephesians 5:
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
- 2 Peter 2:
17 These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
- Psalm 14:
2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
3 They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.
Romans 1:
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
Romans 3:
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God. - 1 John 2:
4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
- 1 Timothy 6:
3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,
- Luke 1:
Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.
- Matthew 4:
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
- 2 Peter 2:
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
- John 10:
5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
- Matthew 24:
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
- John 10:
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
- Revelation 14:
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
- Proverbs 17:
4 An evildoer gives heed to false lips;
A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue. - Romans 14:
1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.
- citing Jeremiah 31:
The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
and Romans 2:
1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
- Proverbs 28:
9 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law,
Even his prayer is an abomination. - Isaiah 64:
6 But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away. - Psalm 111:
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever. - Matthew 7:
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
[...] We all have evil intentions, and God causes few to turn from it. I would say that God caused you to do it, that He caused me to be healed by the modern medicine, and that I am thankful for the whole ordeal. [...]