What is your opinion of Obama?

[Seeker]

Good afternoon Discerning Truth,

I would like to know what is your personal opinion regarding Obama? I haven't read any of your opinions regarding Obama, so please forgive me for asking.

I hope you have the time to chat a little.

[SERay]

My Opinion Counts for Little

I reserve judgment Seeker, because it is not my place to be overly concerned with what is, albeit serenity It is Christian duty to call Obama Commander-in-Chief and respect him as mandated in Scripture, as well as pray for him. What Obama is or does is in compliance to the destiny of God’s will, whereas people bring upon themselves that which lies within their hearts. If a people are full of compromise, compromising leaders will rise up,. If a people are subdued by a man-is-god spiritual delusion, they will cling to the Ophrah’s and Osteen’s that promote self-love. If a people do not want absolute truths, they will embrace the Rick Warren’s and Schuller types who promote all ways to God are good.

Like Abraham Lincoln, I am somewhat a fatalists, meaning God is real and so is Satan, but mankind writes much of their own script. We have been given the mental ability to make decisions that can sidestep the spiritual realm. People often give Satan too much glory, when we are actually fully responsible. We do harvest what we sow, more than we sow.

In the past, I have expressed my concerns over those who were glorifying Obama as the hope, the light, the man sent from God, almost a Messianic deification. However, it is not for any Christian to become consumed about diverse issues of the world system. Christ made it clear that the world would become more and more reprobate as it was in the days of Noah. Why should anyone be surprised with the ungodly demise of the spiritual climate? A Christians ONLY call is the great commission, to spread the good news about Christ without shame or compromise, to be concerned about the welfare or others as Christ did, to keep oneself pure from evil, and seek the highest good of others first. Christ did not organize protest marches, lobby the Roman Senate or picket homosexual baths. No, the world is a fallen sphere, unredeemable and will love its own. The focal point that Christ and the Apostles taught was the care of the souls… the only component of our existence that last for eternity.

[Seeker]

Obama and the Anti-Christ

So Obama is going to make everyone believe in him and then turn to do what? I read the book of revelations, but what else does the book says relating to the anti-Christ. I know he will deceive many people, including some Christians. But how can I tell my family not to fall in this trap?

[SERay]

Ready for the day of the Lord

The President already has most people believing he is the answer, and he will do what the people want, because Obama is a man who represents the people. The people want to discard the teaching of intelligent design (God created the world), abortion on demand paid by tax payers and have gay marriage enforced, Obama has pledged to satisfy.

Part two of the question, the anti-Christ will have several attributes that I outlined in a 2005 published article HERE. He will have a long religious background, most likely born of Eastern descent to fulfill the bloodline curse, hate Israel but seclude the position for a time, maintain all the proper trend ideologies, and be very popular with the inhabitants of the land and abroad. That last description is the most important to watch for. Christ was absolutely NOT popular, nor shall any leader or representative of the Kingdom of God. As the scriptures say in Luke 6:26, “Woe unto you when the people speak all manner of good about you”. It is not so with the truly godly prophet or representative of God. They will be cast down and trampled upon, misunderstood and hated. The true Saint will sometimes have a lonely path because they stand for righteousness and the world and those of it will despise them. The parable of the prophets and the son reveals this truth clearly in Matthew 21:33-46.

Make your election sure as not to be deceived during this time of deception (2 Peter 1:10). For the worker of iniquity will be able to deceive the spiritually confident. Christ prophesied in Matthew 24:24-25 when saying "For false Christ’s and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time." A leader who promises change while violating the covenant of truth is such as a false Christ. Promising freedom while delivering those caught in the fowlers snare unto captivity. The captivity is tolerating ways of darkness, and releasing the unholy suppressed by the Holy. Only a little while, and that which holds back shall be removed. The restraining role of the Church must be removed before the anti-Christ can make his appearance at the start of the Tribulation Period as is revealed in Rev. 6:1-2 & Dan. 9:27. The church of Christ is being relieved of its position even now as mockers rise to power (not inferring Obama) and release a flood of darkness across the land.

A Christian’s preparation is now, not waiting until. If one waits until, it is always too late. The complacent Christian will be set apart as those who have no part in the Kingdom of Christ. The Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 is Christ's warning to those in the church, about being ready and not found wanting. The parable shows us the members of the church as virgins waiting for the bridegroom's return. They all carry oil-filled lamps to light their way while waiting through the darkness of night. However, half of them are unprepared; these foolish virgins have no reserve oil to refill their flickering lamps. While they are gone buying new oil, the bridegroom comes and the door to the wedding is shut. This pictures some losing heart during the bridegroom's delay and not persevering to the end. Those who follow the Lamb are called virgins (Revelation 14:4), symbolizing their spiritual purity, but it appears that only half of them are genuinely listening to the Spirit of Truth.

The wise virgins are discerning, practical, and careful, but the foolish are unaware, unrealistic, and careless. However, the major difference between the wise and the foolish is found in their attitudes. The foolish are spiritually poor, blind, and naked and like the Laodicean church mentioned in Revelations 3, having no awareness of their condition. Because it has no authentic vision of the future or discernment of current events. Such are those who now cannot interpret the signs of the seasons as Christ surmised in His teachings. Likewise, the foolish virgins are blind to the presence of any compromising sin in their lives nor the urgency to prepare ahead for the lack of oil. They are spiritually lukewarm and going through the religious motions lacking genuine internal desire for being transformed into the image of Christ. They are in love with the world and the system thereof and are at enmity with Christ. The delusion is for those who cannot see the real content of their hearts, thinking all the while they are exceptional representatives of the Kingdom. How devious is the deception of the soul filled with religious pride!

The door of opportunity and preparation is shut with finality. Therefore, at that point, no one's repentance, prayer, or pleading can change that fact. Noah's ark having its door sealed shut is a similar vivid illustration of its finality. It was shut to stay shut throughout the Flood. All the pleading in the world would not open the ark's door to others after it was shut. Once Christ has come or we have died, our opportunity to be among the first fruits of the Kingdom will have been decided by our choices NOW! The door's closing is fair because everyone will have had ample time to prepare for the bridegroom's coming. Isaiah recognizes man's tendency to procrastinate in his warning, "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6).

So we must choose, shall we follow God’s son Jesus and conform to his life or the powers of the air in this world? It cannot be halfway, we either follow Christ with all our souls, whereas any compromise is choosing the way of the world. For wide and easy is the path that leads to destruction and most follow upon it.

[HarveyW]

It is our responsibility...

It is our responsibility as Christians to remain ready... and to fulfill our calling by spreading the Word of God diligently until the end of days. May the Lord bless you and share His Will through you, so that He may reach out far and wide through your website and your tireless devotion to those who cannot be touched by you in person.

My hope is that every loving Christian includes prayer for the United States. My hope is that God Almighty has not yet removed His lampstand from this nation and that through His loving patience, He would grant His people who truly love Him a special annointing to bring this country back into alignment with His glorious standards. With prayer and awareness [of the problems of this country that the Church has been partly responsible for], along with God's blessing, we can turn the tide and direction this country is heading and thwart the threat of the end of days for another time.

Please pray that the Christians in this land of the free do not forget to pray for this country!

"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

[Michelle]

Feeding My Soul

Pastor of Discerning Truth,

I want to thank YOU for the true and profound words said here. Your words ring true, they feed my heart and soul.

I have found very few who know the Truth you speak of here. For a number of years I have struggled as to HOW to actually live in Christ and to step OUTSIDE of that which is against christ. I often feel called to live the life of a monk in solitute...

Do you think we are in the end? I am curious about your thoughts.

[Seeker]

Thanks Pastor,

I thank God for putting you in my path, You have been a true blessing. Also I hope this content becomes an eye opener for those who are focusing on the material things. The Groom is almost here.... Don't say he didn't warn us.

[SERay]

The Farce of Isolation

Michelle,

Pursuing the isolation of a monk is something I pondered when I was relatively new in the faith over 30 years ago. It seemed if I simply shut myself off from the world, I could finally have success spiritually. However, even though the world offers sundry temptations and defies the Christian ideal, separation from the world is not the answer. Monks have tried it, the Desert Fathers, Hermits, Ascetics, foolish seekers who impaled themselves thinking they were achieving spiritual sanctification by self-abasement and separation. No, Christians are actually called to walk among the unregenerated like Christ did and be a light in a dark places. However, we can't hope to succeed without being constantly filled by the Holy Spirit. In of our own strength, we will fail consistently. To clarify, seeking kinship with the unregenerate as best friends is not what is meant by witnessing to the lost. We are not to try and have kinship with the unsaved on equal terms, because it will not work. Trying to abide with them will only keep the Eagles earth bound with the turkeys who can't fly. Christians have the God given power through Christ to soar above the clouds of adversity, but many live defeated earthbound lives, because that is all they have known.

Some have said our times are the worst of decadence and a Christian cannot hope to succeed against the darkness and temptations. However, the biblical account provides a different picture. The Corinthian church for example, was located in the most corrupt of cities. The business men would gather for orgy feasts every weekend and fulfill their appetites unrestrained with temple slaves, nude dancing males and females, 16 years or older. The motto was “the body is for pleasure, pleasure is for the body.” It was an ideal held by almost every advanced civilization like the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks considered madness an act of the Gods. A Greek’s wife might be a temple priestess, and they would devour live animals with their teeth, gorging on their organs while blood spewed from the beating heart. An insane person was thought to contain a god deity in that culture. Actually, due to the widespread growth of Christianity for these past 2,000 years, the Spirit and moral code of it subdued the evil nature of mankind. Our times are but a smattering of the ilk that crawled the streets during Christ’s time, Noah’s time was far worse than all history combined. However, our times will soon accelerate with unbridled darkness as the lid is lifted off the morality that feebly held back the nature of mankind’s hearts.

We are closing in on the end times; the clock is certainly running down. We are at the 13th hour, meaning, we have actually passed the expected time for the end. Christ said to wait, even though He should tarry. He was telling us that he would be late, but then suddenly appear unexpected. Like a woman in labor, the knowledge of the evitable was at hand… but then suddenly, the pains of birth pains would increase, rapidly, and suddenly. So it will be as Christ said, these signs shall gather slowly at first, wars and news of wars, diseases, famine, earthquakes, etc. Then suddenly, they would become more frequent, closer and closer together like labor pains. Daniel, the prophet saw the stars and planets rolled up like a scroll, the heaven shaken from the courses, plums of smoke on the earth, darkness, and death everywhere. It should be sobering to a Christian to consider all that will befall our planet and its occupants.

Knowing all this, we must get our souls right with the Creator through Christ and wait patiently. We first have to come to terms with the fact that we can’t possibly please God by our efforts. Then we have to humble ourselves in prayer to Him who is unseen, who will make Himself seen to those who seek him. Faith is not child’s play, but is a supernatural mechanism that opens the portals to the spiritual, however the key is Christ. He is the sovereign one who holds the golden key of majesty. It is through his spilled blood that we have safe passage into the holy of holies, thereafter once consecrated by His death; we are raised to new life in Him. If a person states they are a Christian, but have no evidence of a changed life, they are not in communion with God through Christ and most likely have never been born again in the spirit. There are immutable laws governing the sphere of the spiritual, and the one we must contend, perfect blood MUST be spilt for tainted blood. Blood for blood is the spiritual requirement. Christ’s perfection and his life were given on Calvary. He being God-man, not constrained by our measured linear time, which allowed His perfect act to renew and sustain all who looked upon Him through the pages of history.

[Natalie]

Hello Pastor Steve!

I read the above. When I came upon the part where Seeker asks how not to be deceived by the anti-Christ, I could feel more than a twinge or quickening of the Spirit. I used to be so fearful of the exact same.... how will I know? You are the person who brought it to my attention. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The sheep will know His voice. They will follow no other. The only thing to fear now is if I were to stray from my Jesus. I would say "that will NEVER happen", but then I would relax, become complacent..... know what I mean? I have witnessed it happen to others who were so confident they became prideful and fell. So, I continue to seek Him every single day. I fill my life as full of Christ Jesus as possible.... from music to television, prayer, Bible Study, The Word, etc.. I see Him in all things now and know that I will spend the rest of my days here doing just that.... seeking His face.

Life is good. God has truly blessed me and my family.

Thank you Pastor Steve. Thank you Seeker.

One in our Savior,
Natalie

[Ressmont]

I am happy to have read this thread yesterday evening. Such a heaviness has settled upon me (and other believers that I know). We are experiencing mourning from recognizing the loss of freedom, fear from the grip of sudden malevolent powers seemingly in control, and bewilderment because our beliefs and Biblical standards, which formerly were admired, are daily trodden into the mud. There is a dark pain of anticipating coming evil which I wonder may be the beginning of reality when it comes.

But here there is much in the messages of this thread to deliberate, and I lay awake last night thinking and re-thinking the helpful words.

Everyone had something worthful to say. Yes, it is our responsibility as Christians to remain ready, keeping our eyes and hearts steady upon Christ, and to remember our calling and the power of God and where we are going. Thank you for the comfort, friends