Israel — 60 Years toward forever
May 14, 1948 is the day Israel became a nation again.
The Arabs call it “naqba”, Arabic for catastrophe,
and for the most part the entire world agrees. Though
not everyone wants to see Israel nuked by the Arabs,
yet general thinking is that things would be much better
on this planet if Israel had quite simply been destroyed
... read
more 
The Measure of National Greatness
It is true that one of the last bastions of the biblical
world view of life is the United States, but she is
in dire trouble, crumbling fast into the dust pile of
once-great nations. Some people will take issue with
that statement, but their defense is mostly built upon
emotion that has little semblance to reality. No American
relishes this thought, and for some of us ... read
more
Inevitable Global Conflict
We have all seen it before. The scene: the final five
of an international “beauty” contest have
their last chance to impress the judges. While the others
are sequestered each contestant is asked in turn what
would be the primary goal of her reign should she win
the crown. You have a sneaking suspicion you already
know the answer and, sure enough, the young woman says
... read
more
Mardi Gras — connected to end-time events?
What does Mardi Gras have to do with Bible prophecy?
Nothing except it stems from Roman and Greek paganism,
is deeply rooted in so-called “Christian” tradition,
teaches the concept of play-and-pay, encourages the
rankest of moral degradation, extends toleration to
virtually every form of deviant behavior ... read
more
The Events of Revelation 13
This chapter is one of the most interesting in the
book of Revelation because it gives us a broad look
at the work of anti-Christ and his worldwide administration
during the tribulation period. As a preface, it is
important to understand nobody today knows who this
man might be. Many names have been offered ... read
more
Future signs of the second coming of Jesus
Until the close of the 1800s it was not very easy to
find signs that related to the coming of Jesus. Of
course, the rapture has always been an imminent event,
yet back then it was difficult for Bible teachers to
make definitive statements regarding world events associated
with the second coming of Jesus ... read
more
The foolish don’t understand...
One of the great lies we are constantly hearing is
that any person can do or become anything they desire
if they work hard enough, remain doggedly persistent
and never take “no” for an answer. As you
know, life does not work that way. Have you ever known
of anyone with an IQ of 60 to chair the physics department
at MIT? Seen any 4’8”, 95lb women in ...
read
more
The “L” Thing
The May 2007 issue of the CSM Newsletter was titled
“When God Gets Enough”, and was based on
Genesis chapter 15. This issue will also refer to that
very important chapter, but will focus upon something
a little different. Specifically, the sin of sexually
deviant behavior among girls and women ... read
more
Escapist — the label
Some of the hottest debates I have ever heard had to
do with things written in the Bible. Actually, I have
heard very few real debates on such matters because
most of them quickly digressed into arguments, some
quite heated. This seems to be especially so when it
comes to a discussion of Bible ... read
more
The emerging church
I call it “The Lite, Bibleless, Non-Offensive,
Non-Controversial, Doctrine-Free, Buffet Church —
Everything You Ever Wanted In Religion And Less”.
What this describes is the current cutting-edge philosophy
in western religious thought, and it is having a hay-day
among some former evangelicals and new converts looking
for a nicer and less offensive gospel. ... read
more
School Shootings — The Politically Incorrect
Answer
Just looking at a broad overview of school shootings
it looks like about 100 people have been killed and
141 wounded in school shootings in America since February
of 1996, though such violence was present on American
campuses even earlier. Some of those who died were the
shooters, and if those they killed before getting ...
read
more
When God gets enough
Figuratively speaking there are any number of “keys”
in life. An example of such a key is when a person finally
comprehends a certain process in math or chemistry with
the result being the whole picture suddenly becomes
clear. The same thing often applies to any number ...
read
more
Job's Question
A number of years ago Dr. J. Vernon McGee told the
story of an atheist in Hanover, Germany who decided,
even if he were wrong, that his body would never be
resurrected for any reason. He left instructions that
his casket was to be entombed in tons of concrete, covered
with granite and secured with steel bands. Inscribed
on the tomb ... read
more
Earth Day Religion
Because of my personality makeup there are times when
my adrenal glands get overworked. If a driver pulls
out in front of me causing me to drive 25 MPH for several
miles a gallon or two of adrenaline gets dumped into
my blood stream pretty quickly. My heart rate goes up,
eyes dilate and I get a firmer grip on ... read
more
The Question of Moral Equivalency
One of the most volatile aspects of the Middle East
conflict has to do with the land of Israel and who has
rightful claim to it. It is true that Hamas is fighting
Fatah, the Shiites are fighting the Sunnis, the Saudi
Royal Family is in danger from Arab threats within the
kingdom, some Arab progressives in Iran hate Ahmadinejad,
Muslims are killing Muslims in Iraq and the list could
go on. Seeing the evening news coming out of the Middle
East ... read
more
Is War Coming?
Between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Kim Jong Il
of North Korea the world has plenty to keep her shuttle
diplomats busy trying to keep the lid on “peace”,
or whatever semblance there is of it. Added to these
two despots are those numerous small-time dictators
who like to keep things stirred up internationally by
rattling their own little sabers and spewing their own
variety of war-talk ... read
more
The Death of Islam
That the bloody and hate-filled religion of Islam will
one day be smashed between God’s hammer and His
anvil is not even up for debate. It is going to happen.
All the screaming by the Imams and all the blood-letting
by the homicide-bombers will not change its hell-bound
destiny. Never in the history of humanity has the evil
mind of mankind conceived and birthed such a despicable,
vile and beastly ... read
more
Seeing, Believing and Being Deceived
Most everyone is familiar with the old saying, “Seeing
is believing”. Actually, this old saying belongs
in the category of old wives tales along with the “cleanliness
is next go godliness” thing. Now, we would admit
being clean is good, but its close association with
godliness is not in the least bit scriptural. And that
... read
more
Purgatory — paying for admission
From the title it might seem there is some relationship
between purgatory and getting to heaven. There is not.
In fact, there is no such thing as purgatory at all.
Not in biblical history and not in Bible prophecy. Just
because 1.1 billion people might believe in it does
not make its existence a fact. Remember that the Catholic
church, the major advocate of the doctrine of purgatory
... read
more
Peace While the World Trembles
As this is being written the world is being brought
to the brink of war according to some commentators.
Reporters are calling the actions of the antagonists
“brinkmanship”. This refers to the escalation
of tensions with acts of kidnapping, rocket attacks,
threats of nuclear missile launches, missile test-firings
and verbal saber-rattling that result in responses that
are ever closer .. read
more
The Divine Feminine
It has not been too long ago that most people would
not have even known there was any such thing as a “divine
feminine”. The idea that God is in some way associated
with being feminine would have been considered absolutely
incredulous and beyond belief. Sadly, that is not the
case today. I believe this heresy is growing in its
influence and is becoming a major player in championing
the apostate church that is alive and well today. This
false church will be a spiritual harlot that will balloon
into prominence after the rapture. Because of space
restrictions this article will be unable to address
the numerous aspects having to do with this issue, so
the readership must understand there is much more that
needs .. read
more
Heresy — Training for the tribulation
For those of us who enjoy history, military programs
and current events there are certain television channels
that cater to our desires with some very good programming.
While Valerie, my wife, can soak up HGTV and The Food
Channel for hours without even blinking, I simply can’t
handle it. I am convinced that if that stuff could be
bottled it would put the most powerful sleep-aid pill
company out of business inside a week. What about sit-coms
and reality shows? Not hardly. No sit-com, reality show
or other such genre of programming .. read
more
A Troubled World
Regarding the escalating U.S. confrontation with Iran
and other disturbing news from the four corners of this
planet a man recently asked, “What in the world
is going on in the world?”. There was no smirk
or smile on his face and his eyes betrayed a concern
that was somewhat new in his heart. It was almost as
if he was awaking from sleep to a world that is very
much different from the one which existed when he went
to bed. For years he, and most all of us, worried little
about what was going on elsewhere. For most of our lives
we were content with .. read
more
The Davidic Covenant
A study of the biblical covenants can be as detailed
as the student would like it to be. This would include
an examination of the Hebrew word berith (“to
fetter” or “eat with” both of which
have the idea of a mutual agreement; or “to allot”
which has to do with a gracious settlement of a problem
or need). In the New Testament we often equate the term
with .. read
more
The Nations vs. God
The Nations. Who are they and why do they rage against
God? .... To begin with, the term “the nations”
in the Bible refers to all Gentile people no matter
their nationality or ethnic origin. These are people
who are distinct from the Jewish people. God certainly
had His own people prior to the call of Abram and the
founding of the Hebrew people; for example, Adam, Seth,
Noah, etc. But, from that time onward the descendants
of Abraham are always .. read
more
The Tragedy of Hopelessness
In the early 1970s I read a story about a Korean merchant
marine who fell overboard in the Pacific Ocean. He was
alone on deck when he went over the railing and no one
was around to hear his screams as the huge cargo ship
disappeared into the blackness of the most horrible
night of his life. He knew when he would be discovered
as missing it would be too late for any kind of search
much less a rescue. What made matters worse was .. read
more
When God Invaded Earth
Invasion. The word has connotations that range from
joy and elation to gut-wrenching fear. In June of 1944
the citizens of France were living with great expectation
of being liberated from the Nazi occupiers. On the other
hand, in early 1975 the people of South Vietnam were
filled with fear as the armies of North Vietnam converged
on the DMZ in preparation for .. read
more
This Growing Darkness
The history of humanity has recorded some very dark
times including that time known universally as The Dark
Ages. Ignorance, superstition and the wholesale corruption
rampant in the Catholic Church are characteristics of
those centuries. Even earlier, though, there were times
when mankind was bankrupt socially and spiritually.
It did not take long for the nocuous cancer of sin ..
read
more
So, What About Katrina?
In the last several weeks much has been said and written
about Hurricane Katrina. Some say the storm was just
another storm and that no real biblical significance
should be associated with it, while others say it definitely
was a form of judgment from God. I can find no middle
ground; either it was allowed or sent by God for a purpose,
or it was not. I believe it was indeed something God
used in an attempt to get the attention of not only
the Gulf Coast region with all its ills but the entire
nation, and I also believe any spiritual message intended
to be associated with it has mostly been ignored ..
read
more
Can These Bones Live?
One of the great prophets in the Old Testament was
Ezekiel, and one of the great prophetic books in the
Old Testament is of the same name. As Ezekiel was growing
up he lived in the final years of Judea’s freedom
and was an eye witness of the spiritual degradation
that brought God’s judgment. A contemporary of
both Jeremiah and Daniel, scholars believe he was a
young man when he was deported to Babylon in 597 BC.
Ezekiel was a very powerful preacher whose work lasted
about 22 years. He was not a man who played games ..
read
more
Giving Away Israel
Ariel Sharon, the man who in the beginning begged Jews
to settle the Gaza area, is the same man presently responsible
for forcibly removing them from Gaza. Sharon is desperate
in wanting the world to see Israel as taking the moral
high ground in the war against the Moslem terrorists,
and he believes giving away more Jewish land to their
sworn enemies will help do that. He also believes that
“consolidating Israel” will put their country
into a better defensive position. He is wrong. Never
has the giving away of Jewish land to Arabs resulting
in either. No matter how much of her own land Israel
gives to her enemies and no matter how much Jewish blood
soaks into the sand of their country the world will
never recognize Israel as taking the moral high ground
in any matter, and especially .. read
more
The Rapture — Loved or Feared?
Many Christians like to talk and read about the rapture
because it is that blessed moment when Jesus will remove
His church from this planet. It is the singular event
that is longed for by untold numbers because it will
mean the instant end of heartache, sorrow and suffering
for all Christians, especially those living in Communist
and Moslem countries where persecution, torture and
death await anyone daring to worship anything except
the political system .. read
more
The Heretical Gospel
Uniforms are used to distinguish soldiers on a battlefield
by making the good guys and the bad guys easier to identify.
So, what makes a dangerous enemy even more dangerous
is when he dons the uniform of your own side. In fact,
this is such an egregious act in warfare that those
found so doing are considered spies and can be legally
executed. Jesus had this tactic in mind .. read
more
Deceived - Believing the Lie
It all began in the Garden of Eden. We do not know
how long after Adam and Eve were created that Satan
confronted them with the lie, but we do know they rebelled
against God and placed the human race into a confrontation
with its Creator that is still going on today. Hatred,
illness, tragedy, sorrow, death and every conceivable
kind of pain that can be imagined are all .. read
more
The Night Belshazzar Died — déjà
vu?
It is nothing less than amazing to see how God works
in the affairs of people and nations. Judah went into
captivity to Babylon because of her unbelief and rebellion,
thus God used the evil Babylonians to punish them (Jeremiah
20). At the same time, however, He said the Babylonians
would also be punished for the way they would treat
His people during their captivity (Jeremiah 25). From
this we learn that though God does not deny the free-will
of humans, He uses that same free-will to accomplish
that which He has ordained to be. A good case in point
is .. read
more
Laodicea — Assuming Room Temperature
Years ago in a college class on forensic methods we
studied the various techniques used to determine how
long a human body has been dead. The methods are many
and are often somewhat complicated, but one basic technique
is to contrast the environmental temperature with the
temperature of the deceased. The point is to see how
close the body temperature of the deceased is to the
ambient (room) temperature. A dead body, you see, will
take on .. read
more
The Wandering Jew Is Going Home
God had warned His people about their pride and idolatry.
He had told them they would suffer terribly for their
rebellion against Him and their rejection of everything
holy. He warned they would be removed from their land
and scattered. But, as is often the case with human
nature they ignored the warnings .. read
more
Mahmoud Abbas and Peace in the Middle East
Israel is about 8,000 miles from the east coast of
the United States, and what happens there is often ignored
by most American citizens. Except for a few minutes
on the nightly news about homicide bombings committed
by Moslems against Israeli civilians and soldiers there
is actually very little that the average American knows
about what is going on in that part of the world. And
because the world press in general hates the Jewish
state a lot of what people hear is from a very tilted
and biased viewpoint. For example, the Moslem murderers
of innocent men, women and children are often portrayed
as .. read
more
Getting Rid of God — Then What?
Looking back upon the last several years of American
history consider what the following people have in common:
David Hager, Jerry Tacker, J. Leon Holmes, Michael McConnell,
Charles Pickering and Priscilla Owen. If you said they
are people who were nominated for appointments to government
panels and the judiciary you would be correct. Consider
another list: Senators Dick Durbin, Dianne Feinstein
and Charles Schumer. What these people have in common
is they are all liberal senators who did everything
in their power to .. read
more
The Plague of Nihilism
Once an atheist was demeaning a Christian for his belief
system and world view. The atheist, a sophisticated
egotist, looked down his nose at the Christian and said,
“I thought you would be too smart to believe in
fairy tales and to grovel before an imaginary God.”
Though unfortunate that is the attitude of many people
toward believers, especially the elite in the fields
of academia and the social sciences. So, from where
does this condescending and often antagonistic attitude
come? Is it the influence of the late ... read
more
The Coming One-World Church
When a prophecy teacher writes on current events it
is almost impossible to not offend someone. This is
not intentional, but because of the nature of the subject
someone somewhere will probably take strong issue with
what is being written. Such will probably be the case
with this article. Though not easy, yet it is necessary
for us to step back from time to time to see if we are
involved with a group or ideology whose agenda can be
dangerous. Though some of those people and some of those
pseudo-Christian efforts have a measure of benevolence
and even the appearance of godliness ... read
more
Israel's War For Independence
Nations rise and fall with revolutions and coups de'tat
on a regular basis. In some areas of the world the ink
is hardly dry on the maps before boundaries and names
have been changed again. The result is that very few
people can list the various countries that have been
formed in the last 15 years and their dates of independence.
But, there is one country, small in size yet large in
importance, whose name . . . . read more
Hardened Hearts in the Tribulation
What Jesus revealed to the Apostle John in the book
of Revelation is a scenario that goes beyond anything
any script writer could ever imagine. The pain and suffering
that will come upon people during the time of the tribulation
is too horrible to imagine, which is one reason why
John often used the word "like" to describe
what he was seeing. Quite simply, he had seen no precedent
for what Jesus was showing him. . . . read
more
God's Signature
Historically men have always used some means of authenticating
their authorship of a document or masterpiece. Artisans
usually signed their masterpieces and kings usually
sealed their decrees by pressing their stamps into soft
wax or clay. In today's world we sign documents and
letters, and in the case of papers that require legal
status we sign them in the presence of a notary, whose
signature and seal vouch for their authenticity. This
is especially helpful in those cases where a signatory
has handwriting that is impossible to understand. And
that is the interesting thing about signatures . . .
read more
Replacement Theology
If you have been actively pursuing the study of Bible
prophecy for any length of time you are probably familiar
with the idea of replacement theology. Put simply, it
means that God has changed His mind about the nation
of Israel and has replaced her with the church in His
great scheme . . . read more
The Resurrection
From the beginning of time human beings have been intrigued
by life after death. Early civilizations have all had
questions regarding the destination of the soul after
death, and complex rituals were contrived to insure
some sort of paradise for the deceased. The ancient
Egyptians were famous for embalming the bodies of the
dead and burying them with weapons, food and . . . read
more
The Destruction of the Institution of Marriage
Some years ago a boy was mercilessly taunting another
boy on a school-yard playground. After taking the misery
for a while, the victim said to his tormentor, "I
've had enough! I'm going to put something on you soap
won't wash off, and you'll be hollerin', 'Who da thought
it?'" The point, of course, is that the school-yard
bully just did not realize the pain he was about to
endure. Sadly, so goes our country . . .
read more
Islam-The Trojan Horse
The mythical story of the Trojan Horse serves as a
very good illustration of how something that looks benign
can be, in fact, a very destructive element. The Greeks
attacked the city of Troy, and for ten years had no
success at breaching the city walls. Finally, they retreated
and left a giant wooden horse outside the gates. Inside
the horse were armed Greek soldiers waiting for the
opportunity to be pulled inside the walls of the city.
Convinced the Greeks had given up and gone home, the
Trojans pulled the horse inside the city thinking it
was some kind of peace offering from the retreating
Greeks. The entire city celebrated in a drunken uproar.
After the celebrating Trojans had passed out from the
alcohol the Greeks unsealed the door and climbed out
of the horse. They quickly killed the sentries and opened
the gates. The entire Greek army came in and took the
city killing the men and boys and taking the women and
girls as slaves. By dawn everyone in Troy was either
dead or in bondage.... read more
The Man of Lawlessness
Several years ago during a Sunday night series in the
study of Revelation I was talking about the rise of
the Anti-christ and his activity during the coming tribulation
period. About 10 minutes into the class a man who was
traveling through our town and who was visiting with
us simply got up and walked out of the assembly. Some
folks did not understand why he did this, but I understood
completely why he left. While speaking to him before
the class began I discovered he was from a church group
that did not believe in the literalness of the prophetic
word. He did not believe there would ever be such a
man as a literal Anti-Christ, and he demonstrated his
displeasure with my futurist interpretation of Revelation
by walking out.... read more
Ishmael-A Wild Donkey of a Man
In the days just after the capture of Baghdad news
reports quoted several political sources as saying Iraq
will never be a democratic nation because the Arabs
are simply not able to handle democracy. The amazing
thing about this statement is that the Arabs did not
protest it! As I heard this report I thought that maybe
somebody might actually be paying attention to what
God said about the descendants of Ishmael in Genesis
16:12. In general Arabs are descendants of Ishmael,
the illegitimate son of Abraham by the Egyptian slave-girl
Hagar. Muhammed himself claimed to be a descendant of
Ishmael through his second son Kedar, and most all Arab
Muslims make the same claim. The relevant question is
this: Is this Biblical description of Ishmael's descendants
accurate? And, the answer is: Yes, it is....
read more
The Melting of the Elements
RMS Titanic. She was the finest luxury liner in the
world, and the pride of the White Star line. To travel
from England to America would cost quite a bit, but
what a trip it would be! First class passengers paid
in British funds the equivalent of $4350, which would
be $50,000 today. Third class accommodations cost from
$30 to $345 in today's American currency. A Turkish
Bath cost $1, and to send a wireless message was $3.12.
On her maiden voyage she hit an iceberg on Sunday, April
14, 1912 at 11:40PM. By 2:25AM on the 15th she was gone,
and over 1500 passengers and crew died a horrible death.
Yes, it is true that the band played "Nearer My
God To Thee" as she went down, but it is doubtful
the song was very comforting at that point....
read more
The Impact of the 1960s Counter-Culture
No one would question the influence of cultic religions
in modern western culture. When Eastern religions found
a place of acceptance among the 15-30 year old crowd
in the 1960s they rushed to our shores in droves with
new philosophies that were eagerly accepted by America's
youngest and brightest minds. Though no adult over 30
was to be trusted in those days, yet just about any
long-haired, turban-topped, robe-wearing guru from the
Far East could gather a following of young people no
matter how unconventional and crazy his philosophy might
be. Even cultic religious leaders like Sun Myung Moon
found a virtual gold mine in American youth in those
days. Not only is this kind of influence still going
on today, but its rate of growth is increasing... .read
more
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