Saturday, June 24, 2017

Harry Potter is the Devil's Snare

I want to address the believers in Jesus Christ who enjoy occult forms of entertainment, such as Harry Potter, and see no problem with it. This is not for those who don't believe in Christ, but for the ones who consider themselves true followers of His, and confess the name of Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and yet choose to read Harry Potter books, or watch the movies, or others with a similar theme.

The Word of God says that the sorcerers all end up in the lake of fire:

"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Rev 21:8)

Scripture also tells us that they are shut out of heaven: "Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying." (Rev 22:15)

You may wonder how this could be and what is wrong with having a little fun with magic. In order to help you see what is so wrong with this, I call your attention to a passage in Deuteronomy that says,

"When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. "For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you. "You shall be blameless before the LORD your God." (Deu 18:9-13)

We must not imitate occult practices or find them entertaining, since they are detestable to the Lord our God. If you found something detestable, you probably would not think it was entertaining to watch. The Lord does not find witchcraft, sorcery, or casting spells to be entertaining. Rather, these are Abominations in the Sight of God. Magic is considered witchcraft. Throughout Scripture, all forms of witchcraft are considered wicked and are condemned. (Deuteronomy 18:10–16; Leviticus 19:26, 31; 20:27; Acts 13:8–10). There is no distinction made between black magic and white magic, good magic or bad magic. It is all evil. Harry Potter and other secular movies or books that have a magical, sorcery, or witchcraft theme have no place in the blood-bought Church. What fellowship is there between light and darkness?

If you are a Christian who's into Harry Potter, you may also enjoy C.S. Lewis. But let me warn you about him, too, that he was a heretic, as I have already said in my article, Heresies of C.S. Lewis. He was one of those authors whom many consider to be a Christian, and is still very popular among Christians, yet he believed white magic is good. Forget about what everyone else thinks about him, or whether they think his books are great reading for believers. Let's get back to the Word of God.

All true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ keep His Word, which means we live under His Lordship. He is the eternal Rock. That's solid ground. Everything in heaven and earth that can be shaken will be shaken, so that only that which cannot be shaken remains (Heb 12:27). So get ready. Jesus is coming back right away! But He's only coming for a pure Bride without spot or wrinkle. Here's a word to all who want to make heaven: "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Heb 12:14, NIV).

"Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are his,' and, 'Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.'" (2 Tim 2:19).

If you have been entertaining yourself by reading books about Harry Potter, watching the movies about him, or involved in other similar forms of entertainment, then I urge you to repent, turn away from such wickedness, and return to the Lord, in order to avoid coming under judgment. The Lord loves you and does not want you to perish.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other quotes taken from the Holy Bible New International Version (NIV). Image used according to Fair Use Act that allows its use for educational and commentary purposes. Federal Law allows citizens to reproduce, distribute, or exhibit portions of copyrighted motions pictures, video tapes, or video discs without authorization of the copyright holder. This infringement of copyright is called "Fair Use", and is allowed for purposes of criticism, news reporting, teaching, and parody.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend Abominations in the Sight of GodSeparation from the World, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, James Agboola Revelation of Heaven and Hell, Eudoxia Varga Testimony of Heaven and HellIs the Harry Potter Series Truly Harmless? (offsite), and Heresies of C.S. Lewis. You may access more of my articles on the Main Directory of this blog, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Pope Establishes One World Religion

When the Pope arrived for his 2015 visit to the US, people chanted as if worshiping him when he disembarked from the plane. He was greeted at the foot of the stairs by Barack Obama, who at that time held the office of US President. The news report said he was the "rock star pope", because of his popularity.

On September 24, 2015, the Pope addressed a joint session of the US Congress, which is the first time this has ever occurred in history. He did so upon invitation from the leaders of Congress. Behind him at the podium sat two of the most prominent Catholics in the country, Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker John Boehner. And the Pope later met with Barack Obama privately. The White House would not say what the two of them discussed, and there was nobody in the room with them except for translators.

Could it be that in this meeting, the Pope discussed plans for a one world order with a one world religion? It is certainly possible, based on the words he spoke in his address before Congress and his actions later at an ecumenical gathering in New York City.

Pope's Address Before Congress
Pope Francis Addresses Congress, September 2015
First, I would like to quote from the text of the Pope's Congressional speech to provide proof that the he did in fact call for a one world religion of peace.

"Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind. A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms. But there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners. The contemporary world, with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form of polarization which would divide it into these two camps. We know that in the attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within. To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place. That is something which you, as a people, reject."

"Our response must instead be one of hope and healing, of peace and justice. We are asked to summon the courage and the intelligence to resolve today’s many geopolitical and economic crises. Even in the developed world, the effects of unjust structures and actions are all too apparent. Our efforts must aim at restoring hope, righting wrongs, maintaining commitments, and thus promoting the well-being of individuals and of peoples. We must move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good."

"The challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of cooperation, which has accomplished so much good throughout the history of the United States. The complexity, the gravity and the urgency of these challenges demand that we pool our resources and talents, and resolve to support one another, with respect for our differences and our convictions of conscience."

"In this land, the various religious denominations have greatly contributed to building and strengthening society. It is important that today, as in the past, the voice of faith continue to be heard, for it is a voice of fraternity and love, which tries to bring out the best in each person and in each society. Such cooperation is a powerful resource in the battle to eliminate new global forms of slavery, born of grave injustices which can be overcome only through new policies and new forms of social consensus."

"Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life. I do not underestimate the difficulty that this involves, but I encourage you in this effort."

"This conviction has led me, from the beginning of my ministry, to advocate at different levels for the global abolition of the death penalty. I am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Recently my brother bishops here in the United States renewed their call for the abolition of the death penalty. Not only do I support them, but I also offer encouragement to all those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation."

"...in times of crisis and economic hardship a spirit of global solidarity must not be lost."

"It goes without saying that part of this great effort is the creation and distribution of wealth."

"In Laudato Si’, I call for a courageous and responsible effort to 'redirect our steps' (ibid., 61), and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity. I am convinced that we can make a difference and I have no doubt that the United States – and this Congress – have an important role to play. Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed at implementing a 'culture of care' (ibid., 231) and 'an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature' (ibid., 139)."

"It is my duty to build bridges and to help all men and women, in any way possible, to do the same."

" A good political leader is one who, with the interests of all in mind..."

"Being at the service of dialogue and peace also means being truly determined to minimize and, in the long term, to end the many armed conflicts throughout our world."

Now let's take these words he spoke to Congress and couple them together with what he did in New York City.

Pope's New York City Ecumenical Meeting
Indeed, the one world religion is rising. During his visit to the US, the Pope met with leaders of many different world religions in New York City to talk about healing. The pope prayed for peace with those religious leaders, which shows that he wants to bring all religions together. At that event, the people were singing a song about peace.

This is not the first time such an event has happened. Pope John Paul II did the same sort of thing at the Interreligious Talks in Assisi in 1986, and so did Pope Benedict at the 25th Interreligious Talks in 2011, which I wrote about in my article, New Age-New World Order.

Pope's Address at Ground Zero
As he spoke at the Interreligious Meeting at Ground Zero in New York City, he said that the we must build global unity on the basis of our diversity of religions. He said, "For all our differences and disagreements, we can experience a world of peace. In opposing every attempt to create a rigid uniformity, we can and must build unity on the basis of our diversity of languages, cultures and religions, and lift our voices against everything which would stand in the way of such unity. Together we are called to say “no” to every attempt to impose uniformity and “yes” to a diversity accepted and reconciled."

Pope's Address to St. Patrick's Cathedral
As he began his address to the audience gathered to hear him at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, he made a reference to his "Muslim brothers and sisters." This assumes that those of the Muslim faith are brothers and sisters with those who follow Christ, but this is not a biblical concept. For more on this, please see my article, Children of God.

Personal Relationship with Jesus is Dangerous
Incidentally, I also want to make you aware of the fact that the Pope has stated that it is dangerous to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This statement of his goes directly against Scripture. At his weekly Wednesday address to a general audience of 33,000 people in January 2014, he said, "There are those who believe you can have a personal, direct, and immediate relationship with Jesus Christ outside the communion and mediation of the Church. These temptations are dangerous and harmful. They are, in the words of the great Pope Paul VI, 'absurd dichotomies.'"

Moreover, he has described fundamentalist Christians as mentally ill. The following are excerpts from an article on LifeSite, in which several reporters heard the Pope saying these things on the papal plane in November 2015:

Fundamentalism is a sickness that is in all religions,” Francis said, as reported by the National Catholic Reporter’s Vatican correspondent, Joshua McElwee, and similarly by other journalists on the plane.  “We Catholics have some — and not some, many — who believe in the absolute truth and go ahead dirtying the other with calumny, with disinformation, and doing evil.”
They do evil,” said the pope. “I say this because it is my church.”
We have to combat it,” he said. “Religious fundamentalism is not religious, because it lacks God. It is idolatry, like the idolatry of money.”

The Pope had also said previously in 2014 that “A fundamentalist group, even if it kills no one, even it strikes no one, is violent. The mental structure of fundamentalism is violence in the name of God.”

This helps to explain what kind of one-world religion he is advocating. It embraces all religions, except those which believe and teach that you can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ without the mediation of the Catholic Church. If you are a fundamentalist who believes that God's Word is absolutely true, then you don't fit into his one-world religion, because he believes that you are "sick," "violent," "doing evil," and that he must "combat" you.

Prophecies Regarding the False Prophet and Beast
The Pope was Time magazine's Person of the Year in their December 2015 edition. Interestingly, in the cover photo of him, the top of the letter "M" in "TIME" was positioned in exactly the right spot to make it appear as if he had tiny lamb's horns on his head.

It reminds me of the verse about the false prophet that says, "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon." (Rev 13:11).

In my opinion, Pope Francis definitely fits this description. Amazingly, when he was first introduced as the new Pope on March 13, 2013 (numerically written 3-13-13), the shadow of his head had two small horns on it (pictured below). I also find it amazing that the date of that announcement and the chapter number (13) of the book of Revelation describing him are the same. (For more on his role, please see my article, Pope Francis Supports Homosexuality). 

That same passage in Revelation 13 tells us about the relationship the false prophet will have with the first beast. "He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed." (Rev 13:12)

What is so ironic about this passage is that the very next verse that continues to describe the false prophet, which is 13:13, is just like the date that Pope Francis was announced on 3-13-13. It says: "And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people."  (Rev 13:13). The pronoun "it" in this verse refers back to the false prophet mentioned in verse 12. And verse 14 also confirms that this is about the false prophet, because it says that he has power to perform signs on behalf of the first beast.

Announced as new Pope on March 13. 2013
In order to find out what the first beast is like, we go to the beginning of the same chapter, which states: 

"And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?" There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain." (Rev 13:1-8)

This is the description of the first beast, who will amaze the whole earth by his fatal wound that was healed. He will have authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. All who dwell on earth whose names are not in the Book of Life will worship him. This is the antichrist ruler that the false prophet will work closely with. He is also called "the son of destruction" by the apostle Paul.

In speaking about the coming of the day of the Lord, Paul said, "Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." (2Th 2:3-4). He meant that before the day of the Lord comes, there will first be a great falling away of those who profess Christ, and the son of destruction will be revealed on earth. The man of lawlessness will come to the fore and take his seat.

The Nature of the One-World Religion for "Peace"
You need to understand that ecumenism and the one-world religion for peace is the goal of the Roman Catholic Church. At a “world peace” gathering in Fatima, Portugal, where each year people from religions around the world convene to pray to Mary (known as "Our Lady of Fatima" and "Our Lady of Peace"), Jesuit priest Jacques Dupuis defined the nature of this religion when he stated:

"The religion of the future will be a general converging of religions in a universal Christ that will satisfy all. The other religious traditions in the world are part of God’s plan for humanity and the Holy Spirit is operating and present in Buddhist, Hindu and other sacred writings of Christian and non-Christian faiths as well. The universality of God’s kingdom permits this, and this is nothing more than a diversified form of sharing in the same mystery of salvation."

Putting it All Together
We can learn a lot from the words the Pope spoke during his address to Congress and from his actions at the Inter-religious prayer gathering in New York City in 2015. In his address to a joint session of Congress, he emphasized the following points:

  1. Guard against fundamentalism: "No religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind."
  2. Guard against seeing the world as good and evil, righteous and sinners, and instead blur the lines: "...we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners...we [must] confront every form of polarization which would divide it into these two camps."
  3. Join together to bring hope and world peace: "Our response must instead be one of hope and healing, of peace...Being at the service of dialogue and peace..."
  4. Join together as one in a global brotherhood with solidarity for common good: "We must move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good."
  5. All religious denominations and all people must cooperate together globally as one: "The challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of cooperation...the various religious denominations...the voice of faith...is a voice of fraternity and love, which tries to bring out the best in each person and in each society. Such cooperation is a powerful resource in the battle to eliminate new global forms of slavery..."
  6. We must have a new global consensus (i.e., general agreement among society worldwide): "...grave injustices...can be overcome only through new policies and new forms of social consensus."
  7. We need unity and solidarity among the global community in order to share in peace: "...our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace... a spirit of global solidarity must not be lost... It is my duty to build bridges and to help all men and women, in any way possible, to do the same...with the interests of all in mind
  8. We need to redistribute the wealth: "...the creation and distribution of wealth."
  9. We need to save the earth from destruction by humans: "...avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity."
  10. We need world peace: "...to end the many armed conflicts throughout our world...[and] the abolition of the death penalty."
I ask you to consider these ten points together with his words at Ground Zero that we must build global unity on the basis of our diversity of religions, so that we can experience world peace, and that we must raise our voices against everything that would hinder such unity. Consider how he refers to Muslims as brothers and sisters, and how tolerant he is of all religions.

Consider how negatively he views those people who believe you can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ without the mediation of the Catholic Church, and how leery he is of every type of fundamentalism, including the religious kind, which he seems to equate with ideological extremism. Keep in mind that he did not exclude from his black list those Christians that are deemed to be fundamentalists, who believe the Bible is actually true, but in fact considers them to be sick, violent, evil doers that he must fight against. Recall the horrific persecution of Protestant Christians throughout history by the Catholic Church, especially by the Jesuits who are avowed enemies of Protestant Christian liberty. Remember that the Pope himself is a Jesuit. Learn from history that one of the Jesuits' crucial tactics, which they have used successfully against their Protestant enemies, and are still using, is to infiltrate their ranks and undermine them from within. Of course, it is well-documented that another one of their key tactics is to persecute the Protestants, even unto death.

I am one of many who believes the Pope will join hands with a political world leader to establish a one world religion of peace, which may have already occurred at this point, in light of all that took place during his 2015 visit to the United States. This one world religion is going to be accepted by all the political leaders of the world, because it promotes and guarantees peace. Many Christians will also embrace it. Beware, people! Don't be deceived by it along with the masses.

Jesus said, "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division." (Luk 12:51)

The apostle Paul wrote, "While they are saying, 'Peace and safety!' then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape." (1 Thes 5:3)

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Photos of pope used according to Fair Use Act that allows their use for educational and commentary purposes. Federal Law allows citizens to reproduce, distribute, or exhibit portions of copyrighted motions pictures, video tapes, or video discs without authorization of the copyright holder. This infringement of copyright is called "Fair Use", and is allowed for purposes of criticism, news reporting, teaching, and parody. For the full transcript of the Pope's messages at these gatherings, please see this link.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend New Age-New World OrderPagan Symbols of the Popes, Pope Francis Supports Homosexuality, Former Pope in Hell Declared a Saint,  and Unbiblical Practices of the Catholic Church. I also suggest visiting this site about the Jesuit Vatican.  You may access more of my articles on the Main Directory of this blog, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Saturday, June 17, 2017

The Shack is an Attack

I have never read the book called The Shack, but what little I have read about it from some of the reviews shows me it has serious theological problems known as heresies (falsehoods). Rather than try and reproduce another review of my own, I will instead link to some of the reviews that already exist. I recommend the following:

The Shack Heresy

Thirteen Heresies in the Shack

CARM's Take on the Shack

The Shack -- The Missing Art of Evangelical Discernment

I hope you will take a moment to read these articles and consider what they are communicating from the Word of God about that book, which The Shack movie is also based on. Based on what has been presented in these articles, the book is a myth that tickles people's ears. "They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Tim 4:4). Let me encourage you to read my article, Not Enduring Sound Doctrine.

This is not just a book, it is an assault on sound doctrine. Now they have come out with The Shack movie based on the book, which is endorsed by many pastors and ministry leaders. In fact, they even have The Shack Outreach Campaign for churches, so they can buy an official copy of The Shack Movie Church Kit and a license to show the movie in church. The Shack Campaign Kit is a 5-Week kit that comes with five sermons, film clips, a planning guide, digital resources like web and social media graphics, PowerPoint templates, bulletin insert templates, and sample invitation tools to invite people to come and see the series at church. Moreover, they even sell a separate study guide for The Shack Campaign, which contains discussion questions and personal applications, so that small groups, families, and individuals can study the things presented in the book and movie. Obviously this goes beyond mere entertainment into the realm of preaching and teaching the concepts of this movie and book in the Church, as if they were biblical truths.

Although these slick marketing resources are presented as an invitation to experience the ultimate truth about love, loss, and forgiveness, that is simply a facade. In reality, this is an attempt to make a deeper penetration into the Body of Christ with this heresy. This is brainwashing propaganda for the masses. The Shack is not based on fact, but rather is an evil attack from the enemy to bring mass deception. Beware! Don't be one of the millions who are being deceived by it. And don't let those you love be deceived by it either. If God has used this this article to open your eyes, then share this article with them, too.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. The Shack image used according to Fair Use laws for commentary and educational purposes only.

Author's note I also recommend reading The Message Bible or "The Mess"Not Enduring Sound DoctrineSins That Will Keep You From Heaven, The Top Ten Things Jesus Taught, Only the Holy -- Three Shocking TestimoniesAsk for the Ancient PathsHolding Fast the Faithful WordAvoid Becoming a Corrupted ChristianGod Forgives and ForgetsThe Law of ChristDeleted Scriptures in the Bible?Costly GraceIs Obedience Optional?Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?Practicing Your RighteousnessFaith Works!The Ways of LifeScripture AloneAccurately Handling the Word of TruthExposing HeresyThe Rise of AntichristsMichael Thomas Sambo's Revelation of Heaven and Hell, Angelica Zambrabo Hell and Heaven, The Cost of Discipleship, and Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God. You can access the Home page of this blog for more articles on Truth and heresy, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org

Friday, June 9, 2017

The Creation Gap Theory

I used to believe in the creation gap theory, which is the belief that there is a gap of some indefinite period of time that elapsed between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 or between 1:2 and 1:3. Now the Lord has helped me to see that this is not true and does great injustice to the Scriptures. Let me show you what I mean. There are many good articles out there that treat the subject exhaustively, but I don't intend to do that. I simply want to show you some of the most compelling reasons I found.

First of all, let's look at the passage in question. It states:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,” and there was light.'" (Gen 1:1-3, NIV)

If you are like me, you may have thought that God created the heavens and the earth before the creation week, and then they were in place as raw materials for Him to work with when He made everything else. You may have believed that the earth either became formless and void at some point after God created it, or that it remained in that state until the first day of creation when He created light. However, this is not what the text says, if we read the meaning directly out of it.

No Verse Divisions or Break in the Text
In the original Hebrew Scriptures there were no verse numbers to provide any break in this text. Moreover, there is nothing in the Hebrew grammar to indicate that there was any break in the narrative. As Dr. Jonathan Sarfati  of Creation Ministries points out in his article, How Genesis 13 Undermines the Gap Theory, in Genesis 1 "there are grammatical terms, called the waw consecutive and waw disjunctive." Essentially what we learn from these is that in 1:1 the narrative begins, then in 1:2 there is a disjunctive clause, which we can identify by the structure of the verbs. A disjunctive clause is a side-step or parenthetical remark that comments on what was just stated. The Scripture states, "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Then in 1:3 there is a consecutive clause indicating that the narrative which began in the first sentence in 1:1 is now continuing. It's like saying in English, "And then..." The Scripture states, "And [then] God said, 'Let there be light,” and there was light.'" If you will consider that, it is a very good reason why there could not be a long gap between any of those verses.

No Death Before Adam's Sin
One reason why some people adopt the gap theory is to try to synchronize the Bible with the claims of modern science. Since scientists claim that the geological column (or layers of fossils) proves that the earth is millions of years old, they see the need to add a gap before the first day of creation to allow for a long period of time when another race of beings lived and died upon the earth. They feel this best explains how there could be fossils that are believed to be so old, dating to a time long before the period of Adam and Eve.

However, according to the apostle Paul, death came into the world as a result of Adam's sin. He states, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned." (Rom 5:12). This means there could be no death before the sin of Adam, hence no fossils.

Nothing Visible before the Six Days of Creation
However, for me the most compelling reason was that the Lord created everything in the natural, visible realm in six literal days, and his act of creating the heavens and the earth occurred during those six days.

We know the days of creation are literal, because at the end of each day of creation is says, "And there was evening and there was morning," then it says the number of the day, such as day one, the second day the third day, etc.  We know that when an evening and morning pass by, we are talking about a 24-hour period or literal day.

Secondly, Genesis 1:1 states, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." If we say that God created the heavens and the earth before He began the six day creative week, we contradict the Scriptures. For they say that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth. Here are the passages where this is explicitly stated:

"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven." (Gen 2:1-4)

"For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. (Exo 20:11)

"It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed." (Exo 31:17).

According to the apostle, all that we see in the visible realm was made out of that which is invisible. "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." (Heb 11:3). God did not make the heavens and the earth out of visible matter that He had previously created. It says He prepared the worlds by His Word and made that which is visible out of that which is invisible.

While the gap theory was taught in the early nineteenth century by a notable Scottish theologian named Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), it was Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, whose Reference Bible (Oxford University Press, 1909) helped to popularized it. However, more recently another man named Jack C. Scofield has written an article disproving the gap theory. He sums it up better than I can in his article called The Gap Theory of Genesis Chapter One, in which he states:

"The gap theorists would have us believe that a long break occurs between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 and then in verse three the 're-creation' week begins. This reasoning would separate the 'creation of heaven and earth' from the rest of the week by some indefinite time period, and certainly then, by their own reasoning, the ‘heaven and earth' creation cannot be considered to be a part of the re-creative week which follows. There are some Scriptures which disagree with this logic, namely Genesis 2:1 to 4 and Exodus 20:11 and 31:17. These verses clearly include the creation or making of the “heaven and earth” within the six creative days. To insist on a creation of the “heaven and earth” separate from the six stated days does great injustice to these texts. It must be pointed out that the Genesis 1:1 statement is the only creative statement in the entire first chapter with reference to “heaven.” If we are to understand the words of the Exodus verses in the sense of their clear, plain meaning and common usage, then we must conclude that day one began with Genesis 1:1, and therefore no gap."

I hope that this has helped to explain why the gap theory cannot be true, according to the Word of God.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. The "Deception" painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm all rights reserved by the artist. Please view it on his official website, Inspired Art.

Author's note I also recommend reading Understanding the Gaps in Scripture, Pope Validates Evolution and Big Bang TheoryHolding Fast the Faithful Word, The Origin of Sin, Satan, and Secular Music, The Rise and Fall of Lucifer the Musician. You can access the Home page of this blog for more articles on Truth and heresy, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org