Bowing down, kneeling, and falling down before an idol are variations of the same thing: idolatry. They can do all kinds of spin, hocus-pocus, and gymnastics to distinguish “veneration” from “worship,” but this is idolatry, plain and simple.
A husband promises to love and to cherish his wife, but would he keep this promise if his wife was unfaithful? Not so with Christ, who, like Hosea, kept his promise, even to an adulterous Bride: he "loved the church and gave himself up for her."
Therefore, whether it be God or a creature that is imaged, the moment you fall prostrate before it in veneration, you are so far fascinated by superstition. For this reason, the Lord not only forbade the erection of statues to himself, but also the consecration of titles and stones which might be set up for adoration.
No earthly promise to Israel remains unfulfilled, contradicting the claim that God's promises to Abraham still have to be fulfilled in a future millennial reign.
This is why we celebrate Christmas. This is why we have joy at Christmas. This is why we could say with David, “My heart shall rejoice in your salvation!†This is why the angels in heaven rejoiced at the birth of Christ, because his birth was “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.â€
In Revelation 9:1-11 we read of locusts that come out of the abyss. If we try to over-interpret, we’ll end up saying these are Apache helicopters, with the teeth being .50 caliber machine guns, the hair being the fire out of the exhaust pipe, the breast-plates being the titanium armor, and the tails being tomahawk missiles. This misses the point entirely as this vision had meaning for the first-century believer.
I happened to listen to a shocking tidbit that proudly said, “Do you know that the Philippines is in the Bible?†Then it quoted Isaiah 24:15. How does the Philippines figure in this verse?
The Internet Monk writes, "We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity... We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught. The billions of dollars we've spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced... young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they feel about it."
Dr. R. Scott Clark, Professor of Church History and Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary in California, explains why the "Israel of God" is not national Israel, but the elect of God from all nations, Jews and Gentiles alike.
The one who had no blemish or defilement, who was perfectly obedient, and who was eternally faithful became our defilement, our rebellion, and our unfaithfulness to be offered as a sacrifice for our sake on the cross.
I've watched a few episodes of American Idol the last few weeks, especially the Final 36 competition. The three songs that I remember most were "oldies": one from the 80s and two from the 60s. Two of the songs, "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" (1966) and "Bette Davis Eyes" (1981), were deemed "too old-fashioned." Read more and watch the videos too.
"There are signs that would indicate we are in the Last Days leading up to the Second Coming of Jesus... The Bible is clear. As we get closer to his return, there are going to be great global catastrophes." "We are the generation that will see the end times… and the return of Jesus.â€
