A trick, or a Treat?

 Sadly, Hallowe’en is fast becoming a fixture in the UK calendar. Children everywhere are hooked on evil as a means of escapism. Harry Potter gave a boost to witchcraft by portraying it as an exciting and mysterious pastime. A high number of cartoons on TV are geared around evil and witchcraft and there are adult programmes that show mediumship and other activities banned by God as ‘fun’.

The people living opposite me (which I find rather ironic) have a large bay window that looks directly on to the road. A week before Hallowe’en they pasted pictures of bats and witches on to their upstairs windows. Then, the night before Hallowe’en they erected a seven-foot figure of a demon or witch in their downstairs window, holding a decapitated head and glaring wickedly out at passers-by.

Is Hallowee’n a treat for kids – or is it a global trick played on everyone by Satan? I believe it is the latter, as the whole world is desensitised to evil. Once witchcraft is brought into the homes by ‘fun’ means and treated like an enjoyable pastime, we can be assured that the devil is having his way and we will see an upsurge in evil pastimes, accompanied by evil lifestyles such as homosexuality, Wicca, and so on.

I heard a vicar on the radio a few days ago commending Hallowe’en, which exists today, he says, to “poke fun at evil”. We cannot poke fun at evil! God does not poke fun at evil, at Satan, or at anyone who will not bow the knee to God! He condemns them outright and says they will enter hell if they do not repent and come to Him. Satan cannot do this, but humankind can, if they are elected to salvation.

Do not be fooled by the growing popularity of Hallowe’en and don’t answer the door to kids dressed in outfits for the occasion – unless you wish to either have a stand-up argument with their parents (if they go with them!), or have a brick through your window! Another favoured act of vengeance is to throw eggs at you, your house, or your car.

And, finally, may I again warn those Christians out there who avidly watch ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ on TV? The programme is not about good winning over evil – it is about making you accept evil into your living room. By watching Satanic activity as a form of entertainment, you are doing Satan’s bidding and bringing potential danger into your home. Do not be surprised if such ‘entertainment’ causes you to disassociate with true Believers, for Satan wishes all Christians to be at odds with each other. He will cause you to have thoughts about your brethren that are untrue or distorted, so that you will eventually leave them in favour of a less sound system of ‘worship’.

As I have said often – once you have tasted of the greater, you cannot legitimately later accept what is less. Yet, how many Christians leave their brethren and local gatherings where scripture is supreme, to attend a place that is merely acceptable? Unfortunately, far too many. I have had reports of many Christians who have left their local churches for weak or unscriptural reasons. Is it naive to suggest that a large number watch Buffy, or have become desensitised to sin and evil, via the TV and films? I do not think so.

Shake yourselves, friends! Do not watch or listen to demonic activity as ‘entertainment’! Do not willingly place yourselves into Satan’s clutches! Do not leave a church with sound teaching because of a notion put into your heads by whispering demons! Do not hold to unscriptural excuses, but talk seriously to your pastor, who will be able to show you just how wrong your thoughts are becoming. Until you break free, you will never be the same again.

Final Note on Israel?

Despite our statement that we speak of Israel only in the way scripture speaks of it, and that we have no wish to be simply ‘pro-Israel’, yet another claim has been made – that we are ‘pro-Israel’ re the country itself. (This is our final rebuttal!).

Though these running claims are a trifle annoying, I must say that I accept that some are anxious about it. So, here is another fact  - BTM does NOT support Israel-as-a-country-no-matter-what. We are, though, expressing a wariness about discounting it or speaking against it.

The reasons have already been given, from scripture. There is also a point of logic here. Scripture says, in very clear terms, that the role of future evangelism will be given to those of Israel who are saved. The words do not say that it will be given to ‘true Israel’ (because gentiles already have that role). They speak of Jews (the saved of Israel), who will be given main charge of Gospel preaching at some future date. Obviously, then, these Jews who become saved will come from ‘Israel’ the country. I say this because a vast number of Jews live there.

That is why we might appear to support Israel no-matter-what, which is not true. Yes, Israel has done some rather nasty things (which pale compared to what terrorists have done). But, this does not detract from their future as the source of Gospel preachers, as recorded in scripture. It is not really an option to simply ignore Israel per se. If we do that, then why not ignore Calvin per se, or Luther, for they both did and believed things that are abhorrent to us in our own day!

So - yes, we recognise that Israel as a country is not what it ought to be. Yes, we know that ‘true Israel’ includes all who are saved, both Jew and gentile. We also know from scripture that at some time in the future the task of evangelism will be handed over mainly to those of Israel who are saved.

Perhaps the main problem in all this is not so much what we say, but what we do not say. But, what do people expect, when this newsletter is not a theological treatise, but a commentary on ideas and news? There are bound to be issues that we do not cover in much depth. Do not, then, assume that what we leave out is part of our beliefs!

Just to underline it – we are not pro-Israel (i.e. supporters of the nation of Israel no matter what it does). We believe what scripture says, and no more. Really, anyone who reads all our material ought to realise that this is the case.

P.S. It has also been claimed that Israel is breaking this or that UN treaty and is guilty of this or that crime. Friends, as I have said before, I receive many reports from groups monitoring this matter and the facts all appear to point in the opposite direction – the Palestinians keeping up the momentum of violence and mayhem, and refusal to stop killing.

There is a continual silencing of, and threats to, the media, from the Palestinian terrorists. Remember this when watching your news programme or reading your newspaper. It has been suggested that we are being ‘misled’ by internet and other news sources.

The thrust of the argument is that we are naïve and misled, whereas our critics alone can think properly and have unique sources that are always right! I find this a trifle offensive – we have been in this ministry quite some years now and receive thousands of sources every year. We dismiss many of them as being over the top or wrong. The rest we sift through carefully and establish, as far as we can, their truthfulness. Please, give us some credit for having at least a little intelligence!

Asylum Seeker Update

We will continue to highlight the Asylum Seeker problem (which is what it is) until it is sorted out. Not because – as we have already stated many times – we are against any nation, but because of its implications for Christians who are legitimate tax-payers in the UK, and our security.

We do not understand why groups have been set-up to protect illegal entrants to the UK, when they are illegal and they are draining our resources in a huge way. They also are an excellent way to bring terrorists into the UK. All of these facts are ignored by the media as the government attempts to play-down the whole thing.

Watch Yourselves

In recent weeks I have been sent a dozen or so ‘free subscriptions’ to homosexual pornographic material over the internet, via my emails. The message states that my name had been put forward to receive them. I don’t know if this is someone’s idea of a sick joke, or if it is just a marketing ploy to get filth on to people’s computers.

The first page of each email was complete with very explicit photographs, so there is no chance to get rid of it immediately. I suggest that if you allow your kids access to your computer, you check it carefully. Either get an ‘anti-spam’ programme fitted or watch everything that comes on to your screen. Believe me, this stuff is vile and repulsive. 

How Killers are Freed

The Omagh bombing has been described as one of the worst killings committed by terrorists in the UK. Families whose loved ones were murdered in that small town are suing members of the Real IRA in an effort to bring them to some kind of justice.

But people who can only be called ‘idiots’ in our legal system have granted the main suspect free legal aid – our taxes being used to pay the case for a known terrorist…about half a million pounds! But the group pf people bringing the court case are not eligible! What is worse, is that the suspect is not even a UK resident.

So as to fend off court costs, the IRA group has been frantically stripping their assets, moving them to unknown accounts. That is how they ‘qualify’ for free legal aid. The main suspect transferred almost £200,000 into his relatives’ bank accounts just before the case was brought to court. This is a known fact, yet he has got away with it. Those who let this atrocious ‘gift’ get through the system should be totally ashamed of themselves.

Meanwhile the pretend non-link between the IRA and Sinn Fein continues, as all good farces do. When Tony Blair demanded the disbanding of the IRA because its continued existence spoils the ‘peace process’ (!!!), we were promised a response via Sinn Fein – the group that claims to have no connection with the IRA. Do they really think ordinary folk are stupid?

Why Not?

I have strong views about a number of subjects, as you know. One of them is so-called ‘beggars’. I refuse to give anything to these people in the UK and some think this is a very poor Christian response. But the case of a ‘beggar’ in Bristol, UK, is an apt illustration for my attitude.

Daniel Hill begs in the streets, often being aggressive. From this activity he brings in over £1200 a month, tax-free. I have to work long hours in a tough job to earn a lot less than that!

He is a heroin addict who has no intention of working, or dropping his heinous habit, or approaching people aggressively. Bristol magistrates have now banned him from the city centre.

I am told by well-meaning Christians that not all beggars are the same. I am not judging, but I do know that those who genuinely request help from the state will get it, if it is only shelter and food. There is no reason to sleep rough or to beg in this country – as false asylum seekers prove!

It is a fact that many who beg are doing very nicely from the public, and the same folk can be seen openly drinking, smoking pot and taking drugs, on the very streets they beg on. They do not want a job or decency. They just want easy money. Do not think that people will not sleep rough out of choice!

Be careful who you give money to, for they might earn far more than you do at their dubious craft! Be less naïve about people – they can do the most awful things, willingly and openly.

Police conducting a survey in Cambridgeshire, UK, discovered that many beggars were raking in up to £50 an hour giving them an annual untaxed income of £104,000!! That’s your money friends! It is being used not to get back on their feet, but to finance drug and drink habits. Some even have a posh new luxury car around the corner, and many beggars work as groups, maintaining a rich lifestyle. Please – give your money to real causes and have a more realistic Christian attitude.

A Bottomless Pit

Gordon Brown will again increase taxes in the UK, which is already the most taxed country in the EU. He will do so in order to fund the many public services the Labour government have promised to help. As a college student I read economics and know that state services can be funded from now to eternity and still be hungry for more!

But Brown doesn’t care, because his income rises by his own government’s whim. There is an estimated £7 billion shortfall in his promises, so we all have to pay, yet again, so soon after a big national insurance hike in April.

Bear in mind that throwing money at public services is not the answer. We need to think hard about what we can, and cannot, fund. For example, we are paying billions to create modern city centres, when those cities do not have the cash to do so. As a home-owner if I can’t pay for a new roof (which I can’t) then that’s just tough!

Millions are being paid out in the health service, not just to illicit asylum seekers, but also to those with pornographic lifestyles, such as homosexuals with AIDS, self-inflicted and costly. What we need is less ‘spin’ and more realism from our elected representatives, who earn vast sums whilst they tax us out of existence!

A Simple Question

If you examine the list of popes, you will discover that the existence of popes and their election to office cannot be verified until almost 200 AD. The question to Romanists is: “If you cannot verify the existence and date of the first pope, how can you verify that he was in any way linked to Peter?” Obviously, there can be no answer! Bear in mind that Roman Catholics are heavily into embellishment of history, weaving tradition and folklore with known facts.

(An aside: As a student teacher I was forced by my college to work in a Roman Catholic school. I looked at its stock of history books, and saw that they used literature written from a blatantly Catholic perspective, peppered with RCC re-assessments of all historical events and figures. RC schools are funded by the taxpayer!)

Homosexuals are Homophobic

Homosexuals invented the word ‘homophobic’ and constantly charge decent folk with being ‘homophobic’ if they dare to speak against this perversion. Yet, it is not us who are homophobic – it is homosexuals who are homophobic!

The true translation of ‘homophobic’ is ‘fear of mankind’. If we add the more recent meaning of ‘irrational’ to the word ‘phobos’, then it means that there is an ‘irrational fear of mankind’.

There is no irrational fear of homosexuals in decent folk. Most of us loathe homosexuality. We hate what homosexuals stand for and do. But we don’t fear them. Yes, we have a natural and proper dislike of what homosexuality does by way of global spread of diseases, but this is not ‘irrational’. And yes, we fear the way determined pressure groups intimidate and cause harm to right thinking people.

But, homosexuals on the other hand? They fear what mankind ought to be. They fear man and woman as God created them. They fear without just cause, therefore their fear is irrational. This fear is found in the way they hide behind their perverted lusts instead of leading normal sexual lives. They delve into perverted sexuality because they cannot hack-it in normal life.

That is why they make such a fuss in the media. By taking the spot-light off their very unnatural and perverted choices, they attempt to hide their own self-loathing and fear of mankind.

Next time homosexuals accuse you of homophobia, aim the name straight (excuse the pun) back at them. It is they who are homophobic, not Christians who properly and justly oppose such a vile lifestyle choice!

Matter of Time?

A wide reading of internet ministry output tells us that a number of ministries have had their sites closed down, some of them mysteriously. (The EU plans to monitor and store all emails for a year, thus blatantly crushing privacy and confidentiality).

We know that both the U.K. and U.S. security services monitor our ministry and that both have the technology to ‘pull the plug’ on any internet site they wish to get rid of.  Though we have nothing to hide and are not subversive, our stance on a number of subjects given legal status by law (e.g. homosexuality etc) is such that we would not be surprised if our web site was suddenly obliterated…especially as so many godless people now rule in key positions.

We have also heard (Nov. 9th) that Muslim extremists are hacking into websites they don’t like and destroying them. Businesses are first targets, Christian ministries could very well be next. What is it that Western Muslims keep telling us about these people? They aren’t true Muslims? Perhaps they could tell the extremists that.

Prayer Request

Most of you know why we believe this ministry is vital. If you are led to do so, please pray for an important meeting we are holding for BTM personnel at the end of November. We shall all meet for three days in Swansea to discuss the next step in the ministry. This will include the two new web sites soon to come online, one for Bible studies covering every book in scripture, and the other for Bible courses. Between them, the three sites will form one of the biggest homogeneous Christian sites in the world (though vastly under-funded).

We will also discuss a way for me to have an independent income, funded by a website I already have online (but still being constructed, called Wordthings) for this purpose…though gifts from supporters are the preferred route, because they would free-up my time specifically for ministry alone.

The computer experts at that meeting are essential and dedicated components in the ministry, being co-workers committed to God’s word. The only thing to slow-down BTM now is my own need to work in a ‘secular’ job (‘secular’ used in its loosest sense). That is why I am asking God to show me whether or not I should be full-time and funded independently of the whims of business and the world.

Belong to a Godly Church?

AT BTM we are gathering information on churches throughout the world that generally accept our ministry, with its aims and work. We do not expect total agreement, but certainly want to see agreement on doctrinal issues. Those who do so will be placed in a section on our website for folk looking for sound churches, as we regularly receive requests for such information. Such a list cannot ever be foolproof, but it might be a start.

As Founder I will be preparing a document that will accompany the section, showing what should be the signs of a sound church. This will be circulated to a few trusted friends for their consideration before the section goes ‘live’.

So, if you read our material and agree with our doctrinal stance, and believe that your church is sound, let us know and we will keep your name on file until the section goes out on the website. It will be a slow process! Submissions are invited from any country in the world, but please send them in English. By ‘church’ we mean any gathering of Christians for worship and study, whether in a formal building or in a house.

The Fall, Fall, & Fall Again, of Britain

The House of Lords refused to endorse the Bill that would allow homosexuals to adopt children. Research shows that of all ‘relationships’ those between homosexuals are notoriously unstable, so unstable that researchers have given up on trying to count long-term relationships!

Research also shows that marriage is more stable than cohabitation. So, why is the government trying to lose all morality by siding with a perversion? Is it because so many MP’s have divorced, committed adultery or taken part in homosexuality?

In a UK newspaper the other day (Daily Mail, 17th October) I read of a poor little girl whose mother was a lesbian, with six children by four men, two of whom the little girl calls ‘Daddy’! Not only that but neither of those men is the father – the real father is, wait for it – homosexual.  As the journalist asks “What hope does that little girl have?”

Some of our readers might think that this repulsive story is uncommon. But, it is very common. Every day I hear staff at the place where I work talk of their adulterous, treacherous, or fornicating relationships, often between more than one person, with illegitimate children everywhere and lives that would make most of us curl up and die.

A government body has looked at TV programmes, especially soaps. It seems that all of them portray family life as negative and perversion or adultery as normal. Violence pervades almost every episode and swearing and cursing is usual fare. Yet, how many Christians watch soaps?

Why do Christians watch the scrappy and appalling lives of the world, when God gives us something far better? Don’t you think that Christians are affected by these continual portrayals of sin?

Successive governments have slowly shed the morality and overall civility we inherited from the Victorians. The present Labour government has quickened the pace of this devastation – and then set up Commissions to find out why violence, divorce and other social ills are growing so rapidly!!

Britain, who once led the world in all things, is now only a participant in worldwide filth, disorder and immorality…and it will get worse. Do you want to be a part of it? Or do you have the courage and holy intent to stand apart and be counted?

(Note: As this Beacon went to press the news came that the libertines in this country have had their own way and adoption for same-sex couples has been ratified. God help the children, and the UK, for this godless action. I made my voice heard – did you?).

Rocks & Other Tough things

The third article in this series is now available. It looks at the reason why Rome excommunicated Luther…and it reads like a perfect description of election, predestination and God’s sovereign grace! So, far from being a slur and a vicious charge, Rome preached the truth by excommunicating him!

It’s Only Money!

Our present government loves to spend our money. If it isn’t ‘minority’ groups it is Asylum Seekers. Now, there is a hair-brained scheme to give every low-earner £1500 to persuade them to save, with an extra £1500 if they do! (The Saving Gateway project). This includes thousands who can’t be bothered to work, singles who opt to live on their own when their parent’s homes are adequate, and single mothers whose children have several fathers, etc.

They don’t know people very well! This golden handout will get spent within a week by many!! What on earth is happening in the UK? When we were younger, my wife and I struggled to raise our family without any help from the state. Today, families get hundreds of pounds freely every month, even if they obviously do not deserve it! Yes, I’m annoyed – as you should be.   

Genesis 1:31 “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, (it was) very good.” Then, later, Romans 3:12 “…there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” It is God who is longsuffering, not us! Come on – surely we can aim for better?

Bible Theology Ministries

© October 2002

PO Box 415, SWANSEA  SA5 8YH

Wales

United Kingdom

Make a Donation to support the work of Bible Theology Ministries

info@christiandoctrine.net

www.christiandoctrine.net