Is He Risen?

The last few hours on this earth of Jesus Christ were horrific in their violence, and the depiction of it by Mel Gibson in his latest film is as accurate as it can get.

I cannot stomach the all-embracing nonsense preached in many churches – that the blame for the death of Christ is placed at all our feet. It was the Jews who killed Jesus. He was (and still is) the Light of the world, but the Jews tried to extinguish that Light. They did it through their masters, the Roman occupiers. Yet, it was the Jewish civil and religious leaders who required them to do it. And it was they who whipped up crowd emotions so that the Jews chose Barabbas for life and Jesus for death.

It was not me. It was not you. It was not all who had ever been born. It was the Jews in Jerusalem at that time. Yet, we must make a distinction, for not all Jews in Jerusalem wanted to see Jesus die. Even the Roman centurion who guarded the final proceedings uttered the words “truly this was the Son of God.”

And we ought not to think that the Roman soldiers who did the foul deeds were necessarily evil thugs out to get Jesus alone. They were soldiers of Rome, taught to kill without hesitation, and taught to torture without mercy. In battle, they crushed their enemies without much thought, because that is how they were told to do it. Any who flinched were themselves put to death, right there and then.

So, when Jesus was taken to them, they had to do their duty. Yes, some might have done so with relish, but most would have seen it as just another grisly job for them to do, commanded by their centurion, who was passing on the judgment of his superior. And they had to do a good job of it, or be tortured themselves. These were men hardened by battle, pain and death. Simply the agents of the Jews who pretended to love God and man.

At Golgotha, Jesus was hung on a cross in a very matter-of-fact way, by soldiers who were well used to inflicting death. They would have been the lowest order of troops, not the elite…it was the elite who later guarded the tomb. This job was not exactly the best, but it was ordered, and that was that. To get just a bit of light relief, they would gather the few belongings of the victims and draw lots for them, a kind of ‘prize draw’ of the day.

Crucifixion was not a normal Jewish death, but it was the Jews who insisted that it be used on Christ, to demean Him and make Him out to be a common criminal of the worst kind.

A few stood near the victims, usually the closest family, who might try to alleviate the excruciating agony by giving water or food. Even the soldiers had some heart, when they offered Christ a means of deadening the pain, which He refused.

Before Christ was born, Roman generals would line the road to Rome with crucified enemies as a kind of victory parade, when they triumphantly returned to the city after a good campaign. But this day there were only a few prisoners to kill.

The crosses stood amongst the bones and remaining flesh of previous victims, who were left there until evidence of their living was no more. Indeed, nobody was put to death inside the holy city – this was where Jesus had to come, where dogs roamed and crows had their feasts.

The darkness that followed the last gasp of Jesus was appropriate, for the Jews had killed their own Light, and tore the mantle of God’s role for them from their own shoulders. From that time God gave the mantle of preaching God’s name to the Gentiles. One day, this mantle, presently loaned to us, the adopted children of God, will again be given back to God’s chosen people.

Is Christ truly risen? I see it written on posters outside so many churches…but I don’t see the evidence in the lives of Christians! After His death, on the third day, Jesus Christ arose by His own mighty divine power. Between the time of His death and the time He arose again, dead faithful, buried in the Jerusalem area, were raised by God. They walked the streets testifying to the power of the Almighty.

Later, Jesus showed that He had a new body that transcended the normal laws of God’s nature. Then, He arose bodily into the skies to go to His Father. This was witnessed by hundreds. Just a short while after that the Holy Spirit blew through the room where the apostles sat, filling them with His power and presence. That day, huge numbers of Jews were saved, after they admitted that it was they who killed the Lord.

Friends, if all this is true – and I know it is – why do we all treat the resurrection as a fairy tale? Why do we put up our posters and utter the same old words at ‘special’ services each year? Why is the resurrection power of the Christ not seen in our lives, every single day? Is He truly risen?

Jesus uttered something very simple – that if we truly love Him we will do everything He said. How can we make that more explicit? Even in our ‘special’ services our responses are duty-bound and of no real consequence. Why is this, if we really know Christ is risen? It is all so farcical!

To all, including myself, I say that we must live out what we claim to know. Those who saw the risen Christ were never the same again. We can see Him today, when we obey. Is Christ risen for you today?

Scotland Yard Response

We told you of the way the Gay police Association (GPA) attempted to intimidate a reader and myself, by claiming to send our files to Scotland Yard for investigation.

After a number of emails and a letter, I received a response from a Chief Superintendent who said that they do NOT keep such files and did not get involved in disputes between private parties. In other words, the GPA was lying.

I was also told that the GPA may be guilty of breaching the law on confidentiality, and suggested that perhaps we ought to consider legal action.

So, friends, don’t be intimidated by gays. They have a formidable array of legal friends and weapons, but passing on your file to Scotland Yard is not one of them!! We have no interest in taking the case to court, but we have proved that even a pseudo-police organisation cannot take the law into its own hands.

The Father’s Heart??

A conference was held in Wales, UK, in March 2004. It was taken by John and Carol Arnott, leaders of the Toronto Airport Church, the one that was mainly responsible for the Toronto Blessing.

It is significant that the conference was linked with the centenary year of the 1904 revival…a revival that may not have been a true revival at all, though it is often depicted as such by reformed Christians.

The conference was about ‘healing’ by ‘knowing the love of the Father God’…a strange way to put it. The conference most oddly added that it was ‘Restoring the childhood of the nation’ (???). I can only think that this is yet another spin on charismatic deception, for the ‘Father’s Heart for Wales’ is not going to beat for, or through, the infamous Toronto experience!

Unborn Babies

Called a ‘foetus’ or not, an unborn baby is an unborn baby – a human being. A film was recently aired on TV about what an abortion actually does to a baby. There was uproar from groups that push for abortions on demand.

An abortion doctor was asked in the USA if a ‘foetus’ feels pain. Yes, it does! We are talking about what abortion truly means…and there are different kinds of abortion. In one, the limbs are torn off the body and sucked out. In another the baby is soaked in strong saline solution and literally burned and pickled to death.

My wife worked on a gynaecology ward where abortions on demand were plentiful – many for ‘social’ reasons (though she did not take part in these).  The aborted ‘foetus’ used to be placed in the sluice ready for binning, and taking to the hospital furnace. One day, my wife saw a movement on the worktop and, to her absolute horror, she saw that an aborted baby, pickled beyond recognition, was still alive!

She called the ward sister, who quickly got in the doctors, who, with macabre urgency, transferred the baby they tried to kill to another hospital. Needless to say, it died. That is the reality of abortion.

Sin Dressed as Good

A 13 year old Australian girl has been given the go-ahead to begin a sex-change, by a judge who has lost his marbles!

What on earth was he thinking of? The girl’s mother has allowed her to pretend she is really a boy from a very young age, dressing as a boy, wearing nappies so that she need not go to a toilet in school, and so on. The parents ought to be ashamed of themselves!

Children are capable of living in their own fantasies, and this is exactly what so-called ‘transsexualism’ is. When a child’s fantasy enters overdrive, parents must step in to put matters right again – with a heavy hand if necessary.

Apart from the very rare cases of genuine sexual identity, where genitals are neither one or the other, all ‘feelings’ of being the opposite sex are just nonsense allowed to take hold in the person’s unbalanced mind.

We can ‘feel’ that we are elephants. But we are still human beings! Would a surgeon operate to try to make a man an elephant? Of course not – so why pretend that ‘feeling’ we are the opposite sex is a genuine ‘condition’?

There is nothing in medicine to support the now established gender-changing operations. There are only ‘feelings’ of the person who wants to change. They are deluded souls whose choice is against God’s laws, and draws His anger toward those who insist on them.

In scripture those who pretend to be the opposite sex are condemned outright, just like homosexuals. Giving them sympathy is not appropriate at all, for they are thinking and practising what is declared to be an outrageous sin. Don’t be misled by pseudo-medical science!

Hiding Islamic Violence

Whilst the terrorists in Iraq are called ‘Islamic extremists’, Muslim terror attacks in the rest of the world are rarely called ‘Islamic’, because it is not ‘politically correct’ to draw attention to Islamic violence for fear of offending Muslims!

Sadly, the world has spineless leaders who cave in to pressure from foreign and godless religions. If terror is being spread by Islam, then – maybe I’m just being picky – the ones who are doing the terror are, er, um…Islamic. And if they deliberately link what they do with their religion, then maybe – just maybe – they are doing it in the name of er, um…Islam. (Some of it now propagated by clerics in Iran).

And, how come Islam is associated with Islamic terrorism in Iraq, yet, just a short distance away, the murderers of Israeli people and soldiers in Palestine are curiously not being linked with Islam at all? Instead, Israel is being blasted from all sides by every country, as she fights hard to beat off the most vile Islamic killers on the planet, taught to hate from birth, using Islam as their foundational guide? Are these not Islamic terrorists, when they openly declare that what they do is for Islam? (Source: Honest Reporting, 7th April).

Anglicanism, the Homosexuals’ friend

The man who was rejected not so long ago as a bishop because he was homosexual has now been appointed to another role of similar standing, because he is “recognised to be a fine theologian”!

This man should never be a bishop. He should never be a priest. He has no place within the churches. His openly announced homosexuality is sufficient for him to be excommunicated altogether! Yet he remains in office and, far worse, his ‘superiors’ think it is okay to promote this unrepentant sinner to another office. His sin is hated by God – so on what basis does our newest Archbishop operate, for it certainly is not the Bible?

I believe that Rowan Williams will take Anglicanism much farther down the road of sin and perdition than any of his previous colleagues. And as if adding more poison to the whole thing, those who allow him to do it are just as bad. I look forward to a big split between Anglicans on this, or any other issue. Not because I think they are Christian, but because they are not.

Ministry Usefulness

We receive many emails, most of which are supportive. We had one recently from a man who was involved in a ‘miracle’ church. At the end of his descriptive notes he said “I have experienced many of the things you have described, but I have not understood, Now I understand. Thank you for your work.”

Usually we do not print praise, but include that short piece because we get nasty responses from active charismatics who claim that we don’t know what we are talking about!! Yet others, like this fellow, say that we are spot-on!! He adds that we helped him to get “out of the clutches” of the false church he was in. Thank God!

Another man wrote to say that he had been homosexual and manic-depressive for years, but after reading our material on both subjects, he gave up those sins and is now happily married and not mentally ill!! So much for us being wrong on those two counts, also, eh??

We don’t do this work for fun, or so that we can get our own voices heard. We do it because it is God’s command to us. And, thankfully, He is gaining the upper hand!

Hole in the Wall…Hole in your Savings!

A reader has warned us of a scam that, although begun in the USA, is already starting to be used here in the UK. Watch and beware!

Criminals make a cover that looks just like the ‘swipe’ part of those pin machines (hole in the wall cash dispensers) used outside supermarkets etc. it ‘reads’ your card and sends the information to someone sitting in a nearby car, who has a special radio receiver. Usually, too, they stick a harmless looking leaflet holder next to the machine. In the bottom of it is a tiny camera that records your pin number when you enter it. Then, your bank balance is quickly emptied!!

This appears to be a genuine scam, as I had already watched a TV programme about similar operations back two or more years ago.  For further information look at an article from the University of Texas www.utexas.edu/admin/utpd/atm.html.

Conceited Fools

I get many communications from people we can only describe (Biblically) as fools. Scripture has a great deal to say about fools and how we should deal with them…Proverbs in particular (our current Sunday meeting Book).

For example (26:5.6) when a fool puts stupid propositions or comments before us, should we bother to answer back as we would a genuine communicant? No, because then we would give him equal footing with those who are genuine. By taking his query or comment seriously, we “become like him” and he will think that his way of thinking is legitimate. The answer is very simple – tell him that he is speaking as a fool, and do not enter into ‘dialogue’.

Fools are not equal to those who are genuine (verse 7) and we ought not treat them as such. The feeble excuse by Christians that we should treat all equally is wrong. If they are fools, they should be immediately discounted and not given credibility by proper answers.

Indeed, if we give full answers to a fool they can be used against us and others (verse 8). One man I heard of (I have told of this before) bought his ‘reverend’ title many years ago, from an American company. Then, armed with this apparent sign of his credibility he invited himself to churches, speaking utter bunkum. He also obtained free or near-free holidays as a ‘poor pastor’ (though he has no church), and over the years has traded on his ‘reverendship’ to his own profit. That’s because no-one at the start called him to task and told him he was a fool. It makes me wonder just who the real fools are! (Reminds me of many charismatic ‘pastors’).

A man can hate without even knowing it. His actions and words are sufficient proof. I think particularly of those who invented and promoted the Toronto Blessing. There is plenty of evidence from their own lips that they loathe and hate Christians who will not legitimise them.

They speak lies, hurting all who hear them, and thrive on the deceits they accrue. (verses 23, 24). The same folk invented and developed the Alpha course. I cannot remind people enough, that Alpha comes from charismatic stock and must NOT be trusted or given ANY credence at all.

I have been told that just because the men who brought the Toronto Blessing to the UK also brought us Alpha, it is unfair to dismiss Alpha for that reason…surely men can change? Yes, they can – and according to scripture the sign will be their public repentance and putting their errors right. None have done this, so they remain guilty.

The man who does not thus show change cannot be trusted, for his heart contains many more deceits than before (verse 25). So, even if such a man sounds and acts reasonably, DO NOT TRUST HIM, for deceit is deep in his heart and mind. Indeed, the longer he is given credence by all and sundry, the greater become his errors and the deeper they run, making it very hard for the naïve to discover the truth.

These facts are in scripture, and it is why I refuse point-blank to trust or give credence to Alpha or to any charismatic venture or teaching. As Proverbs tells us, we then become just as much a fool as the fools we give credence to!

Saddamites

Saddam Hussein has been deposed but his reign of terror continues through hyped-up and dangerous Muslim clerics in Iraq.

They might have been dealt with if it had not been for the evil perpetrated by USA soldiers recently. Those who were barbaric toward prisoners have given fuel to the extreme clerics of Islam. They now see themselves justified in taking female soldiers prisoner for use as slaves, and in killing soldiers generally. Not only are the clerics Saddamites, but so are the stupid soldiers who committed the foul acts.

They are saying that they were told to do them by the intelligence service, but they had the right and duty to refuse. And why did the photo’s show soldiers who were enjoying their sadistic activities? There is no excuse. They had the opportunity to show how a professional army could act decently and in fairness. Now, they’ve flunked it. “Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.” (Proverbs again, 26:27).

Labour, Haters of Society

Socialism was born out of communism, and communism is as cynical about our fellow-men as ruling parties get. ‘New Labour’ in the UK is just as cynical and displays a distinct hatred for society as a whole.

Early communists were famed for grinding down their own people whilst supporting lavish lifestyles. New Labour MP’s are the same. Take the increasingly complicated forms people have to fill in to get what they have paid taxes for. Old people are overwhelmed by these forms, to the extent that they will not even attempt to fill them in, leaving them without much needed money and help. But New Labour don’t care! They bring out expensive pamphlets to explain the forms, which are themselves complicated, at a cost of £57 million!

Then take the Minister for Transport, who declared that he wants to make the costs of driving so high that the public will resort to buses, with very few having cars. Guess who will have the cars? That’s right – MP’s like himself, who don’t have to pay for their petrol and cars anyway!!

Blair is trying to force us through to a united Europe, with its loose borders and demands on the UK to conform to its iron will. Yet, at the same time, he is meekly agreeing to a referendum (before the next election, of course, to win more votes) to see if this is what we want. My foot! New Labour is about enslaving people under power-crazy MP’s who never listen to the people who vote for them. I can see why old Oliver Cromwell got so fed up!

So the Prophet Becomes an Apostle…

Here at BTM we receive a lot of rubbish, most of it from so-called ‘Christians’. The latest is what we might call Part 2 of a supposed ‘prophecy’ from a man named Richard Daigle.

As a prophecy, he claimed that most of the world would be destroyed by June 2002. I waited, very confidently, until July, and then wrote to him demanding that he repent and acknowledge that he had made a false prophecy. There was no response!

Now, this year, he sent a copy of his ‘prophecy’ and made even more ‘prophecies’, adding that because of everything ‘God’ had given him, he was sure to be appointed an Apostle by the Almighty!

That his ‘prophecies’ are false is evident in the very language he uses…he speaks not of certitudes, but of possible interpretations of his many dreams. He says that a dream ‘might’ mean this or that, and he ‘feels’ that a particular interpretation is possibly right. This is not God speaking! It is mere man inventing explanations for his odd dreams!

When God gives a prophecy it is certain and specific. It cannot be misinterpreted or later re-phrased to mean something else. And, more importantly, it actually comes about! Mr Daigle’s prophecies are lies and deceptions. The proof is rather obvious – what he said would happen did not. He has been advised by BTM to shut up and to repent, before God removes him from this earth. Will he listen? I think not.

Don’t fear ‘experts’ who say otherwise!!

 “…I tell you that the evidence for the life, the death and the resurrection of Christ is better authenticated than most of the facts of ancient history…” E. M. Blaiklock, Professor of Classics, Aukland University.

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© April 2004

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