This is from an article in dailymail.co.uk. A millionaire in his 70's shot his wife while she slept then took his own life. Investigators found that he had supposedly received a diagnosis of cancer, and this is the motivation for him killing his wife, then himself.
Here is my common sense caution. "Hell" hurts a lot more, and for all eternity, than "Cancer."
It's not even like in a moment of suffering weakness two elderly people have a suicide pact. This guy not only didn't want to go through cancer, but I guess he didn't want his wife to have the rest of her life? Anyone think God will reward him for murdering his wife? No pain meds in hell.
There are so many murder-suicides recently that I'm putting this obvious, but I guess necessary, observation out to you all. I would think the problem with murder-suicide would be kind of obvious, but I guess it is not. God does not "comfort" "suffering" people who kill others before killing themselves, robbing them of their God given lives. Good grief, what is the matter with people? (Rhetorical question).
So please, those of you out there who know people under stress. Try to make sure that they understand that, well, "hell hurts a lot more than cancer," and "God never thanks people for murdering their loved ones to 'bring them to heaven sooner.'"
Showing posts with label God's judgment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's judgment. Show all posts
Monday, October 5, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
NO saved Christian can persecute non Christians
Anyone who calls themselves a Christian, who then persecutes ANY non-Christian (but most especially heinously, one of the Abrahamic faiths) and who thinks that they are either righteous in God's eyes or going to be "saved" when they die is incredibly deluded and totally in error.
Jesus explicitly forbade the disciples from wishing physical harm upon those who rejected his message, stating that he came to save and not to destroy.
You cannot call yourself a Christian on the one hand and then oppress a non-believer, or a believer of another faith, on the other hand.
I should not even have to explain that murder in the name of killing non-Christians is breaking a Commandment AND an unspeakable abomination, but read this article and you will see why I am posting this DIRE WARNING.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill
I have suspected this kind of alleged mindset for quite some time, most particularly after reading the abominable "Left Behind" series with their cartoonish evil foolishness and total dog dirt ignorance about the Muslim faith.
I marvel that God has not struck everyone dead already by now, for the horror that so many have allowed this world to become, a dirt ball of evil and hypocrisy.
Jesus explicitly forbade the disciples from wishing physical harm upon those who rejected his message, stating that he came to save and not to destroy.
You cannot call yourself a Christian on the one hand and then oppress a non-believer, or a believer of another faith, on the other hand.
I should not even have to explain that murder in the name of killing non-Christians is breaking a Commandment AND an unspeakable abomination, but read this article and you will see why I am posting this DIRE WARNING.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill
I have suspected this kind of alleged mindset for quite some time, most particularly after reading the abominable "Left Behind" series with their cartoonish evil foolishness and total dog dirt ignorance about the Muslim faith.
I marvel that God has not struck everyone dead already by now, for the horror that so many have allowed this world to become, a dirt ball of evil and hypocrisy.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Warning for parents
Many infants, children, young people and the elderly are sexually abused when they are helpless in hospitals for surgery or other "care." The problem is much worse and much more prevalent than anyone realizes.
The odds are very high that if you are helpless in a hospital that they will at least "cop a feel." That is almost to be taken for granted as much as the inflated hospital bill and poor care.
Many are subject, while unconscious, to being orally sodomized. Fingering their rectal or vaginal orifices is also a "job benefit" for many.
Trust me, I know. And God knows all.
What goes around, comes around, as new agers are fond of saying. This is, unfortunately, true in ways you cannot begin to realize. And so those of you who bother to have children, and bother to care about them, now have to worry about paying this price. Most of you will never know that it happened, but many more of you realize it than you let on. You figure "well, the child will not remember."
Yes, but God was there and God remembers, God never forgets and God will have flaming justice and vengeance upon all those who performed these foul actions and also those who promote and enable that sick mindset. Imagine what he will do to those who not only sodomize in the mouth a helpless child, but who photograph it and gloat about it later?
You don't want to know, but you will find out. Oh yes, you will.
So for those increasingly few of you parents who actually do not want your children to be used as "blow up dolls" for sexual gratification, be very careful of whoever you allow to have your children tended to by, especially medical "professionals." I found out that the surgery theater is a theater all right, with endless people of a mindset to sexually abuse the helpless trooping in and out before, during and after surgery. Some get a special giggle out of knowing that a concerned relative is sitting in the waiting room, while they are giving your child, your mother, your wife, even your grandfather "the business" in their mouth or private parts.
I don't really know what to tell you, but asking sharp questions about everyone who will be in the room during the "procedure," and even asking for the names of the "clean up team" might be a sufficient warning to them that if something undue is suspected after the procedure, that you have a list of names and advance suspicion. I'm afraid I have to recommend this in even the "best" of facilities. There are sick and bad apples everywhere and like I said, I suspect every medical facility has one or more people who view a fingering or poking of your child or elderly loved one as a "job perk."
It's a sad and sick world, one that can only be cleaned, ultimately, by fire.
The odds are very high that if you are helpless in a hospital that they will at least "cop a feel." That is almost to be taken for granted as much as the inflated hospital bill and poor care.
Many are subject, while unconscious, to being orally sodomized. Fingering their rectal or vaginal orifices is also a "job benefit" for many.
Trust me, I know. And God knows all.
What goes around, comes around, as new agers are fond of saying. This is, unfortunately, true in ways you cannot begin to realize. And so those of you who bother to have children, and bother to care about them, now have to worry about paying this price. Most of you will never know that it happened, but many more of you realize it than you let on. You figure "well, the child will not remember."
Yes, but God was there and God remembers, God never forgets and God will have flaming justice and vengeance upon all those who performed these foul actions and also those who promote and enable that sick mindset. Imagine what he will do to those who not only sodomize in the mouth a helpless child, but who photograph it and gloat about it later?
You don't want to know, but you will find out. Oh yes, you will.
So for those increasingly few of you parents who actually do not want your children to be used as "blow up dolls" for sexual gratification, be very careful of whoever you allow to have your children tended to by, especially medical "professionals." I found out that the surgery theater is a theater all right, with endless people of a mindset to sexually abuse the helpless trooping in and out before, during and after surgery. Some get a special giggle out of knowing that a concerned relative is sitting in the waiting room, while they are giving your child, your mother, your wife, even your grandfather "the business" in their mouth or private parts.
I don't really know what to tell you, but asking sharp questions about everyone who will be in the room during the "procedure," and even asking for the names of the "clean up team" might be a sufficient warning to them that if something undue is suspected after the procedure, that you have a list of names and advance suspicion. I'm afraid I have to recommend this in even the "best" of facilities. There are sick and bad apples everywhere and like I said, I suspect every medical facility has one or more people who view a fingering or poking of your child or elderly loved one as a "job perk."
It's a sad and sick world, one that can only be cleaned, ultimately, by fire.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Catechism of the Catholic Church (hell, part two)
1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart (Mt 3:5-6; Lk 16:19-31) do NOT diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary nature of a sin.
(I place the emphasis there because many who have stalked and tormented me think that "oh, what we are doing is not really wrong" or "harden their hearts to be cruel because they think they 'have to be cruel.'" The Catechism points out that both feelings actually worsen, rather than 'mitigate' the commission of mortal sin because there is a deliberateness of thought and of a 'setting to' do the sin. Think of feigned ignorance and hardness of heart as signs of extra premeditation of conducting mortal sin.)
1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.
(I think this is pretty clear. Let me point out the last sentence though. No one has a right to judge what someone else is doing; only God has that right. Here, we are not speaking of the law, for obviously we can identify people breaking the civil law. We are speaking here of someone deciding they can judge someone else's real or perceived sin. For example, those who stalked and photographed my private life when I was not in public ministry, trying to 'catch me in sin' and who disseminated that material have offended against God to his very face. This is true even if I was not the "someone," but any private person cannot be stalked, silently and behind their back accused and judged of sin, and persecuted, because by that you push God out of his chair and do an injustice not only against the secretly stalked but you have also made God your enemy by your presumption. I hope this is very clear to you all).
(I place the emphasis there because many who have stalked and tormented me think that "oh, what we are doing is not really wrong" or "harden their hearts to be cruel because they think they 'have to be cruel.'" The Catechism points out that both feelings actually worsen, rather than 'mitigate' the commission of mortal sin because there is a deliberateness of thought and of a 'setting to' do the sin. Think of feigned ignorance and hardness of heart as signs of extra premeditation of conducting mortal sin.)
1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.
(I think this is pretty clear. Let me point out the last sentence though. No one has a right to judge what someone else is doing; only God has that right. Here, we are not speaking of the law, for obviously we can identify people breaking the civil law. We are speaking here of someone deciding they can judge someone else's real or perceived sin. For example, those who stalked and photographed my private life when I was not in public ministry, trying to 'catch me in sin' and who disseminated that material have offended against God to his very face. This is true even if I was not the "someone," but any private person cannot be stalked, silently and behind their back accused and judged of sin, and persecuted, because by that you push God out of his chair and do an injustice not only against the secretly stalked but you have also made God your enemy by your presumption. I hope this is very clear to you all).
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Terrifying sign from God this afternoon
What I saw about an hour ago has scared me more than I've ever been scared in my life. Not on my behalf, because I serve God, and so I'm not worried about my demise, and never have been, but because of the terrifying message for "humanity" of the world.
I was driving in my car returning from afternoon dinner. I was observing dramatic clouds, both white and golden ones, and the dark blue ones that form lower than the light colored ones. At the base of towering white billowing clouds I saw the figure of the Infant Jesus, formed entirely of the dark blue clouds. He was unmistakable. His right hand was raised in judgment. He had neither crown nor orb, and he was not attired in robes, and so he was not the blessing figure as in the Infant of Prague. He was swaddled, as he was after he was born, but with his right arm raised in judgment. In other words, it was as described in the Apocalypse when Jesus returns on the clouds, except it was the judging Infant Jesus. There is no mistaking this message and I'm in terror that too many people have waited in their evil for too long, and that this is certainly the last message before the terrible demise of the world if it does not change immediately.
I looked for a place to pull over with a clear view (since I was driving among tree lined road with no easy place to pull over and I had a car right behind me) and take a picture, as I had my camera. But even though there was no wind, the clouds forming the Infant Jesus dissipated in what I figure to have been less than a minute. But anyone who had been looking at the sky at that moment in that place would have seen it; it was not a vision or personal miraculous event.
I urge all believers to pray and beg for God's mercy the rest of today and all through tomorrow. Though it is not the believers who bear this burden; it is the unbelievers and the two faced (pretend to believe but still do occult and anti-life activities) who desperately need to sincerely convert and pray for God's mercy for the world. This is not a political statement. I do not care about the gays who are "marrying" in California, or any other political event meant to divide people in quarrel. The fact this was the Infant Jesus, only two days after that man in California stomped a baby boy to death in the road in front of horrified people, is a direct reference to the anti-life and child hating society. I am not even talking about abortion, though abortion is what stoked the flames. I'm talking about the society wide hatred of the innocence of babies and children, both literally and figuratively. The scorn toward infants, children, and those innocent in heart and spirit, is drawing God's wrath as sure as I am typing this. I've been screaming my warnings for years now, and I can only stand horrified that even that seems like not enough, and that perhaps all of you have deliberately run out the clock on God's mercy. I'd not hold your breath expecting a "rapture" either, as I've repeatedly explained to you and warned you.
This is not a Christian issue, though it is the secular and two faced remnants of Christianity and Judaism that has caused this problem. So this is not a call to convert to Christianity; far from it, I am counting on the sincere prayers for mercy from God from those who believe the most purely in God's right and might: the Muslims. I hope that in your daily prayers your Imams and other spiritual leaders lead you in particular prayers for God's mercy on behalf of all who have profaned life and their fear of God so terribly. But I hope that the secularists, the Christians and the two faced so called Christians have a conversion that is real and sudden and fall on their knees and beg for God's mercy. I can't do it for you. You yourselves must return to God, fear him and beg for his mercy. I'm near dumbfounded at the severity of the message I have seen today, even as I have been dreading it in half expectation, it is terrible to see in reality how God's love and mercy has been squandered and abused until it seems as though the clock may well run out before people "get around to" doing the right thing.
I was driving in my car returning from afternoon dinner. I was observing dramatic clouds, both white and golden ones, and the dark blue ones that form lower than the light colored ones. At the base of towering white billowing clouds I saw the figure of the Infant Jesus, formed entirely of the dark blue clouds. He was unmistakable. His right hand was raised in judgment. He had neither crown nor orb, and he was not attired in robes, and so he was not the blessing figure as in the Infant of Prague. He was swaddled, as he was after he was born, but with his right arm raised in judgment. In other words, it was as described in the Apocalypse when Jesus returns on the clouds, except it was the judging Infant Jesus. There is no mistaking this message and I'm in terror that too many people have waited in their evil for too long, and that this is certainly the last message before the terrible demise of the world if it does not change immediately.
I looked for a place to pull over with a clear view (since I was driving among tree lined road with no easy place to pull over and I had a car right behind me) and take a picture, as I had my camera. But even though there was no wind, the clouds forming the Infant Jesus dissipated in what I figure to have been less than a minute. But anyone who had been looking at the sky at that moment in that place would have seen it; it was not a vision or personal miraculous event.
I urge all believers to pray and beg for God's mercy the rest of today and all through tomorrow. Though it is not the believers who bear this burden; it is the unbelievers and the two faced (pretend to believe but still do occult and anti-life activities) who desperately need to sincerely convert and pray for God's mercy for the world. This is not a political statement. I do not care about the gays who are "marrying" in California, or any other political event meant to divide people in quarrel. The fact this was the Infant Jesus, only two days after that man in California stomped a baby boy to death in the road in front of horrified people, is a direct reference to the anti-life and child hating society. I am not even talking about abortion, though abortion is what stoked the flames. I'm talking about the society wide hatred of the innocence of babies and children, both literally and figuratively. The scorn toward infants, children, and those innocent in heart and spirit, is drawing God's wrath as sure as I am typing this. I've been screaming my warnings for years now, and I can only stand horrified that even that seems like not enough, and that perhaps all of you have deliberately run out the clock on God's mercy. I'd not hold your breath expecting a "rapture" either, as I've repeatedly explained to you and warned you.
This is not a Christian issue, though it is the secular and two faced remnants of Christianity and Judaism that has caused this problem. So this is not a call to convert to Christianity; far from it, I am counting on the sincere prayers for mercy from God from those who believe the most purely in God's right and might: the Muslims. I hope that in your daily prayers your Imams and other spiritual leaders lead you in particular prayers for God's mercy on behalf of all who have profaned life and their fear of God so terribly. But I hope that the secularists, the Christians and the two faced so called Christians have a conversion that is real and sudden and fall on their knees and beg for God's mercy. I can't do it for you. You yourselves must return to God, fear him and beg for his mercy. I'm near dumbfounded at the severity of the message I have seen today, even as I have been dreading it in half expectation, it is terrible to see in reality how God's love and mercy has been squandered and abused until it seems as though the clock may well run out before people "get around to" doing the right thing.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Warning: Purgatory is real and not nice
I've written about this before, but find I need to keep reminding people, just as I need to remind people of the reality of hell.
Most non-Catholic Christians deny the existence of purgatory, but they are wrong. They misunderstand the role of Jesus as Savior with somehow giving the "born agains" a free pass into heaven. It's not a matter of just sashaying into heaven. Heaven cannot be endured unless one is pure, and no one is pure. Non-Catholic Christians need to read Isaiah 6:1-7 many, many times until it sinks in. Isaiah of all the prophets came the closest to being in God's presence in heaven while still being an alive human. You see, with the other prophets, when God appeared to them God was, for the most part, "bringing to earth" a portion of his glory, rather than "bringing to heaven" the person themselves. There are really three that you can think of who were drawn to God in heaven: Ezechiel, Isaiah, and St. John the Apostle (Book of Revelation). Remember that even St. John who personally served both Jesus and his mother Mary not only threw himself down in being in the presence of heaven, but ate a scroll. Ezechiel differs from Isaiah and St. John because again, God mostly "brought heaven" to him on earth, rather than drawing him onto the threshold.
Isaiah was also, as the foremost Old Testament prophet regarding prophesying the Savior, the closest to being a pure man doing's God's will during that time in history as one could imagine. Yet when God appeared on his throne to Isaiah, Isaiah himself was stricken with the realization that he could not merit or endure speaking with the Lord due to having sinful lips, living among sinful people. The angel of God burned Isaiah's lips with coals from the altar by the throne of God in order to purify him.
This is the most precise description of the reality and existence of purgatory, plus what its characteristics will be for each person. Isaiah judged himself at that threshold of heaven by recognizing that even his deep holiness and unquestioning service to God does not erase the fact of his being human and thus having to speak profane things among profane people. All people will recognize their own deep sinfulness before they enter heaven. The nature of the purification of purgatory will relate directly toward the quality of sinfulness that the human bears with him or her. So this is not going to be like the green room while waiting to be on the Oprah show. The nature of the coals and the pain involved will be directly related to the among of sinfulness that must be recognized, atoned for, purified and shed from the deceased person. For example, a person who advocated and enabled many abortions, yet confessed and repented before dying, while being saved is not "home free" because of the impurity that still attaches to them for their deeds. I would not be surprised if the penitent abortionist had to view the reality of the physical and spiritual assault that was done to each human infant "from the inside." I would not think that would be a marvelous experience. This is another reason why it is better to not sin once one understands the lasting effects of sin that accumulates on the soul. Being forgiven and "saved" is fine and good, but one is not automatically pure and able to enter heaven just because one is saved.
I know that one reason modern people delude themselves is because of some "near death" experiences where people perceive that they have seen heaven, those who have died before, and had nothing but sunshine and lolly pops before they returned to their bodies. Um, obviously you did not experience purgatory or your personal judgement, which everyone goes through (even Jesus would have, except that he alone would have nothing in need to purify)... because you did not die and God did not intend to take you at that time. Remember, the Father said about Jesus when he was baptized that he was "well pleased" with Jesus. That is a judgement, obviously. So all in a human body who die will be judged. Near death experiences that did not include the judgement means that you didn't "die," dummies. It means that you were able to observe what it would be like to participate in one part of the entry to heaven. It does not mean you were going through the process and then at some point God just changed his mind. God knows all, sees all, controls all, and don't you forget it. Having a near death experience and seeing part of the reality of entry to heaven is supposed to be a grace to increase faith, not to make you a smug expert that you've "got it made" and you know exactly what happens. That is not a scriptural or biblical perception. Even the Apostles themselves who were martyred for Jesus lived in hope of salvation, not smug assurity. They would also be one of the first to recognize the need to be purified before entering heaven. They would expect nothing less.
So I strongly urge you to stop thinking in terms of having some sort of free pass where you are not judged just because you recognize Jesus as your Savior. Further, it's not like one category of sin is "forgiven," regardless if you did it once or a hundred times. Each occurance of a sin is a further sullying of the soul. Someone who mocks someone a thousand times is dirtying themselves a thousand times, not just "once" under the category of "mocking." Even if one repents and confesses, and makes amends, the purification must still take place. Heaven is not a place were stains can exist at all. Like Isaiah, people need to understand the circumstances of life among profane and sinning humans places stains on even the souls of those who are most worthy. Believing in Jesus gives one the opportunity and the reality of being "saved," and being "washed in his blood" makes one pure in terms of original sin. I cannot believe how many non-Catholics misunderstand that. Jesus washes the sinfulness of humans from them (the original sin and the broken condition). Jesus is not bleach and whitener for the sins that an individual commits. All humans must have an personal accounting with God when they die. Believing in Jesus and worshipping God as Jesus taught all to do is not a "clear" for your individual sins.
Revelation 4:1-2
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven and the former voice which I had heard as of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up hither, and I will show thee the things that must come to pass hereafter." Immediately I was in the spirit; and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne One was sitting.
St. John is clearly taken to the boundary of heaven and states this in no uncertain terms, "a door standing open in heaven" and "come up hither... there was a throne set in heaven." But remember, he had an angelic escort to bring him there plus he was there in the spirit, not having yet actually died on earth. So there is no recounting of his being judged, purified and then reunited with Jesus Christ as would have occurred had he died in fact at that time.
Revelation 10:10-11
And I took the scroll from the angel's hand, and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey, and when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, "Thou must prophesy again to many nations and peoples and tongues and kings."
Just like with Isaiah, however, there is a clue as to what I am speaking of in what John experiences when he eats this scroll in heaven. The taste was sweet but he got a stomach ache and heartburn! What does that mean, and why would John have "pain" of any sort in heaven, which is perfect? Again, this is because he's not yet actually dead and purified. John is given more "work" to do back on earth, which is to take the word of God which is sweet, but take a hard message of warning to humans, which is the bitter. If John was actually dead he would have been judged, purified and received into heaven, with no further mission on earth. Thus there would have been no feeling of a "heartburn and stomach ache" in heaven.
Ezechiel 1: 3-4, 22, 26
3. the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezechiel, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chobur.-There the hand of the Lord came upon me.
You can clearly see that the Lord comes to Ezechiel, and the hand of the Lord came upon him, instead of Ezechiel being drawn up to heaven as John was.
4. As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire...
Here the cherubim arrive, and again notice they come from the North, so obviously this is again a geographic detail that indicates Ezechiel is seeing part of heaven brought to him, not him being drawn to heaven. The electrum and the wheels that the cherubim used alude to the physical reality of life (galaxies) rather than the actual infrastructure of heaven itself.
22. Over the heads of the living creatures, something like a firmament could be seen...
Firmament refers to a sense of boundary of being the 'edge' between earth and heaven. So again, parts of the perception of heaven are brought to Ezechiel as the firmament is shown to him as he stands on earth.
26. Above the firmament over their heads something like a throne could be seen, looking like sapphire. Upon it was seated, up above, one who had the appearance of a man... 28... Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
Ezechiel throws himself on the ground in awe and worship, and God tells him to stand up so he can speak to him. So here he has a similar experience to John where he eats a scroll.
Notice too that the seraphim are veiling their faces and their feet, while the cherubim who appeared to Ezechiel did not veil any parts of themselves. This is not just because they appear differently in features and demeanor. Isaiah would have instantly comprehended that he was being exposed to the "full" glory of God in heaven. Angels veil parts of themselves as both humility in the presence of God and to veil the parts of themselves to protect humans because the glory of God shines unbearably strongly through them in those segments. Thus the seraphim veiling themselves while shouting their declaration of the Lord of hosts would have instantly informed Isaiah of his position being in the midst of the heavenly host and in God's presence just as he would be upon his death. This is why there is validation that even this amazingly holy and great man of God who would prophesy the coming of Christ would need to be "purged" of his "wickedness," being in the Lord of hosts' heavenly presence.
One closing thought to this particular blog posting, which I hope has been seriously illuminating and helpful. Modern Christians have gotten a little too comfortable and familiar with an inaccurate mental sketch of the kindly, sandled pal "Jesus." Things change in heaven. If you read the Book of Revelation you will understand that St. John does not see Jesus as the pal who hiked alongside of him, just "one of the guys," ready to have a "comfortable" reunion in heaven. The full glory of God, the Lord of hosts, in heaven is overwhelming. And Jesus, at God's right hand, is not the cuddly Jesus that certain modern Christians foster for their own simplicity and "comfort." Yes, Jesus is to be loved and turned to, for he brings God to humans in both form and word that they can comprehend and love. But Jesus would be the last who would want people to as a result misunderstand the fullness of God's awesomeness, power and perfection as Lord of hosts. Isaiah comprehends this instantly and in perfection, as he sees into heaven from within the very Temple of Jerusalem. Ezechiel has components of heaven brought to him to view, and is immediately "put to work" in physical reality, so his comprehension of the fullness of heaven, while more detailed in physical features than Isaiah's viewing, is not as perfect and complete as is Isaiah's. Remember, Ezechiel viewed God and some "entourage" coming to earth; he did not view God as he is in fullness in heaven AND from the placement in the holiest place of the Temple. Focusing on Jesus as the kind of love-in hippie guy who runs heaven is a serious and disrespectful error, one that he would condemn in the strongest terms. This passage of Isaiah is one of the most important in the Bible and is one reason why the words of the angels are repeated in each Catholic Mass, as the essential reminder of the need for awe and humility toward the one true God.
Most non-Catholic Christians deny the existence of purgatory, but they are wrong. They misunderstand the role of Jesus as Savior with somehow giving the "born agains" a free pass into heaven. It's not a matter of just sashaying into heaven. Heaven cannot be endured unless one is pure, and no one is pure. Non-Catholic Christians need to read Isaiah 6:1-7 many, many times until it sinks in. Isaiah of all the prophets came the closest to being in God's presence in heaven while still being an alive human. You see, with the other prophets, when God appeared to them God was, for the most part, "bringing to earth" a portion of his glory, rather than "bringing to heaven" the person themselves. There are really three that you can think of who were drawn to God in heaven: Ezechiel, Isaiah, and St. John the Apostle (Book of Revelation). Remember that even St. John who personally served both Jesus and his mother Mary not only threw himself down in being in the presence of heaven, but ate a scroll. Ezechiel differs from Isaiah and St. John because again, God mostly "brought heaven" to him on earth, rather than drawing him onto the threshold.
Isaiah was also, as the foremost Old Testament prophet regarding prophesying the Savior, the closest to being a pure man doing's God's will during that time in history as one could imagine. Yet when God appeared on his throne to Isaiah, Isaiah himself was stricken with the realization that he could not merit or endure speaking with the Lord due to having sinful lips, living among sinful people. The angel of God burned Isaiah's lips with coals from the altar by the throne of God in order to purify him.
This is the most precise description of the reality and existence of purgatory, plus what its characteristics will be for each person. Isaiah judged himself at that threshold of heaven by recognizing that even his deep holiness and unquestioning service to God does not erase the fact of his being human and thus having to speak profane things among profane people. All people will recognize their own deep sinfulness before they enter heaven. The nature of the purification of purgatory will relate directly toward the quality of sinfulness that the human bears with him or her. So this is not going to be like the green room while waiting to be on the Oprah show. The nature of the coals and the pain involved will be directly related to the among of sinfulness that must be recognized, atoned for, purified and shed from the deceased person. For example, a person who advocated and enabled many abortions, yet confessed and repented before dying, while being saved is not "home free" because of the impurity that still attaches to them for their deeds. I would not be surprised if the penitent abortionist had to view the reality of the physical and spiritual assault that was done to each human infant "from the inside." I would not think that would be a marvelous experience. This is another reason why it is better to not sin once one understands the lasting effects of sin that accumulates on the soul. Being forgiven and "saved" is fine and good, but one is not automatically pure and able to enter heaven just because one is saved.
I know that one reason modern people delude themselves is because of some "near death" experiences where people perceive that they have seen heaven, those who have died before, and had nothing but sunshine and lolly pops before they returned to their bodies. Um, obviously you did not experience purgatory or your personal judgement, which everyone goes through (even Jesus would have, except that he alone would have nothing in need to purify)... because you did not die and God did not intend to take you at that time. Remember, the Father said about Jesus when he was baptized that he was "well pleased" with Jesus. That is a judgement, obviously. So all in a human body who die will be judged. Near death experiences that did not include the judgement means that you didn't "die," dummies. It means that you were able to observe what it would be like to participate in one part of the entry to heaven. It does not mean you were going through the process and then at some point God just changed his mind. God knows all, sees all, controls all, and don't you forget it. Having a near death experience and seeing part of the reality of entry to heaven is supposed to be a grace to increase faith, not to make you a smug expert that you've "got it made" and you know exactly what happens. That is not a scriptural or biblical perception. Even the Apostles themselves who were martyred for Jesus lived in hope of salvation, not smug assurity. They would also be one of the first to recognize the need to be purified before entering heaven. They would expect nothing less.
So I strongly urge you to stop thinking in terms of having some sort of free pass where you are not judged just because you recognize Jesus as your Savior. Further, it's not like one category of sin is "forgiven," regardless if you did it once or a hundred times. Each occurance of a sin is a further sullying of the soul. Someone who mocks someone a thousand times is dirtying themselves a thousand times, not just "once" under the category of "mocking." Even if one repents and confesses, and makes amends, the purification must still take place. Heaven is not a place were stains can exist at all. Like Isaiah, people need to understand the circumstances of life among profane and sinning humans places stains on even the souls of those who are most worthy. Believing in Jesus gives one the opportunity and the reality of being "saved," and being "washed in his blood" makes one pure in terms of original sin. I cannot believe how many non-Catholics misunderstand that. Jesus washes the sinfulness of humans from them (the original sin and the broken condition). Jesus is not bleach and whitener for the sins that an individual commits. All humans must have an personal accounting with God when they die. Believing in Jesus and worshipping God as Jesus taught all to do is not a "clear" for your individual sins.
Revelation 4:1-2
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven and the former voice which I had heard as of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up hither, and I will show thee the things that must come to pass hereafter." Immediately I was in the spirit; and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne One was sitting.
St. John is clearly taken to the boundary of heaven and states this in no uncertain terms, "a door standing open in heaven" and "come up hither... there was a throne set in heaven." But remember, he had an angelic escort to bring him there plus he was there in the spirit, not having yet actually died on earth. So there is no recounting of his being judged, purified and then reunited with Jesus Christ as would have occurred had he died in fact at that time.
Revelation 10:10-11
And I took the scroll from the angel's hand, and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey, and when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, "Thou must prophesy again to many nations and peoples and tongues and kings."
Just like with Isaiah, however, there is a clue as to what I am speaking of in what John experiences when he eats this scroll in heaven. The taste was sweet but he got a stomach ache and heartburn! What does that mean, and why would John have "pain" of any sort in heaven, which is perfect? Again, this is because he's not yet actually dead and purified. John is given more "work" to do back on earth, which is to take the word of God which is sweet, but take a hard message of warning to humans, which is the bitter. If John was actually dead he would have been judged, purified and received into heaven, with no further mission on earth. Thus there would have been no feeling of a "heartburn and stomach ache" in heaven.
This is why one must read the Bible very carefully and with open mind to receive all the layers of message held within it, because there are clues as to what the process will be like, or will not be like, even in the most mysterious passages that are plain to understand. These things are not meant to be "mysterious" or "decoded" (which is an elitist view, whereby only the arcane wise "wizards" can figure out divine matters based on knowledge that the average Joe dummy does not possess. That is anti-Christian and anti-Islam). Even the most mysterious aspects of God that challenge one's ability to describe are made accessible by the Bible authors' use of easy metaphors and descriptions of common human experiences, such as sweetness and a stomach ache. Thus people who have legitimate (and not imaginary or self delusional) near death experiences, like John, were not actually dead. They would view some part of heaven that could be described and understood when they returned to consciousness in their bodies. But this by no means is an indication that they observed or experienced "the process" of being received into heaven as one would actually experience when one dies. John should be the role model for understanding that and careful study of this passage and its implications make this clear that while John was in heaven, he was not there through the normal process and so would not experience yet some things that he would when it was his time, and likewise since he was there for a purpose he would see and hear things that he was meant to witness to in service of God's will and purpose for him at that time.
Compare and contrast John's experience with "heaven" with Ezechiel's.Ezechiel 1: 3-4, 22, 26
3. the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezechiel, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chobur.-There the hand of the Lord came upon me.
You can clearly see that the Lord comes to Ezechiel, and the hand of the Lord came upon him, instead of Ezechiel being drawn up to heaven as John was.
4. As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire...
Here the cherubim arrive, and again notice they come from the North, so obviously this is again a geographic detail that indicates Ezechiel is seeing part of heaven brought to him, not him being drawn to heaven. The electrum and the wheels that the cherubim used alude to the physical reality of life (galaxies) rather than the actual infrastructure of heaven itself.
22. Over the heads of the living creatures, something like a firmament could be seen...
Firmament refers to a sense of boundary of being the 'edge' between earth and heaven. So again, parts of the perception of heaven are brought to Ezechiel as the firmament is shown to him as he stands on earth.
26. Above the firmament over their heads something like a throne could be seen, looking like sapphire. Upon it was seated, up above, one who had the appearance of a man... 28... Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
Ezechiel throws himself on the ground in awe and worship, and God tells him to stand up so he can speak to him. So here he has a similar experience to John where he eats a scroll.
Ezechiel 3: 3
Son of man, he then said to me, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
So while Ezechiel sees a part of heaven brought to him (you can think of it as God's entourage), Ezechiel is clearly on earth, not raised to heaven itself. He worships God until God tells him to stand up and receive a message. You can see now why I bring Ezechiel, Isaiah and St. John to your attention to study the similarities and the key differences in how they perceive God in heaven and how the differences are illuminating. John and Ezechiel are similar because they are each in turn exposed to heaven because both of them having a mission and words to speak on behalf of God while yet living. Thus both of them have scrolls to eat. This is how Ezechiel and John are similar. Likewise they do not have a purgatory experience because they have not died and gone to heaven in the fullness of their life and the natural process. They are living on earth and heaven is either brought as part of God's entourage to earth or in John's case, his spirit ascends to heaven.
So you might ask why Isaiah had the experience of purification when Ezechiel and St. John did not? This is because Isaiah was actually serving his office as priest in the High Holy place within the Temple of Jerusalem.Isaiah 6:1-7
In the year king Ozia died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings:
with two they veiled their faces, and two they veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft.
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!" they cried one to the other. "All the earth is filled with his glory!"
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, "Woe is me, I am doomed!" For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth with it. "See," he said, "now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged."
See, here this holiest of men, serving as a priest in the highest of holy places, the one who one would assume is the least needing to be purified and have "sin purged" is the one who instantly declares his woe at being so unclean and seeing the King, the Lord of hosts. It is the humble who see God and his works and his will the most clearly. Jesus said, years later, "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God." Isaiah was the living example of this, and therefore he is the great prophet who would prophesy the coming of Christ, being given that unique honor among all the great prophets of God. Serving in the high holy place of the Temple, and hearing the seraphim shout their continuing glory of God, Isaiah instantly comprehended what all who die and appear before God will comprehend: their utter unworthiness. Thus Isaiah is the one who most clearly "experienced," through his own humility and grace, what occurs when one dies and is judged by God.Notice too that the seraphim are veiling their faces and their feet, while the cherubim who appeared to Ezechiel did not veil any parts of themselves. This is not just because they appear differently in features and demeanor. Isaiah would have instantly comprehended that he was being exposed to the "full" glory of God in heaven. Angels veil parts of themselves as both humility in the presence of God and to veil the parts of themselves to protect humans because the glory of God shines unbearably strongly through them in those segments. Thus the seraphim veiling themselves while shouting their declaration of the Lord of hosts would have instantly informed Isaiah of his position being in the midst of the heavenly host and in God's presence just as he would be upon his death. This is why there is validation that even this amazingly holy and great man of God who would prophesy the coming of Christ would need to be "purged" of his "wickedness," being in the Lord of hosts' heavenly presence.
One closing thought to this particular blog posting, which I hope has been seriously illuminating and helpful. Modern Christians have gotten a little too comfortable and familiar with an inaccurate mental sketch of the kindly, sandled pal "Jesus." Things change in heaven. If you read the Book of Revelation you will understand that St. John does not see Jesus as the pal who hiked alongside of him, just "one of the guys," ready to have a "comfortable" reunion in heaven. The full glory of God, the Lord of hosts, in heaven is overwhelming. And Jesus, at God's right hand, is not the cuddly Jesus that certain modern Christians foster for their own simplicity and "comfort." Yes, Jesus is to be loved and turned to, for he brings God to humans in both form and word that they can comprehend and love. But Jesus would be the last who would want people to as a result misunderstand the fullness of God's awesomeness, power and perfection as Lord of hosts. Isaiah comprehends this instantly and in perfection, as he sees into heaven from within the very Temple of Jerusalem. Ezechiel has components of heaven brought to him to view, and is immediately "put to work" in physical reality, so his comprehension of the fullness of heaven, while more detailed in physical features than Isaiah's viewing, is not as perfect and complete as is Isaiah's. Remember, Ezechiel viewed God and some "entourage" coming to earth; he did not view God as he is in fullness in heaven AND from the placement in the holiest place of the Temple. Focusing on Jesus as the kind of love-in hippie guy who runs heaven is a serious and disrespectful error, one that he would condemn in the strongest terms. This passage of Isaiah is one of the most important in the Bible and is one reason why the words of the angels are repeated in each Catholic Mass, as the essential reminder of the need for awe and humility toward the one true God.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Some closing thoughts about reincarnation
I hope that readers of my blog found what I posted yesterday explaining why reincarnation beliefs persist, and the difference between "modern New Age" believers and traditional mainstream believers useful.
I hope that you can tell from the tone of what I posted that I have never had an issue with the pious of traditional faiths that have a component of their faith and morality based on belief in reincarnation. My attitude has always been to have good will to people of good will. It is the manipulating of others based on your own fallacious beliefs that I oppose and condemn.
And it was to me the fight was brought. Oppression, stalking, violence and hate in the name of so called "reincarnation" and "past lives" was brought to MY door, has harmed ME and MY HOUSE. I never sought a quarrel and in fact was open to cultural and social bridges that we could share. But I discovered that supposed "past lives" beliefs were the rallying cry to bring depravity, pain, combat and suffering in a one way battle directed toward me and mine.
Here is an example. It became clear in hindsight that things I thought were odd coincidences or silly jokes were signals of this disgraceful covert war against me. In the mid to late 1980's when I worked for a Wall Street bank, we all got a giggle that my phone extension after a move was assigned to be 4666. As I've explained before, I was alert to unconscious hostile gestures made in my direction (remember, I'd already had nearly twenty years of being physically stalked under my belt by then), so I thought it was another of those "meaningful coincidences" where not nice people inadvertently detected some of my still not public mission and thus a sign occurs. At the time I had not realized that I was being consciously stalked and harassed by not nice people regarding spiritual "belief." It was later that I realized that the 4666 was assignment of their "belief" in my "past life identities" to me via their daft numerology.
So, here is how it stands. I never had a quarrel with those with traditional pious beliefs. If you wonder how I feel, comments by Pope Benedict XVI are a handy guideline (though asking me would be even better, to find out my beliefs). But bad people assigned disgraceful "past lives" to me, and brought war and oppression to me, not I to them. Far from it; I have done nothing but reach out a desire for friendship and enlightenment, though within the context always of my God given mission to attest the truth of the already well documented Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But I also validate everyone's piety and search for the one true God.
And so, while I have not raised a hand against another human, and certainly not in oppression of beliefs, you must realize that when you raise a hand against me and mine, you have raised your hand against God. Over the years God has taken a toll, and has judged fairly and harshly at their deaths, on those who have persecuted me. My response in this "spiritual combat" has been to withdraw my prayers and intercessions on behalf of those who are using "reincarnation" beliefs. You are attacking me without a net, and thus you do your "combat" and "fair game" type of activities on a tightrope over a burning pit without a safety net. My prayers have been safety nets for many people, more than you will ever realize. As I confess in front of God how I've been hurt, he has not held back his arm in response. Beware. God knows all that is said, planned and done. He always has and he always will. And despite what you believe, there is only one door out of life and that door leads to judgment by him. God has never forgotten the sufferings of his faithful servants, which I always was and will forever remain.
I hope that you can tell from the tone of what I posted that I have never had an issue with the pious of traditional faiths that have a component of their faith and morality based on belief in reincarnation. My attitude has always been to have good will to people of good will. It is the manipulating of others based on your own fallacious beliefs that I oppose and condemn.
And it was to me the fight was brought. Oppression, stalking, violence and hate in the name of so called "reincarnation" and "past lives" was brought to MY door, has harmed ME and MY HOUSE. I never sought a quarrel and in fact was open to cultural and social bridges that we could share. But I discovered that supposed "past lives" beliefs were the rallying cry to bring depravity, pain, combat and suffering in a one way battle directed toward me and mine.
Here is an example. It became clear in hindsight that things I thought were odd coincidences or silly jokes were signals of this disgraceful covert war against me. In the mid to late 1980's when I worked for a Wall Street bank, we all got a giggle that my phone extension after a move was assigned to be 4666. As I've explained before, I was alert to unconscious hostile gestures made in my direction (remember, I'd already had nearly twenty years of being physically stalked under my belt by then), so I thought it was another of those "meaningful coincidences" where not nice people inadvertently detected some of my still not public mission and thus a sign occurs. At the time I had not realized that I was being consciously stalked and harassed by not nice people regarding spiritual "belief." It was later that I realized that the 4666 was assignment of their "belief" in my "past life identities" to me via their daft numerology.
So, here is how it stands. I never had a quarrel with those with traditional pious beliefs. If you wonder how I feel, comments by Pope Benedict XVI are a handy guideline (though asking me would be even better, to find out my beliefs). But bad people assigned disgraceful "past lives" to me, and brought war and oppression to me, not I to them. Far from it; I have done nothing but reach out a desire for friendship and enlightenment, though within the context always of my God given mission to attest the truth of the already well documented Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But I also validate everyone's piety and search for the one true God.
And so, while I have not raised a hand against another human, and certainly not in oppression of beliefs, you must realize that when you raise a hand against me and mine, you have raised your hand against God. Over the years God has taken a toll, and has judged fairly and harshly at their deaths, on those who have persecuted me. My response in this "spiritual combat" has been to withdraw my prayers and intercessions on behalf of those who are using "reincarnation" beliefs. You are attacking me without a net, and thus you do your "combat" and "fair game" type of activities on a tightrope over a burning pit without a safety net. My prayers have been safety nets for many people, more than you will ever realize. As I confess in front of God how I've been hurt, he has not held back his arm in response. Beware. God knows all that is said, planned and done. He always has and he always will. And despite what you believe, there is only one door out of life and that door leads to judgment by him. God has never forgotten the sufferings of his faithful servants, which I always was and will forever remain.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
