Monday, December 31, 2007

Trying My Hand at Prophecy


I realize that as of the time of this post there are 8.5 hours left in 2007, but I'm going to stick my neck out anyways and predict that Kim Clement has once again proven himself to be a false prophet in predicting the deaths this year of Oral Roberts and Billy Graham (see story) If I'm correct I may purchase my prophecy license and go into business!

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Monday, December 24, 2007

Joel Osteen: Mormons Are Christians!


The discernment of Joel Osteen, or rather, lack thereof, came out yesterday on Fox News Sunday in this interview with Chris Wallace:

Chris Wallace: And what about Mitt Romney? And I've got to ask you the question, because it is a question whether it should be or not in this campaign, is a Mormon a true Christian?

Joel Osteen: Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior, and that's what I believe, so, you know, I'm not the one to judge the little details of it. So I believe they are.

And so, you know, Mitt Romney seems like a man of character and integrity to me, and I don't think he would -- anything would stop me from voting for him if that's what I felt like.

Chris Wallace: So, for instance, when people start talking about Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, and the golden tablets in upstate New York, and God assumes the shape of a man, do you not get hung up in those theological issues?

Joel Osteen: I probably don't get hung up in them because I haven't really studied them or thought about them. And you know, I just try to let God be the judge of that. I mean, I don't know.

I certainly can't say that I agree with everything that I've heard about it, but from what I've heard from Mitt, when he says that Christ is his savior, to me that's a common bond.
Yeah, why get hung up on those little details?

Rev. Rafael Martinez has a three part series on Joel Osteen on his Spirit Watch website here.

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Friday, December 21, 2007

Mitt Romney: Caught in TWO Lies?


We've read how Mitt Romney admitted that his father George had never marched with Martin Luther King, that he meant it in a figurative sense (not sure how you do that). Today we read in the Boston Globe this fascinating fact:

Mitt Romney went a step further in a 1978 interview with the Boston Herald. Talking about the Mormon Church and racial discrimination, he said: "My father and I marched with Martin Luther King Jr. through the streets of Detroit."

Yesterday, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom acknowledged that was not true. "Mitt Romney did not march with Martin Luther King," he said in an e-mail statement to the Globe.
Naturally, Mitt must have marched in a "figurative" sense here as well.

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Joel Osteen: Why Jesus Came


In today's inspiring message from Joel in my inbox, he writes:

From before Jesus’ birth, His name was Champion. He was marked to be your Hero. And not only did He come to save you from the eternal punishment of sin, He came to save you from sickness, shame, fear, poverty, and anything that would hold you back in this life.
So if you aren't healed from sicknesses, if you aren't delivered from poverty, if you aren't successful in this life, the logical conclusion is that "Maybe Jesus didn't save me from my sins either!"

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Monday, December 17, 2007

Kim Clement: The Prophetic Ministry Profits Well!!


The Dallas Fort Worth Star Telegram reports some interesting information about false prophet Kim Clement:

Questionable expenses

On paper, Prophetic Image Expressions' 2005 was nothing short of inspiring.

The evangelistic organization with ties to Flower Mound reported no overhead or fundraising expenses to the IRS. Yet, under the leadership of evangelist and CEO Kim Clement, a self-described prophet who says he converted to Christianity after overdosing on heroin, it raised about $2.7 million.

Clement's base salary of $617,800, benefits of about $14,000 and an expense account of $221,000 were counted toward the ministry's charitable programs of proclaiming the gospel and providing for the physical needs of the poor. So were uses of its Cadillac SUV, a Cadillac truck and a Silverado, and the $104,750 worth of meals and entertainment the staff enjoyed.

Financial documents did not identify any spending for poverty programs but listed $35,000 in grants to unidentified recipients.

Big salaries and questionable assets are two surefire ways for nonprofits to attract the attorney general's attention to a potential problem, officials like to say.

If Prophetic's spending didn't raise eyebrows, Clement was also listed as owing the organization about $44,000. State law bars charities from lending to their directors. Charity officials said that Clement paid back the money "with the interest" and that they had not been aware that such loans are prohibited.

Prophetic wasn't on the AG's radar, though; the office had no complaints about it, spokesman Tom Kelley said. And the office's data show that it relies on complaints, news reports and tips from insiders to identify problem charities.

Accessing his latest prophecies, by the way, now require that you provide your mailing address.

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Friday, December 14, 2007

Hagee on Jewish Salvation


John Hagee has further clarification on the upcoming revision of his book In Defense of Israel. In Thursday's San Antonio Express he says:

"I'm not retracting anything in my rewrite," Hagee said in a written statement. "I'm simply clarifying what some have misunderstood. Jesus was the Messiah, but He came as the Suffering Messiah while the Jews were looking for a Reigning Messiah."

As to whether Jews who don't believe in Jesus put their souls at risk, Hagee points to Bible passages that promise that the Jewish people will receive Christian salvation later in God's timeframe.

"Billy Graham didn't target Jews. The man who started Campus Crusade for Christ, Bill Bright, refused to target the Jews. I'm not targeting the Jews," he said.

I guess that means he must think that all Jewish people who have died in the last two thousand years will somehow get a second chance later.

"Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Heb. 9:27-28)

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Mike Huckabee on Jesus and Lucifer


From Fox News:

Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks in an upcoming article, "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"

The article, to be published in Sunday's New York Times Magazine, says Huckabee asked the question after saying he believes Mormonism is a religion but doesn't know much about it. His rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is a member of the Mormon church, which is known officially as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The authoritative Encyclopedia of Mormonism, published in 1992, does not refer to Jesus and Satan as brothers. It speaks of Jesus as the son of God and of Satan as a fallen angel, which is a Biblical account.

A spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Huckabee's question is usually raised by those who wish to smear the Mormon faith rather than clarify doctrine.

We turn now to LDS authorities. From Utah Lighthouse Ministries:

Apostle Joseph F. Merrill: "Now there is another personality of which I desire to speak, ... that person is Satan, the Devil. But according to our understanding and teaching, Satan is a person with a spirit body, in form like that of all other men. He is a spirit brother of ours and of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Elder Brother in the spirit world. The earth was in course of development for the abode of man in mortality. A Redeemer was to be sent down and make it possible for the Father's children to return to him." (LDS Conference Report, April 1949, p. 27)

Apostle Joseph Young: "Who is it that is at the head of this? It is the Devil, the mighty Lucifer, the great prince of the angels, and the brother of Jesus. He left the province of his Father, and took with him a third part of his Father's kingdom, and there was no other alternative but to banish him. God would have saved him if he could; but he could not." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, pp. 207-208, October 11, 1857)

President Spencer Kimball: "The importance of not accommodating temptation in the least degree is underlined by the Savior's example. Did not he recognize the danger when he was on the mountain with his fallen brother, Lucifer, being sorely tempted by that master tempter? He could have opened the door and flirted with danger by saying, "All right, Satan, I'll listen to your proposition. I need not succumb, I need not yield, I need not accept—but I'll listen." (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 163)

See also a response to the claim from the LDS website itself, their official publication, Ensign Magazine, second question down.:

How can Jesus and Lucifer be spirit brothers when their characters and purposes are so utterly opposed?

Jess L. Christensen, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, June 1986, 25–26

Jess L. Christensen, Institute of Religion director at Utah State University, Logan, Utah. On first hearing, the doctrine that Lucifer and our Lord, Jesus Christ, are brothers may seem surprising to some—especially to those unacquainted with latter-day revelations. But both the scriptures and the prophets affirm that Jesus Christ and Lucifer are indeed offspring of our Heavenly Father and, therefore, spirit brothers. Jesus Christ was with the Father from the beginning. Lucifer, too, was an angel “who was in authority in the presence of God,” a “son of the morning.” (See Isa. 14:12; D&C 76:25–27.) Both Jesus and Lucifer were strong leaders with great knowledge and influence. But as the Firstborn of the Father, Jesus was Lucifer’s older brother. (See Col. 1:15; D&C 93:21.)

How could two such great spirits become so totally opposite? The answer lies in the principle of agency, which has existed from all eternity. (See D&C 93:30–31.) Of Lucifer, the scripture says that because of rebellion “he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies.” (Moses 4:4.) Note that he was not created evil, but became Satan by his own choice.

When our Father in Heaven presented his plan of salvation, Jesus sustained the plan and his part in it, giving the glory to God, to whom it properly belonged. Lucifer, on the other hand, sought power, honor, and glory only for himself. (See Isa. 14:13–14; Moses 4:1–2.) When his modification of the Father’s plan was rejected, he rebelled against God and was subsequently cast out of heaven with those who had sided with him. (See Rev. 12:7–9; D&C 29:36–37.)

That brothers would make dramatically different choices is not unusual. It has happened time and again, as the scriptures attest: Cain chose to serve Satan; Abel chose to serve God. (See Moses 5:16–18.) Esau “despised his birthright”; Jacob wanted to honor it. (Gen. 25:29–34.) Joseph’s brothers sought to kill him; he sought to preserve them. (Gen. 37:12–24; Gen. 45:3–11.)

It is ironic that the agency with which Lucifer rebelled is the very gift he tried to take from man. His proposal was that all be forced back into God’s presence. (See Moses 4:1, 3.) But the principle of agency is fundamental to the existence and progression of intelligent beings: as we make wise choices, we grow in light and truth. On the other hand, wrong choices—such as the one Satan made—stop progress and can even deny us blessings that we already have. (See D&C 93:30–36.)

In order for us to progress, therefore, we must have the opportunity to choose good or evil. Interestingly, Satan and his angels—those who opposed agency—have become that opposition. As the prophet Lehi taught, “Men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” (2 Ne. 2:27.)

Although the Father has allowed Satan and his angels to tempt mankind, he has given each of us the ability to rise above temptation. (See 1 Cor. 10:13.) He has also given us the great gift of the Atonement.

When the Lord placed enmity between Eve’s children and the devil, Satan was told that he would bruise the heel of Eve’s seed, but her seed would bruise his head. (See Moses 4:21.) President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that “the ‘God of peace,’ who according to the scriptures is to bruise Satan, is Jesus Christ.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957, 1:3.) Satan would bruise the Savior’s heel by leading men to crucify Him. But through his death and resurrection, Christ overcame death for all of us; and through his atonement, he offers each of us a way to escape the eternal ramifications of sin. Thus, Satan’s machinations have been frustrated and eventually he will be judged, bound, and cast into hell forever. (See Rev. 20:1–10; D&C 29:26–29.)

In Hebrew, the word bruise means “to crush or grind.” Therefore, the very heel that was bruised will crush Satan and will help us overcome the world and return to our Father. As we use our agency to choose good over evil, the atonement of Christ prepares the way for us to return to our Father in Heaven.

We can only imagine the sorrow of our Heavenly Father as he watched a loved son incite and lead a rebellion and lose his opportunity for exaltation. But we can also imagine the Father’s love and rejoicing as he welcomed back the beloved son who had valiantly and perfectly fought the battles of life and brought about the great Atonement through his suffering and death.

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Monday, December 10, 2007

John Hagee Jesus NOT Messiah


A while back John Hagee started playing this promo for his book "In Defense of Israel" in which ye says "It scripturally proves that the Jewish people, as a whole, did not reject Jesus as Messiah. It will also prove that Jesus did not come to earth to be the Messiah. It will prove that there was a Calvary conspiracy between Rome, the High Priest, and Herod to execute Jesus as an insurrectionist too dangerous to live. Since Jesus refused, by word and deed, to claim to be the Messiah, how can the Jews be blamed for rejecting what was never offered?"

Hagee is now offering a retraction of this statement - sort of. He writes:

I am writing to share with you some important news pertaining to my latest book In Defense of Israel. It has come to my attention that my choice of language and some of the interpretation being given that language in Chapter Ten has caused some confusion and actually led some readers to question whether I believe that Jesus is the Messiah. If people are reaching such a conclusion, then I have clearly failed to communicate my views as well as I should have.

I have decided to release a new edition of In Defense of Israel with an expanded Chapter Ten. The new version will make the same point as the prior one, but using language which cannot mislead anyone about my bedrock belief that Jesus was and is Lord, Savior and Messiah.

You can read the rest at the link I've provided. After reading the letter I'm not sure how much of a retraction it will be, but time will tell.

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Friday, December 07, 2007

Name That Future President!


Kim Clement has long been stating that he knows who the next president of the United States will be (but he won't name him, of course) - someone who will convert to Christianity while in the White House. His latest "prophecy" given November 18th in Houston:

America you are at a place now where men are laughing, but God says the greatest place ever. The greatest opportunity has been granted now for Me to invade the media and to show you how when you choose My president. I will place a man there that shall have no inclination towards spiritual things and many a Christian shall say alas we have a Democrat who is actually a Republican. God says fear not for it shall be a while and then in the seat I will take him and fill him with My Spirit. He shall rise to the occasion and begin to pray and peace shall come to this nation, respect and honor shall come to this nation. A move of My Spirit as this nation has never seen for the harvest you have been waiting for shall come.
Any guesses on who he's referring to?

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Thursday, December 06, 2007

The Gospel According to Joel Osteen

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